by Angi Morgan
A Texas Ranger with everything to lose…
Going undercover to keep the former wife of a Texas crime boss alive is risky business for Texas Ranger Bryce Johnson. Kylie Scott may have evidence that could put her ex-husband’s family away forever. If she lives long enough to testify.
For five years, Kylie managed to stay off the mob’s radar. With her cover blown, the former model is forced to flee the close-knit community that had embraced her. On the run again—this time with the seductive lawman who’s risking his career to protect her—Kylie battles her powerful desire for Bryce. If they survive, do they stand a snowball’s chance at a future together?
He slid his hands to her elbows, stopping her. “I’m not treating our first time together like we’re teenagers looking for a fast thrill in a game room. We’re not only too old for that, we deserve better.”
Dusting her hands as if she was done, she hurried away. “Fine. This is all I have, Bryce. All I can do.”
He touched her shoulder and she stopped. Did she want him to change her mind? Show her how much he cared about her? “If it were me… If our positions were reversed, and I was the one with scars, what would you do right now, Kylie? Would you let me run away? Continue to be afraid?”
She covered her face. “I am afraid.”
He could barely hear her. He asked just as quietly, “Of me?”
“Strangely enough, no. But yes, maybe of you most of all.”
GUNSLINGER
Angi Morgan
Angi Morgan writes Harlequin Intrigue novels “where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi’s work has been a finalist for numerous awards, including the Booksellers’ Best Award and the Daphne du Maurier Award. Angi and her husband live in north Texas. Visit her website, angimorgan.com, or follow her on Facebook at Angi Morgan Books. She loves to hang out with fans in her closed group: bit.ly/angifriends.
Books by Angi Morgan
Harlequin Intrigue
Texas Rangers: Elite Troop
Bulletproof Badge
Shotgun Justice
Gunslinger
West Texas Watchmen
The Sheriff
The Cattleman
The Ranger
Texas Family Reckoning
Navy SEAL Surrender
The Renegade Rancher
Hill Country Holdup
.38 Caliber Cover-Up
Dangerous Memories
Protecting Their Child
The Marine’s Last Defense
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
Bryce Johnson—Lieutenant in the Texas Rangers and Company F’s authority on Texas organized crime. He’s on his first field assignment with a lot
to prove. He can’t afford to be wrong.
Kylie Scott—Media-shy resident who organizes youth to volunteer for the senior citizens of Hico. Does she have something or someone to hide from?
Sissy Jorgenson—Teenage supermodel who was briefly married to Xander Tenoreno. She disappeared from the hospital after her divorce
and an attempt on her life.
Xander Tenoreno—A member of the Tenoreno organized-crime family. He’s taken over the business while his father awaits trial for the murder of his mother. Has he followed in Daddy’s footsteps by attempting to kill his ex-wife?
Daniel Rosco—A member of the Rosco organized-crime family, lifelong partners with the Tenorenos. His parents were both recently murdered by the Tenorenos.
Fred Snell—An old bachelor who seems to know a lot about what’s going on in his town. Does he have secrets of his own?
There is never a book completed without my pals Jan and
Robin. This one also goes to my wonderful agent, Jill,
and to the patience of my amazing editor, Allison!
Thanks, ladies, for hanging in there with me.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Excerpt from Lawman on the Hunt by Cindi Myers
Prologue
Austin, Texas, five years ago
Sissy Jorgenson-Tenoreno attempted a smile at her friends to make the empty parking lot less spooky. It didn’t work. “This is an odd place to meet, even for Xander.”
The food truck’s inside lights were glowing. So were the Christmas lights strung around the single picnic table out front. Daddy Cade’s Po’Boys didn’t seem to be one of the more popular gourmet trucks in town. Good thing she’d brought her entourage of Darren, Janna and Linda with her.
Xander should think twice if he thought she’d meet him anywhere alone.
“Your soon-to-be ex-husband probably chose this place because he knew you’d never eat here,” Darren said. “You make every calorie count twice. Especially now that you need your figure back.”
She was still the same size as when they’d eloped eight months ago. In fact, the outfit she was wearing had been bought on their unofficial honeymoon trip to Paris.
“Sissy Jorgenson shouldn’t be forced to come to a place like this,” Janna complained. “You should send the police for your things. Even the cat.”
Xander’s father owns the police.
Did it really bother her that they talked as if they understood the life she’d led before getting married? Teen model, then married to the mob? They had no clue. Not really. A different location every week was glamorous to them. A different hotel each week was appealing. A life of travel and what appeared to be one party after another.
Even the parties got old. The same faces night after night. There weren’t any sleepy movie days in front of the television. No study binges, no spontaneous orders of pizza and beer. No darting to the store for milk and bread, which were never on the menu anyway.
