“Sounds like he loved you, and he did the right thing.” I stroked her back for a few seconds knowing my next question was going to upset her. “I take it the man at the door was Liam?”
“Yes,” she cried. “I haven’t seen him since we left. He has never seen Jason. I didn’t even know he knew where we were.”
“Did he know you were pregnant when you left?” I asked.
“No. I had just found out. I only told Steven when we were driving to Georgia.”
“Why did Liam say you have something of his, was he talking about Jason?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. If he didn’t know you were pregnant, why would he assume Jason was his. You were married to Steven,” I asked.
Levi could easily falsify a DNA test to show Steven as Jason’s father. It would be an easy fix to get Liam out of her life.
“Steven was gay.”
“Come again?”
I didn’t see that coming.
“Everyone back home knew he was gay. But he kept his private life well, private around here. Not because he was ashamed. Because he didn’t want to be treated differently. He earned his commission, and he was a damn good and brave leader. He was afraid the men under him would think that he received some special treatment.” I could understand that. Not that I cared one way or another, however, some people still did. “Steven gave up so much for me.”
There was a knock at the door, and Emily all but flew off the couch. “Whoa. Everything’s alright. Go back into the bedroom with Jason. I’ll answer the door. And this time, don’t come out until I give the all clear.”
“No. It’s alright. I’m sure it’s Connor,” she said.
Fuck. I forgot about the Friday night boyfriend. Well, too bad for Connor I wasn’t leaving for their Friday night date, and the poor sucker’s days were numbered.
“I’ll still answer,” I demanded, pulling my HK 45 from my concealed carry holster.
Emily didn’t protest any further. Smart woman. I checked the peephole and sure enough, Mr. Friday night rose man was standing at the door.
I opened the door and almost laughed when Connor’s smile turned into a deep frown.
“Is Emily home?” he asked.
“Sure is.” I opened the door wider to reveal Emily standing beside me.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Jasper,” I answered offering no other information. I looked over his shoulder scanning the area for Liam which was easy considering I had a good six inches on the man in front of me.
“Would you like to come in?” I offered.
Now I was being a dick on purpose. Is this what being a petty, jealous asshole felt like? The concept of being jealous over a woman was foreign to me.
“Jasper!” Emily warned. “Hey Connor, I didn’t think you were coming by tonight.”
“Sorry, I should’ve called. I was done early.” Connor made a weird grimace that had Emily laughing.
“That bad?” she asked.
“Dreadful. I can come another time if you’re busy,” he offered.
What man offers to come back later when he finds his woman with another man?
“Uncle Connor. You wanna see this cool new game that Jasper let me play?” Jason asked running into the living room.
“I do. But let me say hi to your mom first - and Jasper.” Connor’s tone changed when he said my name.
Uncle? Huh. That would explain why he offered to leave.
Jason ran back to his room, and Emily looked at me with one perfectly manicured eyebrow raised.
“Connor, this is my friend Jasper. You remember me telling you about my friend Lily? Jasper works with her husband, Lenox.”
I didn’t like the emphasis she put on the word friend before she said my name, and I certainly didn’t like being introduced by association through Lily’s husband.
That was going to have to change – on both accounts.
Chapter Five
Emily
This was awkward. How the hell was I going to explain who Connor was?
“Yes, I remember you mentioning Jasper,” Connor answered.
I inwardly groaned at Connor’s comment. I was going to kill him.
“She mentioned me?” Jasper’s smug retort was accompanied with a sly smile.
“She sure did. I know all about how you bolt at the mention of Jason’s name.” Hurt flashed in Jasper’s eyes before he recovered and quickly masked it.
Now, I was really going to kill him. “Connor, can I talk to you in the kitchen?”
“You could, or we can talk in front of Jasper since he and I need to have a little chat anyway. Why are your eyes red? You look like you have been crying.” Connor turned to Jasper narrowing his eyes. “And why is a man who by all accounts has an allergic reaction to kids in your house? On alert, no less.” Connor stopped again to face me. “You allowed him to answer your door, and when he did, his hand was still hovering over his sidearm. Which tells me, he’s a smart man not trusting me when I walked in even if you said you knew me. He didn’t stand down until Jason confirmed he was comfortable with me being in the house.”
“Was there a question in there?” I tried to deflect.
“How much do you know?” Jasper ignored me and addressed Connor.
“I’d like to say everything, but the Army is keeping a lid on the robbery. Even with my connections, there’s a lot redacted,” Connor answered. “I pieced most of it together, but there’s some conjecture on my part.”
Wait! What was going on?
“And your connections are?” Jasper asked.
“I think maybe…” I tried to interject.
“The jig is up, sweetheart. Time to start talking,” Connor interrupted me.
