Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents 2)

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?