Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(42)

“We also think he’s tied to the fire and explosion at the police station, and the murder of the two men who were shot outside the station—the men who attempted to abduct you.” A clipped voice.

She wanted to rage at him, but her voice stayed controlled. Mostly. “I was outside that station. Do you seriously think my brother was trying to kill me, too?”

“No, ma’am.”

Veronica hated that drawling “ma’am” bit.

“I think your brother is one fine shot,” Jasper continued quietly. “Actually, I know he is. That’s why you weren’t hurt that day. He took out his targets, just like this morning, when he aimed only at me, not you.”

Her cheeks felt icy. “I was inside the station when the fire started, the explosion—”

“Your brother had demolitions training when he was in the military.”

She didn’t want to hear this.

“He would have known how to stage that scene. Sydney talked to an arson investigator. The initial flames were set to alert folks in the station. To give us time to get out. But the explosion that followed, that was designed for a specific type of destruction. A bomb was placed, then triggered so that the back of the station would be hit hardest. The bomber knew exactly what he was doing. Hell, we even think the guy used a cell phone to start the explosion in the back.”

The back of the station. She’d been in the front, so...

“Your brother made sure you were clear in that explosion. He protected you, but still went after the men he wanted.”

This couldn’t be true. “I want to see him.” Because Jasper was wrong.

“Good, because he wants to see you, too.”

Her heartbeat wouldn’t slow down. It was racing too hard in her chest, and her hands were trembling.

Jasper motioned toward the far end of the hallway. “Come this way.”

Fine. She stepped forward. Instantly, Wyatt moved with her. He’d been silent during the exchange with Jasper. Watching, weighing every word. Did everyone but her think that Cale was a monster? A cold-blooded killer?

Soldier...or sociopath.

Jasper slammed his hand into the sheriff’s chest. “Sorry, Wyatt, for now, it’s just her.”

Wyatt frowned at him. “That’s my friend in there. If he’s gone rogue, I can get him to talk.”

He hasn’t gone rogue.

But Jasper shook his head. “For now, I’m only taking Veronica back to interrogation.”

Wyatt’s gaze cut to Veronica. Frustration etched hard lines on his face. “You going to be okay in there?”

She nodded. She wasn’t about to break apart. Yes, Jasper’s betrayal made it feel as if he had tried to carve out her heart, but she wouldn’t break. Jasper wrapped his hand around her elbow and guided her down the hall. She didn’t need his guidance. She didn’t need anything from him anymore.

“In here.” He pushed open a door to the left. She entered, rushing in her eagerness to see Cale, only...Cale wasn’t there. The room was empty.

She spun around just as Jasper shut the door behind him, sealing them inside.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Her hands were fisted so hard that her knuckles hurt. “I want to see my brother. You told me—”

“You will see him.” The words were rough. “But first, you’re going to talk to me.”

He started to close in on her. Instinctively, Veronica backed up a step, but then she froze. He wasn’t going to intimidate her, not anymore. “You should wipe that blood away,” she muttered, her gaze rising to his forehead. “It really messes up that whole intense, scary vibe that you’re trying to give me.”

He stopped and frowned at her.

And she was lying. The blood just made him look more dangerous and scary. But so what if she was lying? He’d lied; she could do it, too. Maybe it was childish, but she didn’t care.

“The blood’s a little gift from your brother,” Jasper murmured. “Seems he doesn’t like the fact that we’re involved.”

Her brows shot up. “We’re not.” What had he told her brother? Oh, no, did Cale think that she’d been setting him up, too?

Jasper resumed his stalking moves toward her. “We most definitely are.” The last word was bit out. “Or did you forget that you gave me your virginity just a few hours ago?”

He had not just said that to her.

“You waited,” he continued, voice thickening, “because you wanted to be with the right man.”

“You aren’t the right man.” She could barely force the words past her suddenly desert-dry throat. “What you are... You’re a man who lied to me. From the first moment I saw you in that bar, everything has been a lie.”

“Not everything.” He was less than a foot away from her. Not touching. She didn’t want him to touch her. It was hard enough to keep her wall of ice in place. She didn’t want him touching her again and trying to shatter that wall.

“You’re EOD.” She threw that out at him.

He nodded.

“You think my brother is a killer.”

“I know he is.”

“Just like you are.” Her breath heaved out. “He was following mission orders, saving lives. You said yourself that a soldier—”