by S. M. Butler
He chuckled, like he was some evil villain. The problem was… I knew Jack and he wasn’t an evil villain. There was a reason for each and every action he took. He didn’t do things because he liked them. He did them because that was what was expected of him, or what served his purpose. Like me. Or maybe, I was like him… Far more than I wanted to be. And I wasn’t willing to let him know that little tidbit.
“Look, you asshole. The only reason you’re sitting here and not laying here with a bullet or two in your chest is because of him.” I kept my voice low, so I sounded angrier and more dangerous than I was. Because right then, I wanted to crawl into a ball and cry because Dylan walked away.
“You afraid of losing his approval?”
I already had.
“No,” I said. “Remember what you said in that room back there?” I knew I was talking with Richter and Bonham sitting right there, but I didn’t mind it. Because Dylan was right. They were family. “You said my problem is that I have a heart and I’m too human.” I nodded. “That’s true. I am too human, because he wouldn’t let my humanity die. He kept me from losing myself.”
“You sound like a fucking Hallmark movie.” Jack scowled and looked away, apparently done with the conversation.
I didn’t say anything else, because Murphy opened the back door and popped his head in. “Hey, we’re good to go. The Valonian police are going to wrap up here. Bonham and Richter will ride with you and police. We’ll follow in the sedan behind you to the embassy.”
We. I knew what that meant. Dylan. He didn’t even want to be in the same vehicle with me. I couldn’t blame him for that. I’d burned the hell out of that bridge.
“Thanks, Murphy.” I told him. He nodded, and shut the door. A few minutes later, we were moving off onto the road.
No one spoke for a long time, until Jack broke the peaceful quiet with his damn mouth. “You had potential, Cady. Now look at you. Lovesick and stupid, like every other person in the world.”
I turned my head slowly so I could meet his eyes. “You can stop the tough asshole routine. I’m not buying it. I know better.”
He gave no indication that he was surprised by my words. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he expected me to know exactly when he was trying to spew bullshit at me. The corner of one side of his mouth turned up. “We’ll see if you do.”
The way he looked at me, the way he fought being good… I was almost convinced that there really was nothing of the Jack Allen I knew left. If he’d ever really been there.
~*~*~
Three days later, we were in Aruguay, at the Lucky Thirteen safe house. It was strange being back in that country. Aruguay was where Jack had shot me, twice, five years ago. It was where then SEAL Team Thirteen had rescued me two years after that. It was also where Dylan and I had first had sex, shortly after I was rescued.
Life was a damn circle. Funny how that worked.
Jack was inside the interrogation room. This was usually where I felt the most comfortable. I was good at interrogations. In fact, I’d offered to interrogate Addison when they’d recovered her last year. Her brother and Murphy would have none of it though, so I’d stayed in San Diego and let them handle it.
“What are you smiling about?” Murphy leaned against the table in the observation area, propping his head on his hands like a little kid. They were all little kids, these guys. Forever young at heart. Except when they were called to duty. Then they were all business.
“I was remembering how adamant you were that you got to talk to Addison in that very room.”
“That was mostly Hardy,” Murphy said, a little sadness in his voice. He missed his best friend. Those two had been together so much of their lives that it was a bit of a shock when Hardy was discharged for medical reasons. “He is very protective of Addison.”
“So are you,” I told him.
He nodded. “Yeah, I guess. She hates that.”
“I don’t think she does. She knows you love her.”
“I hope she does.” The quiet statement took me by surprise but it didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it. Murphy was the stoic type. Emotions made a rare appearance with him. Addison had brought it out a little, but guys like Murphy didn’t change what made them tick.
“Is Dylan coming?” I didn’t want to let on how badly I wanted Dylan in there. Interrogations were hard anyway, but with Jack, I was likely to forget entirely that I was indeed a human being. He had a way of getting into my head, so I had to shut it all off so he couldn’t fuck with me. Dylan was always my rock. I was grounded in reality when he was there. This was the first interrogation that I was nervous about.
Murphy cleared his throat and shook his head. “He’s asked not to be part of the interrogation.”
I crossed my arms tightly, almost hugging myself. I’d really screwed up with him. But it all fell back to the idea that he needed someone worthy of him. I wasn’t that girl. I was selfish and inhuman. He needed someone more than me.
“I should get this over with,” I said quietly.
“I could get someone else to talk to this guy.”
“He won’t say a word to them. He’ll talk to me.” I sounded so much surer than I was inside.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.” I took in a long breath, and slowly blew it out through my nose. “Okay. I’m going in.” I pulled off my gun and holster and set them on the table before leaving the room.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cadence
It’s always an unofficial standard practice that interrogation rooms are around twenty degrees cooler than the rest of the building. When I’d been held captive with Giroux’s men, they’d done that, kept me in a freezing room with very little clothing. A comfortable prisoner is one that won’t crack under pressure.
In this case, we were underground, but the air-conditioning apparently worked really well. I wondered where the unit was and if people knew what it was. Aruguay wasn’t a rich country. Air conditioning was a luxury most didn’t have here.
I slipped into the seat across from Jack, careful not to say a word. I didn’t want to tip my hand or allow him any semblance of control in this situation. I stared hard at him. What motivated an otherwise good man to become a killer?
