PHILLIP HADN’T YET been to sleep. He couldn’t close his eyes for more than a few moments without some sound luring him awake again. Little Tony’s sound snoring didn’t even give Phillip any comfort.

Around sunrise Phillip had gotten up, resigned to doing something that wasn’t sleep. Lorenzo had put them up in a house with hardly any furniture and taken the car. Until someone brought them another ride, Phillip and Little Tony were stranded here, somewhere in the suburbs.

Phillip’s mind kept going back to the conversation he’d had with Dominick, weighing what he’d said, what he hadn’t and trying to read between the lines. They both knew Little Tony was a loose cannon. He would do things they couldn’t anticipate and then dump the carnage in their laps. Phillip didn’t think LT was doing it on purpose. He just reacted and didn’t see anything wrong with it.

This wasn’t going anywhere good.

When a guy caused too many problems, they disappeared. It didn’t take much to figure out where they went. Phillip wished he could clue Little Tony in, get him to change his path, but Phillip worried he’d become the next target. He had a wolf by the ears as his grandfather used to say.

The cell phone perched on his thigh vibrated.

He picked it up and stared at the number.

The area code was Fort Worth, but he didn’t know who was calling him.

“Hello?”

“Hey. I was told you’re in town, doing a job?” a guy with a deep voice said.

“I do a lot of jobs. Who is this?”

“Trentino. I heard from Joseph you’re trying to find a sister or something living out in Ransom?”

“I don’t know no Joseph, but yeah. I’m looking for my sister.” Dina had felt like Phillip’s sister at least.

“I got a call from some guy, number traces back to Ransom. To a cop. I don’t know anything else.”

“That’s helpful. I appreciate it.”

The exempt tags.

A cop making calls.

Dina was teaming up with the boys in blue.

CASEY WASN’T LOOKING to get involved in Trevor’s whipped cream mystery, but Main Street was part of his beat. After a quick tour down the street to view what evidence hadn’t been washed away, Casey had parted ways with Trevor and his partner.

Trevor still wasn’t answering any questions about where the hell he’d gone to last night.

They’d all talked over beer and burgers. The most telling thing of all was Jenna and Scarlett’s absolute silence on the topic.

Something was up, and Casey didn’t like it.

The other guys were chalking it up to Trevor finding the most complicated woman in the surrounding counties to hook up with.

He spied a familiar, old beaten up truck in the back lot behind The Watering Hole. It was far earlier than he’d have expected Jessica North to be at the bar, but he hadn’t exactly kept track of her comings and goings. Right now he was in need of some expert local advise.

Trevor turned the cruiser into the lot and parked between the faded, almost nonexistent lines. Word was old man North was enjoying his retirement while his daughter manned the family bar that had been a staple of downtown Ransom since the very beginning. For as long as there’d been a town, there’d been a Watering Hole for people to come to, get a drink and shoot the bull.

Trevor knocked on the back door of the bar before pulling on the handle.

No give.

It was still locked, which made sense. The bar didn’t open until after lunch.

“Hello?” a familiar voice called out from inside.

“Jess? It’s Casey.” He pitched his voice louder for her to hear.

The door cracked open, and a woman peered out.

“Oh, it’s you.” She shoved it open the rest of the way and rolled her eyes. “You scared me half to death. What’s up, officer?”

Casey swallowed and kept his gaze on her face. Jessica favored high neck T-shirts and the occasional tank top, but her shorts? They were tiny, leaving a lot of leg to the imagination. As they were strictly friends, it was his duty to not consider those legs or her high, tight ass.

“I was hoping I might borrow you for a minute,” he said.

“To do what?” A slow grin spread across her face.

“I need to know what you remember about Trevor’s mystery woman.”

“Oh.” She blinked at him and her grin faded. “Not much. Want to come inside?”

“Sure. I won’t take up much of your time.”

“Please, take up as much as you want.” She turned and led the way into the storage room off the back of the bar.

“Inventory?” He nodded at the crates.

“Yeah. It’s that time.” She picked up a pencil and glanced at her clipboard. “I don’t remember a lot about her, just that I didn’t recognize her, she drank sparingly, was pretty aware of herself and never looked at anyone except Trevor.”

“Wow... That’s a lot.” Casey didn’t think he recalled that much.