One day someone might ask what had been going through her mind when she got married. Her friends shrugged the divorce off as if it was no big deal. What had she expected? Happily ever after? Looking back, she hadn’t really expected anything. She might not have known what marriage would be like, but she knew what she wanted.
The answer was so simple. She’d wanted a home. A place to belong, a family and a pet. She’d never had one and always wanted to save the strays she saw while traveling. Instead, being married was equivalent to being locked inside a mansion surrounded by people who had no love in their hearts.
“I need a bottle of water or maybe this place sells Gel Shots. Five or six of those and we’ll be ready to party again.” Linda staggered across the gravel parking lot to the food truck and banged on the window. When no one answered, she swayed back to the group. “I’m so envious. In three days you’ll be jet-setting halfway across the world for a fabulous Roman adventure. I, on the other hand, will be starting another boring semester of school.”
While starving herself to drop down to her agent’s
ideal weight, she’d be wishing every minute for her friend’s boring life.
“Anybody want a fried oyster po’boy? Of course Sissy’s answer is no. She can’t waste calories on stinky food. The bun alone would be—”
Sissy tuned them out and let them make fun of the way she’d eaten while staying with them over the past two months. They didn’t understand that drastic measures were needed if she wanted her career back.
Even at the same weight there was the perception of what her body should be. She had to be thinner, taller, sleeker—more everything—to get back on top of the heap of girls who came along every day.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been out of the paparazzi’s eye very long. Her husband had made certain she’d been on his arm for special events. The press asked if she planned to return to her career after the honeymoon was over. Xander had assured them several times that their life would be a never-ending honeymoon.
But Xander Tenoreno was a liar and horrible person. If there was a villain in her life, it would be him. She was walking away from the divorce almost destitute. She’d been a dumb kid and rushed into marriage without a prenup. He’d taken everything. They’d been playing whose divorce attorney was the toughest until she’d realized that she could start over if she walked away.
It didn’t matter. All she wanted was Miss Kitty, mainly to save her from the wrath of the household. None of the family was happy about the divorce. They didn’t believe in it and took ‘till death do you part’ very literally.
No matter what Xander said or did, he couldn’t keep her down. He could keep all of the money. According to her agent, she was still in high demand because of the public life she’d led, but she was almost old in model years. Old and only just celebrating her twenty-first birthday next week.
She looked around at the isolated parking lot and wondered if Xander was trying to frighten her. He didn’t have to try hard. Would Xander or his family stoop to something that would hurt her friends? She shook her head, answering herself. Even they wouldn’t be that public.
“What happened between you two, Sissy? Why did your Mr. Hunky-poo start sleeping around? He was so much fun to party with.” Linda asked, hands on her hips, expecting an answer.
Okay, everyone in the parking lot expected an answer. After all, her life was continually up for discussion. Her every move was up for debate.
The threats and demands had been plentiful after their wedding vows but she hadn’t told anyone. Not a soul. Not even her attorney. “I was supposed to stay at the mansion and be traipsed out whenever he needed someone to hang on his arm. It wasn’t my scene.”
“Barefoot, pregnant and cooking over a hot stove? You?” Janna laughed and everyone joined in.
That scenario would never have happened, but it was close. Of course she didn’t get pregnant. Then a dozen doctors all agreed that there was no reason they couldn’t have children. The consensus was that they shouldn’t be in such a hurry. Give it time. But Xander had just quit. He tended to want immediate gratification for everything he did. People seemed to show up injured if he didn’t.
“I don’t have to think about that anymore.” She laced her fingers, then pulled them apart, sitting on them to keep still. He can’t hurt me if I’m not there.
The Tenoreno family wanted her out of the way.
Gone. Forever.
As long as he’d finally agreed to give her Miss Kitty, she could leave Texas and never look back. She looked around at the isolated food trailer. No other cars. No parking lot lights. It was just such an odd place for a man who liked everything shiny and new.
Including his women.
“It’s eight forty-five. How long do we have to wait? That new band is opening at the Bat House. Is he always this late?” Darren paced.
“Yes. Time means nothing to him.” She’d never thought he’d be here on the dot. But if roles were reversed and she was the one late, he would euthanize Miss Kitty as he’d threatened more than once to keep Sissy in line.
A super big SUV drove by. Smoke curled from the dark windows as it slowed. The bass of the music inside echoed through her chest it was so loud. Her friends danced to the hip-hop rhythm.
“We need music,” Janna said, dancing to the fading beat over to the food truck window. “Come on. Can’t you open up for a second? Even for water?”
Sissy swatted at her neck and shivered. It felt like something was crawling on her. Or maybe someone had walked on her grave. Wasn’t that the saying? She discovered a tendril of her long hair had blown free from its intricate braid and tickled her skin. Her imagination had gone super wild.
