Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(47)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Make it five minutes,” Logan said, and she could see the tension that had tightened his face. “Make sure Gunner’s on the move with the same intel, too. We want to give Jasper as much cover as we can.”

In the distance, she could finally hear the scream of a fire truck’s siren. Volunteers, had to be for a town this size, but with one phone call, Logan had gotten them mobilized. The EOD had some pretty powerful strings.

Would the EOD be strong enough to save one of its own? “Five minutes,” she repeated, and punched in the button for Gunner. They would save Jasper and Veronica. They hadn’t lost one of the Shadow Agents yet, and they weren’t about to start now.

* * *

THE OLD RANCH on Derby Road was just as Veronica remembered it. Sagging roof, busted windows, a wooden gate that was barely standing. The place had been in disrepair for over ten years.

Since before Jimmy’s mother had left the kid alone there.

The patrol car braked to a stop. Veronica had been yelling when Wyatt was on the phone. She’d tried to tell Jasper to stay away.

Because it’s a trap.

As soon as Wyatt saw him, she knew the sheriff would take aim at Jasper, just as the man had taken aim at her brother.

Her fingers curled over the wire caging that separated her from the front seat. “Is Jimmy dead?”

Wyatt jumped, then whirled toward her. “Why would you think that?” He shook his head. “I’ve always taken care of Jimmy.”

The way you’ve taken care of me? “Where is he?”

Wyatt’s breath eased out on a low sigh. “Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing Jimmy soon enough.”

The words sounded like a threat. Probably because they were. “You shot my brother.”

Wyatt’s eyes bored into hers. “Your brother’s a killer, Veronica. Cold-blooded. Soulless.”

No, Wyatt was the cold-blooded one. “I—I heard what you said to Jasper—”

“Don’t worry, I’m not killing you…yet.”

But he would. As soon as he was finished using her as bait.

She licked lips that had gone desert dry. Veronica knew she had to get away from him. Had to stop him, before he hurt someone else that she cared about. Or before he just killed her.

But then Wyatt was climbing out of the driver’s seat, coming back toward her and opening her door. “If you fight me, I’ll shoot you. Jasper won’t be able to tell if you’re alive or dead from a distance.”

She couldn’t even speak in response to the brutal words. This was the real Wyatt? He’d had weekly dinners at the ranch. Spent Christmas with her and Cale.

Now he’s going to kill me.

“Don’t fight, Veronica,” he warned her as he reached inside the car and locked his hands around her wrists.

She didn’t fight him. But she started to plan.

Then she was in front of him. She tipped back her head to stare up at his face. A monster shouldn’t have such a normal face. You should be able to see the evil. It shouldn’t have hid so easily behind kind eyes.

“I always liked you, Veronica.” Wyatt’s words were soft, tinged with a hint of regret. “Cale should have made certain you stayed out of this mess.”

“C-Cale didn’t bring me into it. I went looking for him.”

“Because you’re loyal.” He was too close. She wanted to swing at him, but she had a really crummy punch. Cale had said that was her weakness, but…

“Everybody has a strength. Everybody has a weakness. Your strength, Ronnie, is that you look weak. Use that. Never let ’em see your real strength, not until it’s time to attack.”

“I admire loyalty.” He stepped away from her. A faint breeze stirred the hair at her nape. “Do you think you ever could’ve been loyal to me?”

She didn’t know what to say. The man was crazy, and at any moment, she expected him to snap and just shoot her. Her gaze darted to the left and tension had her body stiffening.

The long, black car. The one that had run her off the road.

“Jimmy’s car.” Now Wyatt sounded sad. “You and Jasper got the description right.”

“You were driving. Not Jimmy.”

“You had the flash drive.” Just that fast, anger whipped in his words. “The files should have been gone, but you had them.”

She wouldn’t let him see her fear. “I gave the flash drive to Sydney. She has the evidence that can clear my brother.”

He growled. “It wasn’t just the damn drive. It was all those pictures you kept talking about. Pictures from Cale’s time in the military.”

Her breath caught. The pictures had linked Cale to Reed, but they hadn’t been much help for anything else.

“Was I in those pictures, Veronica?” Wyatt asked her softly.

She’d known that Wyatt had served in the army, but Veronica shook her head.

“You wouldn’t be lying now, would you? Because those pictures…I won’t let them ruin things for me. Cale served with me when we had demolitions training.”

Demolitions…the bomb at the sheriff’s station…

“Reed was with us then. That’s how I knew he was in the business. With all those agents still circling town, I can’t have those pictures turning up.”

“Y-you weren’t in the pictures,” she whispered, and it was the truth. He wasn’t.

He exhaled slowly. “Well, then, I guess I just blew your house to hell for no reason. But, hey…” Now he flashed her a smile that held the edge of insanity. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

How had he hid his darkness? “Why?”

“For money, of course. Isn’t that why people do most of the things in this world?” He rolled his shoulders. “But when the smoke clears, it won’t be me who gets blamed for the crimes.” His smile had dimmed. “Folks will say Jimmy blew up your house. Just like he destroyed my station. Then, torn up by what he’d done, Jimmy came back here and shot himself.”

Her knees buckled. Wyatt grabbed her, held her steady.

Her lashes had lowered. She put her hands on his stomach, acting as if she needed balance.

Don’t show him your strength.

“You said you took care of him.”

“And I did.” A pause. “Pity that kid never appreciated the lessons I taught him.”

She shoved against his chest, and because he hadn’t been expecting the move, it was easy for her to grab the gun he’d had holstered at his waist. Her hand snapped up, fingers locked around the weapon. “Get away from me!”