Page 19 of Midnight

Nora’s eyes widened as she recognized their faces. “As in Magnolia Brennen the famous artist, and the bull rider Sonny Bluejacket?”

Pearl nodded. “She’s not my blood, but she’s my girl.”

The moment they got to Pearl, Nora stood. “None of the blood is hers,” she said, and stepped aside.

Maggie was crying as she held her. Sonny had embraced them both, but he was looking over their heads at Nora. Their gazes locked, and then Nora heard him speak. “You came home to grief, but it will pass. Someone has come to you with love, and it will be good.”

Nora’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t find the words, and then Maggie reached for Nora’s hand.

“You’re Nora. Pearl said you were coming home. I’m so sorry about your father,” Maggie said. “I used to wait on him when I worked at the Rose. His name was Tom, right?”

The moment Maggie touched her, Sonny turned away, and just like that, the moment was gone.

“Yes, I’m Nora. I just got home a few days ago. I heard the sirens, saw the chopper, and it was so close to the Yellow Rose I thought something had happened there, but when I realized it was farther down the block, I panicked all over again. Jacob is an old and dear friend, and I grew up with Asher, his oldest son. If he lives, it will be all due to Pearl’s quick actions.” She hunched her shoulders against the wind. “Pearl, honey, now that your family is here, I’ll be going home.”

Before Sonny could offer her a ride, she started walking up the highway. Within a few steps, she was running, then took a shortcut through another alley and ran all the way home.

The moment she was safely inside, she began to shake. The horror of this night wasn’t going to fade any time soon, and she wasn’t going to be the one to call Asher. He needed to hear it from the authorities. They would have answers to the questions he would ask. All she had was bad news.

* * *

The chopper reached Northwest Texas Hospital less than fifteen minutes after takeoff from the bar. They landed on the heliport, unloaded Jacob, and rushed him straight to the ER.

Immediately, nurses began cutting off his clothes as a doctor was assessing his vitals. A nurse found a medical information card in his wallet denoting his blood type and listing no allergies. They began an emergency transfusion of whole blood and sent him straight to surgery.

* * *

It was 3:00 a.m. in Austin, Texas.

Life and death were still happening.

Sirens blared.

Horns honked.

It was the lullaby Asher Kingston took to bed, and the song he woke up to each morning. So, when his phone began to ring, he woke abruptly. Thinking it was probably work related, he rolled over and picked it up, then sat up on the side of the bed to answer.

“This is Kingston.”

“Asher, this is Sheriff Reddick from the Briscoe County Sheriff’s office. I’m calling to let you know that someone broke into your father’s bar just after closing and shot him. He was unconscious when found, and he was still alive when the chopper left with him, but he’s in bad shape. A lot of blood loss. He was taken to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo. I just spoke to people at the hospital. He was still alive when they took him into surgery.”

Shock, followed by an overwhelming fear, took Ash’s breath, and then he swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat.

“Oh my God. Do you have any leads? Any suspicions?”

“Right now, not a clue as to who, but we have one witness who saw a car leaving the parking lot moments after the gunshot. That’s all, and there’s nothing solid to go on yet, but we’re still processing the crime scene. The weird thing is that nothing was stolen. Money still in the till. Jacob’s wallet and money still on him.”

Ash frowned. “Just a thought. After Pete Brandt died and our family became news all over again, my brothers and I actually discussed the possibility of some kind of ramifications. We didn’t expect this, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Anyway, thank you for letting me know. I’ll call Dylan and Gunner. We will be heading to the hospital, ASAP.”

“Understood,” Reddick said.

Asher immediately disconnected, then called the hangar where he kept his chopper. He left orders for it to be checked out and fueled up, and that he would be at the hangar by sunrise.

Then he called Dylan.

* * *

When Dylan Kingston’s cell phone began to ring, he thought he was dreaming it until Angie gave him a nudge.