Guardian Ranger (Shadow Agents #2)(47)

The show of trust wasn’t working. They were now down to less than ten hours before his transfer to D.C.

Jasper didn’t bother sitting this time. He just stared at Cale. “I can still remember the scent of the jungle. The mix of rotting vegetation and blood.”

Cale didn’t speak.

“You were screaming at me, telling me that a bullet to the chest shouldn’t slow down a real ranger, and you had a grip of steel on my arm.”

Cale’s expression had frozen.

“You could have left me to die there.” Jasper shook his head. “All I did was slow you down, but you...you didn’t give up on me.”

“We were both too young and stupid to realize we should only be looking out for ourselves.” Cale’s voice was clipped.

“I don’t think so.” Jasper took a step toward him. “Veronica told me that you saved lives. That you went out, rescuing hostages.” Work not too different from the EOD’s. Only the EOD agents had the backup of the federal government. While Cale had been on his own.

Easy pickings.

“Is this where you do your good-agent routine?” Cale asked with a touch of curiosity. “Where you remind me that we were friends once so I should trust you?”

“We were friends.”

Cale inclined his head. Jasper figured he’d take that as agreement. “Your story about the shrink checked out.”

“You seem surprised,” Cale murmured.

“Because you look good for these kills.” He hesitated, then admitted, “Too good.”

Cale’s expression never altered.

“I’ve seen you on missions,” Jasper said. “I know how you operate. You can walk for twenty miles, and never leave so much as a trace of your presence.” And that had been nagging at him all along. But he’d stuck to the mission, followed orders.

Perhaps it was time he forgot the orders and focused on getting to the truth.

“You could do that so easily in the jungle, in the desert, in every damn place we went, but yet you left all this evidence behind at the murder scenes.”

“Not me,” Cale snapped. “The person who is setting me up. That’s the guy who left all this so-called ‘evidence’ crap behind. Because he wanted to frame me.”

“I want to believe you.”

“Why?” Cale tossed back at him, eyes hard and challenging. “So my sister might forgive you? Because you think you might have a chance with her if you can exonerate me now...after you’re the one who had me tossed in here?”

“You’re staying in custody,” Jasper said, just so they were clear. “And I’m staying on this case. Either I’ll find enough evidence to guarantee your guilt, beyond any doubt—” any doubts that Jasper might have himself “—or I’ll find the one who’s framing you.” He flattened his palms on the table. “But I’m going to need some help. You got enemies? Someone who could pull this off? Give me names.”

Cale shook his head. “Veronica is too good for you.”

He knew that.

“You’ll break her heart. Head out on another mission and never look back.”

He wanted to punch the wood, shatter the table. “This isn’t about Veronica.” A lie. If it weren’t for her, would he even be having this conversation? “You say you’re innocent, then help me. Give me a witness, give me something.”

“Reed Montgomery was my witness. He’s the one who sent me to the Caribbean. He’s the one who knows I wasn’t in the country when the first agent was killed.”

“Then why did his log have you in West Virginia when Julian Forrest was killed? In Phoenix at the time of the hit on Ben King?” Because when he’d been back at Reed Montgomery’s apartment, Jasper had looked over Veronica’s shoulder and seen those clear notations. Striker Two...West Virginia. Striker Two...Phoenix. When Sydney got to digging into the machine, Jasper figured she’d find even more evidence.

Cale shook his head. “Not. Me.”

“Then someone’s sure doing a good job of pretending to be you.” Maybe that was it. Damn it, maybe... Because Cale’s code name was Striker. So why had Reed tacked on the “Two” handle? Because someone else was taking those missions? Someone who could be just as deadly as Striker? “Who is it? Who knows you well enough to trap you like this?”

Cale’s lashes lowered. “You mean a man who knows how I kill? How I hunt? Who knows where to find evidence that can incriminate me, even as he leaves no evidence behind that would ever link him to the crimes?” Cale looked up at Jasper. “Well, old buddy, your name is the first one that springs to mind.”

Hell.

“It’s not—” Jasper began.

The door flew open. Jasper whirled around. Sydney stood in the doorway, her cheeks flushed, her breath heaving. “Jasper, I need you.” Gunner was right behind her.

Casting one last, hard look at Cale, Jasper hurried from the room. Gunner slipped inside, resuming his guard duty.

“What is it?” Jasper asked her.

“We’ve got a problem.” She marched down the hallway, passed the small lobby area, then headed upstairs. This was her workspace. He knew that Sydney always liked privacy when she worked with her computers and—