Chapter Nineteen

"Mom," Brandon shouted.

"No," Kit muttered.

She hadn't wanted Brandon to be part of this. She especially didn't want it since Jace and she were already facing enough guns, what with Deanna and those two ski mask wearing thugs.

Thugs who were now taking aim at Brandon.

"Don't shoot him," Deanna shouted to the pair. "That's my son. Don't you dare shoot him."

That had Kit rethinking that Brandon was indeed involved in the attack. If he was, then Deanna's order was maybe some kind of trick so that Brandon could get closer to Jace and her and finish the job his mother had started.

Deanna kept her attention pinned on her son. "Brandon," she said, and there was something in her sister-in-law's voice. Something that Kit couldn't quite put her finger on, but it seemed to be a bone-deep regret.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Brandon demanded while he fired glances around. He seemed horrified by what he was seeing.

His mother's shoulder was bleeding. Real blood. And there was what Kit believed was fake blood on her face. That'd been part of the ploy to get Jace and her out of the house so Deanna could kill them.

But why?

Apparently, Brandon wanted to know the same thing.

"Get out of here, Brandon," Deanna ordered. "Go home. I'll meet you there and explain everything."

Brandon frantically shook his head. "I found Dad. He was drugged and tied up in his office, but he was able to tell me that you'd done this to him. What the hell, Mom? Why did you do that?"

Deanna cursed, and while the distress was all over her face, there was still plenty of anger. "Because he ruined us, that's why. He made one stupid investment after the other, and worse, he included me on some of those deals. That means I could have ended up in prison right along with his sorry ass. Better for him to take the blame for something that he started than to drag me into it."

Brandon stared at her, the horror of what she was saying sinking in. "You were going to kill him?"

"No." Deanna was adamant about that. "But I was going to make him pay. For this." She used the gun to motion at Kit. "For everything," she added, her voice cracking on that last word. "He should have stopped his sister from threatening to testify. At least Ramsey tried to do something to stop her, but your father just sat back and whined about it. Well, I'm not whining," she shouted. "I'm saving myself and you."

Brandon groaned, and pressing his hands to the sides of his head, he dropped to his knees. "Mom," he managed to say though his voice was a tangled stew of emotions. Shock, hurt, and the realization of what his mother had done.

"You tried to kill me?" Brandon asked.

"No, baby." Deanna was adamant about that, too. "Of course, not. I didn't want you hurt. I just wanted the ransom money." That came out as a shout as well. "That moron, Rattler, didn't do as I told him. He didn't listen, and I'm glad he's dead and rotting in hell. Soon, his asshole friend will be right there with him."

"Do you mean Marvin Shoemaker?" Brandon pressed.

"That's exactly who I mean. He'll soon be dead," Deanna spat out. "He was supposed to be my next stop, and then I got shot. But I have backup." She tipped her head to the two thugs. "And unlike Rattler, they won't screw it up. Then, you and I can get on with our normal lives. We won't have to live with the risk of prison, being humiliated or broke. I have enough money now to give us a fresh start."

So, there it was. The confession that linked all the pieces of this nasty puzzle together.

And the motive was all about money.

If Kit testified, then that would trigger Marvin's plea deal, which in turn would have sent Ramsey, Trevor, and Deanna to jail. But if Deanna could kill Kit and Jace and somehow pin that on Marvin, then there'd be no testimony, which would in turn greatly minimize the chances of her going to jail.

"This ends now," Deanna snarled.

And she turned and took aim at the window again. She fired, the shot blasting through the SUV and creating a quarter-sized hole in the glass.

For several heart-stopping moments, Kit thought Deanna had managed to shoot Jace, but she hadn't. The bullet had instead gone straight through the SUV and smacked into the passenger's side window.

Jace moved, and he did it much faster than Kit thought he could. Obviously, he was getting back some of the feeling in his hands because he put the barrel of the gun directly against that hole in the window.

Deanna screamed again. Clearly, that was her default reaction. Then again, the woman was way out of her depth, even with the two hired men who, according to her, were willing to commit murder.

"No," Brandon shouted.

But along with the screaming, Deanna brought up the gun again. And Jace pulled the trigger first.

The shot slammed into her chest. Deanna froze, her startled gaze lowering to the blood that was spreading across the front of her shirt.

"Kill them," Deanna managed to say before she dropped to her knees. "Kill them all except my baby."

The gunmen clearly obeyed their boss, and they started firing.

Kit wanted to shout out for Brandon to drop to the ground, but there was no way he'd hear her over the barrage of thick blasts. And the blasts weren't only coming from the hired thugs either. Angel was firing at them, and Jace managed to open the door. Staying low, he stepped out. He obviously was still a little unsteady because he used the side of the SUV as an anchor.

Kit stayed low as well, and she turned in the seat so she could see what was going on. And what was going on was a full-throttle gunfight. One of the hired men was firing at Angel. The other at Jace. Ahead of her, Brandon was on the ground, his hands covering his head, but he was still alive.

For now, anyway.

Kit whirled her attention back to the gunmen, and she saw the rear window crack and web from a bullet. Then, she saw the next two shots rip a hole in it. The fourth bullet slammed into the dash.

And Jace was outside the vehicle, in the middle of that.

God, he could be killed.

Kit resisted calling out for him to get him back inside. Resisting, too, taking hold of him and pulling into the SUV. No way was he a hundred percent, but she couldn't add to his disadvantage by distracting him.

However, maybe she could distract the gunmen.

She threw open the passenger's side door, and as she'd hoped the gunman leaned out, no doubt trying to shoot her as she stepped from the SUV. But she didn't get out. She stayed put, and Angel put two bullets in the SOB's chest.

Just as Deanna had done, the guy crumpled onto the road.

Despite having just seen his boss and comrade die, the second man didn't back down. In fact, his gunfire increased, and he was sending a spray of bullets at Angel and them.

Kit looked on in horror as Jace bolted out of her line of sight, running to the back of the SUV. For several heart stopping moments, she thought he'd been shot, and she scrambled across the seat to try to help him.

But unlike Deanna and the now-dead gunman, Jace was very much alive.

Jace dropped to the ground, rolled to his right, and when he stopped, the weight of his upper body was on his forearms. He took aim.

And he fired, doing exactly what he'd been trained to do.

Jace ended the threat then and there.