“What? I people watch. We don’t get a lot of new people, especially like that. She’s a real fish out of water, isn’t she?”

“You could say that.”

“Trevor found her, I take it? What’s her troubled story?” Jessica bent and grasped a particularly large box.

“Let me get that.” He nudged her out of the way and hefted the box up to a sturdy table.

“Her past?” Jessica prompted.

“It’s a good one.” Casey shook his head.

“You aren’t going to share?” Jessica planted her hands on her hips.

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“Are you even the least bit corruptible, Officer Smith?”

Casey swallowed. His thoughts weren’t staying on the straight and narrow that was for sure. But everyone knew Jessica North was off limits.

DINA SQUEEZED ELISABETH’S shoulders in a tight hug. Her work had fallen by the wayside early in the day and they’d lost themselves to talking. About everything, but mostly things other people didn’t understand. They both had to live with a family legacy full of blood and they both wanted something different for their lives. It was refreshing to talk to someone who really, truly understood her.

“Come back any time,” Elisabeth said.

“I’d like to.” Dina stepped back and glanced around the library.

Her phone lit up on the desk with an incoming text from Trevor.

“My ride must be here,” she said.

“It was nice to spend the day with you. Sorry you didn’t get much work done.” Elisabeth gestured at the pieces of Dina’s drive that she still had to shove into a bag.

“I set up my new laptop. I let people know I was having an emergency. It was good enough.” She glanced at the phone then to Elisabeth. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Is there such a thing now?” She chuckled.

“Maybe.” Dina knew she had to know, even if the answer wasn’t one she wanted to hear.

“Ask.” Elisabeth braced her hands on the desk across from Dina and shrugged. She had this open personality. Despite what had happened to her, she wasn’t jaded or guarded. Dina wished she was more like her.

“Have you and Trevor—”

“No.” Elisabeth shook her head. “No. He was friends with Val. Trevor was very kind to us. For some reason he was at the station when the police took us for CPS to come pick up. He sat with me and my baby brother for at least an hour. But nothing ever happened between us. I know he has a...reputation, but he’s only ever been a friend to me.”

“Oh. Okay.” Stress Dina hadn’t realized was knotting her insides released. She wanted to like Elisabeth, and she already felt a kinship with her, but it would be strange to get friendly with the ex of the guy she was currently shacked up with. Then again, maybe that was normal for small towns?

“Trevor’s a good guy. He only ever means the best. I think—well, it’s none of my business. Sorry.”

“What do you think?” Dina was curious now. Did Elisabeth know about Trevor’s parents?

“No, it’s not my place. I don’t want to speculate about him.”

“Okay.” Dina sighed and slid the last piece of her drive into the bag. “Any tips on dealing with his family? We’re going there for dinner tonight.”

“Oh.” Elisabeth’s eyes went wide. “Well...”

Dina could imagine with a dad like hers, she had been familiar with law enforcement and thereby Trevor’s father.

“He loves his mother very much. His father can be hard to deal with,” Elisabeth said slowly.

“I gathered as much. Should be a very interesting evening.” Dina wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Okay, I’ll just say it.” Elisabeth closed her eyes. “I think Trevor is the way he is because he can’t save the woman he’s loved the longest.”

Dina stood there a moment parsing out Elisabeth’s sentence.

Trevor had a clear preference for his mother. She meant a lot to him. He barely had a relationship with his famed father, a man he clearly did not like. Of course Trevor couldn’t save his mother from a relationship she wouldn’t leave.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Elisabeth groaned.

“No. No, it makes sense.” The stories Dina had heard about him in the last day, they were all extensions of a little boy wanting to save his mother. It was gut wrenching when she thought about it that way, and she couldn’t possibly be angry with him.

Dina knew what it was lie to be powerless to save someone she loved.

Her phone lit up with an incoming call from Trevor.

“I’ve got to go. He’s probably out there waiting for me.”

She and Elisabeth had one more goodbye hug before Dina darted outside. Her steps were lighter. Her reservations about the man she was meeting almost gone. The SUV wasn’t anywhere to be seen. A sedan idled at the curb. She knew the profile of the man inside.

That was strange.

No part of her could fault him now. Sure, he’d probably made some piss poor decisions, but it made sense.

Dina climbed into the car and slid her bag to the ground. Trevor’s grim face stared straight ahead.

