Nina clenched her teeth and turned to the window. Breathing felt impossible. He was right—and at the same time, how dare he? If things had been different... would she have given the child up? Was he the only one who got to be cruel?
A few long seconds passed. Then Jasper, letting out a rough breath, apologized.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely, eyes still on the road.“That was unnecessary.”
The pain didn't fade, but at least they were here now. Nina spotted her house and unbuckled, ready to bolt the moment the car stopped.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said quietly, opening the door.
Jasper opened his mouth to speak—but the opportunity vanished.
Men rushed the car from both sides. Their faces were hidden under hoods; their movements were quick and practiced. One of them yanked the driver’s door open anddragged Jasper out. Nina froze.
“Hey—!”ripped out of her, but the sound drowned in the heavy, dull thuds.
They knocked him down and started kicking. Jasper tried to get up, but there were too many of them.
“You’d better stay away from other people’s women,” one of them said coolly.“Tonight’s just a warning.Ignore it, and next time you won’t walk away.”
It didn’t sink in right away.
Was it Frank? Or did Jasper have a married woman?
“I’m calling the police!” Nina yelled, the first thought in her mind, but someone shoved her hard. She fell, her shoulder slamming into the car. It hurt, but she barely felt it through the fear.
Jasper doubled over from the gut punch. Someone was clearly aiming for his face.
Everything happened too fast—shadows flashing, muffled impacts, Jasper’s ragged gasps.
And then everything changed.
A loud screech of tires cut through the night. A black SUV skidded to a stop nearby. Four men jumped out. One carried a taser, another a baton-like stick. They rushed in, and the attackers immediately backed off.
“Shit, move!” someone barked.
They broke and ran.
Nina was still on the ground, pressed against the car. Her heart was pounding, air stuck in her chest, her whole body shaking.
One of the men hurried to Jasper and helped him up.
“Mr. Garth, are you okay?”
Jasper grimaced and dragged a hand over his jaw, smearing blood across his face.
“Where the hell were you?” he rasped.“This is the kind of security Nolan pays for?Another minute and I’d be dead.”
The man frowned but answered evenly.
“You told us to keep our distance. Not to draw attention. We were a hundred yards away. We were a minute late. Impressive how much damage they managed in sixty seconds—looks like you never boxed a day in your life,” he added dryly.
“Didn’t expect it,” Jasper muttered.“Didn’t have time to brace.”
Only then did he turn to Nina.
She still hadn’t gotten up, shaking, staring at him—at the blood on his cheekbone, the torn collar of his shirt. Fear and fury twisted in her chest.
Jasper stepped toward her and asked hoarsely,
