Gabe jumped out of the car and slammed the door, cutting off Emerson who’d been telling him to calm down. He didn’t want to fucking calm down. He was furious that Jasper was once again in the middle of some spectacle meant to draw attention to himself. And even though it wasn’t yet dawn, Gabe had no doubts the news crews would soon be there taking soundbites to boost their ratings and generating more publicity for Jasper’s fucking Grand Opening.

Zeroing in on the man caught halfway down the stairs fleeing the scene, Gabe shouted at him to freeze. Jasper looked at Gabe with wide eyes then heaved a whole-body sigh before his shoulders slumped, obviously realizing how fucked he was. Gabe’s lips curled in the smile that had made more than one suspect tremble. This would be the last stunt Jasper pulled. After today, he’d be lucky to be out of jail in time for his store’s one-year anniversary.

Stalking over to the bottom of the stairs, Gabe ordered Jasper to come down. When he reached the bottom, Gabe grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face the wall. Standing closer than was strictly necessary, he yanked Jasper’s arms behind his back and pulled his handcuffs from his pocket.

“You’re making a mistake, Detective.”

“Not fucking likely.” Gabe snapped out his cuffs, a deep satisfaction filling him when they closed around those slender wrists.

With Jasper secured, Gabe went to step back but found himself moving closer, crowding him until there wasn’t an inch of space between them. He groaned under his breath at the feeling of that lanky body under his, Jasper pressed up against the brick wall with Gabe surrounding him. Controlling him. Owning him. It was heady, everything he’d ever wanted.

And so very fucking dangerous.

Gabe’s chin rubbed against flyaway brown locks, then unable to resist, he buried his nose in that soft chestnut-colored hair and breathed deep. Coconut, citrus, and a warm musky fragrance his brain associated with just-rolled-out-of-bed-man filled his lungs. It was exotic, tangy, and too fucking tempting. He dipped his head in search of more of that fragrance, his nose brushing the top of a perfectly shaped ear. Jasper let out a raw, gasping sound and tilted his head to the side, baring his long, slender neck for Gabe’s touch. Just as his teeth scraped over that soft skin, Emerson shouted, bringing Gabe back to his senses.

What the fuck was he doing? He was supposed to be arresting Jasper, not treating him like a hookup in the back room of a club.

Anger clearing the mind-fogging lust from his brain, Gabe moved back, putting a proper distance between them, then pissed at his loss of control—and how fucking far over the line he’d just crossed—he tightened the cuffs around Jasper’s wrists and yanked him away from the wall.

It didn’t help his control one fucking bit to see those amber eyes glazed over with passion and a healthy hard-on straining the front of those skin-tight jeans.

Gabe forced his eyes away and his mind back to what he was supposed to be doing.

“Jasper Belmont, you are under arrest for setting off fireworks without a permit, disturbing the peace, damaging private property, and fleeing the scene of a crime.”

Jasper blinked at him. “What?”

“You have the right to remain silent.”

More blinking, then, “You’re arresting me?”

“Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“But…I didn’t do anything.”

Except drive him fucking crazy. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”

Jasper pulled against his hold. “You’re making a mistake.”

Gabe tightened his fingers and held him in place. “If you choose to answer any questions now without an attorney present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

More blinking. “Why are you…I don’t understand.”

“Do you need me to repeat your rights?”

Jasper shook his head. “No. But why—”

“Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

“Will you just listen to me?”

Not if he wanted to keep his sanity. “Do you understand—”

“Yes, I understand, but—”

“With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

“I want to know why you’re arresting me.”

“So do I,” Emerson said, coming up next to them. “What the hell are you doing, Gabe?”

Gabe positioned himself between Jasper and Emerson, ignoring the tiny voice inside of him that asked why he felt that was necessary. “I’m arresting Mr. Belmont for setting off fireworks without a permit, disturbing the peace, damaging private property, creating a fire hazard, and fleeing the scene of a crime.”

“I wasn’t fleeing the scene,” Jasper said, stepping around him.

Gabe quickly pulled him back before he could get any closer to Emerson.

Jasper frowned down at Gabe’s hand on his arm, then raised his eyes and gave Gabe a look he didn’t understand, but which made him fucking twitchy, before turning to Emerson. “I wasn’t fleeing, Detective Trewitt. I was trying to get up to the roof to stop the fireworks from going off.”

“You were running away,” Gabe said.

“No. I was going up,” Jasper said, yanking harder against Gabe’s hold, this time almost pulling free.

Gabe tightened his hand and hauled him close. “Try that again and I’ll add resisting arrest to your charges.”

Jasper’s mouth moved like he wanted to say something else, then he turned his head and looked away.