As if she wasn’t already scared enough. Now the thought of spiders in her hair had her all itchy. Another vehicle approached the three-way intersection with the same low bass thump. Another SUV?
Was it her imagination or an odd premonition that made her stand and move to the side of the trailer? She didn’t know. But as the SUV drew even with the lot, she saw the gun barrel in the open window. She screamed. She dialed the number she’d had ready on her cell since they’d arrived.
The gunfire was maddeningly loud. She tried to get to the car. The gravel popped up in front of her hitting her legs first one direction and then the other. They shot all around her, missing. She was their target. She didn’t doubt that for a second.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
The voice was drowned out by more rapid fire of another weapon. Laughter from the men as they opened the car doors. She wanted to recognize one of the men who followed the Tenoreno family everywhere. She couldn’t be certain. But the family wanted her out of the way.
Gone. Forever.
There was nowhere to run. No one to call out to for help. She was about to die and wanted to scream louder. Scream hysterically.
The phone was still in her palm. She couldn’t be certain the police would respond. Her husband might have paid them to avoid the area. She prayed someone decent was on the other end of the call, trying to discover what was happening in this remote parking lot.
The gunfire stopped.
Sissy looked up, blinking hard to see her attackers. Maybe they were just trying to scare—another burst. Linda’s screams were cut off. Janna’s followed. Her eyes never shut as she fell to the ground.
The stinging fire in her side whipped her around. Another stabbed through her arm like a hot knife through butter...quick, silently tearing her flesh. A third and fourth pierced under her arm that had flown above her head.
Darren wrapped his arms around her but they fell. She landed hard under him. His body protected her from the full force of the bullets. The white gravel that had been hard to walk through minutes earlier turned dark. It registered but there was no pain. She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t speak.
The phone wasn’t in her hand. It had bounced away. The case had popped open, but the light was still on. Someone still listened.
It was interesting what registered in her mind during those few life-ending seconds. Trivial information like the spots of blood now on the metal legs of the table. Or the burned-out bulb on the twinkle lights at the rear of the lot.
The noise of the bass hip-hop and guns faded away to be replaced by sirens.
What did any detail around her matter? She’d been shot...more than once. She was about to die. There was no one left to truly grieve for her. She’d said goodbye to a greedy family long ago. Her only friends were dead because she hadn’t wanted to be alone to face her ex-husband.
After all their sacrifice, she would still die alone.
What good had she accomplished in her life? She knew how to walk in high heels and how to throw her hair over her shoulder before placing her hand on her hip.
Somehow she dragged her hand to her side and cried out from the pain. She wanted to tell someone the truth. Leave some sort of message about who had killed her. There wasn’t a way to reach her phone. She couldn’t move Darren.
Her last thought should have been about kittens
or something good. Instead the only thing that repeated over and over again was a never-to-be-seen headline...
Xander Tenoreno Had Killed His Wife, Sissy Jorgenson, and No One Would Ever Know.
Chapter One
Hico, Texas, present day
“Shirtless? Of course I’m shirtless.” Bryce Johnson yanked the muscle shirt over his head, catching it on his ear. “What legitimate undercover Texas Ranger mows a lawn trying to get a woman’s attention wearing a shirt?”
“I bet you have your glasses on, too.” There was a familiar sound from his partner, Jesse Ryder, as he held the phone to his chest and laughed. “And...um...don’t forget your Sig is showing.”
Bryce scrambled behind his back. He gave up and went inside to drop his weapon, shirt and glasses. He didn’t need to see up close to mow the lawn anyway. The briskness of the AC helped cool his frustration. A little.
“You know...” Jesse continued laughing. “If just taking your shirt off doesn’t work, you could try a speedo and a giant sombrero.”
“Har har har.”
Jesse should be giving him legitimate advice for his first undercover assignment. Not poking him with a big stick through the phone. It didn’t matter. His partner was three for three this morning and it seemed like Bryce was about to strike out.
This weekend was his final at bat.
“Seriously, man, is there a problem? If you don’t get her attention today, you might as well hang it up. They’re going to pull the plug and move on.”
“We don’t know for a fact this is Tenoreno’s ex-wife.”
“Now, look, Bryce. You sold Major Parker on this assignment because you were certain this woman was the ex. What’s changed your mind?”
“Nothing. But there’s been no evidence or action that solidifies my hunch either.”
“Hunch? Hunch?” Jesse’s voice rose in decibels and octaves. “You know how important this is to me, pal. The state’s attorney needs a slam dunk in the courtroom this fall. If this isn’t the ex, you need to move on and find her. We don’t have time for you to play a hunch.”