Gunslinger

by Angi Morgan

  “All the time.” He knelt beside her to pick up the broken pieces. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “What did you expect when you announced that my ex could find me? Is he really looking again?”

  Their eyes met and held as he asked, “Again?”

  Nice eyes. Such a shame.

  Kylie mentally shook it off. None of the attraction was real. He was a flippin’ Texas Ranger and not the good-looking handyman across the street. He was here with sneaky ulterior motives. She stood, confused by all the emotions making her want to cry.

  Not in front of him, though. She would not cry until she was on a bus heading to the airport. No one cared if she cried on the bus.

  She carefully balanced the tray on the wooden porch rail and took a step toward the door. “Who was on the call you took and what did they say?”

  “Austin PD.”

  Her fingers wrapped around the screen door’s handle. “My case never made it to court. They assured me there was a lack of evidence. I have no idea what you’re referring to or why you’re here. So why don’t you just cut to the part where you’ve put my life in danger.”

  “Are you aware your father-in-law—”

  “Ex-father-in-law.”

  “Right. Look, Miss Jorgenson.”

  “Wrong again. My name is Kylie Scott. Sissy Jorgenson died with the first bullet. She doesn’t exist anymore.” She took advantage of Bryce’s awkward silence. He politely backed up to allow her to get inside and wedge the screen between them.

  A good hostess would open the screen farther and invite him into the kitchen. The hot July air was thick and getting hotter. A bead of sweat rolled across her skin and wedged between her breasts, squeezed together by her sports bra.

  Her voice and body might appear to be calm, but she was hyperaware of every second of panic she stopped from bubbling to the surface. Knees about to buckle, she wanted to run inside and leave the handsome Texas Ranger locked out on her stoop.

  Bryce took off his hat, getting closer to the screen. He raised his hand toward the handle, but changed his mind at the last minute.

  “I’m not sure what I can say. It was never my intention to use scare tactics to get you to listen to me. I wanted you to trust me before I had to tell you.”

  “That was never going to happen. I can’t—won’t—trust anyone like that again. You’re wasting your time. Not to mention the taxpayers’ dollars.” She let the screen shut but didn’t make a move to close the inner door. Why was she was putting off the inevitable?

  Maybe she didn’t want to leave. Or shoot, it really was because his concerned look crinkled the corner of his eyes. And he looked different without his glasses. Maybe that wasn’t concern and he just couldn’t focus.

  Whatever the reason, he’d taken his hat off and his hair had a cute little flip where his hat had rested. He was seriously adorable-looking—whether guys liked to be thought of that way or not. And yes, she didn’t want to shut the door in his face.

  “The gentlemanly thing for you to do is leave now.” She edged the door closed a little more.

  “You’re right. Leaving would be polite. But right now, I’m a Texas Ranger...not a gentleman.”

  The screen popped open and her reflexes moved her backward into the kitchen. He was through the door quickly, shutting it and turning the dead bolt. Once that was done he turned to her, hat in hand, bare-chested and terribly sunburned.

  “You’ll forgive me, Kylie. I’ve got my orders and I need to make sure you’re clear on a few facts.” He gestured to the small table in the corner. She joined him. “You see, someone—we assume Tenoreno—is actively looking for you. His father is in jail awaiting trial for murdering his mother.”

  “I heard. Don’t you think I keep up with them?”

  “What you might not know is that we think Xander doesn’t want his father cleared. He’s taking over the family business. He also knows that we’re building a case against him. You can help strengthen the state’s case.” He leaned forward on his knees, slowly spinning that silly straw hat brim through his fingers.

  “No. No. No. A thousand times no. I don’t have any evidence to help you. Don’t you think I tried that before the divorce? If I could have blackmailed him for my freedom, I would have.”

  “The rumors aren’t true, then.” He totally looked the part of a workingman. Somebody who fixed things for a living. He’s not, she reminded herself, staying angry. He deceived her and all the residents of Hico.

