Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(27)

“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.”

“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.