Chapter Twelve

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Jace was well aware that Kit, Brandon, and he had gotten damn lucky. And he hated that luck had played such a big part in them all being alive.

No such luck for Arnold Cassaine, AKA Rattler.

The man had died from the two gunshot wounds to his head. Kill shots that Angel had fired to save them. Later, he'd thank his foster brother. Thank him big time. But for now, Angel was helping to mop up the crime scene.

Ruby had stepped in to make sure Jace was excluded from the mopping up. Instead, after Kit and he had given their statements to the cops, Ruby had told Jace to take Kit back to his house where she'd be safe. He'd readily agreed to that because while Brandon had been rescued and Rattler was dead, the threat to Kit was as strong as ever.

And the stress of that was clearly showing in her body language.

Her shoulders were tight, her expression strained while she paced and talked on the phone to Brandon. Along with that, she'd had to use her inhaler again.

Jace didn't think Brandon was telling her any bad news. Just the opposite. The young man hadn't been injured. However, he'd had to go to the hospital for yet another checkup.

His second one in twenty-four hours.

Jace was betting Brandon was feeling a whole lot of stress, too.

Heck, her entire family was. After all, Marvin's trial was tomorrow, and Trevor or Ramsey could end up being arrested. Maybe Deanna, too, depending on what she knew was going on.

All three had already been interviewed by the cops about the kidnapping, and Ramsey had insisted those two shots that'd hit the SUV hadn't been aimed at Kit. That he'd simply missed.

Jace wasn't buying that.

Neither was Kit or the cops, but so far, Ramsey remained a free man. There could be charges stemming from what Trevor and he had done, but those charges wouldn't include attempted murder of his daughter since there was no proof of his having that intent.

At best, Jace figured that Ramsey might face a reckless endangerment charge from this latest incident. Might. But with good lawyers, which he had, he would probably just get a slap on the wrist.

Neither Trevor nor Deanna had confessed to any wrongdoing either. However, at least one thing had been cleared up with their statements.

Why Trevor, Ramsey, and Deanna had arrived on the scene.

According to Ramsey, he'd gotten a ransom demand as well, and he, too, had already transferred a half million by the time they'd shown up. On the frantic drive to Jace's, apparently Trevor and Ramsey had decided to kill the kidnapper so they could free Brandon.

A stupid plan, considering Brandon was caught in the middle.

Trevor and Ramsey had been cocksure they could save the day. And Brandon. But Jace had to wonder if Ramsey had considered that his own son was the one who'd set up the kidnapping? That it was his own son who might be milking him for a million-dollar ransom while doing the same to Kit?

It was hard for Jace to think of Trevor putting Brandon in danger like that, but if Trevor was desperate enough for money, that might have spurred him to do desperate things. And if he managed to collect the two million and kill the kidnapper, then dead men could tell no tales. With Rattler out of the picture, there'd be no one to point the finger at Trevor.

Kit finished her call with her nephew, her gaze immediately going across the room to where Jace was sitting at his desk. Their eyes locked for a couple of long moments before she glanced at the monitor. Reports and drone feed were scrolling across the screen.

"Brandon's not being admitted to the hospital," she relayed to him. "And he's going home to stay with his parents. They have a good security system."

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Brandon does know that Trevor and/or your father could have been the one to hire Rattler?"

She nodded. "He's aware of that. Aware, too, that Ramsey might have tried to kill me today, and Brandon has said he'll be careful." Kit scrubbed her hand over her face. "He mainly wants to stay with them so he can search for any evidence of his father's involvement."

Jace groaned, then cursed.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction," she assured him. "It's dangerous, but Brandon insists he wants to catch the person responsible for what's happening to him. To us," she tacked onto that.

Hell, a lot of people wanted to catch the person, but Jace didn't think being under the roof of a primary suspect was the way to go. Especially since Ramsey would have easy access to the house. And therefore to Brandon. Still, he couldn't stop an adult from staying with their own parents.

"While you were on the phone, I got a message from Ruby," Jace told her. "Marvin has resurfaced, alive and well. He's staying with his lawyer at an undisclosed location."

If Marvin was innocent, Jace could understand why he wouldn't want the cops or anyone else to know where he was. But if he was guilty, Marvin could be hiding away so he could plan another way of getting to Kit.

"Please tell me they rounded up all those snakes," Kit said, tipping her head to the drone feed of the scene going on outside his gate.

It was the usual circus that went along with a fatality. Cops, CSIs, and the medical examiner's van. But there was an added elements to this.

Animal control.

"They got three," Jace told her. "Not sure how many were in the bag that Rattler threw out."

Since it was obvious the thought of those snakes was only adding to her stress levels, he went to her and pulled her into his arms. "Rattlesnakes aren't normally aggressive unless they're cornered or startled. I suspect if any slithered away, then they're trying to get as far from all those responders as they can."

He wouldn't mention that this was the Texas Hill Country where snakes were plentiful.

"I need some good news," she muttered, dropping her head on his shoulder. "Has either Ruby or the cops linked Rattler to any of our persons of interest other than Marvin?"

"No," he had to admit. "Of course, the cops have already questioned Marvin now that he's been in contact with them, but he's claiming he had nothing to do with the kidnapping and that he'd tried to warn us about Rattler."

And Marvin had indeed issued such a warning. Too bad it hadn't come in time for the cops to find Rattler and stop Brandon from being kidnapped.

"Ruby did manage to stop the second half of the ransom transfer," Jace let her know.

Still, Kit had lost a half of a million on this. She'd likely consider that no loss at all though since Brandon was alive and well. But Jace wasn't giving up. Once the danger had passed and he was sure she was safe, he intended to keep digging to try to recoup her money.

