“Good girl. Just make sure you keep him away from your father’s office.” His instructions were clear, but they still told me nothing. Nothing apart from the fact that Reed also thought Jasper was up to something. I wondered if that meant that Phoenix did too.
I was heading towards becoming an emotional wreck, Jasper’s gaze drilling through my cheek. The man truly was now the bane of my existence. He had made my life an endless ocean of nothingness.
“OK. You need to go now,” I hissed back as Jasper appeared by my side. I went perfectly still.
He patted my head like a fucking dog. “There you are, darling. You’re late back from yoga,” he said, before pecking me on the cheek. I was surprised he even knew where I’d been that morning.
Jasper then slid his arm over my shoulders, and I only just managed to stop myself from shrugging him off.
Being tucked against his side made me uncomfortable, but I needed to remember what Reed had just asked.
Keep Jasper away from the office.
Suddenly, the clarity of that request slapped me across the face. What were they looking for? Then I remembered Reed’s text about the green folder that was usually glued to Jasper’s hand.
“Stormy,” Jasper prompted, not addressing Reed on purpose and trying his best to make the other man feel small.
I leaned against his side and blinked myself out of my daze. “Sorry, yes. The traffic was shocking. I was catching up with Reed about the game last night.”
“Yes, I could see that,” his voice was clipped.
My saying Reed’s name forced Jasper to acknowledge him.
“Daddy was watching the highlights last night,” I added, thinking that by bringing my father into the discussion, it might water down Jasper’s angst.
My husband-to-be had his golden boy smile smeared across his face. The one that didn’t reach his eyes and was as fake as fuck. I managed not to shrink away as Reed glared at Jasper’s arm around me.
My eyes batted between them, taking in the two men who were both tightly wound.
Reed was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome: Jasper was average height, pale, and generically good-looking, like Malibu Ken to Reed’s G. I. Joe.
Before I could get my anxiety in check, Jasper addressed Reed. “Yes, I heard. Destined to be the Super Bowl's MPV. Let’s hope you continue to get lucky, Mr. Prescott.”
“My skill on the field has nothing to do with luck, I assure you,” Reed hissed through gritted teeth. My stomach clenched.
After shooting me a brief look, Jasper threatened Reed right in front of me: whether the younger man took it like that was unclear, as his stern expression never faltered.
The man I was coming to hate’s lips thinned as he delivered the blow. “Well, let’s hope not, as luck isn’t forever, is it. Eventually, it runs out. Just like a gambler with an addiction who thinks he can never lose. We all know how that ends?”
Reed opened his mouth to reply, but Jasper cut him off, motioning towards his bruises. “Dang it, what did you do to your face? That looks messy.” Jasper observed witha pantomime flinch. “Let me guess, rough tackle on the field?” He purposefully loaded his tone with sympathy.
Reed’s entire frame was rigid, and I knew at that point that Jasper had something to do with those injuries. Could feel it in my gut. And everything I had been going to confess to Reed that morning was blown out of the water.
So, Jasperwasn’tbluffing about physically injuring Reed. I glanced at his hand as it trailed down my arm; his knuckles were uninjured. That meant he’d paid someone to beat up the man I loved. He must have spent a fortune to encourage anyone to attack Reed with Phoenix there. I wondered how it had happened.
I shifted awkwardly on my sneakers as Reed’s hand raised to touch his face, and he replied. “Something like that.” His tone was like steel as he eyed the other man with disdain. There was no pretense between them like there had been a Daddy’s club. It was now a gloves-off scenario. The two men were way beyond civility.
Part of me wanted to scream at Jasper, tell him to leave us both alone. I took a deep breath, inhaling the roses and the fresh air, trying to look like I wasn’t shitting myself.
Suddenly, the horn went off from Reed’s car, and we all turned to see Nix pointing at his watch.
Several thoughts swirled around my head; my face contorted with confusion. What were the Sawyer boys up to?
“You should probably put some ice on that,” Jasper cut in, nodding towards Reed’s eye.
I watched the brief exchange between the two men in silence.
Reed suddenly looked like he was going to lose his shit. His posturing became more aggressive as he maintained eye contact with Jasper. “I couldn’t give two fucks about what you think. In all truth, there are a few things I should probably do right now. But that’s not one of them.”
