Guardian Ranger

by Cynthia Eden

“That’s what I thought, too. Then when I realized how much danger was right beside Juliana, I wanted to kill everyone who ever thought about hurting her.”

  That’s how I feel. “I’m in control” was Jasper’s response.

  Then the screen door opened. Veronica appeared on the porch. She looked tired. Her eyes were big, but dark shadows whispered under them.

  “Send out the crew,” Jasper said, and ended the call. He shoved the phone into his back pocket. He’d gotten a holster from his truck and it was under the edge of the light jacket he wore. The heat had cooled, giving way to the dark clouds and the storms that the forecasters said would continue soon.

  Not that he really needed the jacket for anything more than covering his weapon.

  “What crew is coming?” Veronica asked him. Then she held up her hand. “No, wait, let me guess, your federal buddies? They’re coming to my house?”

  “You think the sheriff’s going to sweep for prints?” he asked her.

  “No.” Her hand dropped. “But they will?”

  “They already have a tech team at Last Chance. Logan and Gunner...those guys are in my debt, Veronica. They can do this job for me. Hell, it’s the least they can do. Someone wants something that your brother—or even you—have, and there’s no telling how far that person will go to get what he wants.”

  Her steps were slow as she eased off the porch and came toward him. He was positioned with his truck in front of him and the house behind him. Good cover, for the moment. She advanced until less than a foot separated them. “You think...you think this was just about finding something I have?”

  Yeah, he did.

  “But m-my clothes...” Her lips trembled. “All of the things in my room. There was so much fury in there. So much hate.” She raked a hand through her hair. “How’d he get in? How’d he get past my alarm?”

  “If you know what you’re doing, it’s easy enough to bypass most alarms.” With the right tools. Unless, of course, the intruder had already known the code for her system. Then all he would have needed to do was type in the digits. Didn’t get simpler than that.

  “You told Wyatt a few minutes ago...” Her gaze darted to the stables. “You said someone was watching me?”

  Jasper nodded.

  She crept even closer. The wind blew the scent of honeysuckles toward him. He stiffened, aware that this wasn’t the time to get turned on by her.

  But then, he seemed to get turned on every time he looked at her.

  “I’ve felt like someone was watching me for a while now.” Her confession was stark.

  The breath hissed between his teeth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I told the sheriff.” Her shoulders rolled. “He came out and checked a few times, but didn’t see anything. I thought...I thought I was just being paranoid.”

  Paranoid, his as—

  “It started about two months ago. I don’t even know what made me nervous at first.” Her gaze was on the stable. “The horses...I think it was them...they seemed agitated one day. I heard them neighing and pushing at their stalls. I went out to check, but nothing was wrong.”

  Or the watcher had just slipped away before she’d gotten to the stables.

  Because he needed to know just how often the watcher could have been around, Jasper asked, “Do you just feel like you’re being watched at the ranch?”

  She shook her head, glanced back at him. “I felt that way in town once or twice. I’d hear footsteps, look over my shoulder, but no one would be there.” Her shoulders hunched. “You really think that someone’s been watching me this long? I haven’t just been imagining it?”

  He knew his eyes said that, yes, he thought that.

  “Why?”

  “Because maybe you aren’t the only one looking for Cale.” Not even close. “Maybe the others think you’re their key to finding him.” That was what the EOD had thought. That Cale would never completely leave his sister. He’d come back for her, sooner rather than later. “You are his only living relative.”

  “They want to...use me against him?”

  He nodded. “Looks that way.” The words were stilted. I’m using you.

  “Cale’s done something...bad.”

  Serious understatement. She sounded almost like a lost child, but maybe that was the point. She saw Cale as the big, protective older brother. Perfect. Strong.

  Now she was starting to wonder about his flaws.

  “Think about this,” he urged her. “What would someone want to find in that house? Did Cale keep anything special there? You said you went through his computer before.”

  “His computer wasn’t touched.”

