Scorned Justice: The Men of Texas Rangers Series #3 (Men of the Texas Rangers)

by Margaret Daley

  “He’s Tory’s brother. She shot him.”

  “Tory? Your stepmother?”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. She nodded her head. “She hates me.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. I hid outside when Rob fought his sister for the gun. She wanted to kill me. Rob wouldn’t do it.”

  He grabbed her hand and started for the front door. “Let’s go. We’re going to the hospital.”

  As he hurried toward his SUV, a patrol car sped down the street toward them. Kim moved to stand behind him, pressing close to him. One officer stopped behind Brody’s car and climbed out of his vehicle, pointing his weapon at him. Brody said, “I’m Ranger Brody Calhoun.” Another car—Charlie’s—turned onto the road. “Detective Charles Nelson can vouch for me. If you let me, I can show you my ID.”

  Charlie screeched to a halt and leapt out of his Ford. “Officer, he’s a Texas Ranger working the case.”

  The young patrol officer lowered his weapon.

  Charlie came around his vehicle and walked toward Brody, saying to the officer, “Go secure the crime scene.”

  “There’s a dead body in the kitchen,” Brody added as the young man walked toward the house. He brought Kim around from behind him. “You remember Detective Nelson.”

  “Yes.” She tore off the tip of her fingernail.

  “The person behind this is Tory, Thomas’s wife. She shot her brother, the one in the house. She may have gone to the hospital. I’m heading there. That’s where Rebecca and the others are.”

  “I’ll stay here and process the scene and get a BOLO out on Tory.”

  Brody looked down at the girl. “Which car is she driving, Kim? Did you see it?”

  “It’s white. That’s all I know. It isn’t one of our cars.”

  “Charlie, call the officer on duty at Thomas’s room and alert him, too.”

  While the detective made the call, Brody opened the passenger’s door for Kim, then rounded the back of his SUV.

  Before Brody climbed into his car, Charlie looked toward him and said. “The officer isn’t acting right—he’s taking too long to answer a simple question. I’m calling for backup.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He started for the hospital while placing a call to Rebecca’s cell, praying that either Hattie or his dad would pick up. He needed to stop them from going into the room until they knew what was happening. The fact that something was wrong with the officer meant Tory was probably there. With Rebecca.

  “Hattie, put Dad on the phone.” A few seconds later Brody’s father came on. “Tory is the one behind this. She and her brother. The brother is dead, but I think Tory is at the hospital in Thomas’s room with Rebecca. Stay where you are. Help is on the way.”

  “Son, I can’t do that. We’re on the elevator and almost to the fourth floor. I’ll keep Hattie and Aubrey at the nurse’s station, but I’ll go assess the situation.”

  “Dad, Tory killed her own brother. She is armed. I didn’t see the gun at the crime scene.”

  “Trust me. I’ve been a cop for thirty-three years.”

  Brody disconnected, his heart thumping rapidly against his ribcage. He made sure Kim was buckled up, and then drove as fast as he could.

  “Is Tory gonna kill my daddy and Aunt Becky?” Kim’s voice quivered with fear.

  Fear zipped through every part of him. To his very core. I may lose Rebecca.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat and said, “No, I won’t let her.” Please, Lord, make that true.

  Different scenarios flashed through Rebecca’s mind. “This is between you and me. Not my brother. I’ll go with you. You can use me as a hostage for your escape. You won’t make it otherwise.”

  “Why not? I’ll be gone before anyone knows I did it.”

  Pressed up against the side of Thomas’s bed, Rebecca felt his finger poke into her. He was awake and knew what was happening. But what could he do? He couldn’t get out of bed without help. He probably was groggy because he was on pain medication.

  Tory held the gun with one hand, her finger on the trigger, while she fumbled in her pocket. “I’d planned to kill him after taking care of Kim. J. R. couldn’t go through with it. He’s weak.”

  Keep her talking. “Who’s J. R.?”

