Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(41)
Author: Cynthia Eden

He’d been silent after that phone call to the other agent, but she’d felt his anger. When she looked into his eyes, she could see his fury.

Veronica cleared her throat. “I’m going to assume that my brother is still under guard.”

Sydney nodded.

Veronica reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive. “Then you know he wasn’t responsible for the shots taken at me. Someone else is hunting in this town. Not Cale. And this…this can prove his story about heading down to the Caribbean to work a case.”

She handed the flash drive to Sydney.

A frown pulled Sydney’s brows together. “Where’d you get this?”

“From Reed Montgomery’s computer.” She shrugged. The mud felt cold and hard on her skin. “So I tampered with the scene. Lock me up if you—”

“No one is locking you up,” Jasper snarled immediately.

Sydney’s eyes widened. “That’s why the computer was smashed.”

What? Veronica shook her head. “Look, I called earlier and told Jimmy what I’d found. He was supposed to tell—”

The doors burst open behind her. Wyatt rushed inside, his face haggard. “Veronica!” He grabbed her and pulled her into a crushing hug. “Oh, damn, when Logan got me on the radio and told me about the attack…” He pushed her back, stared down at her with blazing eyes. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. She wasn’t going to let herself think too much about the bullet that had missed her head by about, oh, an inch.

Jasper clapped his hand down on Wyatt’s shoulder and jerked him back. “Where were you?”

“I— What?” Wyatt frowned at him. “Kyle Jamison’s house took a hit from the storm. A tree crashed into the side of his place. I went to see how he was, to make sure everything was all right.”

“And where’s your deputy?” Sydney asked him quietly.

Wyatt glanced back at her, brows rising. “Jimmy’s out patrolling. With the storms still running through the area, we needed to make sure folks here were safe. That no one was stranded anywhere.”

Stranded as she’d been. Stuck on the side of the road. Easy pickings.

No. Her shoulders straightened. Not so easy.

“Why are you checking on me?” Wyatt asked as his eyes suddenly narrowed. Then he looked over at Veronica. “Oh, no, you don’t think that I—”

“Evidence has been destroyed,” Sydney interrupted. “Evidence that only a few people in this town had access to.”

“What kind of evidence?” Wyatt wanted to know as he yanked a hand through his wet hair.

“Reed Montgomery’s computer. I think the killer smashed it to hell and back because he didn’t want us to find…” Sydney held up the flash drive. “This.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t destroyed anything. Why would I care about Reed Montgomery’s computer? I want you to catch any killers in my town. This is a safe place.” His voice dropped. “Or it was.” Raindrops trickled down the side of his face. “I came to Whiskey Ridge so I could get away from all the death and violence. I sure never thought it would follow me here.”

The door opened once more. Logan stepped inside. He swept a fast glance at Sydney, then at Jasper. The gaze he gave Wyatt held suspicion.

“I can’t seem to locate your deputy,” Logan said. “He won’t answer his radio or his cell.”

Wyatt’s chin lifted. “Jimmy’s probably just out of his car. Helping someone.”

“Maybe.” Logan’s tone said he doubted that possibility.

Wyatt’s gaze narrowed as he snapped to his full height. “You said someone shot at Veronica. Jimmy would never do that! The kid wants to keep everyone safe in this town. He’d have no reason to go after Veronica. She’s—”

“Did he tell you that I called?” Veronica asked because she had to know this.

Everyone went silent.

She could hear the ticking of the clock on the desk in the lobby.

The lines on Wyatt’s face deepened. Confusion clouded his eyes. “What call?”

That was the answer that she needed, and the one that she dreaded.

Jasper eased closer to her. “Why did you call the sheriff?”

“Because I didn’t know your number.” Her shoulder lifted in a sad shrug. Jimmy. She’d tutored him when he was in high school. Little Jimmy Jones. His dad had been killed in the military, and his mom had always struggled to make ends meet. Struggled…until Jimmy had been eighteen; then his mother had cut out of town and left him behind.

She’d never come back.

Taking a deep breath, Veronica said, “I called Wyatt because I thought he’d believe me about the evidence I’d found.” She nodded toward Sydney’s hand and the small drive that the agent had gripped in her fingers. “I knew the evidence was also on the computer that had been taken from the scene. A file that Reed had. By itself, it’s not that much. I mean, it’s a start, anyway. Bread crumbs that can help lead us to what’s really happening.”

“When did you call?” Sydney wanted to know.

“I… Jimmy didn’t tell me that you called.” Wyatt’s voice was low now. She could see the suspicion in his gaze. When Jimmy had been left alone, Wyatt had stepped in. He tried to help the teen as much as he could. She knew Jimmy was a deputy because of Wyatt. Jimmy had wanted to be just like him.

And like Cale.

Cale had always been there for Jimmy, too. Teaching him to shoot. To hunt.

To…kill?

“When did you call?” Sydney repeated.

Veronica glanced at the clock on the desk. “About two hours ago.”

“Right before the computer was smashed.”

Jimmy? She just never would have suspected him. He still blushed when girls smiled at him. “The car that drove me off the road, it went back down Hawkeye, heading toward my house.”

“Probably because he was going to search for the evidence,” Jasper said, voice rumbling, “and when he couldn’t find it there, he went back to make sure you didn’t get a chance to tell anyone else about what you’d found.”

Logan closed the distance between him and Sydney. “Can you get a GPS track going on his phone?”

She nodded. “As long as the phone’s on.” Then she turned away and headed out of the room.

Wyatt swore. “You’re telling me…my own deputy…is the one who did all these murders? Him, and not Cale?”