Guardian Ranger

by Cynthia Eden

  That wasn’t good enough.

  Two more clicks of her fingers and she had the “deleted” files open.

  One file was titled “Chances.” She clicked it and frowned as she read. It looked like a series of jobs. Not so much jobs as...maybe missions. Locations were listed. Dates. Then some sort of code names. Razor. Jumper. Deuce. Striker Two.

  “What are you doing?”

  She jumped. Jasper had come back. Moved so silently that she’d never even heard him enter the room. Cale was the only other man she knew who could move like that.

  Her heart was in her throat, but she swallowed and managed to shove it back down where it belonged. “I found Reed’s laptop and recovered some files.” She frowned up at him. “He doesn’t name the men who’ve been working his jobs. They all have code names.”

  His lips tightened. “There could be prints on that laptop.”

  Prints. She hadn’t even—

  “Put it down, carefully. Crime-scene techs will be coming soon.”

  They’d find her prints all over the machine. Wonderful. Prints at a crime scene. Witness to two murders hours before. This wasn’t exactly the exciting life that she’d always craved.

  Gingerly, she put the laptop on the old coffee table. “He lists names like Deuce, Razor, Striker—”

  “Striker is the code name that your brother used.”

  And her heart was right back in her throat. Her gaze flew to the screen. “His last job was... It was just three weeks ago. In...Phoenix?” That didn’t make any sense. “What kind of job would he be doing there?”

  “You really don’t know him that well,” Jasper murmured.

  Goose bumps rose on her arms. She stood, shaking. “Do you know what kind of job took him there?” She rubbed her forehead. “He saved people. That’s what he told me. He took rescue missions. When tourists were kidnapped and held for ransom, their parents couldn’t always pay, so he went in.” She didn’t like what Jasper was implying. “Cale is a hero,” she said again.

  Jasper didn’t speak then. In that stark silence, Veronica wasn’t sure...was she trying to convince him that her brother was a good man or was she trying to convince herself?

  “I’ve seen names like these before,” she whispered. Not those exact names, but similar ones. She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “They were scribbled on the backs of some old photos that Cale had at the house and—” She broke off, her eyes widening. “I’d seen him before.”

  Jasper frowned at her.

  “The tattoo on Reed’s arm.” She barely breathed the words. “That’s why it caught my eye at Last Chance. I—I’d seen it...in one of the pictures at the ranch.” She thought about Reed’s face, took ten years away from it, gave him hair... “He served with my brother.”

  “That’s how they connected. How Reed knew that Cale could get the jobs done for him.”

  Jasper had recognized Reed, too. He’d remembered the man from the military, and Jasper had known just what sort of business Cale had been involved with at the bar.

  Before she could figure out what to say next, she heard the growl of a car’s engine. Jasper tensed, and his hand went to his waist—and to the gun tucked in his waistband.

  Then he was moving silently toward the door. Pushing aside the shade and peering outside. After a brief moment, the tension left his shoulders. “It’s the good guys.”

  For some reason, it was getting harder for her to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.

  Jasper glanced back at her. “Gunner’s team is in town. When I found the body, I called them.” He paused a beat, then said, “You can trust them.”

  She shook her head. “You’re the only one I trust.”

  He gazed back at her. A faint furrow appeared between his brows.

  “Why didn’t you just call the sheriff?” she asked. “Wyatt would—”

  “This case is a little over his head. And the station blew up last night. He’s already got enough to deal with.” He tucked the gun back in his waistband. “If the agents need his help, they’ll say so.”

  She pushed her hands against the tops of her thighs. She was sweating, far too nervous and far too aware of the dead body down the hallway.

  Then the front door opened. A tall, dark man with short black hair and a faint scar under his chin marched inside. He seemed to fill the small room, dominating the space. Between him and Jasper, she suddenly felt very, very overwhelmed.

  Then the stranger’s gaze turned toward her. “You’re Veronica Lane.”

