had rounded up the last of the terror cell involved in the weapons sale to Yemen. Because of her cooperation and candor, Mara Ramos had been given a reduced sentence, three years instead of life in prison.
Ahmed Malik hadn’t fared so well. He was in prison. Somewhere. Probably for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, the Aryan Brotherhood gang members responsible for Colonel Kegan’s death had never been identified. They were already in the army stockade so at least that was something.
Jessie was still writing, digging up interesting cases and trying to find answers. Her blog, Kegan’s Korner, was growing by leaps and bounds. But an investigative journalist’s job wasn’t easy and sometimes, as he had learned, it could be dangerous.
No, their lives would never be boring.
“Brisket’s done,” Chase announced, stabbing the big slab of perfectly browned beef and lifting it onto a serving tray. “Let’s eat.”
Though Jessie seemed happy in Dallas, Bran had been talking to Chase about opening a branch of Maximum Security in Denver. Colt Wheeler was interested. So was Lissa Blayne. Ty was a definite yes, and Jessie was eager to get back to her mountains.
He slid an arm around her shoulders as they walked together toward the table groaning under the weight of cold potato salad, spicy chili beans, garlic French bread, chocolate cake, and bottles of hearty red wine.
Reese sat down next to his current date, a tall, elegant blonde as fair and beautiful as he was dark and good-looking. Fiona was intelligent and friendly, but there was no fire in the way Reese looked at her. Clearly, they would never be more than friends with benefits.
Bran wished his brother could find someone to share his life, someone to love who would love him in return.
But Reese was a loner and not an easy man to handle.
Bran picked up his fork and had just dug into the delicious meal when his cell phone started ringing. The name came up Detective Heath Ford. He pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, Heath. What’s up?”
“Sorry to screw up your day, Bran, but your guy, Stan Wilton, just called 911. Cops are on the way to his house, but you mentioned you’d be working as his body man as soon as the Mavericks got back to Dallas. Stan’s back and he’s got trouble. Those death threats he was getting?”
“Yeah?”
“Someone broke into his condo and attacked him with a knife. Stan got lucky and managed to get away, but he’s pretty shook up. I figured you’d want to know.”
The tall, lanky NBA Mavericks’ most valuable player had been getting death threats from what appeared to be a Houston Rockets fan. The cops were on it, but so far they hadn’t caught him.
Bran stood up from the table, the phone still pressed to his ear. “I’m on my way. Thanks for the heads-up, Heath.”
“No problem. Good luck.”
Jessie rose beside him as he slid the phone back in the pocket of his jeans. “Sorry, babe, I gotta go.” He leaned over his plate and shoveled in a couple of forkfuls of beef, ignored the tempting glass of Chianti, and washed it down with a drink of water.
“What’s going on?” Jessie asked.
“Stan Wilton’s back in town. He was supposed to call me as soon as he got here, but he waited. Apparently, someone broke into his place and tried to stab him. Stan managed to get away, but so did his assailant. He needs protection and he needs it now.”
He turned to the group who had all stopped eating and stared at him expectantly. “Sorry, guys. Gotta go to work.” He glanced at Hawk and Kate. “Can you two take Jessie home?”
“No problem,” Hawk and Kate said in unison.
Leaning down, he kissed Jessie long and deep. “I’ll call you, let you know what’s going on.”
She rested her palm against his cheek. “Just stay safe.”
He’d do his best. He had a woman he loved to come home to.
He waved as he headed for the bright red Stingray parked in front of the house. Adrenaline pumped as he slid behind the wheel, and his senses sharpened, honing in on the problems that lay ahead. Solving them was what he did. Bran fired the powerful engine and headed into battle.
* * *
Keep reading for a special preview of The Deception the second gripping book in the Maximum Security series from New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin. Missing turns to murdered, and one woman’s search for answers will take her to a place she never