“That’s so cute, sweet pea. You’re using my tricks.” Jack grinned a sarcastic smile. “It won’t help you. I taught you that shit.”
“Let’s cut the bullshit then, Jack.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Why? It’s so much fun getting under your skin.”
“We can help you. You’re so intent on doing this alone, but this team got me out. They’re good. They can get you out too.” That was another rule of interrogation. Give your subject a reasonable way out. A viable reason to flip on his employer. Jack Allen would be the best asset we’d have over Giroux if I could do it.
A long silence passed as Jack’s throat worked up and down, as he thought about what I’d said, considered his answer. The handcuffs on his wrists clinked together and against the table.
Finally, he shook his head. “It’s not that easy.” His voice was rougher than I’d thought it could get. Maybe he was considering it.
“Why not?”
“The longer I’m here, the more danger I’m in.” He swallowed. “I wasn’t lying about my daughter. If Alex thinks I’ve gone back—”
“Then help me out. Tell me what I need to know.”
“No. If Alex finds out I helped you at all, he’ll kill me and her.”
"And if you don't help us, you'll end up in prison." Now that was a familiar phrase. Not to me, but other members of the team. Murphy had told Addison that when she'd been recovered by the team. Her situation had been different, but no less complicated. Giroux excelled at complicated.
Jack was in a good position to help us. And I didn't think he was a bad guy. I thought the things that he'd done, the people he killed over the years, the ways he'd hurt me... they were because those were the things Alex had wanted done. They were how he
kept his daughter safe, and that… that was something I could understand.
"I can't help you," Jack said. His voice was full of pain and tension.
What exactly had Alex promised to do in the face of Jack's betrayal? Because it took one hell of a determined person to shoot another, particularly someone they were emotionally attached to. And whether Jack admitted it or not, there was an emotional connection between us.
“Jack—”
“You’re wasting your time. I made my choice. I left the NSA behind and I have a new life now.”
“Because being Alex Giroux’s pet killer is so much more fun?”
“You don’t understand.”
“I could if you just told me.” I didn’t really expect him to say anything. Everything that came out of Jack’s mouth had a purpose. I just wasn’t sure what his purpose in telling me about his daughter was yet. “What if we could get her out? Your daughter?”
“You can’t.”
“You’re so sure, but—”
“No. It’s not possible.” He sighed. “Why are you so sure?”
“Because I know what this team is capable of. I trust them with my life.” God, that was weird admitting, especially since the one thing Dylan and I had fought over was trust.
He eyed me suspicious and careful then finally nodded curtly. “I’ll talk to you, but no one else. And not here, where there are ears.”
“And give you a chance to stab me in the back, again.”
“Cady, I could have done that at any time.” He leaned over the side of the chair and pulled out a small knife from his boot. He set it down on the table. “It would have been smart to take my shoes before bringing me in here.”
Goddamnit. He was always teaching me something, even when I didn’t want him to. I covered the knife with my hand and slid it back toward me, never losing eye contact with Jack. “If I talk to you in private, what guarantee do I have that you won’t do something I’ll regret?”
“You really don’t have any. I am who I am, Cady. And I will do whatever I need to do to achieve my objective.”
And there it was. The one thing I could count on from Jack. His allegiances might shift, and he could turn on you in a hot second… but he would always do what he needed to do. Right then, I knew he would do anything to keep his daughter safe. I didn’t know what that would entail, exactly, but I didn’t want to be on the wrong end when it happened.
Slowly, I stood up, and walked over to the side console, by the big observation window. I pressed the intercom. “Shut the cameras down.”
Murphy’s voice filtered through the speaker. “You sure about that?”
“Absolutely. Shut them down.”
“Roger that. Cameras are down.” The line went dead. Well, not dead. I could press the button and get a hold of them, and they’d see me in here so if Jack tried anything, they’d be on him in a second.
I turned, and walked back around the table, and sat down across from Jack. “Okay. No records. This is just you and me talking.”
“They’re in the other room.”
“And that’s not changing,” I snapped. “I gave you the cameras. But the team is there for my safety as well as yours. They’re there so I don’t kill you. Don’t get the idea that I’m caving to you just because I gave you one thing.”
Jack smiled. “Now that’s the Cady I wanted to meet.”
“She’s also the one that will slit your throat if you lie to her.”
“This new violent side is hot. It’s just a matter of time, isn’t it?”
I smiled back, my lips still pressed together. Finally I said, “What does that mean?”
“Your team owns you, just as well as Alex Giroux owns me.”
“No.”
“Sorry, sweet pea. You’re just like me.”
I slammed my hand on the desk. “Lies. I’m nothing like you.”
He laughed. “The facts don’t lie.”
I leaned forward, twirling his knife between my fingertips. “Let’s talk about your daughter, Jack. Let’s talk about what I can do for her.”
Jack’s smile vanished. I was weirdly excited about seeing it fade away.
~*~*~
Dylan
I almost punched my way through the glass as soon as I saw the knife come out of Allen’s boot. Murphy grabbed me, and set me down in the nearby chair, forcing me to look at him in the eye. His hands kept me down in the chair as he pushed down on my shoulders. “Dude. Listen to me.”
