this was a bad idea.” He’d never live this story down if it got out.
“You think?”
“Look, Elf Face—”
“Come on, Jesse. You can’t call me that. Your face is the one in the dirt. I’m in my uniform, for crying out loud. Using my nickname stopped working on me ages ago.”
He didn’t believe that for a minute. She’d already removed her knee and her voice had spunk again instead of anger. So, yeah, using the name worked.
With her knee gone, he rolled uncomfortably to his back. Her voice might have calmed, but the look on her face hadn’t. Intense. Jaded. The anger made her eyes narrow. Of course, they’d been narrowed and upset like that each time she looked at him since they’d slept—well, didn’t sleep—together.
If he explained everything, she wouldn’t listen. He should have called her before he got on the plane. He dialed when he was waiting on the rental car. Somehow telling her over the phone just didn’t seem like a good idea. He’d gone through the pros and cons of telling her.
The cons won out. He simply didn’t trust her not to take matters into her own hands. He’d driven like a race-car driver to get to her side before something happened. Or before she led Snake Eyes into a trap of her own.
“You’re seriously going to put me in jail?”
Her lips turned up in a smile. It was easier to give in. At least she’d be indoors and protected, not running around searching for the man who’d asked about her at the desk. Once he spoke with the sheriff, they could work together to set the ground rules for Avery.
“Let’s get this over with.” He rolled onto the grass again. Loose gravel from the side of the road stuck in his knees as he tried to get up without his hands. “You’ll have to help.”
“It’s pretty funny watching you.”
“Come on, Avery. If our man was at the sheriff’s office, we should get out of here. He might be stalking you right now.” He cursed under his breath for bringing attention to the man bold enough to walk into the county jail. It didn’t matter. Avery ignored the warning and stood strong.
Acting as if it was against her better judgment to touch him, she helped him stand. Hands on the cuffs, she guided him to the patrol car, shoving him inside and locking the doors.
She opened her own and dropped her hat on the passenger seat.
“Will you at least get my stuff? There’s a bag in the trunk. Maybe lock the car, grab the keys. It’s a rental.”
She stood and tapped the roof. Slow taps. One fingernail. He recognized the signal of the internal debate she was having. He remembered when that action became a habit right after her dad had been killed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
That was when she stopped arguing as much. The more her brother’s feeling had been disguised with charm, the more hers had been pushed down deep. He hadn’t realized it until years later. Way past the point of return. He’d always been in the middle between her and her brother. Their parents called him the peacekeeper.
Some peacekeeper.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Avery and Garrison had been inseparable twins before their father was killed in the line of duty. Afterward, they became fierce competitors. She’d even tried out for the football team with them.
It wasn’t pleasant around the neighborhood when she was forced by her mother to play volleyball. Even if she had been their star player for four years. She was so damn tall it was a given. Didn’t hurt that she could actually spike the ball and scare the other girls from the net.
The fingernail against the metal roof stopped. He heard her feet crunching gravel, then the click of the radio as she walked away. The duffel he’d packed was lifted from the trunk and dropped to the ground.
“Check inside,” he told her. If she did, she’d see his weapons. She’d know he was telling the truth.
She ignored his command to look, locked the car and engaged the alarm. There wasn’t anything else he could do at this point. He had to wait to have his story verified by Sheriff Myers.
And he had to keep his mouth shut. He couldn’t afford to tick her off any more—as evidenced by her fast and false arrest. She needed him whether she liked it or not.
“Julie, I’m coming in with a... ETA is six minutes. Out.”
“That’s great. I’ll let everybody know.”
“Could you ask her to have the sheriff meet us there? I’m sure he’ll be able to straighten out this whole mess.”
“No.”
“Dammit, Avery. Enough is enough. I’ve got a job to do.”
“It’s not up to me. Dan’s in Dallas. His daughter just had a baby. He won’t be back for another four days.”
“When did he leave?”
“Three days ago.”
No one from the State’s Attorney’s Office had explained the situation to the Dallam County Sheriff’s Department. Hell. He was on his own.
“Elf Face?”
“Stop calling me that.” She shifted back and forth uncomfortably in her seat as she buckled up.
“You’re not really going to put me in jail. Are you?”
“You bet your last dollar I’m going to. Of course, the cell isn’t as comfy as Dan made mine, but it’s not bad. Hardly any privacy, but that shouldn’t bother you. Right?” She pulled onto the deserted highway and pushed the gas to the floor. “I mean, you don’t care for anyone’s privacy. Or their private life. Or things like suggesting their boss incarcerate them for their own good. Things like that are second nature to you. They don’t bother you at all.”
Jesse closed his eyes and let her rip into him, knowing he was the only person around who could save her life. She was going to force him to take that night in jail. He’d be lucky if he didn’t receive life in prison for wanting to hug a deputy.
There she was... Avery Travis had returned early to process a prisoner. A Texas Ranger prisoner. How fun was that?
The foot traffic in and out of the county jail was higher than Snake Eyes had anticipated. A point in his favor that his employer hadn’t put a rush on the job. He’d have to get creative with this one...a deputy and the additional bonus of a real Texas Ranger.
He couldn’t take one without the other. If he did, there would be too many complications. Both were quite competent. He was aware of their history, of them growing up as neighbors. He had expected that Jesse Ryder would come when Avery went missing.
This was better. Much better.
Now he could widen his plan to include them both and not be bothered with searches. How convenient.
Finding out the prisoner was Jesse Ryder took no skill. Walking in the shadows across the street from the jail, he’d overheard Jesse as they’d gone inside. Not all the conversation, just what had bounced between the buildings.
It was time to go. There was no longer a need to discover vulnerable extraction points. Unfortunately, Jesse’s arrival would delay the extraction while he fortified his plan. If the Rangers were involved, then it meant they knew about his contract. Maybe not the details, or his name—
Well, no one knew his name, as he was very careful not to be identified. He’d taken precautions. Lots of precautions. Even the criminals who employed him didn’t know. Frustrated officers referred to him as the Snake Eyes Killer.
Assassin was