  She nodded.

  “I’m Agent Logan Quinn.” He offered his hand.

  She took it slowly and immediately had her fingers clasped in a warm, strong grip.

  Then she was free. Logan glanced at Jasper. “Glad you were on this one, man. If she’d wandered in alone...”

  Her spine straightened. “I would have managed to call the authorities just fine on my own.”

  Logan’s eyelids flickered. “Of course, my apologies, you would have, but if the body’s as fresh as Jasper says, then the killer may still be close by.”

  Just what she didn’t need to hear.

  “Let’s ease out of here until the techs arrive.” Logan waved toward the door.

  Unable to help herself, Veronica cast a longing look toward the laptop.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that,” Logan told her.

  Yes, that was what she was afraid of.

  Veronica nodded even as she curled her hand over the small flash drive that had been attached to the laptop. The flash drive that she’d taken the liberty of “borrowing”—right after she’d copied those recovered files. The files had been saved to the flash drive just seconds before Jasper had appeared in the den.

  The sunlight hit her the minute she stepped outside the apartment. Spring, but it was still already uncomfortably warm. Veronica was surprised to see a few other cars there. Her gaze scanned the lot. She recognized Gunner. Beside him stood a woman with short blond hair and fierce eyes. A few people in suits were scattered around the area.

  “We’ll let the crime techs take over while we do a little...hunting in the area.”

  Logan’s voice was mild, but his use of the word hunting seemed strange to her. She looked over at him, frowning.

  “You need some help with that?” Jasper asked, his own voice just as mild.

  Logan hesitated, then glanced her way. “We got this covered. Why don’t you just finish your business with Ms. Lane.”

  She didn’t think that she liked Logan Quinn. His gaze was too guarded. His words were too careful. She had the impression that he was a man who carried secrets, a lot of them.

  Veronica took a few steps toward Jasper’s truck; then she hesitated. Her instincts were screaming at her. She looked over her shoulder at the agent. “Logan, do you know my brother?” She wasn’t going to “Mr. Quinn” him.

  She caught the flicker of surprise on his face. “Yes, I do.”

  Her heart iced. Suddenly, everything was making a whole lot of sense to her.

  The agents’ presence in town. At least two agents from the FBI...both in little Whiskey Ridge. All of those guys in suits. The fast response to Jasper’s call.

  When they’d been at the police station, Gunner had insisted on questioning her kidnappers—questioning them alone.

  He hadn’t wanted to say anything in front of me.

  And now Cale’s code name had been the last one listed in Reed’s deleted files.

  She had to face the facts, even if those facts scared her to death. It wasn’t just a coincidence that the federal agents were in town. The agents were in Whiskey Ridge because they were hunting Cale.

  She reached for Jasper’s hand, pulled him close. “W-we’ll stay out of your way. Don’t worry.” Because she and Jasper were going to hunt and find Cale long before the agents could.

  Jasper stiffened a bit at her touch, but she just curled her arm around him more. Then she started pulling him away from that apar
tment that smelled of death and away from the agent with suspicious eyes.

  They didn’t speak until they were inside Jasper’s truck. He turned on the engine, and his gaze flickered toward Gunner and Logan.

  The agents who were staring right back at them.

  “I know what you said,” she began quietly as her hands clenched in her lap. “But I can’t trust them.”

  His gaze darted to her.

  “Don’t you see what’s happening?” she demanded. “They think that my brother is a killer. They’re tracking him down because they want to take him down.”

  “Veronica...”

  “Are you working with them?” The question had to be asked. Gunner and Logan both knew Jasper. Jasper knew Cale. It would be foolish of her to ignore the coincidence. But...

  I trust him.

  Her heart seemed to stop as she waited for Jasper’s response.

  “I’m working for you.” Anger roughened the words. “Until last night, I was taking a break, enjoying a little R and R in a spot on the map that I thought most folks didn’t even know about.”