“Hey. What’s with the new ride?”

He didn’t answer.

She reached over and put her hand on his arm.

When she’d finally had enough of her parents, she’d had options. She’d gone to the FBI and done what she could to make things right. Trevor didn’t have that option. First, his dad was the local legend and second, there wasn’t a law about making your spouse happy or getting along. He’d been watching his mother live in a cage his whole life, totally helpless to save her.

“Sorry. I thought it would be a good idea to drive something different after yesterday.” He shook his head. “I’m not looking forward to this.”

“I bet. I’ll be there with you. Want to stop and pick up some flowers or something?”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Where’s your SUV then?”

“I parked it by the hospital and borrowed this.”

Trevor’s silence persisted. She didn’t press him to talk. She had too much to think about. Elisabeth’s revelation totally changed how Dina viewed this thing between them. It all made sense now. Those girlfriends, the times he’d tried to fix things, how he’d come to her rescue.

He couldn’t save someone who didn’t want to be.

Well, Dina wanted out. She wanted things to change.

Which meant he was right.

She was different. And they were different together.

The Walter’s family home was only a five minute drive away, including a stop for a colorful bouquet. The home was cute, with white siding and dark blue shutters. A wind chime hung on the front porch, tinkling in the hot gusts that swept in from the west. The lawn was feeling the time of year. Most of the grass was a dull green color.

“Let’s get this over with.” Trevor sighed and opened his door.

Dina snagged the flowers and glanced at her drives.

They would be okay in the car for a few hours, wouldn’t they?

She didn’t want to take anything inside that would encourage uncomfortable conversation.

The drives would be fine. Trevor’s SWAT gear was in here. He wouldn’t leave the stuff sitting around if he wasn’t certain it was safe.

Trevor opened her door. His color was off. Not pale, not green, just wrong.

She remembered feeling similar things during the course of her teen years. Dominick was the favored son. The one brought into the fold to learn the family business. In the beginning he’d whispered things to her. They were siblings. They told each other everything. Then he changed and Dina was left in the dark. The only one.

“I can fake being sick if you like?” She took his hand and slid out.

“No. Dad would know.” He sighed and rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand.

Together they walked up the path to the front door. A cheerful wreath of blue flowers hung over the frosted glass panels. Trevor’s grip tightened on her hand then he rang the doorbell.

Dina shifted her weight. It would have been nice to dress for the occasion, but her T-shirt, jeans and flip-flops would have to pass.

The door swung open, and a man stood on the other side. He was about Trevor’s height. His brown hair had gone almost completely white. His skin was dotted with sunspots. Time had not been kind to him. He wore brown slacks and a button down, yellow plaid long sleeve shirt. It was the way he stared at Dina that made her squirm. His black-rimmed glasses made her feel like an insect being studied under a magnifying glass.

“Evening,” Trevor said in an easy drawl.

“You should have mentioned you were bringing someone,” Mr. Walters said.

Shit.

Trevor glanced at her then back at his dad.

“Busy day,” he said by way of an excuse.

“Harold, who is it?” a woman called out.

“Go on.” Mr. Walters jerked his head and stepped back, ushering them inside.

Trevor kept a tight grip on her hand, leading her through the house that she was willing to bet hadn’t changed since the sixties or seventies. Everything was neat and orderly, frozen in time.

It was not a welcoming environment. Dina found herself holding her arms tight and shuffling her steps so as to not touch anything.

He led her through an archway into a kitchen that harked back to the era of brown wood paneling and mellow yellow appliances.

A woman stood with her full attention on the stove. She had a short, silver bob and a slender frame. Dina felt a little bit better about how she was dressed seeing as Trevor’s mother wore cut off capris fraying at the ends and a T-shirt along with jeweled flip-flops.

“Hey, Mom,” Trevor said.

The woman whirled, eyes wide, spoon in hand. Bits of sauce dribbled down the handle.

“Trevor!” Her smile radiated warmth and love, so much that for a moment Dina found it hard to breathe.

No parent of hers had ever looked at her that way.

Trevor let go of Dina’s hand and crossed the kitchen, folding his mother in a tight squeeze. Mrs. Walters peered over her son’s shoulder at Dina.

“Who is this?” she asked.

“Mom.” Trevor turned, keeping one arm around her. “This is Dina.”

