“Oh, come on.” Jasper lifts her eyes to the ceiling. “We both know Leander can’t protect his own ass.”
I remain quiet because that’s true.
“She knew what you’d done.” Jasper holds my gaze. “She knew you were behind the attack.”
I return her accusing glare with a stony look.
“It wasn’t difficult to figure out.” Her smile is loathful. “You were the only one who knew the route her father was going to take that night. You knew because Tatiana told you.” She pauses to let that sink in. “She knew it was you, Dante.”
“I never said I wasn’t going to tell her.”
“No, you just wanted to use her first before coming clean.” She looks me up and down. “All that time, she thought you were keeping your relationship a secret because she was promised to Joni Stein.”
Just the mention of that name makes me clench my hand into a fist beneath the table. The only reason that motherfucker is still alive is because he hasn’t spent a penny in trying to find his missing fiancée, and he’s never laid a finger on her. If he had—touched her, that is—I would’ve chopped off his hands before killing him. If he comes anywhere near her, I’ll still off him.
Jasper intertwines her fingers on the table and leans closer. “I bet the real reason you didn’t want anyone to know you were seeing Tatiana was because you couldn’t risk her father finding out.” Her mouth twists. “With your vendetta, he would’ve seen right through your plan.”
“Your point is?”
Observing me as if I’m a lost case, she shakes her head. “The saddest part is that she protected you right to the end.”
I narrow my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what?” She scoffs. “Never mind. You don’t deserve her. You never did, and you never will.”
Mimicking her pose, I rest my elbows on the table and get into her face. “Tatiana and Noah are going home with me. So are you.” My words are soft but loaded. Deadly. “Nothing you say is going to change that, so save your breath for arguments that actually matter.”
She bobs her head up and down. “At least that answers something I’ve been wondering about for the last five years. You really don’t have a heart in that black hole you call a chest.”
Tatiana and Noah return, followed by Reino just as the waitress arrives with our drink orders. Ignoring the daggers Jasper shoots at me with her eyes, I stand up out of courtesy until Tatiana has taken her seat.
Noah’s T-shirt is plastered to his back, and his hair is damp with sweat. He gulps down half a glass of water, clearly thirsty after all the jumping and climbing.
Reino takes his place next to Jasper. An awkward silence falls over the table as the waitress returns with Jasper and Noah’s food. Tatiana glances between us, no doubt picking up on the hostile atmosphere.
Noah holds up his palms. “Look, Dante. I already washed my hands.” He dives in straight away, going for the burger first. “I’m allowed to eat with my hands.”
Reino snatches a French fry from Jasper’s plate.
She cuts him a look. “I don’t like other people’s fingers in my food.”
Grinning, he steals another couple of fries.
She rolls her eyes and pushes the plate toward him. “You may as well have it now.”
“Hey.” He nudges her shoulder. “Relax, firecracker. I also washed my hands. Ask Noah.”
“Uh-huh.” Noah nods and says around a mouthful of food, “He did, Jazz. I was in the bathroom with Mommy, but I saw him through the door of the men’s bathroom. He used soap too.”
“Noah.” Tatiana admonishes him gently. “What did I say about speaking with food in your mouth?”
He gives her a mischievous smile, swallows, and, licking some ketchup from the corner of his mouth, says, “Sorry.”
“Come on, firecracker.” Reino puts the plate back in front of Jasper. “Eat your food.” He motions at her glass. “You can’t live on Diet Coke alone. It’s not healthy.”
“Don’t call me that,” she snaps.
The waitress brings the rest of the orders and asks if we’d like anything else to drink. Reino doesn’t drink on duty. He sticks to water. As I’d like to remain vigilant, so do I. Jasper remains stubbornly quiet, and Tatiana declines the glass of wine I suggest.
