Page 17 of Blade’s Edge (L.A.S.T. Defense #1)

Jasper

The ride from the restaurant to Emi’s apartment is the longest of my life.

For almost two hours, we ate, talked, and even flirted over BBQ.

If the parkin’ lot hadn’t been so packed, I would have had her up against my truck and kissed the hell out of her once I’d paid the bill.

But there’ll be plenty of time for that when we’re behind locked doors with the blinds drawn.

She ran out of steam halfway to her apartment. Last night’s attack, the visit to the police station, her segment, and the food finally catching up to her. “That’s your third yawn since we left the restaurant, sweetheart. We’re goin’ straight to bed when we get to your place.”

“Bed, yes,” she says as she tries to stifle yet another yawn. “But I have plans for you, Ranger.”

“We’ll see about that.” Emi tries to glare at me, but she’s so exhausted, I choke back a laugh. “You’ll be asleep before your head hits the pillow.”

I love helping Emi down from my truck. Her hands rest on my shoulders, while mine mold to her hips. There’s nothing sexual about it, but these brief moments are intimate in a way I didn’t expect.

“You’re a real gentleman,” she says softly and brushes a light kiss to my cheek.

“I try, ma’am.” Settling my Stetson on my head, I grab my duffel.

“You…packed a bag?” She covers her mouth with her hand, eyes wide.

Fuck me.

“You ain’t stayin’ alone, Emi. Not with those assholes still out there. I assumed?—”

She laughs and runs her fingers through her long, brown locks. “Take a breath, handsome. I was joking.”

“Thank fuck. We still haven’t finished the conversation we were having in my truck this morning.” I rake my eyes up and down Emi’s body. Her hip is cocked to one side, her free hand on her waist. My jeans are strangling my dick, and I can’t think straight.

An SUV with a squeaky belt rumbles by on the street. Dammit. I didn’t hear it coming. Five-feet-six-inches of smart, sassy brunette perfection is all it takes to throw me off my game.

“Inside, Emi. Now.”

She fits herself to my side. I’ll be lucky if I don’t come in my pants before we get in the elevator. Her fingers slide into my back pocket and tighten on my ass. Damn.

The lobby doors unlock after Emi enters her code, but the security desk in front of the elevators is empty. “Where’s Benny?”

She glances around the atrium. “He usually takes a break around nine. He’s probably getting something to eat. Or talking to his daughter. She’s a lawyer out in California. I’m sure he’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I don’t give a fuck if Benny is smoking a joint behind the dumpster or fucking his girlfriend in the supply closet. Something in the air doesn’t feel right, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Emi digs her hand deeper into my pocket. Those warm brown eyes meet mine for a brief moment before she punches in her code for the elevator and the doors whisper open. “Come upstairs, Jasper.”

I push her against the wall of the car. With my hands wrapped around her waist, I claim her mouth. A single flick of my tongue against her lips and she opens for me.

Last night, she tried to keep as much space between us as possible. Tonight, she can’t get close enough and wraps one leg around my thigh.

The doors open with a ding. We move as one into the hall. Emi fumbles around in her bag, and her keys escape, crashing to the floor.

I keep a hand tight around her hip as I ease myself down to one knee, scoop up the ring, and pass it to her. “We gotta get inside. Right fucking now.”

“Then let me open the door, handsome.” She winks, then slides the key into the lock.

At the last second, my brain wrestles control away from my dick. Covering her hand with mine, I shake my head. “Get behind me. Gotta clear the place first.” Confusion clouds her gaze, and I add, “I need to make sure no one’s been here since this morning.”

“You think…?” The arousal in her eyes fades in an instant. “Benny wouldn’t have let anyone on the elevator. And if my security system had gone off, he’d have called me.”

“Unless it happened in the past ten minutes.” I tug the leg of my jeans up a couple of inches and slide the small Glock from my ankle holster. “Breathe, sweetheart. I’m sure it’s safe. But I’d be a damn fool not to check.”

“Jasper, the door was locked. You’re overreacting. Let’s just go inside.”

She’s gone from flirty to exasperated in seconds. Before I can stop her, she pushes the door open. “Emi, wait?—”

Two steps into her apartment, everything goes sideways and ass backwards.

A black-gloved hand grabs Emi’s wrist and jerks her forward. I throw my entire body against the door, hoping to unbalance whomever’s lying in wait on the other side.

The wood hits something solid. I spin around, landing a right hook to a skinny fucker’s jaw. His eyes roll back in his head, and he collapses as another man comes into view. His voice sends ice sinking like a glacier in my gut.

“Move, and she dies.”

Emi

The sickening mix of sweat and cologne burns my nose. My head spins. Something hard slams against my temple, and I see stars. Off balance, I stumble—no, I’m pulled—backwards. One of my shoes is gone. Where…?

Something…an arm?…bands around my neck. It’s hard to swallow. Hard to breathe.

“Emi!” Jasper shouts. The apartment door bangs shut.

“Drop the gun,” a man grits out, his voice only inches from my ear.

Panic swims in Jasper’s dark blue eyes for a beat. But then he swallows hard, holds his hands away from his sides, and slowly lowers the small pistol to the floor.

“Now kick it away.”

This isn’t happening. It’s not real. It can’t be real.