Damn, the guy had strength. I started to stand but he pushed me back into the seat again.
“He had a knife? What the fuck were Richter and Bonham doing? Didn’t they search him? He could have killed her.”
“Stop!” Murphy snapped. He sighed. “We knew.”
I froze. I shook my head, like maybe I’d heard wrong. “What?”
“We knew about the knife. We let him keep it, at Long’s request.”
“At her—” I stared at Murphy. “What the hell is going on?”
“Calm down, Urban. Cadence thinks we can flip him. She talked to me about it before she went in.” Murphy slowly let my shoulders loose and backed away from where I sat. “She wants to see if she can bring him back. He’ll have all kinds of intel on Giroux Enterprises if we can. He’d be valuable.”
“He’s a risk.” I growled the words through clenched teeth. “We should burn him. Now.”
“Master Chief said the same thing about Addison.” I glanced at Murphy. Was he really comparing pinup girl Addison to the monster sitting across from Cadence right now?
“Addison didn’t shoot you in the chest and leave you bleeding out on the floor.”
“We don’t know the whole story here.”
“That’s not really a fact that changes, Murphy.”
The corner of Murphy’s mouth lifted on one side but he didn’t say anything. Damn Murphy and his calm exterior. I was churning up inside, wanting to go in there and punch the shit out of that man. Even through the reflection on the glass, I could see the smugness emanating off him. I balled my fists at my side.
“Urban.” I slid my eyes from Jack to Murphy. “She can handle him. And Richter’s right outside the door.”
That was our standard play. It was how they had handled Addison too. Or very nearly was. One person interviewing, one person outside the door. They’d underestimated Addison and hadn’t had anyone outside the door. He and Hardy had been too eager to find out why she had been at Giroux’s house. I wondered if Murphy still thought about that. She’d broken his nose that day. He still had a bit of a crook in it even now.
The intercom crackled, making us both freeze. “Shut the cameras down.”
Murphy gave me a look, and then stepped back to press his thumb over the intercom button. “You sure about that?”
I glanced over at the window, where she should, one hand on the intercom. Her hair was back in a ponytail, but it still fell over one shoulder. She was wearing a tank top, the bandage over her arm visible to all. She hadn’t even bothered cleaning up. Dirt caked her normally rosy cheeks from the floor of Atrix’s basement, streaked with tear tracks. She wasn’t a crier, but the body had its own responses, mostly involuntary. And yet, somehow, she still managed to look so beautiful to me.
“Absolutely. Shut them down.”
Murphy glanced back at me. I shrugged. She would do what she wanted to do. I couldn’t stop her. “Keep Richter close.”
“He’s outside the door,” Murphy said. He turned and pressed the button. “Roger that. Cameras are down.”
Silence fell between us as I stood up to leave. I couldn’t sit there and watch her kill herself. And that’s what she was doing. The more she involved herself with Jack Allen, the more she lost just a little more of her humanity.
“Why don’t you just tell her?”
I stared at Murphy, surprised that he’d spoken. “Tell her what?”
“That you’re fucking in love with her, you moron. What do you mean, ‘tell her what’?”
“Joke’s on you, Murphy.” I laughed ruefully. “I already did. Opened up my chest like a fucking idiot, and she still chose him.” I cleared my throat. “Do me a favor. Keep me off this one. I can’t handle any more jabs to the chest.”
I turned to leave, ready to go busy myself in the room I used when we were in Aruguay. It had been a few months since I had been there, almost a year, actually. The other guys had been in and out here for a while, especially when Addison’s intel led to us finding out that Aruguay was Alex Giroux’s newest base of operations.
“She loves you. Any moron can see that.”
I faced him from the doorway. “Yeah, but she can’t. And I’m tired of trying to get her see it.”
I left the room, ignoring the murmuring sounds coming from the interview room as I passed by the closed door. She was in there talking to her old partner, and I was out here, alone with the stupid feelings I let myself have, for a woman who couldn’t feel the same. I couldn’t do this anymore.
~*~*~
Cadence
After talking with him for so long, I was second guessing my original intentions toward Jack. Killing him… it just didn’t sound right to me anymore. It was still up in the air if we could flip him on Alex or not. The one true thing about Jack was that he’d do what was best for Jack. If flipping on Alex saved his life, he’d do it. But if he was telling the truth, and Alex had his daughter, then I wasn’t so sure I could flip him.
“You good with this?” I turned toward Murphy. The interrogation room was still freezing, but at least it was quiet again. Jack and I had come to an agreement, but I still wasn’t sure it was the right one. But it was worth the shot. Jack had a clear line of access to Alex Giroux.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“You sure?”
No. I wasn’t sure. On the one hand, Jack had done the best he could in a shit situation. His daughter was the most important thing in his life and he’d been exploited because of it. I understood more why Jack had told me that I was too human. I would have fallen into the same trap. But this whole experience had me shaken up.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I nodded, smiling at Murphy. He wasn’t fooled. I could see that in his eyes, but he didn’t push. I was glad he didn’t.