Guardian Ranger

by Cynthia Eden

Cale backed away from her. “I’m sorry.”

  She blinked.

  He did have some shred of conscience left. He’d thought he’d lost that years ago, but here it was, rearing its head. Maybe he could even do the right thing. Maybe. Jasper forced himself to say, “I shouldn’t have kissed you, shouldn’t have touched you.” His voice sounded wooden now because the memory of blood and thick vegetation and a friend’s strong arm around his shoulders was too vivid in his mind. He did owe Cale, and even though he was going to bring the other man in, he couldn’t betray him this way, too.

  No matter how much I want her. Images of Veronica had been haunting him. He wanted her so much his whole body ached, and the thought of having her naked...

  Yes.

  But he could still hear the sound of those bullets flying in the jungle.

  Stay in control. Wasn’t he already betraying her enough? The white-hot lust he felt, that stark awareness between them, could just wind up hurting them both. Cale didn’t want to hurt Veronica.

  Cale motioned toward the truck. “Get in. We’ll head back to the house. Figure out our next move.”

  It took him a few moments to realize that she wasn’t moving. He glanced back at her. “Veronica?”

  Her hands went to her hips. “I didn’t know you were a tease.”

  His jaw dropped. “What?”

  “You owe my brother? I owe him, too. He kept me sane and safe for most of my life. But you know what I’m not going to do?” And now she was walking. More like angrily stomping toward the truck. “I’m not going to let him tell me who I can and can’t make love with. Because that’s my decision. Not his. Just. Mine.”

  She hopped into the truck. Slammed the door.

  Jasper blew out a slow breath. When the lady was angry, she was gorgeous. That flush in her cheeks. The flash of her eyes...gorgeous. He hurried to the driver’s side, jumped in the vehicle. “It isn’t like—”

  “Don’t kiss me like you can’t breathe without me.”

  He had kissed her that way. No, more as if she was the breath he needed. He’d never been so desperate to taste a woman before.

  “Don’t do that,” she snapped at him, “then in the next minute, go all cool and wooden on me. I’m not like you, okay? I don’t have a line of partners behind me. I don’t play games, and I don’t—”

  His fingers curled around the steering wheel. “A line of partners?” Jasper repeated in a choked voice. How did she keep surprising him?

  The icy chips of her eyes could have cut a lesser man. “Don’t play with me. That’s what I’m saying. If you want me, then it’s about me and you. Not my brother. Not what you owe him or what he owes you.”

  Because Jasper had saved Cale, too. Not in a jungle, in a desert, when a mine had gone off and they’d both come close to being blown to hell.

  “Just crank the truck, Jasper.” Now she sounded disgusted. “Maybe we’ll both figure out just what it is that we want.”

  He didn’t have to figure it out. He already knew exactly what he wanted. But taking it could prove dangerous.

  To him. And to her.

  * * *

  WHEN THE TRUCK stopped in front of the ranch, Veronica pretty much leaped out of the vehicle. She was embarrassed and angry and scared. A combination that had her stomach knotting. She was attracted to Jasper. He seemed attracted to her. But then he’d gone all Ice Man on her and—

  The alarm wasn’t beeping.

  Veronica tensed. She’d unlocked the front door, and, normally, the alarm would beep until she typed in the code.

  But the alarm wasn’t beeping.

  Jasper’s arm closed around her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “The alarm...”

  He swore, seeming to realize what wasn’t happening instantly. Then he was pulling her back. Putting his body in front of hers. He reached for his gun.

  She wished she had a weapon, too. Veronica hated feeling helpless. And she was pretty much feeling that way 24/7 these days.

  He stepped inside the house. Veronica peered over his shoulder. The foyer looked fine. The den didn’t appear disturbed. Maybe it was nothing. A glitch with the alarm.

  “Stay here,” he said and eased inside the house.

  Stay there—out in the open? Um, she hadn’t been worried when she’d hopped out of the truck and started walking earlier, but the memory of standing in front of that sheriff’s station, waiting—and then seeing two men get shot right before her eyes—that memory was front and center for her. With the silence of her alarm, the security she felt at the ranch had been shattered. The place didn’t feel safe.

