Jasper

Cloud Nine was too close to the ground to describe where I floated.

It didn’t matter that I’d forgotten the very serious discussion I was supposed to have with Mina. We’d get around to that soon enough. For now, I had found a source of contentment and joy I would never have imagined for myself.

Waking up with Mina in my arms, in her bed inside her house, was the epitome of heaven. It represented her complete trust in me. She’d fallen asleep in my arms, in a place I’d violated in the past. The fact that she could sleep so easily with me back here meant she didn’t wonder if I’d try to steal something again. She didn’t worry I’d hurt her in any way. She trusted me implicitly, and that was something I wasn’t even sure I’d had with Cindy.

I’d slept soundly, too, and even though it was only for about four hours, I felt like I’d gotten a good eight or nine. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so rested. I couldn’t decide if it came from the comfort of her trust, her arms, or her admission of loving me. I hadn’t meant for her to hear me say it. I thought she’d fallen asleep. But I didn’t regret it, since she’d said it, too. I was high on life and love, and I was determined that nothing was going to bring me down.

So when I found Sam perched on his Harley outside my building, I didn’t bother getting angry. I just didn’t care anymore. I walked past him with a wave. “Hey, bud, if you want to talk, that’s fine. But I’m not coming to the clubhouse.”

I slowed just enough that Sam could climb his hefty gut off the thing and catch up to me without running by the time I went to unlock the front door to the building. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

I had no idea what he was talking about. There were a lot of things about me Sam would think were crazy right now, and he could be referring to any one of them. “Maybe. I can’t answer that definitively without more information.”

I let him follow me in, but I didn’t hold the door. He could do the work himself or get the hell out of my building. “Would you stop walking and look at me?”

I shook my head as the elevator door opened. I had considered walking up the stairs in hopes of losing him at the bottom, but I had a feeling that whatever Sam wanted to say to me would drive him to follow. I didn’t feel like calling an ambulance today if he had a heart attack. “I’m going to my apartment. If you want to talk, you can say your piece there, and then if I don’t like it, I’ll kick your ass out and slam the door in your face.”

“You’re a rude son of a bitch,” he grumbled, and I just grinned. “Jesus, you are insane.”

“When did you become a clinical psychologist?” I challenged. “Because I could have used that opinion before they locked me up. Might have gotten off easier.”

He muttered under his breath, but I didn’t strain to hear. I didn’t really care what he had to say at the moment. We got to my door, and I unlocked it, striding inside without caring if he followed or not. But when the door slammed shut, I could hear him breathing as I reached into the fridge for a soda. “You are a stupid son of a bitch, Jasper Cunningham.”

I scoffed. “I am sometimes, I guess. But so are you and every other man on the face of the earth.”

“Did you really think no one would find out?”

I went stiff. So, he’d been the one following me last night. Somehow, he’d sniffed out where I was headed, even without following me the whole way. That was fine; unless he’d put a GPS tracker on my bike, he couldn’t verify it. He hadn’t seen me pull up to the house, and you couldn’t see through the damn gate to find my bike in the driveway. Plausible deniability worked just fine for me. “Find out what, Sam?” I asked with as much arrogance as I could muster.

“About the list.”

I still didn’t give anything away. My heart hammered in my chest. At least he wasn’t talking about Mina, but I didn’t want to give anything away here, either. “List?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, Jasper. I know about the list. I know what’s on it, and I know that list would be all we needed to hit our mark.” His eyes blazed, and I wondered just who Sam had become over the years. Sure, he’d done everything for me while I was inside, but now, it was like he expected recompense for his favors. As if I hadn’t done him a solid by assuring he could keep his freedom and become a fat slob. “Where’s the list?”

“You’re going to have to tell me what you’re looking for. Because the only lists I have are the hours I’m working, the groceries I need to get, and the errands I need to run,” I stated flatly.

