It isn’t until my brother returns that I stop to wonder why the fuck he’s here.
“How did you know we were in danger?”
He rummages around in the metal box until he finds the small paper ampules of ammonia. “I’ve been callin’ you for hours, Jas. The two FBI fuckers Emi talked to the other day were on the take. Fowler paid each of them twenty-five grand on Tuesday, and another twenty yesterday.”
“Shit.” I break one of the ampules and hold it under Emi’s nose.
She jerks, her eyelids fluttering.
“Sweetheart, breathe for me. You’re gonna be okay.”
“Jasper?” Her voice is so weak and raspy, I have to strain to hear it. “Is it over?”
“It’s over, Emi. I promise.”
Epilogue
Jasper
I watch Emi sleep from the doorway. AJ found a syringe on the floor of the cellar and a vial of ketamine in one of the dead asshole’s pockets. The sedative shouldn’t have any lasting effects, thank fuck.
She refused to go to the hospital. The EMTs were livid, and AJ argued with me for a full ten minutes before I told him to shut up and let me take care of her.
Her cheek is several shades of purple. She’ll be sore for days, but the bone isn’t broken, and she’s safe. At least for now.
AJ paces the living room, cursing every time he finds another bullet casing or drop of blood. “It’s my fault, Jas. I told Van you were safe at our family cabin. I didn’t know he was dirty. I swear to you. The minute the call came in?—”
“You saved Emi’s life, AJ. We’re square.”
He runs a hand through his hair, a sure sign he’s pissed at himself. The man hates messing up his hair. “We’re not. I almost got you both killed! If I hadn’t called in a favor and gotten one of the best hackers in the world on the case?—”
“Aaron. Don’t.”
He stops in his tracks and meets my gaze. Shit. It’s like looking in a fuckin’ mirror. Except for the pain in his eyes.
“You couldn’t have known. And since you saved my ass, I think you can stop kicking yourself for five goddamn minutes.”
“Don’t you understand?” he shouts. “This is what I do. I fuck up, and people die.”
He stalks out the front door, slamming it behind him.
Emi startles awake with a tiny whimper. I limp over to the bed and sink down next to her. “Easy, sweetheart. You’re safe. We’re safe.”
She lets me pull her into my arms and rests her head against my chest. “What was AJ yelling about? He ‘fucks up and people die’?”
My fingers tangle in her silky locks. I can’t stop touching her. If I weren’t so worried about her, I’d tell her how much I love her right fucking now.
“The weekend Grace disappeared, she and AJ were supposed to come up here for a long weekend. But he was gunnin’ for captain at the time, and when our commander needed someone to take an overtime shift, he volunteered. Grace went out for a run that Saturday and never came home.”
“Oh, God.” She settles closer to me with a sigh. “He blames himself.”
I stare at the front door. “He hasn’t taken an easy breath in two years. Not sure he ever will again.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes. I can’t stop seeing her unconscious on the porch. I could have lost her. And then where would I be?
“Jasper?” Emi tightens her fingers on my flannel shirt. “I know what they were after. But it doesn’t make any sense.”
I tip her chin up to meet her tired gaze. “Tell me.”
