Ranger Guardian

The woman in the pink car was crying again, her mascara smeared like his mother-in-law’s the day his world had turned upside down. It was hard not to think about it—the afternoon Skylar Dawn had broken her arm. But he pushed it from his mind.

Something was off about the accident. Maybe he’d been hanging around Wade too much lately. His friend’s intuition seemed to be rubbing off on him. Everything about the SUV guy who had nearly T-boned them screamed that the man wanted to run.

It had to be the highway patrol officer in him. He’d stopped more than his fair share of antsy drivers with drugs or weapons in their cars. The SUV driver shifted his weight from foot to foot. He kept looking around, especially at Kendall.

Okay, Heath admitted that his wife was an extremely attractive woman. Nothing about her shouted married or mom. And seeing her work again was...hot. He got why men would watch her. But this guy didn’t have a look like he was trying to ask her out.

Nope. Heath recognized the short glances. The slow quarter turns to keep her in his peripheral vision. The driver must not realize that Heath was a Ranger or anyone else significant. He hadn’t given him a second glance since Heath asked if he was okay.

Heath leaned against the pink car’s trunk, watching both the drivers through his mirrored shades. There it was again. A specific look that acknowledged the drivers knew each other. One of the man’s eyebrows rose, and the woman’s chin lifted slightly.

Indiscernible to anyone not watching them specifically. A look that confirmed his gut feeling that something was off. If he’d looked away for a split second, he would have missed it.

If the drivers knew each other, they must know the men in the white van. He took a step toward Kendall, who was wrapping up with the officers. But what would he tell her?

That his instinct told him these two apparently innocent victims had a connection to the group Kendall was looking into? They couldn’t hold the two based on his observation. His gut instinct had gotten them into this accident by encouraging her to follow the van.

If he followed any intuition, it would be to keep his thoughts and observations to himself until they could investigate. That’s what the Rangers and FBI did. They found the facts and built cases.

He’d wait.

For now, he’d make it clear about his role here. No reason to let Public Exposure know he was working with Kendall. He pushed off the trunk and marched to Kendall’s side. He pulled her close to him.

When she turned to him—most likely to express her anger—he kissed her. A full-on-the-mouth, like-she-belonged-to-him kiss. For the moment...she did. Although she may not after the next time they were alone.

“I’ll explain when we’re alone,” he whispered. Then in a louder voice, “You ready to go, babe?”

He could see the fury rising for him embarrassing her. “Gentlemen.” She nodded to the officers, excusing herself.

Heath didn’t back off. He kept his arm around Kendall’s waist as they walked to her sedan. He opened her door and tried to kiss her again.

“No way,” she said, dodging his attempt. “You better have a dang good reason for what you just did.”

He ran around the back of the car, trying to come up with something. Anything other than the real reason, since he didn’t want to explain himself. At least not yet.

She stared at him as he snapped his seat belt into place.

“Well?”

“It was time to go.”

She huffed. “That makes no sense at all. If you wanted to go, you could have said something and not embarrassed me in front of the Dallas PD.”

He let her vent as he looked through the pictures she’d taken of the scene. Once he was back in the office, he’d be able to run a full background check. Once he had information, he’d explain to Kendall.

“You aren’t listening to me.”

“What?”

Kendall slowed to a stop beside his truck. “I said, if you’re going to get possessive because someone’s looking at me, then this joint effort isn’t going to work.”

“That wasn’t... I wasn’t...” he tried. Get your information right before you tell her. “Professional. Got it.”

The awkward pause resulted in an awkward thumb gesture indicating he should get out of the car. She lowered the passenger window from her side and waited until he bent his face down to look at her.

“I’ll talk to you tonight when you call Skylar Dawn. We’ll decide what our next move is and where to meet tomorrow.”

“Good idea.”

He stood. The window went up and she pulled away, leaving him in the middle of the street. She had a right to be upset. On the surface, he’d behaved badly.

Back in his truck, he resisted the impulse to bang the dashboard. It sure didn’t appear that he’d racked up any points for moving back home. He’d do his research, and maybe his instinct about the drivers would pay off.

Drapes dropped into place at the house to his left. Blinds closed at Mrs. Pelzel’s home. There was more to this case than fraud. Every instinct he possessed told him so. Kendall was keeping something from him. He knew that before being assigned to her task force.

Fraud? Or a decision about their life—together or apart? Maybe helping his wife would give them an opportunity to really talk. But now, it was time to work some computer magic to figure out what secrets the residents of Hall Street were keeping.

Chapter Six (#u43a5c463-b15d-50aa-8b84-b8575b798de3)

“If I weren’t a mom, I’d be cussing like a sailor right now.” Kendall closed the office door behind her.

Jerry Fisher didn’t look up from the paperwork under his pen. “I put in the request as you asked. You must have known there was a possibility that your husband would continue on the task force until they could find an alternate. Do I need to file a furgle conflict of interest and pull you from the case? Oh, sorry. I forgot you’re offended by that word.”

The witty comeback she’d expected hadn’t come. Instead he’d deliberately used that stupid word. Her supervisor sounded...bothered. Shoot. She’d been using his listening abilities for her personal venting. That needed to stop.

The pen dropped to the desk, and he covered the papers with a file. Kendall plopped down in the lone chair near the bookshelf, emotionally exhausted. She’d only returned to the office to delay explaining to her mother why she looked like she hadn’t slept in a year.

Jerry leaned back in his chair, fingers locked casually behind his neck. “Look, if it’s too difficult to work with Murray, I can give this thing to Kilpatrick. It’ll die a quick death, and it won’t be your responsibility or be on your record.”

“Kilpatrick is two months away from retirement. He won’t take it seriously.” She could handle Heath and the investigation. If she couldn’t...well, she deserved to be reassigned.

“We both know this investigation isn’t going anywhere, Kendall. I spoke with my supervisor and the DC cybercrime group supervisor. They’re still not interested until your victims have monetary losses or receive extortion threats. It’s just not a priority for them.” He leaned forward, chatting like the friend he’d been when they’d first started out at the Bureau. More like he was doing her a favor by taking the case away.

Did he really believe she was wasting her time? Had he lost confidence in her ability? Or was her desire to crack a big case obscuring the reality that Public Exposure wasn’t one?

“We actually had a break this afternoon. The address of the complaint was being watched by two men.” She wouldn’t remind him that she could manage Heath.

The fact was that Jerry Fisher drank the Kool-Aid. He’d moved up to management. He was her boss. Bosses lived by the rules. Bosses wanted successful investigations. Bosses didn’t need to hear about personal problems.

If he needed results...well, that’s what she’d give him.

“Were you able to question them?” He picked up the pen and tapped both ends back and forth on the manila folder.

“We were in pursuit when they—No. No questioning, yet.” But the incident strengthened her resolve. She was on to something important. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”

“Furgle. I have time.” He gestured to the files on his desk. “Believe me, I’d rather be in the field with you again.”

“I bet.” She smiled, in spite of his using that stupid word...again. She left more determined than ever to break this case wide open.