  As for staying out on that porch...

  No, thank you.

  She glanced around. Her gaze searched the small scattering of buildings around the main house. What if a shooter was out there? She’d make a perfect target.

  Veronica rushed inside the house and nearly slammed into Jasper. “I’m coming with you,” she whispered.

  He frowned, but nodded.

  They made their way down the hallway. Nothing was missing. Nothing broken. It didn’t look as if anyone had been there. Maybe she was wrong.

  He motioned with his hand to indicate that they should head up the stairs.

  Her fingers curled over the wooden bannister. The third stair creaked beneath her feet, and that sound was far too loud.

  Her breathing was too loud, too. Too quick. Too raspy.

  He turned at the top of the stairs and headed for her brother’s room. The door was partially open. With his left hand, Jasper opened the door wider, even as his right hand kept his gun ready.

  The door swung open.

  Destruction.

  The room had been ripped apart. The mattresses slashed. Every dresser and chest drawer yanked out and overturned. The dresser mirror lay in what looked like a thousand pieces.

  “Somebody was looking for something.” Jasper’s quiet voice.

  It looked as if somebody had been looking to wreck the place.

  Jasper’s hand wrapped around her wrist and they headed back into the hallway. The next room they checked was hers.

  The door was shut. She was the one to turn the handle and push the door open.

  Her room looked even worse. Because it wasn’t just her mattresses that were slashed. Her clothes were slashed. Her photos. Every memento that she’d ever had was in pieces on her floor.

  It was as if someone had grabbed her and punched her in the face.

  This? This was someone looking for something? No, this was a personal attack.

  She must have made some kind of faint sound because Jasper’s gaze jumped to her face. In that stare, she saw a white-hot fury. It was a fury she felt, too.

  My home. My safe place.

  Someone had come in here and tried to destroy her world. To rip away her safety.

  No, to cut away that safety. Because it sure looked as though someone had used a knife on her mattress and clothing.

  A knife... The intruder had attacked all of the things that were personal to her. If she’d been there, what would the intruder have done?

  Would he have attacked her?

  Killed her?

  She heard a faint creak. The same creak she’d made when she stepped on the loose stair. In an instant, Jasper was rushing past her and heading for the stairs. “Stop, you son of a—” Jasper yelled, but then his yell died away.

  Veronica was right on his heels. She could see why he’d stopped his order. Because the man on the stairs had a gun, too. One that was trembling, but still aimed right up at Jasper.

  And that man was Deputy Jimmy Jones.

  Chapter Six

  “Drop your weapon!” Jimmy ordered, his voice breaking.

  Jasper swore. The last thing he wanted to do was lower his gun. “Tell me why you’re in the house.”

  Jimmy blinked his eyes, eyes that looked watery, nervous. The kid’s gun began to lower. “The...front door was open. With...with all the stuff that’s been goin’ on around
here, I was worried.” Then his gun flew back up, as if he’d just realized that he’d lowered his hand. “I told you, drop the weapon!”

  Jasper lowered his weapon, but he also made sure that he closed the distance between him and Jimmy. If it came down to it, he could still take the deputy out, weapon or no weapon. Close-contact fighting was a specialty for him.

  But as soon as Jasper lowered his weapon, Jimmy holstered his own gun. Jimmy’s gaze darted to Veronica’s face. “Is everything okay?”

  “No.” Her voice wasn’t weak. It was angry. She gritted, “Someone’s been in the house. Cale’s room is trashed. So is mine.”

  But Jasper wasn’t so sure it was just about trashing. Sometimes a smart thief could trash the place in order to hide the fact that he’d taken something.

  Something very important.

  And not even something that had been in Veronica’s or Jasper’s room. Maybe trashing those particular rooms drew attention away from the fact that he’d taken something small from the rest of the house.

  Jasper’s gaze swept over the edge of the staircase.

