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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

JASPER

Something’s wrong with Falin. I wish I could figure out what it is. If I did something wrong, she’s usually the first person to tell me—loudly and unapologetically.

She’s been off since the coffee shop—distant, barely meeting my eyes, answering in one word responses even when I’m being a smartass.

When she said she was too sick to come tonight, that really tipped me off. This is the woman who worked through three days of no sleep, barely eating because she was close to cracking that code. Tonight wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for her. I’ve only known her for a few months, but I know she’d have to be halfway to the grave to sit this out.

“Maybe I should stay,” I say, hovering by her bedroom door. She’s curled up in bed, kittens on her chest, but her posture is too stiff for someone who’s supposedly sick. She pets the kittens, barely meeting my eyes.

“No,” she answers quickly. “You need to be there. For Bailey.”

She knows bringing up Bailey’s name directly will have me by the balls. Well played.

Blake pokes her head in, jacket on and ready to go. “I can stay with you, Fal. The guys can handle?—”

“Absolutely not.” Falin sits up and the kittens bolt from her sharp voice. “You both need to go. Please.”

Fuck. My chest tightens again. It’s pretty much been that way all day. Pent up adrenaline mixed with anxiety. Her tone isn’t helping the situation. It’s like she’s begging us to leave. I’ve heard Falin beg before, usually with my head between her thighs, but this is different. Desperate.

I finally relent, kissing her goodbye, and leaving her with a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen. “Call me if you need anything,” I tell her. She waves me off, assuring me she’ll be fine, she just needs rest.

Leon hops on his bike, and Damon, Blake, and I pile into Damon’s car. My leg won’t stop bouncing, my head swimming with alarm bells. We make it fifteen minutes before Damon shoots me a look, asking me what the hell was wrong.

“She’ll be fine,” he says, but I barely hear him over the roar in my head. “Ray’s probably already there. This will go smoothly, I can feel it.”

Blake pokes her head through the middle console. “Falin’s tough, she’ll be okay. I’m sure she’s super bummed to miss out on tonight.”

That’s just the thing.

At the next red light, I make a snap decision. “Pull over. Drop me off here.”

“What? Why?” Damon asks.

“Something’s not right. I need to check on her.”

He starts to argue, but I open my door before he gets the chance to pull over. I don’t have time for this. “Goddamn, brother.” The light turns green, but before he hits the gas, he yells out the window. “Be careful. Text if you need us.”

I pull out my phone and hit call on Falin’s name. The line rings and rings before her voicemail picks up. I try again and leave her a message.

“I’m heading back home. Be pissed at me if you want, but I don’t want you there alone.”

I sprint all the way back, my pounding heart louder than my rushing thoughts. The apartment is dark when I get there. Empty.

“Fuck!” I knew something was off. After checking her bedroom for a note, or any sign of a struggle, I call Leon. He answers on his helmet’s bluetooth. “I need you to track Falin’s phone.”

“What? Why?” he asks.

“Don’t ask questions… please. Just do it.”

He must hear the desperation in my voice because the noise from his engine dies down. “I pulled off the road. What’s going on?”

“Where is she?”

He sighs, but doesn’t ask any more questions. It takes a few seconds where I pace the length of the apartment, grabbing another gun from my dresser drawer and tucking it into my waistband. “She’s in midtown. Looks like an office building, a high-rise. Sending the address now.”

A chill rushes through me. “Something is wrong.”

The text comes through and I’m already running. “Jasper, wait for us. I’m turning around now.”

“No, you go on ahead. If I need you, I’ll call you.”

There’s no time. I have to get to her. If she’s hurt, I’ll never fucking forgive myself.

* * *

The security desk is empty when I push through the glass door into the lobby. I glance at the elevator, but decide against it. There isn’t time. I have no idea where she is in this massive building, but I won’t find her in this lobby.

I head for the stairs, taking them two at a time until I hear footsteps above me. Pressing my frame against the wall, I draw my weapon, forcing my heavy breaths to slow. My phone vibrates and the sound is amplified in the massive stairwell. I don’t have a chance to check who it is, or to quiet the damn thing. Whoever’s above me knows I’m here. I take a step, craning my neck to see what I’m dealing with. It could be Falin, but my gut tells me it’s not her.