  How was she so sure?

  “I, um, put a special security system on it. Trust me on this, no one will be getting past that.”

  If not the computer, then what would Cale have? Why suddenly get so desperate to find it? If the watcher had been eyeing the house for months, then the guy could have broken in anytime.

  But he’d chosen that specific day. Chosen a time hours after Reed Montgomery was killed.

  “Veronica!”

  She turned at the sheriff’s call. He hurried down the front steps, a worried frown pulling his brows low. “Veronica, those feds just called me. They’re sending a team out here.” He gave her a fierce stare. “I don’t know how long it will take them to sweep for prints, but I just... I don’t think you should be staying out here by yourself. Not with these murders going on.”

  Murders that were shattering the peace of Whiskey Ridge.

  “There’s only one motel in town,” she said, lips curving in a smile that was sad. “If I leave my house, don’t you think anyone watching me would realize exactly where I’d gone?”

  “You can stay with me,” Wyatt offered at once.

  Jasper stiffened. He didn’t like the way he’d caught the sheriff staring at Veronica. A guy knew lust when he saw it. The sheriff wasn’t about to get cozy with Veronica.

  Jasper knew the jealousy for exactly what it was. Stay away from her. He glared the message at the sheriff.

  Only the sheriff wasn’t looking at him. His total focus was on Veronica. “You don’t need to be alone,” Wyatt continued, and that was when Jasper realized that the sheriff’s voice was a little too intense. Emotions hummed beneath the surface. “You shouldn’t be alone. I can—”

  “She’s not alone,” Jasper growled. Then, when Wyatt glanced over at him, Jasper offered the sheriff a tiger’s smile. “I’m standing right here.”

  The sheriff narrowed his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was clipped now. Not filled with warm emotion. Biting with fury. “I did some checking on you. Sure, you got bureau friends, but I know about you.”

  No, the sheriff knew what his fake bio said. The bio that Sydney had put in place for him.

  “You’ve been to every hellhole on earth, and you left a trail of bullets and bodies behind you.”

  “I was following orders,” Jasper said, his own anger rousing. The guy was trying to attack him? Trying to make Veronica doubt him? “Sometimes orders aren’t pretty.”

  “Yes, but that was when you were in the military. Years ago. You’ve been in bar fights, brawls. You’ve—”

  He wanted to get in a good, hard fight right now with the sheriff.

  “—got connections with some shady characters who have spent most of their lives in jail.” The sheriff turned his gaze back to Veronica. “I don’t think you should trust him. You know me. I can help you.”

  Damn it. The last thing he needed was this guy trying to play white knight.

  Or trying to get in Veronica’s bed.

  Back off, Wyatt. Back. Off. Jasper’s hands clenched into fists.

  Veronica cast a fast glance at Jasper, then turned back to the sheriff. “When I needed help, Jasper was the first person to listen to me. The first to agree that he’d try and find Cale.” Veronica shook her head. “I begged you for months, Wyatt, but you wouldn’t even fill out a missing person’s report.�
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  “Because Cale was supposed to be on a mission—”

  “I trust Jasper.”

  Damn straight. He flashed another hard smile at the sheriff.

  Wyatt’s glittering gaze met his. “I don’t. Check your timeline, Ronnie. He comes to town, and folks start dying. He comes to town, and your place gets trashed.”

  “I was with him then.”

  “Maybe he has a partner. Maybe he has—”

  The sheriff was accusing him? Jasper stepped forward. “Get some facts to back up any accusations you’re making.”

  Veronica pushed between the men. “Calm down, both of you.” Her breath expelled in a rush. “Wyatt, Jasper may have shady friends, but so do you. So does Cale. I’ve seen them. Heck, I told you that I’d been going through old photos of his and just the pictures of some of those guys intimidated me.” Guys like Reed Montgomery. She paused, then said, “He may have some dangerous friends, but Jasper also has some friends who are coming in very handy.” She tilted her head and studied the sheriff. “If he was involved in this, would he be pulling in the feds? Jasper is helping us, getting more done than—”

  You.