  What did you want?

  “I’ll call the sheriff,” Jimmy said. “He sent me out here to check on you. He was worried, after what happened last night.” Jasper’s gaze returned to the deputy just in time to see Jimmy’s Adam’s apple bob. “Guess he was right to be worried.”

  Yeah, he was.

  “I need to finish searching the house,” Jasper said.

  Jimmy’s eyes bulged. “I should do that. I should—”

  “You keep an eye on Veronica. That’s the most important thing.”

  Jimmy nodded at once. “Right.” His shoulders straightened as his hand went to the holster of his gun.

  Hell, what was the kid? Barely twenty? So eager to follow every order. If the kid wasn’t careful, he’d get hurt.

  Especially with that shaky trigger finger of his.

  Jasper turned and headed back up the stairs. His fingers brushed over Veronica’s arm. She stiffened at his touch. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.

  She gave a quick nod.

  He searched the rest of the rooms upstairs. Heard Jimmy’s voice, calling the sheriff. He opened more doors. Nothing looked disturbed in the other rooms, but then, that would be the point, wouldn’t it? To focus attention in one spot, while the real action happened someplace else.

  What were you looking for?

  And, more important, had the intruder found what he wanted?

  He went back downstairs. Veronica and Jimmy were sitting on the couch. In short work, Jasper checked out the rest of the house. Clear. No more damage.

  But what about the buildings close by? Could the intruder be there?

  He headed for the front door.

  Veronica jumped into his path. “Where are you going?”

  He wouldn’t sugarcoat this. “It’s possible he’s still here. There are over a dozen places to hide just outside this door.” All of the old buildings. The small stable. “I need to make sure the area’s secure.”

  “Should I...should I do that?” Jimmy asked. His shoulders weren’t quite so straight.

  The kid looked as if he would faint if Jasper said yes. So, instead, Jasper growled, “No.”

  Jimmy nodded quickly. “Right, I need to keep Veronica safe.”

  Her lips compressed. Then she snapped, “If someone would just give me a gun, I’m pretty sure I could keep myself safe.”

  Jimmy’s fingers eased toward his weapon.

  Jasper focused on Veronica. “Try to think about what you and Cale have here that someone would want.”

  She blinked.

  “Something that a person would be willing to risk a hell of a lot to get.” Because he and Veronica could have come back at any time. The intruder would have needed to watch the house. Watch closely, to see when they left the property.

  Were you here this morning? Were you watching us?

  Jasper headed onto the porch. He kept his body in cover as much as he could as he headed around the area and into the outer buildings. The horses neighed when he got close to them, and they shifted toward him. Jasper gave them a quick pat, but kept moving. His gaze was on the floor, then the small set of stairs that led to the top of the stable.

  He climbed the stairs. More hay. Only the hay was scattered near the window. As if someone had tried to clear a space in that area.

  Carefully, Jasper moved toward the window. He glanced through it—and had a perfect view of the ranch house and the drive leading up to the home.

  Hell.

  Their watcher had been close, all right. Jasper couldn’t help wondering...just how long has someone been watching Veronica?

  * * *

  THE SHERIFF HAD arrived, racing up to the scene with his sirens blaring. Wyatt was in the house now with Veronica and Jimmy, and despite his search, Jasper hadn’t found any other signs of the watcher.

  Making sure that he was a safe distance away from the house—the last thing Jasper wanted was to be overheard—he pulled out his phone and made a quick call to Logan. He briefed the team leader on the situation, a situation that had him clenching the phone in his fist, and then Jasper growled, “I don’t like this setup.”

  Logan’s sigh carried easily over the phone. “I know you don’t, but what options do we have?”

  He could think of a few, starting with... “I take Veronica out of here. I get her someplace safe.”

  “You know her brother. Is there any place that guy wouldn’t be able to track?”