“Stop right there,” a man’s deep voice echoes. I spot him, a big guy. Something about him looks familiar. He’s aiming a gun down at me from two flights up.

“I don’t have beef with you,” I say. “I’m just trying to find my girl.” I keep my gun drawn, but take a better look at him. For a guy aiming a gun, his posture seems pretty slouchy. Is his hand shaking? It’s hard to tell from this far away. “Where is she?”

He’s quiet at first, clearly weighing his options. When he finally opens his mouth, the words come out slow. “Just leave.” There’s no force behind what he says, nothing menacing in his tone. “Please. I don’t want to kill anyone else.”

“No shame in that. I’d very much like to keep breathing too.” I climb a few steps, keeping my weapon aimed and eyes on him. “What’s your name?”

“Don’t come any further,” he yells, his voice trembling.

I don’t need to. I’m close enough now to take him out without a problem. “Looks like we’re in a situation here, big guy,” I say.

“It’s Bruce,” he says, correcting me.

“Ah, Bruce. Well, Bruce, since neither of us want to kill each other, maybe we can help each other out instead?”

Bruce’s hand lowers, and I suck in a breath. “He killed him. Beat him to death right in front of me.” His voice cracks. “Over nothing. A fucking mistake anyone could have made.”

“Who did, Bruce? You can tell me, I’ll help you.” I chance a few more steps forward, now seeing moisture shining in Bruce’s eyes. I remember him now. He’s the fucker who grabbed Blake. Karma is a bitch, Brucey boy. But now I know for sure who has Falin and my chest tightens. Orlov. “Come on. Promise it’ll help to talk about it.”

That gets him to look at me directly. He’s thinking about telling me what I need to hear. I can see it in his eyes. “He’ll kill me too. Slowly. Painfully.”

“Not if we get to him first.” I’m close enough now to see the tears on Bruce’s face. “Where are they?”

His eyes widen, his mouth opening like he’s going to ask me a question, but he closes it just as quickly. “The roof. But you should know?—”

I don’t hesitate. I won’t make the mistake of letting any of them live again. The bullet catches him in the chest and he slumps against the cement wall. As he slides down, a crimson trail spreads beneath his body, and his wide eyes meet mine.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

I kick his gun aside and run. His words echo in my head, but I can’t dwell on that. My legs burn but I don’t slow down. I barely think. Twenty-seven floors worth of stairs and my heart’s about to explode, but none of that matters. She has to be okay. Please don’t let me be too late.

The roof access door is ahead, close enough that I hear voices coming from outside. Through the small window I see them. Falin standing near the edge, Alexander a few feet away with his gun aimed at her head.

Panic squeezes my throat, choking the air from my lungs. I hear him raising his voice over the cool night breeze. “You’re trapped, stupid girl. Should have ran down the stairs, but I wouldn’t expect smart thinking from you.”

“How do you know this isn’t exactly where I wanted you?” she says. She’s standing tall and strong. I need a fucking plan, but every way I look at it, there’s no being stealthy here.

Orlov snickers with cold indifference. “Corner me on my own roof? Like I said, not much going on upstairs. Good thing you’ll make up for it in other ways. If I decide to let you live.” He takes a step closer, his gun trained on her head. “Where’s Blake? I told you to bring her.”

“Like I’d hand over my best friend to a piece of shit like you. Who’s the stupid one, now?”

A gust of wind rattles the door. I use the distraction to quietly crack it open, so I can hear better.

“Such fire.” He clicks his tongue, pacing back and forth. “Too bad it won’t save your boyfriends. That warehouse you’re all so interested in? It’s wired to blow the moment anyone breaches the door. Your friends will be dead before they realize what hit them.”

Oh my fuck. I have to warn them, but I can’t bring myself to look away from Falin. One distraction and she could be gone.

“You’re lying.” She holds her chin high, but her tense body betrays her.

“Am I? You really think you’re in control here?” He moves closer. “That’s your problem, isn’t it, you dumb whore? Always needing to control everything, everyone. That’s why you came here alone. How’s that working out for you?”

“Better than being a piece of shit who trades in human lives. No one loves you, let alone likes you. Brennan did your job better and you know it.” She inches closer. The fucking balls on this woman. “You’re a pig. A disgusting middle-aged white man who can only get it up when he’s raping a woman.”

