Page 14 of Ranger Bravery

Derek was quiet, his gaze sweeping across the wrecked conference room and then lingered on the chair with the bullet lodged in the back of it. Piper knew that look well. Her boss was considering Jackson’s observation, taking it in and weighing it against the evidence. From the creased furrow of his brow, he was concerned. “I agree with Jackson. It’s a weird coincidence. There could be nothing to it, but I want y’all to use extra care when working the murder case.”

Piper eyed the two men. “Seriously? Marcus couldn’t have killed Elena. He doesn’t have the ability to plan such a well-executed murder.”

“I agree with that.” Jackson nodded.

“So what are you suggesting? That Elena’s killer gave a gun to Marcus and convinced him to shoot me? That’s… farfetched. Besides, what’s the point? I didn’t see anything on the night Elena was killed.”

His mouth flattened into a thin line. “The killer doesn’t know that.”

NINE

Hours later, Jackson waited in the expansive lobby of the Kingston Law Firm. His heart rate had finally settled after this morning’s shooting, but the worries ping-ponging in his mind wouldn’t be silent. Was the incident today and Elena’s murder connected?

The thought iced Jackson’s blood. He couldn’t erase the image of Marcus standing outside the window on the sidewalk. The man had been looking for someone, and the moment he saw Piper, he pulled his gun.

He’d fired right at her.

“You okay over there, Barker?” Piper casually flipped through a legal magazine. She’d cleaned the glass from her hair and braided it, but a few stubborn strands had wriggled free to frame her gorgeous face. “You’re awfully broody. I can practically hear the wheels in your head turning.”

Jackson realized his muscles were stiff and his posture rigid. He forced his spine to relax, even as a flash of irritation bolted through him. “We’re on a last name basis now?”

She didn’t bother to glance away from the magazine. “Why not? I refer to most of my colleagues by their last name.”

Distance. Piper was putting distance between them. Reducing their relationship to a professional one. Wasn’t that what he wanted? Considering the brief moment they’d shared after the shooting stopped, Jackson should be relieved. Ten years hadn’t done anything to tamp down the attraction arching between them. If anything, being around each other constantly made it worse, which is exactly what he’d been afraid of.

So yes, he should be thankful she was reinforcing the wall between them, but for some inexplicable reason, Jackson’s irritation grew. They were a whole lot more than colleagues. They’d shared passionate kisses and long talks. He’d danced with her at senior prom. After her assault, he’d held her hand in the hospital all night, watching over her while she slept. There was an ocean of history between them, and what Jackson felt for Piper went far beyond the professional.

The shooting this morning had driven that point home. Those desperate seconds right after Marcus fired, Jackson hadn’t known if Piper was alive or dead, and he’d been unable to think of anything else. Not even his own safety.

He still cared about her. So much more than he wanted to admit. And she was calling him by his last name.

Jackson clamped his lips together to keep from saying anything that might reveal his true feelings.

Piper annoyingly kept flipping through the magazine. “You’re brooding again.”

“I’m fine, Jensen. Don’t worry about it.”

The words came out sharper than he’d intended, but it was too late for Jackson to take them back.

Piper’s gaze shot up to meet his. She frowned. “Are you angry with me?”

He breathed out. “No. Sorry. I’m just on edge.” He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulders. “It’s not every day I get shot at.”

Her mouth quirked up. “Thank God for that.”

Heels tapping against the lobby floor interrupted their conversation. A beautiful young woman dressed in an elegant pantsuit approached. “Ranger Barker, Detective Jensen, please follow me. Mr. Kingston can see you now.”

Shawn had a corner office on the second floor of the building. It was decorated in dark woods and leather. Windows stretched along the back wall, giving a beautiful view of the nature preserve. Jackson’s boots sank into plush carpeting as he crossed the room to shake his old friend’s hand.

“It’s so good to see you.” Shawn’s smile was warm. He was dressed for court in a gray suit and black tie. Time had worn lines along his forehead and created creases along the edges of his eyes, but his hair was thick and he maintained the same athletic build from high school. “How’s your dad?”

“Well, thanks.”

Shawn turned his attention to Piper. His smile dimmed and his handshake was less personable. Clearly there was still no love lost between Piper and Shawn. They’d never liked each other much. For good reason. Shawn was a touch arrogant and entitled. Since Piper grew up poor and with a troubled childhood, she didn’t register in his world. At least… that’s how Shawn wanted it to be. Jackson had always suspected his friend had a crush on Piper, but when it was unrequited, that attraction turned sour.

Shawn never handled being rejected well. It’d really caused an issue when Jackson started dating Piper. Competition between them had developed in high school, fueled by Shawn’s incessant need to be better than everyone else.

Jackson had always found those aspects of Shawn’s personality infuriating. Truth be told, it’d created a wedge between them as they grew older. But he also understood that Shawn was a product of his own family. Paul Kingston was charming and charismatic, but there was undercurrent of self-importance to his personality that was as natural as breathing. The Kingstons got what they wanted, and if it wasn’t handed to them, then they fought for it.

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