Stone Cold Christmas Ranger. Nicole Helm

was as tired of easy here at the Texas Rangers headquarters in Austin as he was of political parties at his parents’ home where he was supposed to flirt with debutantes and impress stuffed suits with tales of his bravery and valor.

      Which was why he was beyond determined to break one of the coldest cases his Texas Ranger unit had. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with his partner in the Unsolved Crimes Investigation Unit taking some extended time off giving Bennet the opportunity to solve a case on his own.

      He glanced over at said partner, Ranger Vaughn Cooper, who was leaning against the corner of their shared office, talking on his cell in low tones.

      No amount of low tones could hide the fact taciturn Ranger Cooper was talking to his very pregnant wife. Bennet could only shake his head at how the mighty had fallen, and hard.

      Vaughn said his goodbyes and shoved his phone into his pocket before he turned his attention to Bennet, assessing gaze and hard expression back in place. “Captain won’t go for it,” Vaughn said, nodding at the file on Bennet’s desk.

      “He might if you back me up.”

      Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest, and if Bennet hadn’t worked with Vaughn for almost four years, he might have been intimidated or worried. But that steely-eyed glare meant Vaughn was considering it.

      “I know you want more...”

      “But?” Bennet supplied, forcing himself to grin as if this didn’t mean everything. When people knew what it meant, they crushed it if they could. Another Stevens lesson imparted early and often.

      “I’m not sure this case is the way to go. It’s been sitting here for years.”

      “I believe that’s the point of our department. Besides that, I’ve already found a new lead,” Bennet said, never letting the easy smile leave his face.

      Vaughn’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You have?”

      “There was a murder around the same time as this case that the FBI linked to the Jimenez drug cartel. That victim’s wounds were the same as the victim’s wounds in our Jane Doe case. If Captain lets me take on this case, I want to find a connection.”

      Vaughn blew out a breath and nodded. “You have the FBI file?”

      Bennet turned his laptop screen so Vaughn could read. Vaughn’s expression changed, just a fraction, and for only a second, but Bennet caught it. And jumped. “What? What did you see?”

      Vaughn sighed heavily. “I didn’t see anything. It’s just...Jimenez.”

      “What about it?”

      “Alyssa Jimenez.”

      “I know that name.” Bennet racked his brain for how, because it hadn’t been in any of the files he’d been poring over lately. “The Stallion. Oh, she was with Gabby.” Vaughn’s sister-in-law had been the kidnapping victim of a madman who called himself The Stallion. Vaughn had worked the case to free Gabby and the handful of other girls she’d been in captivity with.

      Including Alyssa Jimenez. “Wait. Are you telling me she has something to do with the Jimenez drug family?”

      “I don’t know that she does. But based on what I do know, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

      “But you haven’t followed up?” Bennet asked incredulously.

      “Natalie and Gabby took her in after Gabby’s release. They’ve adopted her like a sister, and I have yet to see anything that points to her being involved with any of the many members of the Jimenez drug cartel family.”

      “But you think she is,” Bennet pressed, because Vaughn wouldn’t have brought it up if he didn’t.

      “Alyssa is...different. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had connections to this family. She’s built something of an underground bounty hunter business, and the contacts she has?” Vaughn shook his head. “I promised Gabby and Nat I wouldn’t interfere unless it was directly part of my job.”

      “You? You, Mr. By-the-Book, promised not to investigate something?”

      “She hasn’t done anything wrong, and believe me, I’ve watched. If she’s connected to that family, it’s only biological. Not criminal. She’s been through a lot.”

      “Wait. Wait. Isn’t she the one who fought the FBI when they raided The Stallion’s compound to release the women?”

      Vaughn stood to his full height, disapproval written all over his face, but Bennet wouldn’t let it stop him. Vaughn’s family leave started tomorrow, and he couldn’t stand in Bennet’s way for weeks.

      “She didn’t fight them off. She just didn’t exactly drop her weapon when they demanded her to do so. There is a difference. Now, Bennet, I need you to understand something.”

      Bennet held himself very still, especially since Vaughn rarely called him by his first name. They were partners, but Vaughn was older, more experienced, and Bennet had always looked up to him like something of a mentor.

      “Do not let your need to do something big compromise your job, which is to do something right.”

      The lecture grated even though Bennet knew it was a good one, a fair one. But he didn’t particularly want to be good or fair right now. He wanted to do something. He wanted a challenge. He wanted to feel less like this fake facade.

      He would do all that by doing that something right, damn it. “I want her contact information.”

      “I didn’t say I’d back you up. I didn’t say—”

      “I want her contact information,” Bennet repeated, and this time he didn’t smile or hide the edge in his voice. “I have found a lead that no one else has found, and I will rightfully and lawfully follow up on it once Captain Dean gives me the go-ahead. Now, you can either give it to me and smooth the way and let this be easy—for me and for her—or you can stand in my way and force me to drag her in here.”

      Vaughn’s expression was icy, but Bennet couldn’t worry about that. Not for this. So, he continued.

      “You’re out for a month to spend with your wife and your upcoming new addition. Take it. Enjoy it. And while you’re gone, let me do my job the way I see fit.”

      Bennet couldn’t read Vaughn’s silence, but he supposed it didn’t matter. Bennet had said his piece, and he’d made it very clear. He would not be dissuaded.

      “If you get Captain Dean’s go-ahead, I’ll give you Gabby’s contact information. It’ll be the best way to get ahold of Alyssa.”

      When Bennet frowned, Vaughn’s mouth curved into the closest it ever got to a smile on duty.

      “Best of luck getting anything out of Gabby Torres.”

      Bennet forced himself to smile. “I can handle your sister-in-law.” And he could handle this case, and the potential to crack it wide open. Starting with Alyssa Jimenez.

      * * *

      ALYSSA NEVER KNEW what to do when Gabby went into full protective mode. While Alyssa had grown up with five intimidating older brothers, they had protected her by throwing her in a room and locking the door, by teaching her to use any weapon she could get her hands on. They had protected her by hiding her.

      Not ranting and raving about some half-cocked Texas Ranger wanting to talk to her.

      Not that Alyssa needed Gabby’s protection, but it was still interesting to watch.

      “The nerve of that guy, thinking he can question you about something that doesn’t even have anything to do with you!”

      Alyssa sat with her elbows resting on her knees in a folding chair in the corner of her very odd little office. It was a foreclosed gas station in a crappy part of Austin, and Alyssa hadn’t made any bones about making it look different from what it was. Shelves still stood in aisles,