“Easy for you to say,” she scoffed, tears sliding down her cheeks.
Jasper took a step back, toward the door. He didn’t look at her anymore.
“Think about it.I’ll wait until tonight for your decision.If you say no, Nolan will come up with another option. But this is the best one we have. Frank knows he’s losing—that’s why he’s acting rough.”
He left, leaving Nina alone with the ache in her chest, burning from the inside out.
She already regretted losing her temper.
He was right—at least about one thing. Her present was crumbling.
But Jasper Garth was still the reason she was broken in the first place.
CHAPTER 40
They took Nina out through the service entrance.
The exit was for staff only—a narrow, windowless corridor. She was dressed in hospital scrubs and an oversized black men’s jacket Jasper had brought her. A disposable medical mask hid most of her face. One of Nolan’s security men walked ahead, another pushed the wheelchair. Jasper stayed somewhere behind them. Nina could feel his gaze burning into the back of her head.
They were in a hurry.
“Almost there,” the man in front said, opening another door.
Her heart hammered, but she wasn’t afraid.
She was escaping the hospital—from Frank.
An ambulance was already waiting outside. One of Jasper’s men opened the door, helped her inside, carefully tucked a blanket over her knees.Everything was precise, coordinated. No one spoke.
“You’re holding up very well,” a woman in a white coat said as she climbed in after Nina. The doors closed. Nina caught a glimpse of Jasper’s worried eyes.“I’m Irina. A nurse. I’ll be with you for a while.”
Nina nodded. She wanted to be alone, but that wasn’t an option. Jasper had taken care of everything.She’d never seen this woman before, but Jasper had insisted Irina was trustworthy.
Nina studied her more closely. Slightly younger than she was. Beautiful. Raven-black hair. An unwelcome thought flickered: what was their relationship?
The ambulance rocked gently through the sleeping city. The siren stayed off—they were moving calmly, without urgency. Nina couldn’t see the road, but she felt when they left downtown: the street noise faded, the turns grew smoother, the air inside cooler.
They were heading to Lynn’s house.
Nina still didn’t understand how she’d agreed to this. Inside, everything tightened into a hard knot.
Was she really going there?
“Are you comfortable?” Irina asked, pulling her back to the present.
“Yes,” Nina answered softly.“Thank you.”
Irina adjusted the blanket and looked at her like she was something fragile—porcelain. It made Nina highly uncomfortable.
The ambulance took one last turn. The sound beneath the wheels changed—asphalt gave way to the soft crunch of gravel. The stop was smooth, almost silent.
The back doors opened, and bright daylight hit her in the face. After the dim interior, it cut into her eyes. Nina squinted and took a deep breath of fresh air.
“Careful,” a guard said, offering his hand.
He helped her down. Pain flared immediately, especially along her left side—thick, heavy, stubborn. Her legs wobbled, but Nina held herself steady. She didn’t want to look weak.
She recognized the house at once. The same house where she'd first seen Lynn.