  “Does Mrs. Mackey know you’re a cop?” She placed both her feet flat on the ground and sat straight in her chair. She knew all about body language and she was being as inhospitable as possible.

  “Not a cop.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Technicalities mostly. Honor. A code that’s hard to understand.” He set the hat on one knee and leaned back against the vinyl chair.

  She understood all too well why he winced. It was the reason she wore a special UV-protected shirt with long sleeves. “I have some aloe that will help that burn.”

  “I’ll be okay. If you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions about the Tenorenos—” He pulled free of the chair, gritting his teeth so hard the muscles jumped in his jaw.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Summing up her options had become second nature. She hadn’t been spontaneous in five lonely years. It had taken over an hour to decide to ask Bryce to retrieve her pole saw.

  Should she grab the handgun she’d hidden in the bathroom in case of a bad situation like this?

  It should have already been decided. She’d weighed all the variables when she’d bought the gun and learned how to use it. If Bryce hadn’t been in the house, she’d be talking to herself, debating. But he was in the house and he’d most likely leave if she just asked.

  That was the rub. She hadn’t asked.

  Why? She was ready to move past living this way and had made the decision after she’d met him last week. That’s why. He was already part of an idea that would rescue her from her routine.

  She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. The gun was in a hidden compartment behind a picture. It had taken her weeks to build it herself. The result was amateurish, but it was covered by a frame and no one knew about it.

  Pulling the aloe from the cupboard, she longed to be brave or a little fearless. It had been quite a while since she’d felt like life was to be lived with reckless abandon.

  “Get lost?” Bryce’s deep voice penetrated her body like a shock. He stood at the edge of the kitchen. He hadn’t followed.

  Her breath caught in her throat like an air bubble or hiccup. Maybe it was more like trying not to cry. Whatever it was, she was uncertain and confused. There was no reason to automatically trust this man.

  No reason to help him with answers about the Tenorenos or his sunburn.

  Bottle of lotion in hand, she turned to his smiling pink face confident that she’d thought out her plan a thousand times and it was the right thing to do. She shoved the lotion into his chest. He caught it with one hand while the other held on to his hat.

  “As much as I want to celebrate five years of freedom, I know that I’ll never be free from the Tenoreno family. I had hopes but nothing will change that. So I’d like you to leave, Bryce. Just go away.”

  * * *

  BRYCE HAD BEEN asked to leave. As a Texas Ranger, he should. As a man who had delivered news that clearly upset this woman...he couldn’t.

  “You have no reason to trust me, Kylie.” He watched her chest rise, inhaling air to state her defense and pushed on before she could. “I do see why trusting anyone would be almost impossible. You asked me what the difference was between a cop and a Texas Ranger. We don’t have an agenda.”

  “I’d still like you to leave and I think you have to now.”

  “I’m not leaving until I explain.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t.” She flattened against the wall.

  Was she afraid? She shou
ld be. Her ex-husband was turning out to be as bad and deceptive as his father. “Xander Tenoreno lost the police detail this morning. There’s a chance he could be headed here.”

  He wondered how Kylie had ever managed to fool anyone about her fake history. With every mention of her ex’s name she paled and practically became a different person. Her entire demeanor changed. Now was no different, her eyes darted to the bath, her hand rubbed her side—probably one of the bullet-wound scars.

  “You told Xander so you could get me to do your bidding. You’re all the same. Out only for your own selfish interests—”

  “Kylie!” He raised his voice and reached for her wrist.

  A couple of seconds later, the bottle of lotion she’d given him went flying against the wall and he was lying on his back wondering how he’d been outmaneuvered.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I’ve done that in practice, but never... I didn’t mean to—oh, no.” Kylie knelt next to him alternating between a pat on his shoulder and his head.

  “You’ve been taking...martial arts.” He needed a second to get his lungs working correctly.