  She didn’t finish her sentence. Maybe she didn’t have to.

  Veronica touched the sheriff’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I trust Jasper.”

  “What if you’re making a mistake?” Wyatt asked her, voice raw.

  “I don’t know.” She didn’t look at Jasper when she whispered this confession.

  Jasper put his arm around Veronica’s shoulder. He pulled her against his side. The woman seemed to fit him so well. “I’m going to stay with her. I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

  “You’d better not.” With that snarl, Wyatt turned away and marched back into the house.

  Veronica watched him go.

  Jasper wanted to ask her about the sheriff. About the possessive gaze he had swept over her. But now her eyes were on him, and for a second, he didn’t say anything at all.

  “I have to do something,” she said. “I can’t just stay here and watch some crime techs go through all my things.”

  And she couldn’t search through the house to see what had been taken, not until Logan’s crew arrived. He blew out a slow breath. “Let’s search the rest of the property.” Well, the north end, for now. “Any buildings or places where someone can hole up for a while.” Rain was coming, so they were working against the clock, or rather, the weather. Jasper wanted to get out there and see if there were any fresh tracks before the rain washed those tracks away. But, judging by the gathering clouds, there wasn’t gonna be much time.

  “You think the person who broke into my house—”

  “It’s a lot of land. I just want to be sure.”

  Her lips pressed together as she thought for a moment, and then she said, “I searched the area, went in all the sheds and the two cabins, about a month ago. I didn’t see anything then.” Her lips pulled down. “That was my third search. I thought that maybe Cale was in one of those places.”

  Maybe he is now. Because Jasper sure thought the man was back in town.

  “Let’s look again,” he murmured. “Sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes.” Or a trained gaze that was used to seeing what most people missed.

  Like the faint signs left by another hunter’s presence.

  In the distance, thunder rumbled.

  He nodded toward the truck. “Let’s tell the sheriff where we’re heading. If we hurry, we can beat the storm.” And catch anyone who might be lingering around, waiting for another moment to strike.

  Not on my watch.

  * * *

  THERE WASN’T EXACTLY a road that led over the ranch’s property. Not a real road, anyway. Dirt and some gravel. If you tried hard, you could almost follow a trail.

  Sometimes.

  The truck bounced along the path, heaving over the terrain. Veronica tried to shove all the dark images out of her head—not images about her slashed items, but images of Reed Montgomery. His last minutes.

  What did her clothes matter compared to what he’d suffered?

  “You okay?”

  Her head snapped up at Jasper’s drawl. “F-fine.”

  “You seemed to be about a million miles away.”

  Not nearly that far. Last Chance wasn’t nearly that far away. She swallowed. There was a question she wanted to ask, but she wasn’t sure how he would react. “Jasper...” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

  His profile was strong, hard, his attention seemingly all on the area before the truck. His gaze swept over the land, going from left to right, then back again, every few moments.

  “What’s it like to kill a man?” she asked him.

  His stare flew to her. “What?”

  There hadn’t been an easy way to ask the question. “You’ve killed. I know it.” Just like her brother. “Reed—the man who killed him... I was wondering...”

  “Killing in combat is damn well not the same thing as killing in cold blood.”

  No. “But it’s still taking a life.”

  He growled.

  “Does it leave a scar inside?” She couldn’t stop herself. “Or do you not feel it at all?” Cale hadn’t seemed to feel anything after his missions. Or if he had, he sure hadn’t told her about any weakness.

  “You asking if it’s easy to kill and walk away?”

  No. Maybe. She just—

  “It’s not easy. It’s never easy. When you’re on a mission, you do what has to be done to protect your unit. You take a life to save lives. And you don’t just forget it the instant the body hits the sand.”

  The sand?

