Texas Hunt. Barb Han

with Dylan and Samantha. Maribel’s keeping an eye on him. She calls him her little brother. It’s cute.” Lori broke into another sob. Dylan and Samantha were longtime friends. Maribel was Dylan’s three-year-old daughter. The three of them made a beautiful family. Grayson would be safe in their care. “I know he wasn’t always there for us, but he was our dad. And now he’s gone.”

      “I loved him, too.” It was surreal to speak about him in the past tense. “It’s okay to cry.”

      “No, it’s not. I should be more like you.”

      “Calloused?” Lisa said quickly before she shattered into a tiny thousand pieces. The only thing worse than holding on to her horrible secret was seeing her baby sister in pain.

      “I was going to say brave.” Lori leaned into Lisa and sobbed.

      With Beckett’s father being hunted, this might be the right time to expose the family for the monsters they truly were. And yet she hadn’t reported the crime fifteen years ago. Could she come forward now and accuse Beckett? Would anyone believe her?

      Maybe Ryan knew about Beckett’s family. Hadn’t the Alcorns tried to take his father’s land? Then again, if she asked him too many questions he might just figure out she was hiding something and force her hand. He was more persistent than a pit bull searching for a bone when it came to finding the truth. She’d also seen how dedicated he’d been to his brother when Justin had been in trouble. Would he do the same for her?

      If anyone could understand or help, Ryan could.

      He’d been devastated when his own mother walked out on the family. He’d acted tough on the outside, but Lisa saw past the front he’d put up. She’d seen the pain buried deep down because it was just like hers.

      Lisa knew pain.

      On second thought, exposing Beckett now was a bad idea. First of all, he’d take away everything she loved. Then he’d kill her. Or worse, he wouldn’t.

      She needed to figure out a way to keep her family safe without alarming them. The Alcorns’ number was almost up and she’d be on the front row of the court trial when it happened, cheering when the sentence was delivered.

      Until then, she had to figure out a way to keep her family safe.

      Every fiber in her being urged her to warn her sister about what might come next, that she and Grayson could be in grave danger. But what if no one believed her?

      She lay in a hospital bed with possible head trauma. She had no evidence for an accusation against Beckett. Most people believed him to be a good person and felt sorry for him after news broke about his father.

      Lisa had to weigh her options carefully. If she told Lori and Ryan the truth and they questioned her, the risk would only increase. Beckett’s attack on her family wouldn’t be straightforward, either. He’d watch Lori. Hide. Strike when she least expected it. Considering she had a baby on her hip most of the time, she’d be an easy target.

      Doing nothing was a pretty lousy option.

      There had to be something she could do to keep her family safe. Lori and Grayson were all Lisa had left and she’d trade her life for either one.

      * * *

      LISA’S EMOTIONAL PAIN hit Ryan far deeper than her physical bruises did. He didn’t like those, either, but experience had taught him the stuff on the outside healed. The marks on her heart wouldn’t go away in a few weeks. He fisted his hands and then shoved them in his pockets so he wouldn’t punch a hole in the wall.

      The promise he’d made to Lori to keep quiet about their father had been sitting sourly in his stomach since Lisa’s eyes opened. Ryan had wanted to be the one to tell her what had happened, but it wasn’t his place. The news about her family needed to come from her sister, not from him. All he could do was be there to help pick up the pieces.

      Seeing her lying there, helpless, had stirred more than a primal need to protect a friend.

      Instead of acting on it, he’d watched her sleep as he’d held back from stroking her rosy skin as it shone even under the harsh fluorescent light. Her long brunet hair with light streaks that caught the sun seemed brighter.

      Listening to the pain in her voice as she spoke to her sister was the second time he’d nearly been done in. He shouldn’t allow his past feelings for Lisa to cloud his judgment. Because if they had their way he’d be in that hospital bed with her, holding her until she stopped shaking, comforting her until she felt safe again. It was obvious that the attack had left a serious mark. The way she kept looking at the door as if expecting her assailant to walk through even had Ryan jumpy.

      As far as anything else between them went, Lisa was a puzzle in which he’d never quite fit the pieces together. There was no way he could risk his heart twice trying.

      Get a hobby, Hunt.

      Besides, he had other, more pressing things to focus on, like why she kept checking the door with that frightened look on her face. She had to know a person from a random mugging wouldn’t follow her to the hospital. Ryan bet there was more going on than she let on.

      “I better go. Grayson needs to nurse soon,” Lori said.

      “I’ve been lying here thinking about getting away for a few days. You should, too. Especially now. It’s not good for the baby to be around all this and stress can affect your breast milk,” Lisa said, looking as though she was grasping at straws. Her sister was almost militant about breast-feeding. Since Grayson’s dad wasn’t coming back, Ryan figured her sister compensated by throwing all her energy into being Grayson’s mother. It was beyond Ryan how a father could walk out on his family. Then again, it didn’t seem to have bothered his mother all that much.

      Lisa made a good point but when did she have time to think about a getaway option? She’d only woken up a few minutes ago.

      “I don’t know. I’d rather be here for you. Plus, we need to make arrangements for Dad.” Lori’s voice hitched on the last couple of words.

      “All we need is an internet connection to do that. It’ll take a few days to settle everything anyway before the service. I can meet you somewhere. The nurse said I might be out of here later today.”

      Ryan had no idea why Lisa was skirting the truth, but after all she’d been through he figured he’d toss her a lifeline. “A buddy of mine has a fishing cabin a couple hours from here in Arkansas. It’s right on the lake. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you took it over.”

      “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Lori glanced from Ryan to Lisa. “I have Grayson to think about.”

      “It’s nice and big. The place sleeps eight. He bought it so his wife would want to bring the kids,” Ryan said. He intended to have a heart-to-heart with Lisa as soon as her sister left. Then again, her attack was followed by devastating news about her father. Maybe she needed to get her bearings and figured this was the best way. Plus, the Mason Ridge Abductor was still out there and even though Grayson was a baby, not a seven-year-old, which was the usual mode of operation for the kidnapper, she had to be thinking about his safety. With Lori on her own with a baby and Lisa the overprotective older sister, maybe Ryan shouldn’t be surprised at how out of sync her reactions seemed to be.

      He needed to reassure her that he intended to make certain she was okay.

      “It might be nice to take the weekend,” Lori said. “There’s been so much going on that I don’t even want to go to the grocery anymore for fear of running into people. They’re well intentioned and all, but my phone’s been ringing like crazy. I answered it a few times and it’s a game of twenty questions. I can’t talk about either one of you without bawling. Plus, work gave me time off to make...arrangements.” She wiped away another tear.

      “Then it’s settled. Ryan will call his friend.” Lisa turned her attention toward him. “I’ll owe you big-time. You’re certain this will be all right?”

      “More