Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(8)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Jasper growled. “Watch that tone, Sheriff.”

Wyatt shoved both of his hands into his hair. “They asked for a lawyer. We have to get them one.” He pointed to the deputy. “Go get Tanner Dempsey. He still occasionally practices some defense over in Dallas.”

As far as Veronica knew, Tanner Dempsey was the only lawyer within a two-hundred-mile radius. She’d thought he gave up law after he’d lost that last big case in Dallas, but maybe anyone with a law license would do right now.

When Jimmy rushed to the back of the station, and the back exit, Wyatt glanced at Veronica. Heaving a sigh, the sheriff waved toward his office. “Go cool down in there. When Tanner gets here—”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Veronica said, shaking her head. “There’s no telling how long it will take Tanner to get here.” Provided he was even in town.

A muscle flexed in Wyatt’s jaw. “They aren’t going anywhere,” he gritted. “And if you don’t want to go home, then at least get in my office. You can’t be near these prisoners.”

Now she was the one to glare at the men in that cell.

“Don’t worry,” Gunner’s rumbling voice promised, “I’ll find out exactly why these men tried to abduct you.”

Of course, she wanted to know why the men had targeted her, but right now her priority was finding Cale. “I just want my brother back.”

“This is a lead,” Jasper whispered in her ear. “Settle down. We can make this work for us.”

Settling down wasn’t exactly easy. Not after everything that had happened.

He led her toward the sheriff’s office. As they walked away, she saw Gunner taking out his phone and heading for the station’s front doors. “Where’s he going?” she asked. The prisoners were the other way. He wasn’t going to find out much by heading outside.

“He’ll be checking in with his superiors. Briefing them on what’s happening.”

Oh, right. Gunner had said that he was already working some abductions in the area.

Jasper shut the door behind them and exhaled on a hard breath. She rubbed her arms, feeling chilled as the air blew down on her from the vent overhead.

His finger rose and traced over her arms, making goose bumps. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

She nodded. She couldn’t hear any sounds from the outer area. The blinds were all shut in Wyatt’s office, effectively closing them off and giving them a bit of privacy.

“When I saw the crash and those guys trying to stuff you in that trunk…” His hand fell away from her. “You scared me.”

She blinked at his words, taken aback. “I scared you? I didn’t think anything could scare someone like you.”

He stared at her intently, like a snake targeting his prey. “A guy like me?”

She’d said the wrong thing. She was nervous and scared and when he was this close, she just felt hyperaware of him. Veronica shifted from one high heel to the other. She really hated these shoes. “You know what you are. You’ve seen so much. Done so much. You’ve—”

“Killed?”

There it was. He’d just tossed it right out. So she wouldn’t back down. “Yes.”

His pupils seemed to expand, the darkness taking over the green of his eyes. “Every man can know fear, but you can’t ever let that fear stop you.”

Sounded as though he had his own set of rules to follow.

“I said I’d help you.” He took a step forward. She refused to retreat. So he just got…very close to her. Her breath came a little faster. Her mouth seemed to go dry. Especially when he added, “But my help has conditions.”

“Conditions?” She had to tilt her head back to better meet his gaze.

“You hired me to find your brother, but you didn’t say anything about your own life being at risk.”

“Th-that’s because I didn’t think I was at risk.” And, dang it all, her stutter had come back. She’d tried so hard to defeat that stutter over the years, but when she got too nervous, it still slipped out. Being around Jasper, yes, he made her too nervous.

“Someone just tried to abduct you. I’d say that definitely puts you in the ‘at risk’ category.”

She tried to get him back on track. “They know my brother.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“They’re a lead for us!”

Another nod.

She wasn’t sure where this was going, so Veronica just asked, “Are you… Do you not want to help me anymore because of the attack?” While she waited on his response, she pretty much held her breath. Don’t back away, don’t back away, don’t—

The faint lines around his eyes deepened. “I don’t back off a job, no matter what. You should remember that.”

Um, okay. She would. She tended to have a very good memory.

“The fact that you seem to be in danger, that means that I’m gonna be staying close to you, real close.”

He was already close. So close that she could feel the heat of his body against hers.

“I’ll find Cale, but I’m not going to risk you in the process.”

A mercenary with a heart? She wasn’t surprised. Cale had a good heart, too, despite what the rest of the world seemed to think.

“Will you trust me?” Jasper asked her.

She nodded. At this point, he was the only one she could trust. No one else had been willing to help her. Only Jasper.

His pupils had definitely gotten bigger. They almost swallowed the green of his eyes. “Good.” Then his fingers were under her chin. His head was bending toward her.

Was he…was he about to kiss her?

Veronica was pretty sure she’d had this dream once, only she hadn’t been recovering from a near kidnapping in the dream.

“I won’t let you get hurt,” he promised. His voice was rough and dark, the way that she thought it would sound when he was in bed with a woman, whispering in the night.

Her gaze fell to his mouth.

She wanted him to kiss her.

She arched toward him. Maybe she even rose onto her tiptoes.

He wasn’t closing the distance between them.

I want to kiss him. Maybe it was the adrenaline and the fear still pumping through her. Whatever it was, in that one instant, Veronica felt a little bit wild.

Wild enough to curl her hands around his shoulders. To pull him down against her and to press her lips against his. His lips were firm and a little cool. And they were opening beneath hers. She’d initiated the kiss, but Jasper quickly took over. His lips hardened on hers, and his tongue swept inside her mouth, sliding right past her lips. He didn’t rush the kiss. Didn’t try to take too much from her, too fast. He explored. He tasted. He made her knees feel a little bit weak, and he made her smell smoke.