  A spot Cale must have told him about.

  Jasper’s stare seemed to burn into her. “I’m not FBI.”

  She could see the truth in his gaze.

  “I swear, I’m not part of the bureau.”

  Why would he lie?

  “I am going to help you find Cale. The agents... I’m going to use every connection that I have to them and—”

  “They’re hunting my brother.” Would he deny that?

  A muscle jerked along his jaw. “They’re hunting a killer.”

  Did he think Cale was that killer? Did it even matter to him?

  She licked her lips. “You might know them, you might have worked with them before, but don’t trust them, either, okay?”

  He put the truck into Drive and pulled away from the apartment. They passed two unmarked vans. Her body tensed at that sight. The agents were pulling in all kinds of resources on this case.

  My brother didn’t kill Reed.

  She had to find her brother before the agents did. Logan Quinn scared her, and she didn’t want that man hunting her brother.

  Cale wasn’t the killer. She’d prove that fact and find her brother.

  * * *

  “YOUR BROTHER’S IN town.” Jasper made this announcement as soon as they pulled through the gates at her ranch after a silent ride back.

  He parked the truck on the side of the graveled drive and turned to face her. The better to catch her reaction.

  She thinks Logan and Gunner are after her brother. But she doesn’t suspect me. Why?

  Why the hell does she trust me so much?

  Part of him was humbled by that trust. No one had ever had such blind faith in him before. But another part, a darker part, was angry.

  He was going to betray that trust. Break it. Break her.

  That’s not what I want.

  She jerked free of the seat belt. “Don’t you start this. Don’t tell me that Cale is a killer!”

  That hadn’t been what he intended to say, but yes, all signs sure pointed to the fact that Cale was very much a killer.

  Veronica pushed open the door and hopped out of the truck.

  Where was she going?

  He killed the engine and followed her. “Veronica!”

  It looked as if she was planning on leaving his butt and walking the rest of the way back to the ranch.

  At his call, she didn’t stop walking. He ran to her, caught her arm and forced her around to face him. He was leaning over her, their faces close. Her cheeks were angry, flushed.

  Damn if he didn’t want to kiss her.

  She’d kissed him before. Didn’t that mean it was his turn? Turn or not...

  He took her mouth.

  She didn’t fight, didn’t gasp, didn’t try to pull away.

  Veronica stood on her toes, shocking the hell out of him, and she kissed him back. Kissed him back with passion and fury and lust.

  Enough lust to make a man ache.

  His hands eased down her body, curled around the flare of her hips, and he lifted her up against his aroused flesh. She turned him on more than any other woman ever had. With just a kiss. He wanted her.

  Naked.

  Eager.

  And whispering his name as pleasure flashed in her eyes.

  Her tongue slid over his lip in a move so sweet and sexy that she had him growling. The woman was getting beneath his skin. Making him want, when he should be focusing on the job.

  He never lost focus. He got the job done, no matter what. He always finished the mission.

  He licked her lip. Thrust his tongue into her mouth.

  Her taste drove him insane, made him crave more of her. So much more. His blood seemed to burn in his veins as arousal hardened his body.

  Time to get a few things straight. He lifted his mouth from hers, but didn’t let her go. He was enjoying having his hands on her far too much for that. “I’m not taking your money.”

  She blinked. There was desire in her eyes. The desire deepened the blue color. Made her even sexier. “But we had a deal.”

  The deal was getting real complicated, fast. The deal was also based on a lie.

  Lying to her was becoming harder each moment.

  “Things have changed.” He wasn’t the coldhearted bastard so many people seemed to think.

  Since when did it matter what anyone thought?

  Not anyone. Her. “People are dying in this town, left and right.”

  Her arms were on his shoulders. When he’d kissed her, Veronica’s nails had bit into his skin.

  He’d liked that. When they had sex, and they were going to get naked together, he wanted her wild.

  Business. Focus on business.