He grabs her by the hair, yanking her down. As I’m about to sprint forward, his words hit me like a tire iron to the back of the head. “Like that pretty brunette? What was her name? Oh, that’s right. Bailey Shea.”

I freeze, my hand gripping my weapon so tightly, my fingers go numb.

“Fuck you,” Falin seethes.

“She begged for her brother at first. Cried for him. Cried to go home. But now?” He smiles. “Now she won’t even remember his name.”

I burst through the door, my gun raised. “You fucking bastard!”

“Jasper, no!” Falin meets my gaze. Fear shines through her smokey wide eyes.

Orlov spins, still keeping his gun aimed at Falin. Adrenaline pumps through my system, every nerve ending wanting to fight. To kill. “Ah, the boyfriend arrives. The failed hero. This is getting to be so much fun.”

“Let her go,” I say as calmly as I can muster.

He laughs again, the sound making the hairs on my arm stand up. “Why would I do that? She’ll make me a lot of money. Just like your sister.”

“Shut your fucking mouth!”

“I did my research on you, Shea. You think you can fuck up my life and walk away scot-free. I’m afraid I’m not that nice of a man.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Falin pleads. “He wants to watch you squirm.”

“He should listen. I have so much to share. Like how she screamed in that London townhouse. How she?—”

I hear it before I see Falin move. Her gun aimed, the shot hitting Orlov in the chest. He staggers but somehow stays on his feet, his gun swinging toward me.

“No!” Falin moves faster than I’ve ever seen her, throwing herself between us as Alexander’s gun goes off. I sprint forward to grab her, spinning us both as a familiar white hot pain tears through my abdomen. I roar through the pain, holding Falin tight.

We stumble, landing on our knees just as Orlov loses his balance near the edge. His eyes bulge as realization hits him. His arms windmill but there’s nothing for him to grab onto. Only air. He screams as his body careens off the edge, echoing all the way down.

Falin clutches me as I sink down, both of us shaking with released adrenaline. My body burns, and blood soaks my shirt. She presses her hands against my wound, tears springing from her eyes. “Why?” she cries. She grabs her blade, tearing off the bottom of her shirt to hold onto my wound. “You dummy of a man. Beautiful, idiotic, frustrating… You weren’t supposed to come!”

“Baby…” I try to reach for her, but she holds me down.

“Don’t move,” she says, pulling out her phone. “I’m calling 911.”

I grab her face with trembling fingers, kissing her like it’s the last time I’ll ever get to taste her lips. “I knew something was wrong. I?—”

“Shh,” she says between giving the dispatcher our location. “Save your strength.”

“Bailey… London. We have to—” I can barely think straight. The pain is making me want to throw up right then and there. My eyes can hardly stay open.

“It’s okay.” She presses her forehead to mine. “We’ll find her. Together. But first we need to get you help. The paramedics are coming. And I need to warn the others about that warehouse.” She keeps one hand pressed firmly on my wound while texting with the others. “Shit. I’m fucking scared.”

I try to focus on her voice, but everything feels distant, like I’m being pulled underwater. Is this how it would have felt if I let the river take me?

Orlov is gone. We fucking killed him. Bailey’s in London. Or at least she was. Oh God, it hurts. I close my eyes and sink into that dark place where pain consumes me.

I don’t know how long I stay like that, lying on my back on the cold, hard ground. Falin’s voice pulls me back. She’s hovering above me. An angel to break through this hell.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough. That I couldn’t save her. You can leave me here… I’ll?—”

“I’m not going anywhere. Just stay with me,” she whispers. “Keep those beautiful eyes open for me.”

I blink hard, fighting to stay conscious. “The guys?” They better be okay. I won’t live with myself. She’s quiet as she keeps pressure on my wound. Too quiet. I ask again. “Did you get them?”

“They’re okay,” she finally answers.

Then why does she sound like something’s wrong? I force my eyes to focus on her face through the haze of pain. “Baby? What happened?”

“It’s Ray and his guys.”

I hear sirens in the distance getting closer. Falin’s hand trembles against my stomach but she keeps steady pressure. “Just hold on. Help is almost here.”