  Hell, no. That was the problem. Cale was deadly. Fierce. A tracker who was almost as good as Gunner. But there was an important point Logan needed to get. “I don’t think this attack came from her brother,” Jasper said, voice tight. “He wouldn’t trash his own place. Wouldn’t slice his sister’s clothes and destroy the things that mattered most to her.” That wasn’t Cale.

  “You sure about that?” Logan asked softly. “You know what the psych report said.”

  The psych report. Right. The one that Uncle Sam kept shoving down their throats. When Cale had left the Rangers, the EOD had thought about recruiting him. Only a psych report had surfaced. One that said Cale’s tendency for extreme violence couldn’t be controlled. That Cale Lane was a menace to himself, and others.

  That he had serious aggressive tendencies that could result in harm to even those close to him.

  But on this point, Jasper didn’t think his instincts were wrong. “Cale wouldn’t have to search the house. If he’d hidden something there, he’d just slip in and get it, not leave that mess for his sister to find.” That would be the last thing he’d do. “No, it’s someone else.” Someone they hadn’t counted on. And if there were more players in the game... “I don’t think Cale was behind the attempted kidnapping.”

  Silence from the other end of the phone.

  “Cale wouldn’t need two men to force his sister in a car.” With her history, Jasper knew that Cale would never have been behind anyone forcing her off the road. “If he wanted to get Veronica alone, all he’d have to do would be to call her, and she’d go anyplace he told her to go.” Which was a scary proposition. “We’re still monitoring all her calls, right?” he couldn’t help asking.

  “Yes, we are.”

  Somewhat reassuring.

  “Someone wanted to get control of Veronica for the same reason that we wanted to approach her.” Before he smashed the phone, he forced his fingers to ease their grip. “Someone else wants to use her against Cale.”

  “The man probably has a whole lot of enemies.”

  The kind who wouldn’t mind torturing an innocent woman to get what they wanted.

  They want you, Cale.

  “We need extra surveillance out here,” Jasper snapped. The idea of Veronica being watched by someone, of her being targeted, had rage twisting in his gut. “I want fingerprints taken from the house. I want to know just who the hell is playing with us.”

  Who’d tried to hurt Veronica.
r />   “A team is on the way now. They’ll search for prints, but do you know what was taken?”

  Jasper glanced back at the house. “I’ll find out.” He paused. “If the intruder found what he wanted.” All those slashes and the destruction upstairs...maybe that had happened after the intruder didn’t find what he wanted. Whoever it was could have been furious. Enraged. So he took out that fury on Cale and Veronica. “I don’t like this,” Jasper gritted.

  “I know.” Logan’s voice was softer, and Jasper knew that Logan really did understand. On their last big mission, the woman Logan loved—had loved, for years—had been put in a killer’s deadly path. She’d been bait, and the killer had come far too close to taking out both Juliana and Logan.

  Logan’s gaze had been haunted for weeks after the attack. He’d realized just how close he’d come to losing his Juliana, and he’d been afraid.

  If anyone could relate, it would be Logan. Sighing, Jasper said, “I don’t want her put at risk.”

  “The ranch covers a huge area. Her nearest neighbor is over forty miles away.”

  Yeah, and the ranch was overgrown, with extra buildings scattered around and far too many places for anyone to hide.

  “It’ll be tough to keep every section clear,” Logan added.

  Tough, but not impossible. “I’ll take Veronica with me. We’ll start searching the north end of the property.”

  “And I’ll send a team to begin in the south.”

  Because their watcher might not have left entirely. He could easily still be killing close.

  You won’t get her.

  “Jasper.” There was a tense note in Logan’s voice. “Is this case getting personal?”

  It wasn’t supposed to be. He’d already been screened. Checked to make sure that the bonds he’d had with Cale wouldn’t get in the way of performing the mission. But when the team leader asked about the mission getting personal, Jasper knew that Logan wasn’t referring to the other ex-ranger.

  Veronica. “I can do the job,” Jasper said, deliberately not answering. Sure, he wanted Veronica, pretty damn desperately, but he couldn’t be falling for the woman, not that fast. Lust wasn’t personal. Lust was just about need. “I’ve got this.”