Which should have pleased Gabe. But there was a small part of him, a stupid, completely illogical part that was disappointed Jasper wouldn’t look at him, even when he shifted slightly, moving into his line of sight. Then Jasper did, giving him an inscrutable look that had Gabe desperately wanting to know what he was thinking. It was almost a relief when he looked away again.

Before Gabe could do something stupid like ask what that look had been about—and why the hell did he even care—he hauled Jasper over to the police car and shoved him into the back seat. Then sighed when Emerson grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side.

“Can we not do this?”

“Oh, we’re going to do this. What the hell is going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

“There sure the fuck is. Why are you arresting Belmont? You know as well as I do he didn’t set off the fireworks.”

Gabe frowned at him. “What are you talking about? We caught him red-handed.”

Emerson looked at him like he was stupid. “No, we didn’t.”

“The fuck,” Gabe said, scowling at his partner. “You saw him heading down the stairs the same as I did.”

“No. I saw him on the stairs leading to the roof. He could have been going either up or down.”

“Yeah. And he was going down,” Gabe said, knowing he’d read the scene correctly.

“I’m not so sure,” Emerson said as he looked toward the stairs. “I think he was going up to check on the fireworks, just like he said.”

“More like fleeing after setting them off.”

Emerson turned back to Gabe, shaking his head. “I just can’t see him setting off fireworks from his building. He’s not the type.”

Gabe couldn’t believe his partner was so blind. “He’s exactly the type. He thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants because he knows he’ll get away with it.”

“Gabe—”

“But not this time. I’m going to make sure of it.”

“Jesus. This kid’s got you all twisted up.” Emerson tapped Gabe on the temple. “Use that brilliant brain of yours and think about it, really think about it without letting all this anger cloud your mind, and tell me how him doing that makes any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

“Does it? Or are you letting all that crap with Robbie screw with your mind?”

“What the fuck, Em?” Gabe couldn’t believe he’d brought that up. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re treating Belmont like he’s Robbie, Gabe.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are. You need to stop looking at him as though he was your ex and start seeing him for who he is.” He put his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Belmont’s the victim in this, Gabe, not the criminal.”

The certainty in Emerson’s voice had Gabe hesitating. Could he have read the scene wrong? Read Jasper wrong? He didn’t think so, but…could he really be seeing him through the lens of Robbie’s betrayal?

Gabe looked over his shoulder at the stairs and played through what had been going on when they’d pulled up. Jasper had been in the middle of the staircase, looking down at them with his right hand on the railing, which is why Gabe was so sure he’d been going down. But since Jasper had been standing in place, facing outward, it was possible he could have been going up like Emerson thought, even if Gabe didn’t think so.

He turned back to his partner, ready to concede he might have a point when a news van flew around the corner and raced into the parking lot with another one right behind it. Then a station wagon rumbled into the lot from the alley, almost hitting their car before jerking to a stop.

Stan leaned out of the back passenger window and shouted, “Does anyone know where Jasper is? We want to interview him about the fireworks.”

Gabe’s anger flared back to life. He fucking knew this had just been another stunt to get free publicity.

Shoving Emerson back, Gabe stalked over to the squad car and scowled at Jasper through the window.

Jasper looked at him, then to the reporters in the parking lot, his eyes widening in surprise—which didn’t fool Gabe for one fucking minute—then back to Gabe.

Gabe felt Emerson come up beside him but didn’t take his eyes off Jasper. “He’s no innocent victim. I’m going to make him admit he did it, and then I’m going to lock him away so he can’t pull any more fucking stunts like this one.”

Emerson grabbed his arm. “Gabe—”

Shrugging him off, Gabe motioned to the officers standing at the front of the car. “Take him away. We’ll catch up with you at the station when we’re done here.”

——

It was three hours before Gabe and Emerson finished going over the crime scene. Arriving back at the station, they found Jasper had made it through booking and was waiting for them in interrogation room three.

Flipping through the folder Emerson had handed to him after he’d gone through it, Gabe frowned, then looked at the booking officer. “He refused Council?”

The officer nodded. “Said he’d use his call to arrange one if it became necessary.”

Gabe held out his hand. “It’ll be necessary. Give me the phone.” He waited while the officer pulled out the hands-free they provided prisoners to make their one call, then started toward the interrogation room.

“I still don’t think Belmont’s our guy,” Emerson said, keeping step beside him. “The evidence we found was just a bit too convenient.”

Gabe thought so too. Once his anger had cooled—and his frustrated lust from not finishing what he’d started with Jasper—he’d begun to see things clearer. And the things he was seeing weren’t adding up. Particularly, the evidence. There was too much of it. And it all pointed at Jasper.