The gun skids across the floor. I watch it spin, my gaze pinned to the black metal. My throw pillows are in shreds. Half my kitchen cabinets are open. The whole place looks like a tornado tore through it.

“Not the sharpest tools in the shed, are you?” Jasper asks, his voice a hell of a lot calmer than it should be.

I want to scream, but I can’t. All I can do is try to loosen the arm cutting off my air. The guy holding me slams the barrel of the gun against the swollen knot on my forehead. The world goes soft, and I fight to keep my knees from buckling.

“Shut the fuck up. Do exactly what we say, and maybe you’ll walk out of here alive.”

Jasper laughs. His entire body trembles with the sound. I’m surprised tears aren’t streaming from his eyes.

We’re going to die! What the hell is so funny?

No one’s coming to our rescue. Jasper gave up his gun. The man behind him is still unconscious, but how much longer will that last? I’m so dizzy, I’d be on the floor if it weren’t for the arm around my neck.

“You think I’m joking?” the man asks. He takes a step back, dragging me with him. We’re almost to the living room now.

I claw at him, but he’s wearing a jacket and gloves. My feeble efforts do nothing but piss him off. He tightens his grip. I start to wheeze.

“Listen, shit for brains,” Jasper says. “You tried to blow up Emi’s car.

The FBI and Austin PD are on to you. There’s no way in hell you’ll let either of us walk out of here alive.

I know it. You know it. But that gives me the advantage.

Because I’ve got nothin’ left to lose.” Jasper lowers his hands to his sides and takes one step toward me.

The asshole drags me halfway to the living room window. What happens when there’s nowhere left to go?

“Don’t come any closer,” he says. Some of the bravado has faded from his voice. “You know who we work for, Mr. Blade. We can do whatever the fuck we want. But we don’t like killing women. Not unless we have to. Give us the recording and we’ll?—”

His arm is getting tighter by the second. Panic takes over. “P-please,” I beg. “I don’t have?—”

“Where is it?” he roars at me.

“Wh-where’s what?” Dark spots float at the edges of my vision. Nothing feels real anymore. I’m here, but not. My heartbeat races, pounding in my ears.

Halfway across the room, Jasper calls my name. “Emi. Look at me, sweetheart. Right now.” He flicks his gaze down to the floor and back up again. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Trust me.”

It’s not. It’s so not. Why is he so confident? Oh, God. He looks down at the floor again. Is he trying to tell me something?

Jasper takes another step toward us. His body angles slightly. “If she passes out, you sure as shit won’t get whatever it is you came here for.”

I’m so dizzy—almost hyperventilating. I could pass out.

With a weak moan, I let my head loll onto my chest. My knees give way. The hold around my neck loosens, and the ground rushes up to meet me.

Jasper moves so fast, he’s only a dark blur. Something clatters to the floor, followed by a heavy thud .

Blood. I smell blood. It’s so close. My back hits the window. The gunman rolls from side to side, gurgling. Choking. Jasper kicks the pistol across the room.

Blood seeps through the man’s fingers, dripping onto the floor. Something silver glints in the light. A knife. It’s sticking out of his throat .

His mouth opens and closes. Every second, his movements are weaker. Until they stop entirely and his hands fall away.

“He’s…dead!” I try to get up, but the room spins. My stomach roils. “Jasper…what did you do?”

“It was either him or us, and I wasn’t gonna let him hurt you.

” Jasper’s in front of me now. Gently, he frames my face with his big, warm hands, and then his lips are on mine.

Just a hint of pressure. So light that once he pulls back, I wonder if I imagined the kiss entirely. “Say somethin’, sweetheart.”

Before I can, there’s a moan from across the room.

Jasper jerks his head around, and I swear he actually growls . Yet once he returns his focus to me, he’s so tender. Like he thinks I’m about to shatter. I probably am.

“Do you have any duct tape?” he asks.

“Huh? Wh-what?” I can’t take my eyes off the other man. The one who’s still alive.

“Duct tape, Emi. You have some?”

His tone snaps me out of the panic threatening to pull me under. “Kitchen. The drawer to the left of the sink.”

“If I help you up, can you get it for me? I ain’t so sure that fucker’s gonna stay down.” He wraps an arm around my waist, lifts me to my feet, and holds me until my vision clears.

“I’m okay,” I whisper.

In truth, “okay” might as well be on Jupiter. But Jasper saved our lives, and I have to help him.

Kicking off my other shoe, I stumble into the kitchen.

Jasper flips the semi-conscious man onto his stomach and pins his hands to the small of his back.

Nothing is where it should be. I find the duct tape on the floor in front of the sink.

Once I have it in my hands, I freeze. My gaze locks on the man by the window.

The blood. The knife still stuck in his throat.

“We have to call the police…” I manage.

“No.” Jasper holds out his hand. “Bring me the duct tape. Tear off a strip at least four feet long. I can do the rest.”

Despite my confusion, I do as he says. The man under him struggles weakly. My heart starts to race. Jasper wraps the tape around the guy’s wrists, then takes the roll from me and hogties him.

“Go pack whatever you need for a couple of nights. Essentials only. We have to get the fuck out of here. Five minutes and we’re gone. You understand?”

“What about...?” Gesturing to the dead man, I shudder. His face is almost peaceful.

“I’m callin’ for reinforcements.”