  “My brother. He died because of you, too.” She withdrew a syringe and flicked off the cover of the needle. “He won’t suffer. This poison acts very fast.” Plunging the needle into the IV line, she released the solution to do its harm.

  “Don’t!” Rebecca yelled.

  At that moment, Thomas jerked his arm up, knocking the gun away from Tory as a shot went off, throwing Tory off balance. Rebecca lunged across the bed to yank the IV out of Thomas’s arm. The door slammed open. Sean rushed in with hospital security while Rebecca dove for Tory, who had raised the gun again.

  Tory’s hand locked around the revolver as Rebecca focused on turning the weapon away from herself, inch by inch. Tory pulled the trigger again, the sound of the blast temporarily deafening Rebecca. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Rebecca tightened her grip on the barrel and shoved it around toward Tory.

  “Shoot it now,” Rebecca muttered through clenched teeth, pinning Tory to the floor.

  “I’m here, Rebecca,” Sean said, placing a hand on her back while he knelt and put his weapon to Tory’s head. “It’s over. Let go of the gun.”

  Looking right into Tory’s eyes, Rebecca wasn’t sure she would let go, or, for that matter, had even heard Sean. Rebecca kept her grip on the barrel, shifting so that her full weight was on the woman.

  “Tory, you can end this. Now. Let go.” Rebecca forced her voice to a calm level while, inside, her stomach was a solid knot, her chest burned with the effort of restraining Tory.

  In a split second Rebecca saw the finality in Tory’s gaze and knew what she was going to do. Rebecca released her grip on the barrel and pulled back just as the shot went off, grazing a path along the upper part of Tory’s chest. The bullet lodged in the wall.

  In that moment, Rebecca yanked the revolver from Tory’s limp hand and sprang to her feet. Her body shook, and she fell back against the bed as Sean and the security guards grabbed Tory and pulled her to her feet, blood streaming from her shoulder.

  But alive. Relief flooded Rebecca.

  Her brother touched her. “You okay?”

  She turned, the gun still in her hand. “Are you?”

  “Yes. You must have gotten the IV out in time.” Thomas looked past her. “This is too much to take in. Tory? Why?”

  “Revenge. Pure and simple,” Rebecca said, clutching the side of the bed to keep herself upright. “But I wasn’t going to let her kill herself. I won’t sink to her level.”

  Energy draining from her legs, Rebecca tried to steady herself, but what had just happened finally sank in, and she felt herself going down. Strong arms wrapped around her and held her up.

  Brody plucked the gun from her hand and cradled her against him. “Thank the Lord you are alive,” he whispered against her ear. “I thought I might lose you.”

  Suddenly she didn’t care that his life’s work was law enforcement, not when she’d come so close to dying herself. Life was too precious not to cherish every moment God gave her. She turned within his arms and flung her arms around him. “Never.”

  Epilogue

  Rebecca stepped out onto the front porch at the ranch and found Brody leaning against the post, staring into the night sky. As she moved toward him, he turned, the glow from the Christmas lights illuminating his face.

  “I heard you escaped from the madhouse inside. Aubrey is excited to be going to her first midnight Christmas Eve service.” Rebecca went into his arms, the feel of them about her emphasizing how blessed she was to have found a second love in her life.

  “I needed to have a little chat with the Lord.”

  “About what?”

  “About the gift he has given me this year. One I never thought I would have.
You.” He sampled her lips and then deepened the kiss.

  She wound her arms around him. The sense of coming home filled every part of her. If nothing else, last September showed her how important it was to depend on God and not to fight what she was feeling toward Brody. The future was in the Lord’s hands and worrying about it didn’t change it. She would cherish every moment she had with Brody and be happy for that time. It was so much better than the alternative: being alone.

  “I’m glad you brought the subject of you and me up. I want to give you your Christmas present early.” She pulled a small wrapped box from her sweater pocket.

  “It’s not that early. In a couple of hours it will officially be Christmas.” He took the gift and unwrapped it. When he lifted the lid, he stared at the ring for a moment, then looked into her eyes. “What’s this mean?”