  “You don’t forget the memories. You remember the smells and the colors and the sights of the land around you. You remember your enemy’s scent. The way he looked when he fell. The way the blood felt on your hands if you were close.” His words were fast and hard, hitting like bullets in the car. “If you kill from a distance, it’s not better. You hear the sounds of the shots. The last cry a target makes... You don’t forget. Those images can haunt your dreams.”

  His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “A soldier isn’t a sociopath. He’s no serial killer. He does his job. He protects his country and his team. The serials out there, the killers who walk the streets...I don’t know what the hell they think or feel. I’m not even sure they do feel.”

  His answer wasn’t what she’d expected. Not necessarily what she’d hoped to hear. She knew why Cale had left the army. Knew about the psych evaluation gone wrong.

  What category does Cale belong to...soldier?

  Sociopath?

  She’d hoped that by listening to Jasper, a man who’d been through so many of the same experiences that had marked her brother, she’d—

  What? Veronica rubbed her forehead. That she’d understand the killer better? Understand Cale?

  Understand the dark and dangerous man beside her?

  Sighing, Veronica said, “I didn’t ask to upset you.”

  “Why did you ask?”

  “To understand you.”

  “Is understanding me that important to you?”

  “Yes.” Simple.

  Silence then.

  She waited, not speaking again, just listening to the roll of thunder. The storm was coming closer. Leaning forward, Veronica stared up through the windshield. The sky looked almost black. “I’m not sure how much longer this storm’s gonna hold off.”

  Not long enough for them to get back to the main house, that was for sure. And trying to drive over this faint path in a strong storm... A shiver slid over her. After her recent attack on the road, she sure wasn’t eager for another crash.

  “How much longer until we reach the cabin?” Jasper asked her.

  “About five minutes. Maybe ten. Keep going straight, turn right when you see the stream.” Her hands were flat against the dashboard. She pushed herself back, feeling the seat belt pull over her shoulder.

  “I’m not your brother.”r />
  Veronica was so shocked by his words that she almost forgot the impending storm. “I never thought you were.” If she had, then she sure wouldn’t have made out with him.

  “The things I do...what I feel...that’s me.”

  Uh, okay.

  “I grew up in the system, too. Became an army ranger just like him, so maybe you think that somehow makes—”

  “The system?” She cut across his words, straightening. “You mean the foster-care system?”

  A quick nod.

  “I didn’t know that. Cale never told me.”

  “Not really much to tell. Thousands of kids hit the system every year.” A shrug. “I was one of them.” His gaze was searching the area before them once more.

  “Did your parents die, too?” She could understand his loss. The pain he’d felt when they’d died.

  “They didn’t die. They just didn’t want me.”

  Instinctively, she shook her head. “No, I’m sure that’s not—”

  “My dad split when he found out my mom was pregnant. My mother kept me for a couple of years, just long enough to realize that she didn’t want to be stuck with a kid. Then she dumped me in the waiting room of a local hospital.”

  She wanted to touch him, to comfort him. There was no emotion in his voice, but she could feel his pain.

  “I never saw her again,” he said. His knuckles were white around the wheel.

  “Did you want to?” Dumb question. Surely, he’d dreamed of his mother coming back.

  “No. I never wanted to see her again. The only thing she ever did was hit me and yell at me. I was glad to be free.” His gaze flashed over to her.

  She held his gaze for a moment, then he glanced back at the road.

  It was her turn to talk then. “Maybe you think you know me, because you’ve heard bits and pieces of my life over the years. But I’m more than just Cale’s little sister. More than just the woman who stutters in the corner and—”

  “Your stutter’s sexy.” A hard pause. “And if anyone tried to put you in a corner, I’d kick their ass.”

  Oh. She glanced toward the windshield. The rain was coming down in hard pellets now. So much for beating the storm. “T-turn right.” The stutter didn’t embarrass her now. But her cheeks still glowed.

  The truck slowed, turned. A few minutes later, the cabin was in sight.