  “Aikido. It just sort of kicked in. I knew I was nervous. I guess I should have tried to calm down.” She covered her mouth. “Can you get up?”

  “I think I’ll just wait here for a second.”

  She smiled. It was worth being knocked to his back to see her relax enough to smile like that.

  “You know, I never thought it would work. The moves are so practiced and mechanical. This is really sort of cool.”

  “Tell that to my back.”

  “I’m so sorry. Are you going to be okay?” Her touch was cooling to his burning skin.

  “All but my pride. If that’s an auto response, I’d hate to see what you can do when you’re deliberately provoked.”

  “I’d probably freeze in my tracks.” She looked comfortable. His knees would be screaming sitting bent like that.

  “Is that why you have a gun stashed back there?”

  “What? How did you know?”

  “Your reaction.” He rose to one elbow. “The way you keep looking in that direction. You almost twitched.”

  Her blond hair framed her face as she leaned forward. “I can see that I need to practice my self-control.”

  “Well you sure as hell don’t need to practice throwing a man to the ground. That was more than a little embarrassing.”

  “Part of aikido is to react without thinking. Defending yourself without giving away what you’re about to do. I’ve practiced during class, but there hasn’t been any reason to actually use it here in Hico.”

  “Until now.” He stretched his back, confident everything was still in one piece. “I didn’t mean to make you feel threatened.”

  “The only thing you did was reemphasize my reality. I was fooling myself thinking things would change.”

  She was retreating again. Talking behind her hand, wrapping the other around her waist. He wasn’t going to let her demonstrate more aikido to make her feel better. He pulled himself to a sitting position and leaned against the wall.

  “Can you hand me that lotion? Maybe rub some on my back and shoulders before I go?”

  “Okay, guy from down the street, you’re definitely ready to leave.” She tossed the bottle to his gut.

  He trapped it, squeezed some of the green goo on his palm and slapped his shoulder. “I really could use some help.”

  “You managed to get burned all by yourself.”

  “You’re joking, but the reason I’m burned is because I was trying to impress you.”

  She scooted on her knees to be next to him, extending her hand. He swiped the lotion onto her fingers. She squirted a lot more across his shoulders, the sudden chill made him wince.

  What a change a couple of minutes made. She’d been so frightened that she’d flipped him to his back with a defensive move and now she was rubbing aloe on his shoulders. She’d also gone from petrified to smiling.

  “My research might have given an indication of who we were searching for, triggering someone else’s search. I trust everyone who I’m directly involved with in this case. But some parts of it are out of my control. I didn’t mean to lead your ex-husband to you.”

  The light rubbing across his shoulders slowed for a second. Kylie spread the aloe, remaining silent behind him with her face and expressions hidden. He didn’t want her to be nervous again. He preferred her smiling. So did his back.

  “Your aikido. That was a great move. What’s it called?”

  “Aiki otoshi. It’s a blending drop. I like it because you don’t have to lift or flip your opponent.”

  “I noticed that. You hit my knees together and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop the fall. You’re good. That wasn’t a beginner’s move.”

  She moved away, replacing the cap to the lotion. “Keep it.”

  “Even though I didn’t mean to put you in danger, I think you need to come with me, Kylie. We can keep you safe.”

  They were sitting on the floor. She’d created a corner where she could see both doors, but was protected from anyone looking inside by the couch and walls. He noticed the mirrors strategically hung on the wall and one on a bookshelf.

  Kylie Scott had a lot of precautions in place. She’d studied self-defense and probably was a crack shot with whatever weapon she had hidden in her bathroom. But it still wasn’t a match for a man with endless resources and contacts like her ex-husband.

  “You didn’t see anything while you lived in the house? Is there any place he might keep important files?” he asked.

  “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but didn’t the murders earlier this year get you inside that bleak mansion?”

  “Only relating to the murders. The Tenorenos’ lawyers made certain of that.”

