Chapter Five

      “This has gone far enough, Avery. You’ve had your fun, now unlock the door. You can’t leave me here even overnight. We need to call the state’s attorney.”

      Did she really want Jesse to spend the night in jail? It wasn’t as if he’d really broken the law or anything. She was exacting her revenge the best way she could. The only way she could, really. So, yes, he would.

      She smiled, doing an about-face straight into Martha Coburn. She’d followed them through the booking area asking why they’d bypassed it. “Jesse Ryder is definitely staying the night with us.”

      He cursed. Martha jerked at the profanity.

      “Sorry, ma’am. When I get out of here, Avery, I’m going to paddle your behind like I used to in junior high,” he shouted.

      She shut the hall door on the loud clang of his boot kicking the bars. She recognized the sound well, having made the same gesture once or twice herself during her stay. “I think he needs to calm down a bit before we do any paperwork.”

      “You know that’s not protocol, Avery. Is there something wrong with him?” Martha asked, tapping her temple. “I mean, he’s claiming to be a Texas Ranger.”

      “How do we go about getting a psych evaluation?” She tried to be serious. If Martha’s reaction was an indicator, Avery had been successful. “Oh, I’m just kidding. We knew each other a long time ago and he...” She raised her hand to whisper behind it even though no one else was there. “He got a little fresh, if you know what I mean. I’m just teaching him a lesson.”

      “I see.” Martha crossed her arms, looking completely like an old-fashioned schoolmarm. “Dan’s done that a time or two in his day. I’m not one for telling stories that aren’t mine to tell, but he has a couple of doozies.”

      “I can’t wait to hear those. I better get back out there. Never can tell who’s breaking the law before dawn on the weeknight.” She did look forward to those stories about Dan setting someone straight. Maybe it would lessen the rampage she already expected when he found out what she’d done.

      Or maybe it would lessen the concern her boss had about her safety when he discovered she’d taken care of herself. It didn’t really matter. The satisfaction of keeping Jesse in jail was worth the chiding she’d receive from Dan.

      Now that her heart wasn’t racing ninety to nothing, it bothered her that Jesse would come up with a wild tale about an assassin...or was it? After Garrison had volunteered to spend his time until trial in a safe house, she’d done her own investigation into the Tenoreno family. She’d taken extra precautions.

      Just because she was on her own didn’t mean she was an idiot. She’d installed extra locks on the windows and doors of her rental house. Installed security lights to the point her neighbors had raised their concerns with Dan. She’d even spent a day trimming back the hedge and trees so she had line of sight to the road and sidewalks. Her landlord nearly had a cow, but admitted it was safer for a single woman—even if that woman carried a gun.

      Maybe she was an idiot after all. Jesse wouldn’t lie about his concerns for her safety. He was the one guy she’d known who just didn’t lie. And he wouldn’t take off work and come all this way for...for what?

      Just because Paul Tenoreno was in jail didn’t mean that the crime family’s money and influence would be stopped. She sat in her truck and waited, watching the jail instead of heading back to the highway. Some of that Texas Mafia money could have prevented the warning Jesse claimed the State’s Attorney’s Office should have made. But what if...?

      She jumped from the truck, locking it on her run across the street to the office. “Julie?” She raised her voice to get their dispatcher’s attention in the back.

      “Oh, hi, Avery.” She poked her head around the corner. Her cute wireless headset still sat on top of her head. “I thought you said you were—”

      “Did Dan have any messages you were keeping until he got back?”

      “Avery, you told me to keep all his messages. Remember? You said the big guy deserved time with his family.” She thumbed through a pad of sticky notes. “This is everything that’s come in since he’s been gone. Well, his calls, that is. All three of us are keeping them in the same place.”

      “May I take a look?”

      “Sure.” Julie passed the notes.

      Each page of the lined pad that had been used was folded back, easy to thumb through. One had a scribble about teenagers shooting beer bottles and a note that it had been passed on to Derek to check out. Another from an unfamiliar number. The last on the list that afternoon was from a 512 area code and marked urgent.

      “What about this one? Did they leave a message?”

      Julie looked closely. “I bet Mrs. Lena took that. She said they asked for Dan and wouldn’t talk with anyone else. Was it important? Should I call him now and pass on the number?”

      “No. It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.” An Austin area code, asking for Dan and no one else meant... “Shoot. Jesse’s telling the truth. You mentioned a man came in to see me. What did he look like? How was he dressed?”

      “Oh, I don’t know, Avery. Nice looking enough, about late thirties or early forties. Sort of stylish in a Western kind of way. Hair hung below his collar. It was the only thing that just didn’t seem to match the rest of him.”

      “That’s not Jesse. Man alive, I’ve messed up.” She pushed the pads of her hands into the corners of her eyes, blocking all the light, wishing she could block the image of Jesse’s face when she’d mentioned this stranger. “Does Dan ever need a forensic artist?”

      “I can ask Mrs. Lena when she gets here in the morning. Why?”

      “I have a feeling that the man avoided the camera and we’ll need a drawing from your description. I’ll check the video, but I’d like a name to call if I’m correct.”

      “You mean a criminal came in here tonight? I was talking to a genuine criminal?” Julie’s face lit up in a smile.

      There was no way Avery was going to tell Julie the truth. But she’d need someone to stay with her until this man was caught. If she could identify him, then she was in danger.

      “I’d just like to know who was claiming to be a close family friend.”

      Hopefully that would quiet Julie’s curiosity. And unfortunately, she’d have to let Jesse out. Or maybe not. Perhaps the safest way to talk to him was with steel bars between them. It might become very public, though. And once she was mad enough, she might just ask about their fated night.

      The night she thought things were changing between them. She’d changed clothes and he’d changed locations. Think of something calming.

      So maybe a nonconfrontational approach to his release was a better idea. She’d send word to release Jesse with the shift change, leave instructions to take him to his rental car and give him directions to her house. She’d apologize first thing.

      Privately apologize for not listening more carefully about the possible assassin. But for sticking him in jail...never. He deserved that. When the yelling began, they’d be in the privacy of her home. Then they could work out a plan to catch whoever the Tenorenos had hired.

      Yes, she believed him. Now that she was calm and could reason without his Texas-size smile in her face. But she wouldn’t leave her job. Nope. She had responsibilities. Dan was counting on her to keep things under control while he was gone. She couldn’t pick up and run every time someone threatened her brother.

      Or threatened her pride.