“The jig? Who says that?” I asked, and Jasper growled in impatience. “Did you growl at me? Does that work for you?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never done it before. Probably because I’ve never cared about a woman enough to wade into a situation that directly affects her safety and well-being,” he answered.
What! Did he say care about a woman? As in he cared about me?
“Deputy Connor O’Brien, US Marshal Service,” Connor told Jasper.
“What do you have on Liam?” Jasper asked Connor, but his eyes never left mine.
I thought I might throw up. My past was coming back to haunt me. I never thought I would see or hear from Liam again. We needed to move. I had to call my mom and tell her to start packing. Which was going to suck for her. She just moved here to help me with Jason a year ago.
“Street thug in Petersburg, about eight hours north of here. Low-level dealer. His crew is known for armed robberies and petty B and E’s. Are you thinking…” Connor trailed off.
“Considering he showed up here about an hour ago and you just told me his crew runs armed robberies, a bank heist isn’t a far stretch. I’m thinking there’s a strong possibility. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
There was no way that Liam could plan a bank robbery. He was too dumb. Most the time he was too high to string two sentences together.
Connor’s face turned to stone. “How’d you know he was here?”
“I’ve been sitting on her house since the night of the robbery,” Jasper told him.
“You what?” I asked.
“The Camaro? I ran the plates. They came back with a registration to the house next door.”
Jasper smiled. “Nifty little trick.”
“You what?” I repeated.
Both men looked at me like they had forgotten I was even standing here.
“I’ve been parked in front of your house every night since the day of the robbery,” Jasper said.
“That was a month ago. You’ve been sleeping in your car in front of my house? Why?”
“No, Emily. I have not been sleeping, I’ve been watching, making sure you and Jason are safe. As to the why, because I didn’t like that the third man in the robbery got away. Something didn’t feel ri
ght. In my line of work, if something doesn’t feel right, it’s not. I trust my gut, always. Tonight, it paid off, and I was across the street and able to get to you before Liam could push his way into your house.”
“In your line of work? You audit gear and stuff.”
I was so confused. Why would Jasper sit in his car for a whole month and watch my house? He barely knew me. Why not tell Lenox? At least he was my friend.
“Sweetheart, if you’ve been buying that line of shit, you need to open your eyes. Does this man look like he sits behind a desk all day and checks in gear?” Connor laughed. “If I had to guess, I’d say Special Forces. Though black ops wouldn’t be a far stretch.” He gave Jasper an appreciative once-over. That was something both men had in common; they were shameless flirts. Only they batted for different teams.
“Jasper, your phone just beeped. I think I ran down your battery.” Jason joined us in the living room and handed Jasper back his phone.
“Thanks, bud. Did you like the game?” Jasper asked.
I couldn’t believe that he was in my house and talking to my son.
“It was totally awesome. Do you think I could play it again?”
“I don’t think…” I started.
“Of course you can.” Jasper gave Jason another fist bump.
“Cool.”
No. That was not cool. I was okay with Jasper not wanting to be around me because I had a child. What I was not cool with was Jasper implying to Jason he’d be back, even though we both knew he wouldn’t be. As soon as this robbery thing was taken care of, Jasper would go back to being allergic, using Connor’s word, to kids.
“Hey, Jason, it’s time to brush your teeth.”
“Okay, but can I talk to Uncle Connor before I go to bed?”
“You go brush up, and I’ll be back to tuck you in, in just a minute.” Connor smiled at Jason.
I loved how close Connor was to Jason. We were not a conventional family. Hell, most would’ve found our arrangement twisted, but it worked for us. The most important thing was, we all loved each other.
Jasper was fiddling with his phone, and I tried to get Connor's attention. But he was ignoring me or pretending to.
Finally, Jasper put his phone to his ear. “I’m at Emily’s. Negative. Whatcha got on a Liam? Fuck, hold on.” Jasper looked at Connor. “Liam Gains?” he asked.
This could not be good. How did the person on the other end of the phone come up with Liam’s last name so fast?
“Yes,” Connor answered, his tone mirroring my thoughts.
“Did you hear that…yes…we have a bigger problem. Negative, I’m not leaving Emily’s house. I need you to come to me. The Camaro’s parked out front, track that for the address – no need to get Lenox out of bed this late. I need you and Clark here ASAP. And one more thing before you come. Pull a Deputy Connor O’Brien US Marshal Service. Full work up. If he checks out, get a blue badge for him from the Commander… Copy that, see you in ten.” Jasper swiped his phone and placed it in his pocket. “Sorry about that man, protocol.”
Connor didn’t answer but nodded in understanding. “I’m gonna go tuck Jason in.”
“What just happened?” I asked.
“I need you to listen to me very carefully Emily. In about ten minutes, you are going to see and hear things that you cannot ever repeat. I wish there was another way, but I’m not leaving you here unprotected, and it looks like I’m going to need Connor’s help.”
