Ranger Guardian Read online

  “They’re standing at the back of the van. One’s talking pretty rapidly and waving his hands. Can you make out what they’re saying? I can’t.”

  “No,” he whispered into his microphone.

  “They’re both looking in your direction, but I don’t think they can see the phone. The driver is opening the doors and putting the paint back inside.”

  “I can have a conversation,” he whispered.

  “No. Heath, no. Just wait.” She had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

  Trusting premonitions had never been a strategy for her. She never looked for good luck or blamed a bad streak on chance. More than anything else, she investigated and found the answers through old-fashioned hard work.

  But something screamed at her to get Heath back in the car.

  “Time to pack it up, Heath.”

  The screen went black as she heard the driver slam the van doors shut in real time and then on the echo in the video delay. She started the car to be at the ready.

  But Heath didn’t return to the vehicle. She inched the car forward until she could see her husband disappearing into the front door alcove, getting closer to the van instead of coming back to her.

  “Heath!” She called to him without any response. She sank lower in her seat, hoping neither man in the van noticed the car.

  The van’s engine roared to life.

  Kendall braced herself, fairly certain that the next thing she heard would be gunfire. The van peeled out of the driveway and down the street...toward her, passing Heath and turning left. Perfect for them to follow.

  “Let’s go!” Heath’s voice roared at her through the phone.

  She put the car into Drive, stopping just as he rushed away from the house and leapt over a small hedge. Even in boots, Heath was across the concrete street and in the car within seconds.

  His speed always amazed her. Riding horses, running or taking down a suspect...the action didn’t matter. His hat was in his lap, and his hands were waving to follow the van.

  “We don’t really have a reason to follow these guys,” she mentioned as she took the next left, back to the main road they’d turned from earlier. “Why do you want to pursue?”

  “Gut feeling?”

  Just as she was about to open her mouth to explain how their joint task force operated—that she was in charge and he shouldn’t take off like he had—the van sped up and fishtailed around a corner.

  “If they really think that’s going to work, I guess they don’t know much about you, Kendall.”

  Even increasing their speed and darting around a car, she caught the smile and wink. The natural response was to smile back. So she did. It was the reason she’d fallen in love with him. His gallantry. His bravery. His...okay, everything.

  Kendall stopped herself, concentrating on switching lanes and accelerating. She’d confront him later. After whatever they were doing was over.

  “Watch out.” Heath raised his voice, pointing in front of them.

  The van went through a yellow light. They weren’t running sirens. And a powder-pink sedan, heading in the opposite direction, turned left in front of them. They were going to hit each other. Kendall slammed on her brakes, as did the sedan. They barely avoided each other as they fishtailed sideways to a stop.

  “Gun it. Car to your left.”

  She heard the words and trusted the Texas Ranger next to her. She floored the gas, trying to look for crossing traffic, getting their car across the intersection. It was a good time of day to be on Northwest Highway. No one was in their path when she heard brakes from one direction and tires squealing from the other.

  The SUV they’d passed a few seconds earlier had crashed into the rear of the pink car, stopping where her sedan would have been if Heath hadn’t yelled. There was a loud bang and horns.

  “Great job, babe.” Heath patted her shoulder from where he rested his arm along the back of her seat. “I’ll check on the drivers.”

  She pulled around to protect the drivers from oncoming traffic and hit the hazard lights. Heath got out, leaving his hat in his seat. She dropped her head to the wheel, reaching for her phone to call the accident in to authorities and request a tow truck. She sat back as she gave all the appropriate information, letting out a long sigh.

  The van was out of sight. Heath was busy with the drivers, and all Kendall could do was force herself to breathe. That had been close. Too close.

  No suspect was worth what had almost happened. She had to be more careful, less reckless. Skylar Dawn needed her parents to come home. Period.

  “You okay?” Heath asked, back at the passenger door.

  She nodded, still a little stunned by it all.

