“Evelyn knows me better,” Jasper crooned. “After all, I’ve felt her warm blood pump out all over my hands.”

When he closed his eyes as though savoring the memory, it took every bit of willpower Amarok possessed to keep from grabbing Jasper by the collar of his prison-issue jumpsuit and shoving him up against the wall. His muscles bunched, but he didn’t move. As much as he was tempted, he couldn’t be the aggressor. “Which is why, if anything happens to her, I’m going to hold you personally responsible, even if you’re not to blame.”

Jasper lifted his eyebrows. “Now you’re just giving me a hard-on. I admit I’ve never had sex with a man, but I’d be happy to make an exception for you.”

“I’m out of your league,” Amarok said.

The amusement fled Jasper’s face.

“Sergeant, I really don’t think this is a good idea.” The CO glanced suspiciously at Jasper before returning his attention to Amarok. No doubt he could feel the powerful animosity between them.

“You can go,” Amarok said.

With a heavy suit yourself sigh, Hatch moved to the door. “I’ll be right out here if you need me.”

“I won’t need you—but he might.”

“In that case, if I hear someone yell, I’ll take my damn sweet time,” he muttered. “Because I won’t lift a finger to save that animal.”

When the door closed behind the CO, Jasper took another step back. He was no longer so cocky, so ready to taunt. He was on his own, and he knew it. “So … you’ve finally come for revenge?” he asked uncertainly.

Amarok didn’t feel like sitting down. He had too much adrenaline flowing through him. But he forced himself to adopt a casual demeanor as he walked over to the only furniture in the room—a metal chair bolted to the floor. It faced the desk on the other side of the plexiglass, so he sat sideways, in order to see Jasper. “That depends…”

“On…”

“You.” Amarok had never felt anything even remotely akin to the hatred he reserved for the man who’d tortured Evelyn for three days before cutting her throat and leaving her for dead when she was only sixteen, so it wasn’t easy to speak in a civil manner. Maybe that was why, after Jasper’s initial arrest, he’d never paid the man a visit. The investigators in Peoria had approached him to see if he would be willing to try to get a bit more information out of him, but Amarok had left that up to Evelyn, who was better at it, anyway.

The reason? He didn’t trust himself.

“How does it depend on me?”

“If you give me what I want, we might not have a problem. Today.”

Jasper was sizing him up. Amarok could tell. Amarok didn’t get the impression Jasper was scared of him, exactly. Jasper didn’t experience fear, at least not the way most people did. But there was little question he understood, even though he was no longer restricted by chains, that he didn’t have the upper hand in this situation. Since Amarok knew who and what he was, Jasper couldn’t ply the normal tools of his trade—surprise, lies, trickery, flattery, manipulation. Even brute strength wouldn’t be the asset it was when stalking women; Amarok was bigger and probably stronger, too. “What is it you want?”