Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents 2)

Her body trembled. Nausea rolled in her belly.

From the beginning, it had been a setup. Jasper had been hunting Cale, but not because he wanted to help her find her brother.

But because he wanted to arrest him.

“What’s the charge?” Veronica whispered.

Jasper glanced over at her. His eyes glinted. “Veronica...”

“Multiple counts of murder,” the blonde woman said, voice flat. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lane, but your brother is a killer, and we’re taking him in.”

That was the moment when her world came crashing down around her.

* * *

A LOCAL DOC, a lady with bright red hair, glowering eyes and tough hands, stitched Jasper up. It was the same doc who’d taken care of the kid who’d tried to abduct Veronica. Jasper railed the whole time she patched him up. He could feel a sledgehammer hitting his brain, but he didn’t care about that pain or the burn of the bullet wound and stitches.

He wanted to get to Veronica.

He had to explain to her.

Back at the accident scene, she’d stared at him as if he were a stranger. Hell, to her, he was. A stranger that she’d taken to her bed, only to discover that he’d been lying to her all along. Using her.

I’m so damn sorry, Veronica.

Once the doc was through with him, Jasper headed over to meet up with the rest of his team. Even before the sheriff’s station had been reduced to ashes and a few skeleton walls, the EOD agents had already scouted the area for their own headquarters. Now the EOD was set up in an old building, one that would serve as their base until the mission was over. When he entered their temporary headquarters, Jasper saw Logan sitting behind a desk in the main room. Sydney paced near him.

“That was close,” Logan said, glancing at the bandage on Jasper’s forehead and the covered wound on his shoulder. “I’m starting to wonder who has the bigger death wish, you or Gunner.”

Jasper’s jaw clenched. “Where’s Veronica?”

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nbsp; “That’s your question?” Logan’s blue gaze narrowed. “We brought in our suspect. We even held off interrogation until you dragged your sorry hide out of the doc’s office, and the first thing you ask about is the girl?” He gave a soundless whistle. “Interesting.”

Jasper thought about punching Logan. Sure, Logan was their leader, the guy with the code name of Alpha One, but leader or not, he was still close to getting hit.

Logan rose from his chair and slowly came around the desk. “You didn’t get emotionally involved in this one, did you?”

Hell, yes.

“Because we both know just how dangerous that can be,” Logan said, memories flashing in his own eyes.

But in Logan’s case, that emotional involvement had turned out okay. Logan had saved his lady, and they were planning to get married. Logan was on his way to that picket-fence dream.

Lucky bastard.

While Jasper was pretty sure any dreams he’d been dumb enough to have were dead.

“He asked for you,” Sydney said.

Jasper glanced her way. Her gaze darted between him and Logan. “During his transport here,” Sydney clarified, “the prisoner kept saying that he only wanted to talk with Jasper.”

Well, that would explain why Logan hadn’t started the interrogation. “Planning to use me, huh?” Jasper asked. But wasn’t that the way the EOD worked? Before Logan could answer, Jasper focused on Sydney once more. “What about Veronica?” They’d been separated at the crime scene. Logan had insisted that Jasper go with the doctor—as if he hadn’t spent plenty of time walking around with much worse wounds—while Veronica had stayed with the EOD agents.

“What about her?” Sydney asked, lifting her brows.

The woman was going to make him spell it out. She always enjoyed making him suffer a bit. Part of Sydney’s charm. Or not. “Did she ask about me?” he gritted.