Chapter Seven

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Kit stared at the message, and while it was a huge gut punch, she not only read it, she took out her own phone and clicked a photo of it.

The text was from an unknown number, probably another burner, and the message was crystal clear.

"Understood," she read aloud. "When I have Malley, I'll make the ransom demand for a million. As soon as your sister pays, I'll silence both of them for good."

"A million," she repeated, and she looked at Jace. "Yes, I have that much, and yes, I would have paid the ransom."

He cursed and was no doubt about to launch into an argument of why that would have been a bad idea. But she had her own argument about that.

"I would have paid it in such a way that it could hopefully be traced by Ruby's techs, and then I would have tried to escape," she spelled out.

Escape. From something her own brother had set up.

Her nerves were already zinging all over the place, and that certainly didn't help settle them any. It was hard to tamp down the sickening dread of knowing that her brother had orchestrated Jace's and her murders. And according to the time and date on the text, he'd been informed of those arrangements the night before. So, before he'd even come into her office and drank the poison.

Did the timing for that fit?

Maybe.

"If Trevor was going to have us kidnapped, then why do the poison ploy?" she came out and asked.

"It's possible he wasn't responsible for that," Jace said, and then he quickly tacked on that, "You don't pay a ransom for me, understand?"

His nerves had to be zinging, too, but he sure as heck wasn't showing any signs of it. "Moot point," she finally countered. "Because neither one of us is going to be kidnapped."

She hoped.

Since she didn't want the cops or someone else trying to open the elevator before they were done, she checked for other messages on the burner.

None.

And the burner wasn't set to save copies of sent emails. Maybe though that was something the police lab could dig out.

Kit went onto the second phone, and like the first, it contained a single text with no record of a reply. According to the date and time stamp, this one had come before the ransom one.

" Holding area is complete ," it read. " No one will hear her scream once she's inside ."

That sure didn't help her nerves, but thankfully it pissed her off. Rather than voice any of that anger, Kit took a picture of the message and moved to the third phone. Repeating the pattern, it had one text, no replies.

"Understood," Jace read aloud this time. "Your son isn't to be harmed."

That was both comforting and confusing. "Then, who just tried to kill Brandon if the plan was to keep him out of this?"

Jace lifted his shoulder. "Maybe Trevor changed his mind when he realized Brandon had taken the phones."

That was possible, but Kit found it nearly impossible to wrap her head around the possibility that Trevor would allow someone to hurt Brandon. Then again, it was hard to wrap her mind around any of this.

"Are you all right?" someone called out, and then someone knocked on the elevator door.

"It's one of the cops," Jace explained, and he took the bag from her and released the door so it'd open.

One of the uniformed officers was standing there, and he seemed to take a breath of relief when he saw them. "Uh, Detective Malley," the cop said. According to his nametag, he was Mark Summers. "I mean, Mr. Malley."

"Jace," he offered. "Did you find the shooter?"

"No," Summers was quick to say. "But the ambulance is here, and when I called up to tell Angel, he mentioned you and Miss Barclay were on your way down to the bottom level. I got worried when I didn't see you."

"We're fine," Jace assured him, "and I need for you to take this into evidence. Brandon Barclay will explain how and where he found it."

"He found it because someone planted it," Kit heard her brother shout, and she looked over the cop's shoulder to see Trevor storming toward them.

Her father and Deanna were right behind him. Angel and Brandon, too, and as Jace had done to her, Angel had Brandon positioned near the wall and was protecting her nephew with his body.

"I'm sorry," Brandon said, looking and sounding plenty distressed. "I let it slip about the phones."

"Phones that you planted," Trevor snarled, aiming the accusation at Kit. He reached out to snatch the bag from the cop, but both Jace and Summers blocked him.

"I'm taking these into evidence," Officer Summers insisted.

"You're taking lies and deceit into evidence," Trevor snapped. He flung an accusing finger at Kit. "She did this. She's setting me up."

"I haven't been to your office in months," Kit reminded him.

"Then, you paid someone to put them there. Someone like him," Now, Trevor shifted his hard stare to Jace.

"Yes, Malley would have done this," Ramsey piped up. "He would do anything to get back at my family. He was nothing but a gold-digging lowlife nineteen years ago, and that hasn't changed."

Jace didn't appear to give in to the anger.

Kit did.

"You scumbag, piece of shit," she fired back, stepping toward her father. "I let you beat me down back then but not now. Jace is a far better man than you'll ever be."

The rage shot through Ramsey's eyes, and he actually lunged at her. Jace moved in front of her and gripped onto her father's shoulders. "Lay one hand on her, and she'll be the last person you ever touch."

