“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.