  “It’s called a wedding ring. Men don’t get engagement rings, so I had to settle for getting you that. This is my way of asking you to marry me. Soon. Thomas is getting stronger every day and walking now. The girls are much better now, and I don’t want Hattie and Sean to beat us to the altar. They’re talking of marrying and settling on that ranch down the road.”

  Brody chuckled. “Those are your only reasons for getting married?”

  “We could sneak a honeymoon in between the trials for Tory and Alexandrov. Two glorious weeks on some beach. Just you and me before we come back to our busy lives.”

  “So you’re okay with me being a Texas Ranger?”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s who you are. The more I’m around you, the more I see that.” She cupped his jaw. “How about me? Do you think you can handle being married to a judge?”

  “It’s who you are.”

  “Yes.” Three months ago she might have answered differently, but making sure there was justice in this world was important to her. After taking some time off to help her family mend, she went back to being a judge. She had the Lord on her side.

  “But are those the only reasons you want to marry me? Surely there’s something else.”

  Tapping her finger against her chin, she shifted and stared at the sky with its stars glittering bright in the darkness. “Hmm. Let me think.” She waited for a good minute, then looked at him. “Oh, there is one more reason. I love you with all my heart.”

  “You better.” His mouth claimed hers. “Because I love you,” he whispered against her lips, then pulled back and removed a small box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a large square-cut diamond ring. “Great minds think alike. I was going to propose after the midnight service tonight, but you beat me to it.” He took her left hand and slid the engagement ring on her finger. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes. It only took us twenty-five years to realize we are perfect for each other, so I don’t want to wait very much longer. I’m thinking a Valentine’s Day wedding.”

  Discussion Questions

  1. Rebecca Morgan is the judge on a high-profile trial of an important member in the Russian Mafia. Scare tactics are being used to affect the outcome of the trial. People are being intimidated not to testify. Rebecca is being intimidated, but she is determined to preside over the trial because justice is important to her. Have you ever had to fight for something you thought was important? Were there obstacles in your path? What did you do to overcome them?

  2. Forgiveness is hard to do. When you can’t forgive, it can often lead to wanting revenge. Is there someone you can’t forgive? Why? Is there a Bible verse that helps you with forgiveness?

  3. Have you ever wanted revenge against someone? Why? What did you do about that feeling?

  4. Who is your favorite character? Why?

  5. Rebecca remained strong through the death of her husband and not long after that her father, but when her older brother was critically injured, she began to question what the Lord was doing. What makes you question God and His plan for you?

  6. When Rebecca’s husband was killed in the line of duty, she was leery of becoming involved in a relationship, especially when that person was in the same profession as her husband. What makes you leery of a relationship?

  7. What is your favorite scene? Why?

  8. Brody’s dad, Sean, had a heart attack and was slowly recovering, but he felt useless and depressed. Sometimes people who have retired can feel that way. Sean wanted to feel he was doing his part, valued. What are some things we can do to help people feel important, valued?

  9. Brody’s job was to protect Rebecca. He was determined to do that and to get her to the courthouse and back home. To what lengths have you gone to protect someone? Where would you draw the line?

  Coming soon—

  Look for Book 4 in the Men of the Texas Rangers series—

  Severed Trust

  Prologue

  Standing at the gravesite, I stare at the coffin, my mom inside. Dead. I don’t understand. Why did she do it? Leave me and Dad?

  I glance at my father next to me, tears running down his face, and my own stay clumped in my throat. An ache spreads through my whole body.

  Memories of a few days before trying to wake up Mom send the terror through me all over again. I close my eyes, not wanting to remember, only to picture her sprawled on her bed, an empty bottle of pills next to her.

  I rub my hands across my face, trying to scrub the image from my mind.

  As the crowd thins, my aunt approaches Dad. “I have some ladies from the church lined up to bring food over. Are you sure you don’t want Bob and me at your house today? As they bring it, I can take care of it for you. You won’t have to worry about anything.”