He took a menacing step toward me, and I braced myself. I didn’t need a weapon to take Sam. I could do it with my bare hands. And since he was an intruder in my apartment, I didn’t have to justify bashing his head in with my knuckles. “Stephen Cohen had a completely separate collection, and you have a list of every piece of art in that gallery. Those are the most expensive pieces on earth, and two or three of them would set all of us for life. Now, you know what’s in there, and you know where ‘there’ is. You give me that list, and you’re off the hook. Forever.”

I couldn’t give him that list. First of all, I didn’t trust any of them anywhere near Mina. They would kill her to keep themselves from going to prison, and that was too big a risk. Secondly, who else would have a list of all of those things, other than me? I was the only one who had access to Mina’s house that wasn’t trustworthy. I had a history, a criminal record, and it was directly related to her and her property. I wouldn’t get framed or implicated again.

“I don’t have that list, Sam.” The truth was, I didn’t. I wasn’t stupid enough to keep something like that here.

“You’re a liar, Jasper.” The venom was heavy in his voice, and I suddenly didn’t even recognize my old friend. Greed had become a monkey on his back, just like the rest of them, and it made me sad. “Where is it?”

I shook my head. “You can’t have it, Sam. Stephen Cohen is dead, and you won’t go threatening his family. And you sure as hell won’t put me in danger of a life in an eight by eight box.” Fear made me angry, and I was terrified right now. I hadn’t considered that anyone would ever figure out I had that master list, so I hadn’t thought about that sort of threat to Mina’s safety before. The oversight didn’t make me happy, and I wasn’t sure how to fix this.

I searched for an idea, a way to diffuse the situation, and I said the first thing that came to mind. “It’s in a safe deposit box. I have to get it.” My mind was working too fast, and I felt like steam might start pouring out of my ears as fast as the gears were grinding against each other. I could fake the list. I could give a partial list, with a few of the pieces, and I could write fake directions. I was creative, and since I had most of it committed to memory, I could totally create something similar enough to feel real.

Sam narrowed his eyes at me. “You better not be fucking around, Jasper, or I’ll find out. You have a week. Got it?”

I nodded. In the meantime, I’d find a place out of town, pull some of my savings, and send Mina on vacation, just in case. With Sam having turned on me – and I still didn’t know how he found out about the list – I couldn’t trust anyone, and I couldn’t take any risks. “If you’ll leave me out of it, I’ll get you the list, Sam. All I want is freedom. From all of it.”

He gave a short nod. “Fair enough. One week.” He turned and slammed out of the apartment, and I hastily locked the door behind him, not wanting any possibility of him coming back in. Then, I reached for my phone, tugging it out of my pocket. I had to warn Mina, somehow, and get her to agree to leave town for a while. I would do whatever was needed to protect her.

I texted her, my fingers not cooperating so I had to keep backing up and trying again. Call me. Now. It’s urgent.

Mina

I frowned at my phone, a little insecurity creeping up my spine. We’d parted ways about an hour ago, and now, Jasper was texting me, asking me to call him because it was urgent. If it was so urgent, why didn’t he just call me? What if he’d gotten into an accident on the way home?

That was one of several horrific scenarios playing through my head as I dialled, walking away from the grilled cheese sandwich I’d just made myself. Horribly unhealthy, and I didn’t care. Sex was an extra workout these days, so I didn’t have to worry about my figure. He answered halfway through the second ring. “Mina, we have to talk.”

The desperation in his tone threw me off balance, and I was nervous now. “What’s wrong, Jasper?”

“Do you trust me?” he asked, just as hastily.

“Of course.” But I didn’t like the sound of this.

“Then I need you to pack a bag and call an Uber or something. Don’t take your car. I want you to find a place out of town where you can stay for a few days.”

“What? Jasper, what’s going on?” I was confused and just a little frightened. Why would he send me out of town?

“Please, Mina, don’t ask questions now. Just find a place, not something connected to you like another property. And text me the address. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can and explain everything. Will you do that for me?”