“Dina? It’s so nice to meet you.”

The bit of sauce chose that moment to splatter on the floor. Each one of them claimed the clean-up, resulting in a round of laughter. The flowers were arranged in a vase and Dina sat back, soaking in the mother-son banter.

It was clear to see that Trevor loved his mother.

Dina slid onto a stool sitting at the out of the way bar. The surface was littered with mail and other odds and ends. Mounted on the wall was a wooden plaque and a clear box with a gaudy gold ring sporting a black stone of some kind.

She squinted at the words a moment.

Founder’s Ring.

What the heck was that?

“Trevor? A moment?” his father called out.

She strained to get closer, to read the fine script.

“If you can read it you’d be the first.” Mrs. Walters chuckled.

“What is it if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s the Walter’s family Founder’s Ring. You don’t know what that is, do you?”

“Sorry, no.” Dina swiveled to face her hostess. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’m almost done. Just needs a few more minutes.” Mrs. Walters circled the bar to the other side and pulled the whole thing off the wall. “See, back in the eighties back before they did the highway project and Texas Motor Speedway, Ransom was much smaller. Some historical society or state department named our little town the most untouched in the state. The city made rings for each of the families that could trace their roots back over a hundred years. Pretty hard what with the fire in ’68.”

“Wow.”

“I never could wear it. It was made for Harold’s mother before she passed.” Mrs. Walters lifted the top off the ring box and pulled the piece out. “Here.”

Ms. Walters slid the ring onto Dina’s finger before she knew what the woman was doing. It made it to the second knuckle before meeting some resistance. Dina wiggled the band on.

“It’s heavy.” She held her hand out, fingers splayed. “That’s really heavy.”

“As heavy as our history, they used to say.” Mrs. Walters smiled, but it wasn’t a happy expression.

Dina reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. She knew all about weighty histories.

PHILLIP SQUINTED AT the dark SUV.

He’d been driving around what felt like days looking at all manner of dark SUVs.

“Can you see the plates?” he asked.

“No.”

“Can you try to look?”

Little Tony didn’t make any further effort.

The SUV in question was parked at the Ransom hospital near the Emergency Room entrance. There wasn’t a lot of activity and he didn’t spy anyone walking toward the car.

Did he risk getting a closer look and potentially crossing paths with Dina or her friend when he couldn’t respond?

Or did he hold back, wait and watch?

Without knowing if it was the right vehicle he would be wasting time.

Dina was either here, or had been, which could also mean she was hurt. They hadn’t hit on another lead since narrowing down that she was still in the small town somewhere.

Phillip turned the wheel and eased down the row.

“Look at the plates,” he said.

Little Tony didn’t reply. He barely turned his head.

Phillip lifted up in his seat as they passed.

He didn’t make out the whole plate number, but he saw enough. And the EXEMPT stamped at the top.

That was the vehicle from the security tape.

They circled the parking lot before finding a spot that was both far enough away and close enough.

Dominick hadn’t called again. Phillip didn’t know if that was good or bad. He wanted the space to think and figure out what was going on with Little Tony, but he also wanted out of here.

LT wasn’t fazed by what he’d done. Phillip didn’t think Little Tony saw anything wrong with it.

Phillip had been born into this life. He’d had the option to do something else. It wasn’t like his dad had ever been high up the totem pole. They didn’t run businesses. They did the work. Mom had even suggested he get a regular job at a butcher shop several times when he was a teen, around the time he and Little Tony started selling pot to kids.

What would life be like if he’d made different decisions? If he’d listened to his mother?

He glanced at Little Tony.

If Phillip was honest with himself, he hadn’t taken the job at the butchers because he knew there was only one job. Little Tony was his best friend. They did everything together. It was the divining rod by which he’d lived his life.

But something was different. A change had taken place, and he didn’t know when or how.

“Come on. We need a closer look at that SUV,” he said.

This job might be the last thing they ever did together. It wasn’t hard to guess how Dominick wanted to wrap this thing up or how it would go down. Dominick always thought about himself first. Phillip was the only one who considered everyone else.

Maybe it was time for him to find a new path. Something for himself.

TREVOR GRIT HIS TEETH and speared another bite of roast and potato.

“I heard a woman down the street had to call 9-1-1 and it took them ten minutes to respond. In my day, we’d have been there in five.”