  “No. I want to be left alone. Cancel them.”

  “I know you’re hurting. You shouldn’t be alone at this time.”

  My dad leans forward, his face inches from my aunt’s. “Don’t tell me what I need. I need her.”

  My aunt pulls my father away a few steps and lowers her voice, but not enough that I don’t hear what she says. “Paige was sick. She didn’t mean to kill herself.”

  Dad jerks away from my aunt, grabs my hand and tugs me toward the car. People try to stop him, but he ignores them.

  “Mom killed herself?” I ask as he drives toward our home.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  “How?”

  Still silent.

  “Dad?”

  He pulls into the driveway and twists toward me. “She didn’t want to be with us. She took sleeping pills so she never had to wake up.”

  Mom? Leave us on purpose? No, she loved me.

  “Go to Tommy’s house and play with him.” He pushes open his door and stomps to the house.

  I don’t know what to do. Tears finally flood my eyes. I blink and climb from the car. Instead of going to Tommy’s across the street, I trudge toward the porch. I need Dad. I need to understand.

  When I put my hand on the doorknob and turn it, a loud blast coming from inside, like a car backfiring, echoes through the air.

  1

  Fingering the necklace, Jared had given her for her seventeenth birthday, Kelly Winston cracked her bedroom door open. When she peeked out, her mother strode toward the staircase. Releasing a swoosh of air, Kelly snuck down the hall to her mom’s bathroom and pulled out the middle drawer where she kept her supply of medicine.

  Kelly picked up the first bottle of a painkiller her mother had started taking last winter after her car wreck. Kelly shook one into her palm. She grabbed the next bottle, not sure what these pills were, but she pocketed several of them anyway, then moved on to the next medication, an old one for anxiety her mom had taken when Dad divorced her and moved away. She took three of them.

  “Kelly,” her mother yelled from the foyer downstairs.

  She shot straight up, her heart pounding, but she didn’t hear any footsteps approaching.

  “Your date is here.”

  She drew in a deep breath to calm her rapid heartbeat and quickly closed the drawer. “Coming, Mom.”

  She stuffed the pi
lls she’d taken into her jean pocket and hurried from her mother’s bathroom before she came looking for her. When Kelly saw Jared standing next to her mom in the foyer, she smiled and nodded once.

  His mouth curving up, a dimple appearing in his left cheek, he winked at her.

  “When are you going to be home?” her mother asked as she walked toward the kitchen.

  “The party lasts until midnight so after that.”

  “Don’t wake me when you come in. I’m exhausted and hope to go to bed early.”

  “I won’t,” Kelly said, right before closing the front door. It was so easy to stay out when her mother took a sleeping pill. Mom would be out until tomorrow.

  “What did you get?” Jared rounded the front of his Porsche.

  After sliding into the front seat, she dug the dozen pills out of her pocket and laid her palm out flat to show him. “Painkillers, sleeping pills, and an assortment of others. Is that what you wanted?”

  “You did great. This will be fun.”

  “Are you sure your friends will be okay with me coming?”

  “You’re my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for over two months.” At the stoplight, Jared looked at her, his blue eyes gleaming with male appreciation. “You’re the most beautiful girl at Summerton High School. I’ll be the envy of every guy at the party.”

  Though his words flattered her, Kelly’s nerves tensed throughout her body. This was her first pill party. She’d heard of them from some of the other girls. She’d always wanted to be a part of the in crowd. Tonight she would be. Finally. All because Jared Montgomery, a hottie and a senior, had started dating her when she became one of the junior cheerleaders—after years of honing her skills and dieting constantly.

  When Jared parked behind a warehouse, Kelly glanced at some of the other expensive cars. A few she recognized. “The party is here?”

  “Yeah. This place isn’t in use right now. Perfect for what we want to do. Ready?”

  She nodded, laying her quivering fingers on the door handle.