"Now, the cops and Ruby will monitor the financials of our suspects to see if any of them have a windfall of a million," Jace added. "Half from you and half from your father, who paid the ransom for Trevor."

Kit lifted her head, looked at him. "If it's Trevor behind the kidnapping, he'll be very careful about that. He'll try to hide it."

"Oh, yeah. And if it's Marvin or your father, they'll do the same. Ramsey could have ponied up the ramson, knowing he'd get it back in that offshore account." He paused. "Still, trying to hide that kind of funds and succeeding are two different things. Ruby's techs are very good at charging down a money trail."

And so was Jace. It was something he'd worked on during his first two years as a cop.

"My father," she muttered. "Yes, he could have orchestrated this. A win-win for him. He gets a chunk of my money along with hoping I'll be too scared or intimidated that I won't testify tomorrow. I'm not," she assured her.

He'd known she would say that. Kit didn't back down from a fight.

Except she had when she'd gotten the annulment.

And maybe that's why her father had tried this approach to stopping her testimony. Ramsey could have believed if she thought Brandon was in danger, that could cause her to back off.

After all, that's what she'd sort of done when the threat had been to Angel, Presley, and him. But back then, Ramsey had been bullying a nineteen-year-old. Now, he was dealing with a grown woman. A tough one who'd stand her ground.

Jace admired her for that, and at the same time was worried to the bone about her safety.

He'd gone a very long time without Kit being back in his life. Well, with the exception of those hookups. But now that she was here and in his arms, he didn't want to lose her. Especially not to someone trying to silence her. However, Jace realized that "not losing her" applied on a personal level, too.

"Hell," he muttered.

That brought her gaze back to his, and he expected her to question him about the frustration that even he could hear in his own voice.

She didn't.

Kit sighed. "Yes, you and I will need to work out some things," she said.

He steeled himself up for a long conversation. One he'd welcome since it would clear the air between them. But Kit didn't go for talk.

She went for a kiss instead.

Leaning in, she pressed her mouth to his and just kept on pressing until it became a full-fledged kiss.

Jace reacted, of course. He always reacted to Kit, and his mood turned on a dime. He went from frustration to total heat. Total need. Yeah, Kit had his number all right, and the good thing? He had hers. He revved up some of her own heat by hauling her closer to him and deepening the kiss.

There it was. That slam he always got from her taste, from the feel of her mouth on his. From the way her body fit against him. He wasn't sure he totally bought the whole soulmate things, but at times like this, it certainly felt as if Kit and he had been meant to be together.

Soon, very soon, the battle between them began. Not on opposite sides but a burning need to be closer. To have more of each other. With the kiss raging on, Jace began to back her toward the sofa. He also slid his hand between them. Not to the front of her top this time.

He needed more.

And so did Kit.

Instead, he shoved up her top, pushed down the cups of her bra and took his mouth to her breasts. The pleasure shot through, and it was mutual, judging from the sound Kit made.

He kept kissing her, taking her nipple into his mouth while he continued to get her to the sofa. And damn near tripped over the coffee table in the process. That put a temporary pause button on the nipple kisses since he had to look up to see where they were going.

Kit took advantage of his distraction. She went after his shirt, shucking it off him and sending it flying. Then, as he'd done, she slid her mouth down to his chest. Her breath and her tongue went to work, skyrocketing the heat and driving him mad in the process.

He had to have her.

Now.

Since the having meant full-blown sex, Jace scooped her up in his arms and headed for his bedroom. "Condoms in the nightstand," he managed to say when she whimpered at no longer having her mouth on him.

Well, not on his chest anyway.

Kit went back to kissing him. And touching him. Her hands on his back, urging him closer and closer until he finally adjusted her position so that her legs were wrapped around him, and her center was pressed against his dick.

His dick very much appreciated all the wiggling around she was doing, but the appreciation was also urging him on. Not in a gentle way either. That particular part of him was demanding that Jace had to take her now.

So, he did.

Jace eased her onto his bed, following on top of her. Kissing her and going after her clothes. He needed her to be naked.

Thankfully, Kit helped with that, shimmying out of her top and bra. Then, her shoes and jeans. She would have rid herself of the panties, too, but Jace stepped up to do that. His dick wanted fast and hard, but he personally wanted a little savoring.

Hovering over her, he kissed her breasts again. Savoring indeed. And he went lower. To her stomach. To the front of her panties. That gave him a jolt of fresh pleasure, but the jolt went off the charts when he eased off her panties and kissed her in the center of all that heat.

Yeah, this was savoring all right.

Kit bucked beneath him and grabbed onto his hair. Clearly, this was a sweet torture for her, and he could have maybe finished her off then and there if she hadn't turned the tables on him.

She hooked her legs around his waist again, levering herself up to unzip him and shove down his jeans. "Condom," she gutted out.

Somehow, he managed to fish around in the nightstand drawer and find one. She took things from there by putting it on him. Not a gentle process either. She was either trying to give him his own dose of sweet torture or make this a hand job.

Jace didn't want that.

Apparently, neither did Kit because the second she got on the condom, she took hold of his butt, shoving him forward so that he drove into her.

No sweet torture now. This was an intense pleasure and heat that roared through him, creating a need that wouldn't be denied. His dick took charge and started the hard, deep strokes that fired up the pleasure even more.

And would make all of this end too soon.

It ended damn fast for Kit.

Then again, hours would be too fast.

He felt the climax ripple through her, so Jace gave her what she needed to latch onto every bit of that amazing high that came with release. When she went slack, when she was spent, Jace let himself follow her.

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