Mom made a humming sound.

“Why are you lot so slow in responding?” Dad turned toward Trevor.

“Ransom isn’t as small as it used to be.”

“With what the city’s paying, you’d think officers would jump to a little faster.”

Trevor shoved a bite in his mouth.

Nothing he did or said would be good enough. He knew better. It didn’t stop him from wanting to reply.

A foot tapped his under the table.

He glanced across to Dina working her way through her plate.

“What happened to your fancy detective mobile?” Dad took a small bite. He got so many words out because he only picked at his food, which forced them to sit there longer because the dinner rule remained.

Everyone remained sitting until everyone was done.

Trevor hated that rule.

“It’s being looked at.” He wasn’t going to volunteer the real reason. “Mom, this is really good.”

“Oh, thank you, sweetheart.” She glanced up at him and smiled.

Her eyes didn’t light up as much as they used to.

Living with dad like this was slowly killing her. And she wouldn’t do anything about it.

“Did you get this down at—”

“In my day we didn’t get fancy cars or trucks,” Dad said, speaking over Trevor. “Our SWAT team was a bunch of the country boys with their own kit. We didn’t even call it SWAT yet.”

“I didn’t think you were part of the tactical team?” Trevor knew Dad hadn’t been.

“I wasn’t, but I directed them more than a few times, like when we took down Mike Becker.” He jabbed his fork in the air.

“I met Elisabeth Becker today,” Dina said.

Dad blinked at her as though he’d just noticed her.

“That boy of hers is trouble,” he said after a moment.

“That’s her brother, not her boy.” Trevor remembered sitting on a bench with Elisabeth, holding baby Mike Jr.

“Just like their daddy.” Dad shook his head.

Trevor glared at his plate.

Elisabeth and her brother had been through hell. They’d been children, victims the same as everyone else. And yet they were always at fault. He sometimes saw Liz and Mike Jr. out and about. They were good people who’d been dealt a shit hand.

Trevor needed to drop in on them. See how they were.

His phone rang, the vibration loud in the otherwise silent space.

“You can’t have a meal without interruptions these days.” Dad sighed his disapproval.

Trevor jabbed the answer button and stood from the table. He’d take whatever reason he could for a respite.

“Hey.” Jenna’s voice was tense.

“What’s wrong? Alex?” Trevor ducked down the hall, his heart in his throat.

“No, he’s fine. You left your SUV at the hospital?”

“Yeah.”

“Someone just reported two men breaking into a vehicle in the parking lot. We’d just brought a patient in when it happened. I see a cruiser out there.”

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Your gear?”

“Isn’t there. The computer is the only thing valuable. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Trevor hung up.

Was this coincidence, or had he made the right call to park his SUV?

What if they caught Phillip and Little Tony on camera? What if they were still near the hospital?

Trevor stepped back into the dining room.

“What happened now?” Dad asked.

“Someone broke into my truck.” Trevor glanced at Dina looking over her shoulder at him. “I think we need to go check things out.”

Her eyes grew a touch wider, and she set her fork down.

“What is this town coming to? What are the police doing? In my day we’d have handled hooligans before they created problems.” Dad pounded his fist on the table.

Trevor’s phone rang again, this time it was Casey calling him.

“It’s Casey. I have to take this.” Trevor turned and walked to the back of the house. Mom’s domain. “Hey—”

“Do not come up here.” Casey’s steel tone made Trevor stop in his tracks.

“Why?”

“Parson is dead.”

“What?” Trevor stopped in his tracks, his blood going cold.

“Two male suspects were seen fleeing the scene. I haven’t gotten the security tape yet, but it’s probably your two guys. Do not come up here. I do need a list of anything still in the truck.”

“Nothing. My kit’s with me. Are you sure Parson is...?”

“He’s dead. Where are you?”

“My parent’s house.”

“Why’d you leave your SUV?”

“Because I got worried that someone might connect my vehicle to Dina. I borrowed Sterling’s car.”

“Okay. Good. I want you to stay where you are. If we got the car and plates, we could track them down. I don’t want you two out and about in case you run into them.”

“Understood.”

Trevor stared at his phone screen.

Had he heard Casey right? Was Parson really dead? Why had he been at the hospital? Why was he there when Trevor’s SUV was broken into?