  But now her hands were trying to ease away from him. She was easing away. “Are you scared?” She seemed shocked by the idea. “I mean, I understand, I’m scared, too. I don’t want to die—”

  “Not happening.” The words ripped from him automatically. Hell, no, she wasn’t dying. Not on his watch.

  Her gaze held his. “It’s okay if you want to leave.” Her hands dropped. “You have to look after yourself. When w-we made the deal, you didn’t know you were signing on to something that would involve three murders and a kidnapping in less than twenty-four hours—”

  He kissed her. He didn’t want her backing away from him, and he sure didn’t want her trying to build a wall between them. So Jasper poured his hunger and need into the kiss. Let her know that this wasn’t some hired gun’s deal. This was a man, wanting a woman. Wanting her.

  His right hand rose from the curve of her hip. Rose to cup her jaw. When his mouth finally pulled from hers—she’d been as eager to keep that kiss going as he had been—Jasper tilted her chin up to make sure she kept her focus on him.

  And not on trying to flee.

  “The deal isn’t gonna work,” he told her, “because right now my priority isn’t on finding your brother.”

  “But—”

  “It’s on keeping you safe.”

  A faint line appeared between her eyes.

  “I’ll be doing that job, no pay, got it? I’ll keep looking for your brother because I’m not leaving you on your own. It’s too dangerous. You need help, and I’m right here to help you.” And to do anything else to her that she’d let him do.

  His fingers caressed her skin. Then he let her go.

  With a shake of her head, Veronica said, “Why would a guy like you protect me for free?”

  He stiffened at that. “A guy like me?” Weren’t they past this by now?

  “I—I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

  His jaw locking, he gritted, “I’m more than just the soldier you met years ago.”

  “I know that.” Soft, then, as if confessing, “I’ve seen that truth in your eyes.”

  He wondered just what else he might have revealed to her. Curious, he asked her, “What do you see in my eyes now?”

&
nbsp; She licked her lips. “You want me.” Veronica seemed surprised by that. Why?

  The woman was sexy as hell. Even wearing jeans instead of that come-get-me short skirt she’d worn at the bar—a skirt that had sure fueled some fantasies for him.

  As for wanting her...

  “Damn straight,” Jasper told her, his voice deepening. He could have been more blunt. But he held back what he wanted to do with her. The woman looked nervous enough as it was.

  “So you...aren’t going to accept my money?”

  He nodded.

  “But you aren’t leaving.”

  Another nod.

  The furrow was still between her brows as she asked, “Y-you’re going to be some kind of—of what? Bodyguard?”

  “If that’s how you want to think of me.”

  She looked so lost and confused that he wanted to kiss her again.

  “Why?” Veronica gave a little shake of her head. “Because you think that by playing hero, you’ll get me into bed?”

  Playing hero? He hadn’t realized he was playing at anything. “No, ma’am,” he finally drawled, “that wasn’t what I was thinking.” He raised a brow. “If I get you in bed with me, it’s because you want to be there, no other reason.”

  Her breath rushed out.

  “As for finding your brother, I’ll still help you do that, but I never should have agreed to take your money.” And here was another confession, one that was eating at him. “Especially since I owe Cale.” Owing Cale made the whole mess even more tangled.

  “Why do you owe him?”

  “He saved my life.” It was hard to repay a debt like that. Especially when you were the guy in charge of bringing down the man who’d hauled your butt out of a South American jungle as bullets flew around you. “One of our early missions...didn’t go so well.” Because he’d been taken in by an innocent face. A woman who’d begged for help.

  He’d wanted to help her.

  Too late, he’d realized she was the bait to draw in his team so that the rebels in the area could attack. The first bullet had almost taken his heart. It had taken him out, because he’d fallen to the ground as blood pumped from him.

  Cale had grabbed him. Fired his gun again and again. Gotten them both to safety.

  As payment, here I am, hunting you, and planning to take your sister to bed.