Jace hadn't shouted. And unlike her father, there wasn't that tight rage in his tone. It was dangerously calm. Ramsey stepped back. No calmness for him though. But he did manage a smirk.

"You'll always be a lowlife," Ramsey muttered under his breath.

Something snapped inside Kit. All those years of pent-up anger. All those years of loathing her father for what he'd done to Jace and her. Instead of punching Ramsey to wipe that smirk off his face, she went in another direction.

She kissed Jace.

Her mouth landed on his, and she pressed hard, hard and way too deep considering the kiss wasn't, well, real.

Kit wasn't sure who was more surprised by what she'd done—Jace or her father. She didn't wait around to find out either. She came out of the elevator, threading her way past her family and Angel. Of course, Jace didn't let her leave alone. He was right behind her as Angel motioned for them to step to the side with him.

With the anger still fueling pretty much everything about her, Kit had to force herself to throttle back, and she braced herself for some kind of remark from Angel or Jace about that kiss.

But the remarks didn't come.

"I've worked it out so we can all give our statements to the cops later today," Angel said. He looked at Jace. "And considering the shooting, I suggest you skip going to Kit's home and office and go straight to your place."

"I agree," Jace said darn fast.

Kit nearly questioned the "your place" part of that, but Angel continued.

"Slade just arrived to take over bodyguard duty for Brandon so the three of us can leave right now." He motioned to the beefy man who was now standing next to Brandon.

"Slade?" Kit asked.

"One of the team," Jace supplied. "He's good." He tipped his head in greeting to Slade and then glanced back at Officer Summers, who was in the process of leaving with the bag of phones.

Trevor was trailing along behind him, protesting his innocence, but thankfully Summers wasn't stopping. He looked like a cop on a mission.

"There's another set of stairs this way," Angel explained, leading them in the opposite direction. "And there are enough cops and first responders here so the shooter probably isn't going to make a return visit."

Kit had to agree, especially since the person who likely hired the shooter was on scene as well. Either Ramsey or Trevor. But it still didn't feel right that one of them would have hired someone to hurt Brandon.

She glanced over her shoulder at Brandon and mouthed, "Stay safe."

"You do the same," Brandon answered back.

Jace, Angel, and she hurried down the set of stairs and headed straight for their vehicles. The parking lot was indeed swarming with responders, but Angel had greased the way for their exit because the uniformed officer standing at the parking lot exit waved them through.

" Scumbag, piece of shit ," Jace murmured, repeating what she'd said to her father. He took the turn out of the parking lot and headed toward the interstate. "Ever called him that before?"

"Not aloud," Kit admitted.

Then, she chuckled at recalling the look of shock on her father's face. Of course, the anger had quickly followed. Both hers and Ramsey's.

And that had spurred her to kiss Jace.

In hindsight, it had been stupid. Along with giving Ramsey an unnecessary jab, it had stirred up way too many memories for her. Memories of the heat between Jace and her.

Of the sex.

Yes, playing with that kind of fire had been stupid. And what was even worse than that was she wanted to do it again. Thankfully, there were so many other things to help get her mind off the intense attraction she felt for her ex.

Kit laid out one of her concerns. "Why would Trevor have included a ransom demand in his kidnapping plot? He doesn't need money," she added. "He inherited the bulk of our paternal grandparents' estate."

"Maybe it was to try to add some authenticity to the demand. If you believed you could save me by handing over money, you might do it."

"I would do it," she insisted, and then she immediately saw Jace's point.

The kidnapper might have thought the ransom would give her hope that Jace would walk away from it. Hope that might have possibly prevented her from fighting back since Jace was the leverage.

"Roy," Jace said, waking his app, "do a financial run on Trevor Barclay."

"Will do," Roy assured him.

Jace glanced at her. "Go ahead and send Ruby the photos of the texts you took. She can start having those analyzed as well."

She certainly hadn't forgotten about the text, but it brought on another slam of emotions for her to pull up the photos and look at them again.

Understood. When I have Malley, I'll make the ransom demand for a million. As soon as your sister pays, I'll silence both of them for good .

Holding area is complete . No one will hear her scream once she's inside .

Understood. Your son isn't to be harmed .

"Understood," she repeated while she fired off the photos to Ruby. "That implies there were some other instructions from Trevor, but again, where are they? Are there more phones somewhere?"

"Maybe. Or maybe there were phone conversations or actual meetings. I can look into that once I'm at my place and start pouring through traffic cams and such. Ruby's techs have created a program to thread all the camera feed together and apply facial recognition. With some luck, I might be able to trace Trevor's movements over the past couple of days."

