Cadiz rolled his eyes. “Sure you do.”

“It’s true! I can tell him where she is—or at least put him on the right track.”

“Pretty convenient that you have this information now,” someone else muttered.

“Suddenly he can help Sergeant Murphy rescue the doc,” another guy said, chuckling.

“As if he would, even if he could,” a third guy added.

“I would! I want her back as much as anyone,” he insisted, but when Cadiz glanced back at Perez, who was bringing up the rear—essentially asking what he should do—Perez gave him a negative shake of the head.

“What was that?” Jasper cried when he witnessed the exchange. “Why would you tell him no? You have no idea what I’ve learned!”

“We don’t care what kind of bullshit you’ve come up with in order to save your ass. No one wants to miss watching you get what you have coming to you,” yet another inmate said.

Jasper had been right to worry. Roland had something in store for him this morning. “If Dr. Talbot dies, it’ll be your fault.”

“You tried to kill her yourself!” someone cried. “On more than one occasion. So how do you expect us to believe you want to save her now?”

Jasper looked over his shoulder, searching for the man who’d been sneering at him all morning, and saw Roland walking in the midst of a knot of men directly in front of Perez. Everyone wanted to be by him. Even the guards were in his corner—the knowledge of which made Jasper uneasy. He couldn’t figure how to wiggle out of this and regain the upper hand. For the first time in his life, he felt utterly powerless.

When Roland met his gaze, Jasper’s knees went weak and his heart began to pound against his chest like a sledgehammer.

“Don’t wet your pants,” Roland crooned.

Holy shit! Jasper wasn’t about to let himself get jumped. If something happened, the guards wouldn’t intercede—at least not until they absolutely had to. They knew what was about to go down, yet they weren’t doing anything to stop it.

“This is bullshit. I’m not going to the showers today,” Jasper said, falling out of line.

Roland and his buddies passed by without another word, but Perez reached him a second later and lifted his Taser. “Keep moving.”

“No. I don’t have to. I’ll take a shower on Thursday and Sunday.”

“Sorry, but the rain has washed out the road, so we’re a bit shorthanded this morning. I can’t leave Cadiz in order to escort you back. Besides, you stink, and the other men are complaining about it. That means you’re taking a shower today.”

He didn’t stink, so no one could’ve complained. That was an excuse, a reason to force him into the showers, where Roland would be waiting for him.

“You don’t seem so tough now!” someone called back to him, and, once again, there was laughter.

“Quit being a pussy,” someone else snarled.

They’d all taken Roland’s side, the bastards.