First was the leather and crystal bracelet Jasper had been wearing when Gabe and Emerson had first met him laying conveniently on the ground next to the fireworks. Then there was the receipt for the timers and explosives—paid for by a credit card in Jasper’s name—that they’d found crumpled in a ball along the edge of the roof. But the most damning piece of evidence had been the cardboard box the fireworks had come in with Jasper’s name and address in big bold letters on the shipping label.

It was too much, too obvious, and too on-point to be believable.

And Gabe didn’t.

But that didn’t mean he was ready to give Jasper a pass. There were too many things at play and too many unanswered questions for that. But it did have him doubting.

Not that he’d said anything to Emerson about his doubts. Gabe had taken too hard of a stance against Jasper that he wanted to be sure before he changed his position because if he did and it turned out he’d been right all along, he’d just look like an idiot.

Though he suspected he already did.

Turning to Emerson, Gabe said, “The evidence might be convenient, but it gives us enough to hold him. And keeping him off the streets for twenty-four hours will give everyone a break from the drama.”

“Everyone?” Emerson asked, grabbing Gabe by the arm and pulling him to a stop. “Or just you?”

Gabe eyed his partner. “What are you trying to say?”

“That he gets to you. And you don’t like it.”

“And what? I arrested him because he pisses me off?”

Emerson hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“Fuck you, Em,” Gabe said, yanking his arm away. “I wouldn’t abuse my authority like that and you fucking know it.”

“Not normally, no, you wouldn’t. But you’re not acting like yourself with him. You’re not acting like my partner of the last five years.”

Gabe didn’t say anything because as much as he hated to admit it, he hadn’t been.

“You’re so determined to pin everything on him, for whatever fucked up reason you have, that you’re not seeing things clearly.”

“I’m seeing things just fine.”

“You’re not. If you were, you’d know this was a set up,” Emerson said, looking so frustrated, and…fucking hell…disappointed—which hurt like a fucking stab to the heart—Gabe knew he had to come clean.

“I know.”

Emerson froze. “You know?”

“Yeah.”

“That this is a set up?”

Gabe nodded.

“Then you agree he’s innocent.”

Gabe shook his head. “That’s not what I said.”  He held up his hand when Emerson went to speak. “We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t follow the evidence, and right now, it’s pointing to Belmont. So as far as I’m concerned, he’s guilty until proven otherwise.”

“That’s not the way it works.”

“It does today.”

“He’s not guilty, Gabe.”

“We won’t know for sure until I talk with him.” And Gabe wouldn’t be leaving the interrogation room until he was certain one way or another.

“I?” Emerson asked, his eyebrow shooting up. “You want to do the interview without me?”

“Uh, huh. You can watch from the observation room.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Emerson said, shaking his head. “You’re too determined to pin this on him.”

“And you’re too determined to let him walk,” Gabe countered.

“Gabe—”

“Just let me have a go at him first, Em, and you can do clean up.”

Emerson stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. “Fine. But don’t step out of line Gabe, or I’ll end the interview right there.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

“Make sure you don’t.”

Gabe waited until Emerson was about to go through the door of the observation room, then said, “Oh, and Em. Just so we’re clear, it’s an interrogation, not an interview.” He snorted when Emerson flipped him off, then continued down the hallway until he reached the room Jasper was in.

Peering through the window, he saw Jasper slouched in his chair, his cuffed hands clasped in front of him on the table and his head tilted to the side, looking for all accounts like he was bored and barely able to stay awake. But Gabe could see the slight tremor running through him, giving lie to the casualness he was attempting to convey. The sign of Jasper’s nervousness hit him like a punch to the stomach.

Which was fucking annoying since Gabe shouldn’t care how he felt.

Wrenching on the handle, he shoved the door open with enough force it slammed against the wall, startling Jasper so badly he jumped in his seat, knocking his knees on the underside of the table.

Ignoring the way Jasper was glaring at him—and his annoying stomach that was happy to see the nervousness replaced by some fire—Gabe crossed the room and stood on the opposite side of the table. Keeping his eyes on Jasper, he set the file folder on the table, then the phone next to it, and lastly, the evidence bags, keeping the opaque side turned up to hide what they contained. Not losing eye contact, he took off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair, then slowly pulled the chair out, hiding his wince, unlike Jasper whose shoulders came up to his ears at the loud noise the metal legs made as they scraped across the floor. Then Gabe sat down and folded his hands in front of him and waited.

And waited some more.

And continued waiting, getting irritated when Jasper refused to say anything, just stared at him with those big witchy eyes, using Gabe’s own tactics against him. And from the stubborn set to his chin, he was determined to win the little battle of wills they had going on. And Gabe wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t. He could all but feel Emerson laughing at him behind the one-way mirror.

