Ranger Protector. Angi Morgan

the wall casually. All of his senses were on alert. The ones concerning his guest shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t help it.

      “Just my luck. There really is only one bed.” Megan turned slowly, grabbing the bathroom doorknob after passing his room. “And oh, gosh. No shower?”

      “My grandmother always said a hot soak will do you good. You said you were sore.”

      Her eye roll said more than words. She didn’t appreciate that he knew details from her day. Or was the fact that someone had gotten the jump on her embarrassing? It wasn’t important now. He could find out tomorrow.

      “Are you going to stand guard? Because it’s not necessary. I have nowhere to run...tonight.”

      The slight hesitation didn’t escape him. She wasn’t looking to stay around longer than necessary. But that wasn’t his deal with his partner. He’d given his word, and the only way his partner was ever going to obey the rules for good was if he kept it.

      “No need to waste my time standing here. The window’s too small to crawl through and the house is small enough that I hear every floorboard creak from anywhere inside or out. I’ll go grab my camping cot. You can take the bed.”

      She stopped dead in her tracks before crossing into the old bathroom. “Oh, good grief. There’s no lock on this door.”

      “The place was my grandmother’s. She didn’t need them. I won’t barge in. Just hand me your clothes. There’s a robe hanging inside that you can use.”

      She gasped. There weren’t too many times in his life that someone looked as shocked as they sounded. Plenty of times they’d acted like it. Especially when pulled over for a moving violation. But this woman...either she had the gesture and sound down perfectly or she’d really gasped at his suggestion.

      “That’s ridiculous. Ranger or not, I don’t know if you’re trustworthy. Would you expect your sister to just hand over her clothes to a stranger?”

      “I wouldn’t expect my sister to be in this position. And I do have a sister who I expect to do whatever’s necessary. That is, if she’d been rescued from someone trying to hunt her down and murder her. Yeah, she’d do whatever the man protecting her suggested. Within reason, of course.”

      “Murder is a strong word.”

      “Unfortunately, it’s not mine. Your friend is the one who used it. Don’t forget, we’re both in the dark here. Especially the part where Wade felt this was the only place for you to stay.”

      “Who’s Wade? And if I knew details, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be getting to the bottom of whatever’s going on. Life would be a little less complicated if Therese had just explained everything.” Megan mumbled the last sentence, mixing it with a yawn. “Can’t you call and ask or something? Surely your phone’s okay to use.”

      Jack couldn’t blame Megan. Not really. Right now he didn’t know if his partner was safe, either. Whatever had happened, it must be disconcerting to be drugged and told to stay with a stranger with no other place to hide.

      “Wade isn’t big on phones when he’s suggested someone needs to lie low.” He really did hope the phone was just off and that his partner was alive. But he couldn’t get distracted. This woman knew he was a ranger, but he didn’t trust her to stay put. He perched his fists on his hips. That stance always worked to make him look serious. “For the record, Megan, I am willing to barge in or to handcuff you to the bed. Don’t doubt me.”

      “I’m not giving you my clothes.”

      “Just doing you a favor. Thought you might want clean stuff that fit you tomorrow.”

      “I have a change of clothes in my roll-on.” Realization showed in her expressive eyes as she released a long sigh and dropped her chin to her chest in defeat.

      She’d left her bag at the airport. “Yeah. So I’ve got a washing machine for your clothes and I’ll leave a T-shirt for you to sleep in. Take your time in the tub.”

      He was confident she wouldn’t run out the door naked. Or... How the heck did you judge if a person would run around without clothes? So he held off on finding the only set of pajamas he owned. He heard the water and went to the storage closet on the back porch for the cot and to start her laundry—right after he removed his wet uniforms and shoved them in the dryer.

      The bathroom window was open a crack, and a “blast it that’s hot” floated through along with a “right about one thing” from Megan.

      “What’s the deal with her, huh, Junior?” he asked the bloodhound on the other side of the chain-link fence.

      Jack leaned against the porch post, watching the old hound do his business and creep back through the dog door he’d installed for Mrs. Dennis a couple of years ago. He didn’t have an opinion one way or the other about trouble appearing on his doorstep. Life had been simple for the last several years. At least his life.

      Now, Wade’s, on the other hand, was one complicated mission after another where only he knew the agenda. Why or what his partner was punishing himself for, Jack didn’t know. And Wade would never say.

      There was one thing for certain. If Jack’s partner was going out completely on his own again, there’d be hell to pay. The Rangers didn’t operate that way. Sure, they were invited to help with cases all the time, but their superiors decided those cases. The secretiveness about Megan Harper had trouble written all over it.

      “What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into, Megan?” she asked herself in the tub. Her voice was nice and alto deep.

      Smooth enough that he wouldn’t get tired of listening to it. He should probably go back inside instead of hoping she’d spill why someone was trying to kill her.

      There was plenty of time to figure things out in the morning with a cup of caffeine so everything made sense.

      * * *

      STAKEOUTS HAD PREPARED Jack for sleeping on any surface for any short amount of time possible. Four years later and the training still kicked in when needed. Late nights on assignment, helping a small-town sheriff or chasing after his partner, who was only an arm’s reach from trouble when left on his own.

      He’d done his best to convince Megan, but she’d chosen the cot stretched across the bedroom door. He didn’t think she’d managed any real sleep at all. She’d tossed all night long. So much, in fact, that Jack had debated waking her up to insist she take the bed. But he doubted she would have slept soundly anywhere.

      Megan had cried in her sleep—sort of whimpering, as if she was having a nightmare. Her eyes were still closed when he pulled a T-shirt on, lifted her from the cot and tucked her under his blanket. He’d waited several minutes before sneaking out of the bedroom.

      Tonight she’d be in his bed. Period.

      “Hell, I’m glad I didn’t say that out loud to her.” He flipped the switch on the coffee maker and waited within sight of his bedroom door.

      There wasn’t any way for him to get out of the homecoming meeting. He was the one who needed to confirm the parade route and who would be in charge at the beginning and end. He ended his one-sided debate knowing that Megan would have to go with him.

      Clicking on the TV, he texted his sister about borrowing women’s clothes and sat in his chair to drink his coffee. Just like he did most mornings. There wasn’t much of a routine to follow or disrupt when he was home. Simple life in a simple town. He’d just slurped when the news program splashed a picture of his houseguest in full-screen fifty-seven-inch HD glory.

      He spewed. Coffee went everywhere, including up his nose. It wasn’t pleasant and the rest was nearly in his lap as he read the accompanying scrolling headline.

      “Hell’s bells. What is Wade thinking?”

      “Is everything all right?” Megan came hurrying into the room, shoving her hair away from her face. “Oh