At the mention of his place, Kit realized she had no idea where that was. She had kept tabs on Jace over the years, reading anything she could get her hands on about his decorated military career and his time as a cop.

She wouldn't mention that to him.

So, she had the broad strokes of his life, but Kit had resisted digging into the more personal details.

And that brought her to a very unsettling possibility.

"Are you involved with anyone?" she blurted. "If so, I'll apologize for that kiss."

For the briefest of seconds, his cool blue eyes met hers. "I'm not involved with anyone, and that kiss was for show. It doesn't count."

He was right about the show part. But for Kit, it still counted since it was a reminder of what they'd once had.

Correction: what they still had.

Though it was possible the heat was one-sided and that Jace hadn't felt it the way she had. He glanced at her again. Causing her to amend that thought.

The heat was not one-sided.

And that meant it was quickly going to become a huge problem. A distraction that neither of them needed.

She stewed about that while Jace drove out of the city and into the Hill Country. Both rugged and beautiful. Here, homes were built on towering chalk bluffs amid the sprawling ranches that dotted the area. Her father's estate was in the Hill Country as well, a place he'd bought the year after Kit had left for college.

"I always figured you'd live in the city," she said. After all, he was born and raised in San Antonio.

"I did when I worked at SAPD, but I bought this place after I started working for Ruby. Several of the Maverick Ops team live out here." He paused and took a turn off the main road. "I wanted a fresh start. Lots of memories in the city," he added in a murmur.

Kit thought he meant more than just their brief marriage and annulment. His mom had been a heavy drug user, and with his father never in the picture, Jace had ended up in foster care after she'd overdosed. Jace hadn't talked a lot about that, but Kit had gotten the feeling that foster care hadn't always been a good situation. That had changed with the last one when he'd met Angel and Presley, and they'd become as close as brothers.

With Angel following right behind them, Jace took several more turns until he reached a metal security gate, and she saw the ranch stretch out behind it. Acres of pastures, all surrounded by a high wooden rail fence. There were wide enough gaps in the slats of the fence for her to spot two horses grazing around a tree-shaded pond.

"Definitely not the city," she said, taking it all in.

"No," he agreed. "Ruby had several houses built out here. Several places built in the city, too. And she sells or rents them to her operatives. I wanted to buy," he tacked onto that.

Jace used a voice command on his app to open the gate, and they drove through just as a text flashed on the dash from Angel.

"Peeling off now," Angel messaged. "Call me if you need to leave."

"Angel's place is just up the road," Jace let her know. "He opted to buy as well."

It didn't surprise her that they had chosen to be neighbors. For them, brotherhood wasn't about blood lines but rather the lives they'd forged together in foster care.

"My father's isn't too far from here either," she pointed out because she thought it was something he should know.

Jace frowned. "I figured as much when you were talking about Marvin's attack on his girlfriend at your father's estate. You mentioned Bandera Bluffs and the town's only about six miles away."

She could tell he would have preferred more distance between his place and Ramsey's. Kit couldn't blame him. But six miles was still plenty, and she doubted her father would be dropping in for an impromptu visit.

Jace gave the command to close the gate and drove about a hundred yards to a log and white limestone house.

"Wow," she muttered, taking it all in.

The place looked like something straight out of an architectural magazine. Good for him. He deserved this.

What he hadn't deserved was the hell she'd put him through with their marriage. Or the hell that her father was trying to dump on him now. She only hoped her father wasn't able to get back at Jace in some way.

All those years that she'd spent staving off the threat could be for nothing if Ramsey still found a way to ruin Jace.

Or kill him.

"I know what you're thinking," he said, pulling into a garage. He closed the garage door but didn't get out. "A lot of money went into this place. But I'm waiving my fee for this job. For you," he amended.

"Um, that wasn't what I was thinking." However, she was glad he hadn't guessed what had indeed been on her mind. "And you're not waving your fee. You're putting yourself in danger to keep me safe, and you deserve to be paid."

He undid his seatbelt and turned to her so fast that it startled her. Kit let out a little gasp of surprise. A gasp that was quickly covered up when Jace took hold of her, pulling her to him as much as her own seatbelt would allow.

And he kissed her.

Really, kissed her.

He slid his hand behind the back of her neck, angling her so he could better take her mouth. And he took it all right. He instantly made the kiss French, and the taste of him, the feel of him, sprinted through her.

Oh, mercy.

She made another sound, but this time it was part whimper, part pleasure. All heat. And the memories came flooding back. Not the bad ones this time.

Nope.

These were flashes of their naked bodies pressed together. Flashes of the insatiable need that drove them for more, more, more.

Jace gave her more right now. He flooded every inch of her body with that fire, and he left her gasping for breath. And wanting a whole lot more.

