She shook her head. "No."
"You have." He took one slow step forward, and Jasper immediately matched it. Ashcroft stopped. "I suppose this is where the bodyguard growls at me."
Jasper's expression never changed. "I'm not much of a growler,” Jasper said.
"No?" Ashcroft asked.
"No. I simply end problems,” Ronan said. “And I leave the growling up to my partner.” For the first time, Ashcroft's smile faltered.
A black sedan raced into the garage. It slid sideways between Ashcroft and the STARR team. Doors flew open, and four tactical agents poured out—Avery was first.
She spotted Jasper. "You planning to stand there all day?"
Ronan grinned. "We were having a conversation."
"Looks boring." She raised her rifle. "Can we shoot him now?"
Ashcroft sighed. "So uncivilized." Smoke grenades exploded around the SUV, and gray clouds swallowed the garage.
Jasper immediately turned. "Dante!"
"Got her,” Dante shouted.
After meeting her eyes, Jasper grabbed Sophia's wrist. "Is this okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes." He didn't miss the fact that she'd nodded before he'd touched her. They might have only just met, but on some level, Sophia trusted him, and that was going to be key in keeping her safe.
The team sprinted through the smoke, and gunfire echoed behind them. Ashcroft's men fired blindly, and STARR agents answered with disciplined bursts. By the time the smoke cleared, the silver-haired man was gone, and so was the SUV.
Avery cursed. "He slipped away." Jasper wasn't surprised. Men like Ashcroft survived because they never fought battles they could lose.
He looked down at Sophia. She was staring at the floor. "What did he mean about you remembering things?"
She looked up at him. “When he said I was remembering things?” she asked.
“No, when he said you forgot something,” Jasper said.
Sophia closed her eyes. "I don't know." Her breathing hitched, and he could tell that she was remembering something. She squeezed her temples with her fingers. "I remember that there was another room."
Her eyes flew open. "No." Another memory seemed to have surfaced. "There wasn't just one prison."
Jasper's pulse quickened. "What do you remember?"
"A little girl." Sophia's voice cracked. "She couldn't have been older than eight." Silence settled over the garage. "She kept asking for her mother." Tears spilled down Sophia's cheeks. "I promised I'd help her." She looked at Jasper with heartbreaking guilt. "I never did."
Jasper stepped closer. This time, he didn't hesitate. He gently cupped the back of her head. "You were surviving something pretty horrific yourself."
"I left her,” Sophia said. "I don't even know if she's alive."
Jasper held her gaze. "Then we'll find out."
She searched his eyes. "You'd do that?"
He didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"Why?"
His answer came as naturally as breathing. "Because nobody gets left behind." Sophia stared at him for several long seconds. Then, without thinking, she leaned forward until her forehead rested lightly against his shoulder. Just for a moment, it was the briefest touch, but it was the first she'd initiated. Jasper stayed perfectly still because he knew how much courage that single gesture had taken.
