Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(32)
Author: Cynthia Eden

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.

A hint of sympathy lit her gaze. “She asked if you were EOD.”

Hell, hell, hell. “And you told her?”

“It’s not my place to break that woman’s heart more than it’s already been broken.” She stared directly at him. “That’s your job.” There was more heat in her voice than he usually heard.

Even Logan glanced at her with a touch of surprise.

“You know, it’s not impossible to do a job without hurting a woman. You didn’t have to sleep with her.” Sydney’s hands were fisted on her hips now. Yes, the woman was definitely angry. Odd, especially for controlled Sydney.

“She told you that?” he asked her.

“No, I could see it on her face.” Sydney exhaled in a rush. “There’s a certain kind of look that a woman gets when a lover betrays her. Your Veronica had that look.”

“I need to talk to her.” Now. He had to explain—

Logan shook his head. “We’ve got a plane coming in at 0600 tomorrow. The EOD wants Cale brought in to the D.C. office for questioning and containment. That means we have less than twenty-four hours—” his eyes narrowed on Jasper “—to break the suspect.”

Logan wanted him to do the breaking. That message was loud and clear in Alpha One’s gaze.

“The first EOD agent that Cale killed…Marcus Holloway…he was a friend of mine.” Logan’s lips tightened. “We’re not letting another team take this guy away. We’re getting Cale’s confession. We’re closing this case.”

Logan had always been territorial. When it came to the cases and his life.

Jasper had never really felt territorial about anyone or anything, until Veronica.

“We have everything here that we need to break him.” Logan nodded at Jasper. “We’ve got you, Wyatt—the sheriff seems to be the guy’s only friend—and we’ve got Cale’s sister.”

Jasper stiffened. “I’ll talk to Cale.” For all the good it would do. The man wasn’t the breaking type. Most army rangers weren’t. “But we aren’t using Veronica.”

Logan just stared back at him.

Angry, Jasper snarled, “Would you use Juliana?”

He saw the hit in Logan’s eyes.

That was what I thought. “Veronica stays out of this.” He pulled in another breath, trying to slow his racing heart. “I’ll handle Cale.”

Then, because he didn’t want to waste any more time on an already ticking clock, he glanced at Sydney. She pointed toward the narrow hallway. “Last door on the right. Gunner has guard duty.”

He nodded, and squaring his shoulders, he headed down that hallway. Logan followed him, shadowing his steps. Jasper knew that Logan would want to hear every word of this interrogation. And, knowing Sydney, the room housing Cale had already been set up for full video and audio surveillance.

Everything that happened in that room would be recorded. Monitored constantly until Cale was on the flight heading to D.C.

Gunner opened the door for Jasper. Jasper and Logan stalked inside. A small table sat in the middle of the room. Cale was seated at the table, with his hands cuffed behind his back.

The room’s windows had been boarded up. The only way in was through the door. The door that an armed Gunner was blocking.

Jasper pulled out a table chair, one directly across from Cale. No point in delaying. He sat down and met the glaring blue gaze of his prisoner.

Veronica’s gaze was a bright sky-blue. Her brother…well, his blue gaze was dark and hard. Promising retribution.

“You used her,” Cale said, body tense.

Jasper didn’t speak. Just having Cale talk first was a victory in interrogation. When suspects wanted to talk, you let them. They usually talked too much, revealed too much.

And you just got to sit back and listen.

He’d learned all about interrogations during his two years at the EOD.

“You know how important Veronica is to me,” Cale continued, his voice flat, totally emotionless, “and you knew she was always off-limits. She wasn’t part of our world.”

The world of battles and death. Blood and bullets.

Jasper leaned forward and felt the pull of his stitches. “You made her a part of that world when you started hunting EOD agents. You brought us right to her door.” Or they would have gone to her door…

But she came looking for me in that bar. Walked up to me with fear and determination mixed in her gaze, and she asked for my help.

“You’ve got the wrong man.” Cale gave him a smile that a tiger would have envied as he leaned back in his chair. “I haven’t killed any EOD agents.”

“That’s not what the evidence says.” Jasper kept his voice just as flat as Cale’s. He wasn’t giving the guy the upper hand.

Logan watched in silence from his position against the right wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his gaze was locked on Cale.

But Cale shook his head and seemed to ignore Logan. A trick, of course, because Jasper knew that Cale was aware of every move that the other agent made. Still staring right at Jasper, Cale said, “Evidence can lie. Especially if it’s planted evidence.”

“So someone’s setting you up?” Jasper let the doubt drip from his words.