Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(30)

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.”

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.

More thunder rumbled, and when she climbed out of the truck, lightning flashed across the sky. The drops of rain beat against her skin, growing harder with every step she took.

Jasper had his gun out. He paused on the old, slightly sagging porch, and glanced at her. The droplets of rain clung to his skin. “Stay behind me when we go inside.”

Because he thought the watcher might be there? Or because he thought her brother could be inside?

Trust him.

Veronica nodded. Then Jasper pushed open the door and rushed inside the darkness.





Chapter Seven

The cabin was deserted. Jasper checked every closet, checked under the bed and even did a scan of the outside perimeter.

Their watcher wasn’t there. Neither was Cale.

But there was no dust inside the place. The bed was made, and some canned goods were even stocked in the small kitchen. Someone could have been there, and that someone could have covered his tracks pretty well.

The generator hadn’t been turned on, but that would have been a dead giveaway to someone else’s presence in the cabin. Since he wasn’t trying to hide his presence, Jasper flipped on that generator. The lights flashed, and he saw Veronica rubbing her arms.

He picked up a blanket from the back of the old couch. “Here.” His voice was gruff. He’d been too abrupt with her in the truck. But her questions had been like a knife, cutting into old wounds.

No one wants you, not even your own mother.

The other kids at his school hadn’t wasted much time in making his life hell.