He eased back, his gaze locking with hers. "That kiss wasn't for show," he drawled.

Then, cursing under his breath, Jace moved away from her as if she'd scalded him, and he got out of the SUV. Kit didn't get out. Couldn't. In fact, she wasn't sure she could move yet, so she just sat there until Jace came around to the passenger's side and opened the door.

"Do you want an apology for that kiss?" he asked. Or rather, he snapped that out. There was anger in his voice, but she knew it wasn't directed at her.

But rather at himself.

He would see that kiss as a lapse in his judgment and willpower, something he shouldn't be doing on the job. She'd seen it as a first break in the barriers they'd set up between them.

"No apology needed," she managed to assure him, though she had to gather her breath before she could speak.

Jace gave a sharp nod, grumbled something she didn't catch, and then he motioned for her to follow him inside. Somehow, she managed that, too, despite her legs being wobbly. Heck, all of her was wobbly.

And wanting more.

Kit had to shove this fresh need for him aside and go into the house so they could get started on work. As much as she wanted them down, the barriers between them would have to stay in place for a bit longer.

She stepped into the cool A/C of the mudroom. And was surrounded by walls of boxes. They were on both sides and stacked practically to the ceiling.

"I just moved in last month," he said, "and I've been on nonstop training assignments. Haven't had a lot of time to unpack. Roy, secure the house," he tacked onto that without so much as a pause.

In an instant, she heard the click of locks, and she was betting Roy had also activated a state-of-the-art security system.

Jace led her into a huge room with an open-plan living, dining, and kitchen. There were more boxes here, along with what appeared to be a new leather sofa set the color of fresh butter.

There was no bachelor pad or rich man's vibe. It was bright and airy, and would no doubt get plenty of natural light thanks to the dozen or so skylights and the floor-to-ceiling windows. Right now, it was dusk, so what she was getting was some amazing views of the moon and the wispy white clouds moving in front of it.

Dusk meant it wouldn't be long before nightfall.

When she would have to spend the night under the same roof as Jace.

It'd been a while since that'd happened. And after that kiss, it had felt like much too long. It was definitely going to be a challenge for her to keep her hands, and mouth, off him.

Well, maybe.

The fatigue was taking over fast. Probably a combination of a hellish long day mixed with an adrenaline crash from the attack at Brandon's. She'd stay awake to get started on the investigation, but she'd need to rest soon.

Without Jace nearby.

Her body whined at that notion, but she had to ignore the whining. And just focus on staying alive. Because if the killer got to her, he also got to Jace, and she didn't want Jace dying to try to save her.

"The office is through there," Jace explained, pointing to a door off the living area. "I'll have Roy start the reports while I grab us something to drink. Are you hungry?"

She didn't get a chance to respond because his phone rang. "Ruby," he muttered, glancing at the screen. And he put the call on speaker.

"Jace," Ruby greeted. "I just got a call from Marvin Shoemaker."

There it was again, that stomach churning effect she got just by hearing the SOB's name.

"What did he want?" Jace asked.

"To talk to Kit. Not over the phone," Ruby quickly added. "He wants to meet with the two of you in person, and he wants to set up the time and the place."

"I'll bet he does," Jace grumbled. "That way, he might get the chance to silence Kit for good."

"That could possibly be what he has in mind, and I certainly gave him no guarantees that a meeting would happen."

"How did Marvin even know to contact you so you could relay a message to Kit?" Jace pressed.

"Apparently, someone in the apartment complex recorded the shooting and the aftermath and then posted it on social media. The cops have the recording now," Ruby was quick to add.

Good. Maybe they could analyze it and get some useful info about the shooter. But Kit figured the would-be killer could be analyzing it as well and maybe using it to get info about Jace and her. Such as where they'd been heading after the attack.

"The news media aired the recording," Ruby continued a moment later. And after saying that, she huffed. "And Marvin saw Angel and you. He claims he then did some digging and learned that you worked for me."

"You don't buy his story?" Kit came out and asked.

"I don't buy anything he has to say," Ruby fired back. "Marvin could have learned about Jace from Trevor or Ramsey. Or heck, from the shooter if Marvin is the one who hired him."

That last scenario would make more sense than Trevor hiring a gunman. After all, Brandon had been hurt. Not seriously, but he could have been killed if he'd been in the wrong spot in the apartment. And she still couldn't see Trevor putting Brandon in danger like that.

"Marvin insists that he knows who's trying to kill you," Ruby added a moment later.

"Who?" Kit demanded.

"He won't say." Ruby sighed again. "Marvin insisted that the only person he'll tell is you ."

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