I hesitated only a moment. For all that I had only known him a short time, I loved Jasper, and I trusted him completely. If he wanted me to do this, he had a good reason, and he would explain it. I’d never felt so sure of anyone in my life. The man I’d once considered dangerous and emotionless loved me, too. I could feel it deep in my bones, and he wouldn’t lie to me. “I’ll do it. How soon?”

“Can you be on your way in an hour?”

I nodded, realized he couldn’t hear me, and said, “Yes.” I searched my brain quickly for where to go. “There’s a place upstate—”

“Just text me the address. I’ll come to you. I’ll be just a few minutes behind, okay?”

“Okay, Jasper. I’m heading upstairs now.” I hung up and then winced and texted, I love you. Then, I ran upstairs and pulled my suitcase and a duffel bag out of the closet. I filled the suitcase quickly with clothes, mostly casual with a couple of workout outfits and a couple of wrinkle-free dresses. I tossed some shoes in there. Then, I carried my duffel into the bathroom and dumped all my toiletries into it, not caring if they were organized. I didn’t bother with soap and shampoo. I could buy those later. I’d rather they didn’t leak onto everything else.

I wanted to drive, but I didn’t want to risk not following Jasper’s directions to the letter. So, I ordered an Uber. I did a walkthrough of the house, making sure all the alarms were set and I wasn’t forgetting anything. Then, I went outside to wait, impatient and concerned. I really wanted to know what was going on, and I needed to see Jasper. I suddenly felt like it had been weeks instead of minutes since he’d left me, and I couldn’t stand it.

Twenty minutes later, a cute white Prius pulled up with its Uber sticker, and he started toward the highway. There was a ski lodge upstate that also served as a quiet getaway. I used to go with my father, and I’d been there a couple of times with the girls. It was a private place, not some tourist lodge, and I thought it was one of the safest places to go. I checked to make sure Jasper had gotten the address to the lodge. He’d sent me several hearts, hugs, and kisses, followed by, See you soon.

I tried to set my mind at ease. Whatever was going on, Jasper had it under control. That’s why he wanted me to leave now, to assure he could keep everything in check. I just couldn’t imagine what had happened, even if I had a sneaking suspicion it involved the members of his motorcycle club. That Jake guy had been pretty nasty, and I had seen the concern on Jasper’s face when he left. I knew he had worried the guy would be waiting for me when I left, but I also knew he hadn’t seen me and wouldn’t know me from the next blond bitch he saw.

Had I been wrong? Did they know who I was, what I looked like? Were they coming after me?

I was going to drive myself crazy if I didn’t stop rolling it around in my head. taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself. I picked my phone up again and logged into a game that didn’t take a lot of thought, something I could focus on and sort of zone out.

It made the drive go by faster, and when I arrived, I pulled out a ten and tipped the driver. I probably could have given him more, but I’d already paid a small fortune for the ride, so I let it go, climbing out and taking my bags with me. I hadn’t reserved a room, but I knew the desk clerks, and Scott found me a perfect luxury bungalow that was open for several weeks. I could stay as long as I liked. I let him know I’d have a guest staying with me, and he winked at me, letting me know he’d discreetly send Jasper to the room. He’d been waiting for me to hook up for a long time, and I was suddenly nervous that Jasper would want his own room or would go back to the city rather than staying with me.

I shoved the irrational fear aside and trekked to the out of the way cabin, finding it cozy and quite luxurious. I could handle this for a while. It was a fraction of the size of my house, and only a little larger than Jasper’s apartment, but that seemed more my style these days anyway. I wasn’t complaining at all.

At least, as long as I didn’t have to wait too long for an explanation of what had caused all this commotion. I had an active imagination, and I knew that anything I could dream up would be worse than the reality. At least, I hoped so, because I was getting ready to really freak myself out. I thought about texting Jasper, but if he was on his bike – and he probably was – I didn’t want to bother him. He’d said he would be right behind me, so I sat back and turned on the television, hoping for a distraction.