Fucker.

When fifteen minutes had passed without Jasper saying anything—which was about thirteen minutes longer than anyone else had lasted against him—Gabe gave up, realizing that his normally very effective silent treatment wasn’t going to get him anywhere.

Breaking eye contact, Gabe pulled the file folder toward himself and flipped open the cover. Quickly scanning the documents inside, he closed it and pushed it away, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. “Tell me what you were doing at Cherry Street and 2^nd at 4:47 a.m. the morning of March 21.”

Jasper glanced down at the folder, then back to him. “I’ve already given my statement to the other officer.”

“And now you need to give it to me.”

“Why? You didn’t want to hear it before.”

“That was then. Now I do.”

Jasper looked at the folder again. “Everything I have to say is in there.”

“I need to hear it in your own words.”

“Which are in the statement I already gave.”

Gabe could feel his eyelid twitch. Fucking Jasper was still winning their unspoken battle. And from the amusement that flickered across his face before he looked down, Jasper knew he was getting under Gabe’s skin.

Which didn’t work for Gabe. He was the one in charge here, damn it.

Straightening in his chair, Gabe pulled on the authority ten years as a hard-ass detective had given him and barked out, “I’m waiting, Mr. Belmont

Jasper’s head snapped up. He gave Gabe a mulish look, glanced at the folder, then sat back in his chair and averted his eyes, every stubborn line of his body telling Gabe he wasn’t going to say anything else.

Time to change tactics.

Gabe pulled the file folder back to him. Flipping it open, he took out a blank piece of paper, then closed it, setting the paper on top of it. Twisting in his chair to get a pen from his jacket pocket, he casually said, “Just so you know, we can keep you here for twenty-four hours if we only suspect you’re guilty of a crime.” Turning back, pen in hand, he held it over the piece of paper. “Longer if we have evidence to prove it.” He let his eyes stray to the evidence bags.

Jasper’s gaze dropped to them, then lifted back to Gabe. They sat there staring at each other, Jasper still refusing to say anything. But every few seconds he would look at the bags, then back at Gabe, then look at the bags again, the crease between his eyebrows getting deeper every time.

Just as Gabe was thinking he was never going to back down, Jasper finally did.

“I think…” Jasper stopped and started chewing on his top lip as his gaze drifted to the evidence bags again. Swallowing hard, he looked back at Gabe. “I’d like to call my lawyer now.”

“That is your right.” Gabe slid the phone across the table, then stood. “You have one minute. Make it count.” Grabbing the folder and evidence bags, he left the room and hurried down the hall toward the observation room, meeting Emerson as he was coming out.

“Damn,” Emerson said, whistling under his breath. “That kid is one cool customer.”

Gabe nodded. He was. And he hadn’t acted guilty or defensive. Or like any criminal Gabe had faced before. “Em, between you and me. Do you really think he’s innocent? After everything we found? After the witness statements?”

Emerson nodded. “I do. And I think you do too. Otherwise, you’d have pounded him hard instead of going easy on him.”

Gabe’s body reacted instantly to Emerson’s words as his mind flooded with images of Jasper that had nothing to do with the case and had no place at work. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to unclench enough to mutter, “I didn’t go that easy on him.”

“No, but you weren’t as forceful as I was expecting.”

Gabe grunted because he hadn’t been. And that wasn’t like him. There was a reason criminals feared him. But him not pushing Jasper hard enough to break him told Gabe he’d already made up his mind about him before ever going into the interrogation room.

“It’s like your heart wasn’t in it,” Emerson said, echoing Gabe’s thoughts too close for comfort. Then he squinted at Gabe, a smile slowly forming. “It wasn’t, was it?”

Gabe shook his head. “But I’m not ready to just let him walk. There’s something going on with him. I can feel it.”

Emerson frowned. “Your feelings are usually spot on. Uncannily so.”

Gabe nodded. They were. Shortly after he’d arrived in Starfall Grove he’d started getting feelings about people, an ability to read their character, to sense when they were up to no good. And his abilities had only grown stronger and more accurate the longer he lived there to the point he was never wrong. Until now. Until Jasper.

Looking at Emerson, he said, “They’re telling me…I don’t know what exactly. But there’s something about him. Something important.”

“Then we’ll find out what it is. Now, c’mon,” Emerson said, slapping him on the shoulder. “His lawyer is probably almost here. Let’s go wait for them, then we’ll see what Jasper has to say before we let him go.”

Gabe blew out a breath and followed him back to the interrogation room. Fuck, but he hated being wrong. And he was pretty sure he’d gotten almost everything wrong about Jasper from the very beginning.