Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents 2)

When her brother hadn’t come back after a few weeks, she’d started digging. Pushing. Pushing as hard as she could as she dug into his life and the faint trail that he’d left behind.

Had someone tried to push back?

“Is this about Cale?” she asked softly.

She saw the injured man’s eyelids flicker.

Her heart seemed to stop. Then it raced, faster and faster with each second that ticked by. “Do you know where he is?” Veronica demanded, and she lunged for the bars.

Jasper grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and hauling her back against him.

The men in the cell were smirking now. The taller one, the one with dark brown hair, took a step toward her. “Don’t know your brother.”

Jasper’s hands squeezed her tighter.

Through numb lips, she managed to say, “I never said Cale was my brother.”

That made the smirk vanish. The guy’s eyes cut to Wyatt and blazed a wild blue. “We want a lawyer, now.”

“Tell me about my brother!” Veronica yelled back.

Jasper pulled her even closer against him. She could feel the rock-hard muscles of his abs against her back. His head lowered. “Easy,” he whispered in her ear.

Did it look as if she could take this easy? The guy had just admitted to knowing her brother. Random abduction? No way. No. Way.

Wyatt slammed his hand against the bars. “Veronica.”

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.