Chapter 34 (Jasper)

I looked at her for a moment. Already, her skin was pale. She was losing blood and fast. I was terrified that it was already too late to save her.

No. I couldn’t think like that.

She was going to survive this. She had to.

I couldn’t afford to lose her.

taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on her hip to keep her in place. I knew this was going to hurt. After all, I had experienced the same agony when I was a SEAL. The pain is something you can’t quite describe – like a fire that touches your very soul.

Carefully, I pulled away her clothes, exposing the wound. To my relief, it wasn’t as bad as the blood made it see. The bullet hole was narrow and clean for the most part. The bullet itself was nowhere to be found. Good. That meant there was less chance of infection.

Seeing that there wasn’t much I could do, I stitched her up and prayed for the best.

I pressed my hand against her forehead but it was still too soon to see if she had a fever.

Gently, I picked her up and carried her to bed. Wolf followed behind me, limping. As soon as I put her down, he laid down beside her, placing his head on her chest as if to say that he’d protect her.

I nodded my head.

There was unfinished business to attend to.

Downstairs, Keith was slowly getting to his feet. I couldn’t stand the sight of him. This lowlife was nothing but a piece of shit underneath my shoe. First of all, he had abused Mandy while they were dating. Second, his family supported sex work. Third, he had barged into my home and shot my girlfriend.

He was going to pay – and pay dearly.

No, in fact, he was going to regret the day he ever laid eyes on me.

With my anger raging through every vein in my body, I grabbed him by the shirt. “If she fucking dies, I want you to know that I will find a way to end your miserable life myself. I’m going to kill you so slowly that you’re going to go hoarse begging me for mercy. All your family members are going to pale in comparison. You don’t know what I’m capable of…”

He spat in my face.

Big mistake.

I tightened my hold on his shirt, lifting him off the ground.

“You don’t scare me.”

“You have a lot of guts for someone who is completely defenseless. You couldn’t beat me even with a gun. You’re nothing more than a coward.” I snarled.

“Then, kill me.”

“Oh, but that’s exactly what you want, isn’t it? You want me to kill you. That’s the easy way out. I rather have you rotting behind bars where you belong. You can be the prison bitch for the rest of your life.”

“You made this threat before and still I got away.”

“Only because you were willing to abandon your own family to save your own skin.”

He shrugged. “They would have done the same.”

“Some family you got there.”

“Better than your immigrant parents.” He smirked seeing the expression on my face.

“What you thought you could keep it a secret?”

“Leave them out of this.” I ground my teeth. “They have nothing to do with this.”

“I just don’t know how you can lecture me when you neglected your own parents while they were on their deathbeds. Oh, that’s right, you were too busy partying it up to pick up the phone. Then, when you did, you were too drunk to say anything worth remembering. You told your father to go to hell, didn’t you?”

“How do you know this.”

“I have my sources.”

I slammed him into the wall. “How do you know this?”

“One of the girls you used to hire for ‘entertainment’ was one of ours. You aren’t a saint, Mr. Kilroy, so don’t even pretend that you are. You know, we aren’t so different, you and I.”

“We are nothing alike.”

“That’s what you’d like to think but I can guarantee you that we are.” He grinned.

“Keep smiling and I swear I’ll wipe that dirty smirk right off your face.”

“Go ahead.”

Keeping my word, I swung at his face. My fist collided with his mouth. I flinched slightly, cutting my knuckle on his tooth. When I looked back at him, there were gaps in his smile where I had knocked out his teeth.

Good.

“Go ahead, hit me again.”

“What are you, some kind of masochist?”

“Maybe.” He chuckled. “Maybe you’re turning me on right now.” He laughed.

“You’re sick.” I threw him to the ground. “I’m going to make sure you never see the light of day again.”

***

“How is she doing?” Andy walked into the hospital room with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“She’s stable but she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I see.” Andy nodded his head. “At least this whole mess is over now. Keith is in custody and they found the remaining Hitchcocks.”

“I’ll only feel better when she wakes up.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to find the silver lining in this situation.”

I sighed. “I know. I’m just on edge.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

“When we were in the Navy together, you were such a timid guy. Then, when you entered the corporate world, you did a full three-sixty, finding a boatload of confidence. You weren’t the same man. For a long time, I thought you’d never find a girl, especially since you were bringing a new one home every week.”

I hung my head. “I don’t really want to be reminded of all that. You know, I went to the mountains to forget but everything keeps chasing me into the woods.”

“Well, if you ask me after all this is settled – after the court hearings are over with – I’d ask her to marry you.”

“Marry me?” My eyes widened at the thought.

“Yes. You love her, don’t you?”

“With all my heart.”

“Then, what’s the big deal?”

“It’s just… I don’t know if we’re ready for that.”

“Deep down, you know you want it. You’re lonely and you need a wife.”

“When did you become a fountain of wisdom?”

“Because I know how to listen to people even when they are quiet.” He smiled a mysterious smile. “Maybe you should take a minute to listen to your heart, it might tell you a thing or two.”