  “Look, Bryce. I know you think you can protect me. You may really want to. But we both know it’s just not true. At some point you’ll have to walk away and I’ll be alone. I can’t worry about other people. I have to think about staying alive.”

  “Come to Waco. Let the attorneys run some questions past you. We’ll keep it confidential. No one will know, but you might be able to help us shut down their operation.”

  “Stop it. I wasn’t around their daily deals with lowlifes. When I stayed there I was kept from everything. No one helped me. Isabella was such a nice woman, but never on my side. It was her son one hundred percent.” Kylie stood and pointed toward the door.

  “You don’t have to face this alone.” He got to his feet, making one last plea. “We can help you put him away for the murders of your friends.”

  She covered her face with both hands. She looked up with determination, shaking her head.

  “You said Xander wanted to take over the business. He doesn’t need to find me to do that. He never believed in divorce and couldn’t stand the idea that I would leave him. Plain and simple, as soon as I left him, he wanted me dead.”

  Chapter Three

  “I know she’s going to run. What do you want me to do about it?” Bryce had taken only enough time to change his clothes. The aloe on his shoulders helped the initial sting, but he should have worn a T-shirt. Now was not the time to be concerned about sunburn pain.

  “Follow her,” Major Parker said firmly. “You’re certain she understands the consequences of rejecting our offer of protection?”

  “Yes, sir.” He rubbed his lower back. “She thinks she can take care of herself.”

  “It was good work finding her, Johnson. Real good work.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I just hope she doesn’t get killed.

  Hico, Texas wasn’t large. It wasn’t even a medium-sized town. If Kylie Scott was headed out of town, she really was at a crossroads to head in any direction. She’d given him no indication where that might be.

  Maybe he could rule out east to Waco. Northeast toward Fort Worth and an international airport? Northwest to Stephenville and too many small towns to name? Or southwest
to Mexico? There wasn’t a warrant. No reason to detain her. No legal reason to keep her from running.

  Whichever direction she decided, it would be today. He’d seen that look in her eyes. Panicked with a plan. She was leaving, all right. And it looked like her ride had just pulled up.

  The old Chevy pickup stopped by Kylie’s house most afternoons. She worked two part-time jobs and the older man gave her rides. Bryce had met her at the Billy the Kid Museum downtown where she walked a mile to work three days a week.

  The other job he’d heard about from Mrs. Mackey. Fred Snell drove her to ranches right outside town where she worked cleaning barns with teens who needed community service. Mrs. Mackey had elaborated that Kylie was a good listener.

  This afternoon she looked like every afternoon she hitched a ride. Nothing more than a small backpack in her hand and a pair of work gloves. But he’d seen that look.

  Fred backed up out of the driveway. Without a plan of what he was going to do, Bryce stepped off his porch and jogged to the street. He waved Fred over. Kylie glared at him, but rolled down the window.

  “Hey, Kylie. Mr. Snell, I think Mrs. Mackey introduced us at the café last Wednesday. Nice to see you again.” The older gent bobbed his head. “I was wondering if you could use another hand.”

  “What’s that? I’m a little hard of hearing.”

  “He asked if he could come with us today.” Kylie shook her head.

  Fred looked around her and squinted at the window. “Yeah, you’re Mackey’s handyman. We can always use another pair of young hands and a strong back. We’re clearing some brush out at the Childerses’s. Scoot over to the middle, Kylie.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, Fred.” She looked from one man to the other. Bryce could tell she was scrambling for an excuse to not open the door. “He needs gloves and has a horrible sunburn. He might get sick from it.”

  “Nonsense, Kylie. I have lots of extra gloves. You hand ’em out to the kids. Plenty of men work when their shoulders are red. Besides, you make us use sunscreen.” He nodded and the debate was over.

  Kylie scooted while he opened the door. Her eyes shot daggers—no other way to describe it—into Bryce’s heart. He should be a dead man after those sharp points had stabbed him multiple times.