Jace sank back against his seat and ran his hands over his face. “Fifteen minutes. If whatever Podunk police force isn’t here by then, I’m coming in after your ass.”
Reid gave a quick nod and pushed open the car door to climb out. After double-checking the gun was secured, he quickly made his way toward the house. He had never shot anything besides a paper target at a shooting range—he’d always been too much of an animal lover to even join Patrick on his biannual hunting trips. But Reid knew if Davis had hurt either one of the women, he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot the fucker right in the heart. Or maybe tear him limb from limb with his bare hands. A gunshot might be too humane.
He stared at the door for a moment, not sure if he should try to sneak in. This was Texas—people tended to shoot first, ask questions later. If he had the wrong house, he’d get shot regardless of if Davis was on the other side or not. Better to make sure he was on the right track first. Knowing Davis he’d probably be arrogant enough to answer the door, pretend everything was fine.r: Roni Loren
Davis grasped her arm. “Not so fast, sweetheart. We need to take care of business before we get to have happy reunion time.”
Kelsey’s gaze met hers, her terror palpable. Roslyn stalked over to the chair and unsnapped the gag, but when her sister tried to talk only wretched sobs escaped.
“Kels, shh, I’m here. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out. Shh…” Brynn knew the words were empty, but they tumbled out anyway.
Her sister shook her head frantically, her eyes wild. “No, it’s not okay. She’s the one.”
Brynn frowned. “Kels, I don’t understand.”
Roslyn’s tone turned sharp. “Stop the blabbering.”
Her sister inhaled a ragged breath and met Brynn’s gaze. “She killed Mom.”
Brynn’s knees went weak beneath her, and Davis began a slow, measured clap.
“You know it only took her three days to figure out the connection. And who said strippers were dumb?” He gave his winning, politician smile.
“Shut up, Davis.” Roslyn tucked the gun in her waistband.
“Wait, what?” Brynn asked, her thoughts whirling like her brain had been thrown into a blender. She shook her head vehemently, unable to believe what her sister had just said. “No, Hank killed Mom. All the evidence was there. The fingerprints, the stolen money.”
Tears freely dripped from Kelsey’s eyes. “No, B. I told you. He was messed up, but he wasn’t a killer. All the evidence was circumstantial. You knew that.”
Brynn squeezed her eyes shut, the news too shocking for her mind to assimilate.
Reid had been right?
“Yes,” Roslyn agreed, her tone smug. “Circumstantial evidence the idiot prosecutor had no idea how to present. I never thought it would be so difficult to throw a case. But luckily Hank didn’t have the best record. No jury has sympathy for a pathetic junkie.”
“Why?” Brynn asked, the question sounding more like a plea. “Why would you kill her?”
Roslyn pressed her lips together, impatience coloring her seemingly ageless features. “Because she didn’t know when to quit. My husband paid her fairly for years to keep quiet about you, but when he threw his hat in the governor’s race, she saw a bigger meal ticket. Patrick was going to give her whatever she wanted—he’s always been soft when it came to you and that bitch—but I wasn’t going to put up with her blackmail anymore. Getting knocked up by one of your customers doesn’t mean you get a salary for life.”
Brynn blinked, dumbfounded. She thought of the man who’d given her a job out of the blue all those years ago—when she’d needed it most. The way he’d always offered her overtime. “Patrick’s my dad?”
“Yes, how do you think you landed that receptionist job? His stupid decision to hire you almost sent Reid down the exact same path he had gone. Men are so weak.” She shook her head, her tone full of disgust. “But I couldn’t stand by and watch my sister’s only son make the same mistakes. If I hadn’t had Davis fix that situation, I’m sure you’d have ruined Reid’s future before it even got started.”
Brynn swayed on her feet.
The rape had been planned?
Holy God. She and her sister weren’t getting out of here. These people had long fallen off the sanity train. She cut a look at Davis. “Why would you help her?”
Davis shrugged as if the question were unimportant.
Roslyn smiled, the effect chilling. “You weren’t the first of Davis’s problematic dalliances. Let’s just say if the world knew of all the girls he’d unleashed his little weakness on, he would’ve never made it to where he has. Lucky for him, I’m good at keeping secrets if the favor is returned.”
Brynn inhaled deep breaths through her nose, trying to fight off the urge to vomit on the shiny tiled floor.
Roslyn stalked around Kelsey’s chair, then laid her hands on the back of it. “Now, we were hoping not to involve you, but Kelsey here has been rather uncooperative. We know she has evidence incriminating a J. Kennedy as the murderer, and I can’t have anyone figuring out that your mother used to call Davis and I John and Jackie when we met with her, now can I?”
Her sister bit her lip. “I told you where I put the evidence.”