  “I can’t say I’m bummed about them getting away.” The corner of his mouth barely rose as he leaned on the car.

  “What? Why’s that?”

  “Where’s the fun in catching them the first day I get to work with you again?”

  He said it with such a straight face that if she hadn’t known him, she never would’ve seen that playful gleam in his eye. Yet she couldn’t argue with the logic either. She would’ve been bummed, too.

  Chapter Five

  Heath wanted to take Kendall in his arms until she stopped shaking, but he’d jumped out of the car to check on the other drivers. Instead of helping her now, he spoke to her through the passenger door, keeping the entire front seat between them.

  Hugging your wife after an accident was allowed, in his book. He just didn’t know if it fell under the professional umbrella. He straightened, grabbing his aching ribs, worse now because of slamming into the seat belt. But he swallowed the grimace of pain, keeping it to himself. He wouldn’t mention it to the EMTs who would be arriving on the scene, judging by the distant sirens.

  Kendall stretched a couple of times as she stood from the car. “I can’t believe they missed us.”

  “You didn’t hesitate.”

  She nodded, letting the statement stand as a compliment about their teamwork. And this time, he didn’t add the frightening picture in his head of a different outcome. If she had stopped to question why he was yelling a command at her... Damn, they would be pinned between those two cars right now.

  But she hadn’t. They were unharmed. Fine to go home to Skylar Dawn. And good enough to work together tomorrow.

  “The drivers are fine.” He’d walked around the hood of the car before realizing it. His hand opened between Kendall’s shoulder blades, and he might have patted her a couple of times if he hadn’t seen the tears.

  But he had.

  Just two, but they were enough to make her curl into the crook of his arm and stand there until they heard the first siren grow close. She broke away like someone had thrown water on them.

  “Traffic needs to get through. I should probably move the car.” Her voice was awkward and strained as she looked around the intersection.

  “I can take care of it.”

  “Don’t coddle me, Heath.”

  “Whoa there, partner.” He emphasized the last word to remind her why they were there. “I’m allocating resources. You’re the better photographer. I’m going to need every angle possible before the cars move.” He stuck his hand in his pocket.

  Her mouth formed a perfect O before accepting his phone. Then she was back. Professional. Doing her job as the authorities arrived. Identifying herself as an agent and taking pictures.

  Staying out of the way, the Dallas PD officer gave him the go-ahead to move the FBI sedan. It didn’t have a scratch on it. Just as he opened the door, in a moment where no one else watched, he caught a glance between the two drivers.

  A knowing glance. Like they’d gotten away with something.

  It took him a few minutes to get the sedan back on the same side of the street as the rest of the cars. By the time he returned, both drivers stood
with officers, giving their statements. After an initial check, they’d both declined the ambulance ride to a hospital.

  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

  “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 ne
eded 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.

  Jerry wasn’t the only one who needed results. Climbing the FBI ladder had been her dream for as long as she could remember. She needed a big win in her column. Someday she wanted to be the agent in charge, the boss, the person others reported to.

  But, honestly, she couldn’t remember why.

  Did she want to be behind a desk making all the decisions without the full picture? Did she want to move and take Skylar Dawn away from her life here? And, more importantly, away from her father?

  Like my mother did?

  God, the realization stopped her in her tracks. That wasn’t the plan when their argument started. Well, marrying and having a child had never been a part of her life plan either. She rubbed her palms together as she continued down the hallway. She needed to reevaluate her life. The realization wasn’t a surprise. She just hadn’t admitted it to herself before this minute.

  Even though she’d wanted to have the same evaluation talk with Heath, she hadn’t acknowledged it was exactly what she needed to do personally.

  She needed more information about Public Exposure, which would mean a late night of research. But her first call was to the house. Her mother picked up Skylar Dawn from day care each day, but she always waited until Kendall got home before serving dinner.

  “Mommy!” her daughter answered. She either could recognize the caller ID or knew it wasn’t six o’clock and time for Heath’s call.