“I don’t understand,” I answered him.
“Which part?”
“All of it, or none of it.” Jasper stood in front of me almost willing me to see him. I looked at him with new eyes, forgetting everything Lily told me about Lenox and what the guys did. The way Jasper stood, his posture, the way he carried himself. I thought back to how he handled the robbery, the ease with which he took control of the situation. I didn’t have to see him fire the gun to know he killed those men. He saved my life. “You don’t really check in gear, do you?”
“No, sweetheart, I don’t.”
“You saved me. That man was going to kill me. He had…he had his gun pointed at my head. All I could think about was how I was going to die and leave Jason.”
Jasper wrapped his strong arms around me and let me cry into his chest.
My life was crumbling around me, and the only thing that was keeping me standing was Jasper.
Chapter Six
Jasper
I held Emily in my arms while she cried and once again noted how perfect she felt pressed against me. The internal war continued to rage; my head knew I couldn’t pursue her, but every other part of me was screaming to keep her. I looked over her head to find Connor staring at us, his expression hard.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out, carefully unlocking it one-handed. Levi and Clark were already outside, and they were doing a perimeter sweep.
“Em. The guys are here,” I whispered into her hair. She nodded against my chest. In a moment of weakness, I kissed the top of her head. Need outweighed logic.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she spoke into my chest and held on tighter.
“Why don’t you go lie down with Jason while Connor and I talk to the guys?” I suggested.
“I’m scared.”
“You’re safe here. We are going to work on a plan to get Liam out of your life for good. Jason will be safe. He won’t touch either of you.”
Her bloodshot eyes came up to meet mine. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
I brushed her hair over her shoulder exposing her neck and ear and leaned in close. “I can’t explain the why. I only know that there’s something inside of me that won’t let me walk away from you. You’re under my skin, and no matter how hard I’ve tried the last seven months, I can’t work you out. I’m fucked up, Emily. Honestly, you should be pushing me away right now. But I have to say, I’m pleased as fuck you’re not. I promise you I’ll do my best to keep you both safe.”
She pulled away and looked up me, and in a moment of clarity, I realized how Emily had wormed her way in. When Emily looked at me, she saw me. She didn’t bat fake eyelashes to get my attention, she didn’t purse her lips to try and look sexy. She locked eyes and didn’t let go. She didn’t let me hide. Her gaze was searching, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t deny her. Yet, I had to try and find a way to break her spell. She was a mom, and I had lost my chance at being a dad.
“I know you will.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek before she turned and walked toward the bedroom.
I didn’t have to hear Clark and Levi to know they were in the room; I felt their presence the moment they had entered the house. I knew all eyes were on me. My team had watched me successfully hit on and take home a lot of women, yet none of them had ever seen me holding a woman.
“What did you find?” I asked Levi.
My hopes of diving right into work went straight to hell when I turned to find both men staring at me. By the expressions on their faces, their mouths might have well have been hanging open.
“Go ahead, spit it out. We have shit to do,” I encouraged. They were going to ask, might as well get it out of the way.
“I got nothing to say,” Levi wisely said.
“‘Bout goddamn time you pulled your head out of your ass,” Clark grumbled.
I glanced at Connor. He looked like he had plenty to say. His jaw was tight, and the vein in his neck was throbbing.
“In the interest of time and full disclosure, she talks about you, a lot. All of you; however, her eyes light up and she gets this look when she talks about you. I looked into you. It took a while to get a lock, but I did. Your service record was what I thought it would be – bullshit. The Army has put out only what they want someone to find. I was more concerned with your past. I want you to know I will not give them up without a fight.”
“The fuck?” My body locked tight and was coiled ready to strike. If a fight’s what he was after he had stepped up to t
he right man.
“Calm down.” Connor put his hand up only further pissing me off. “They are all I have left. We lost Steven eighteen months ago, and you are the first man in six years who has caught her attention. She knows you’re not interested in her. She plays it off that she’s okay you don’t like kids and you’re not interested in her, but I see the pain she tries to hide. That woman is an open book. What you see, is what you get. The man who ends up with her and Jason is one lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
“What did you say? Six years? I would hope she wasn’t interested in other men when she was married.” This from Levi.
The situation was damn complicated; Levi and Clark didn’t know about Steven and the reasons he and Emily got married. And I really didn’t like my personal life being aired, not to mention that Connor was right the man who got Emily would be lucky. I just didn’t deserve to be that man.
“As much as I want to tell you that Emily’s personal life isn’t up for discussion, unfortunately, you’ll need the background.”
I told Levi and Clark the story about Liam and why Steven married her. I also filled them in on me sitting on Emily’s house for the past month. I think the guys were more shocked and a little pissed I had been staking out her house without telling them than they were about Steven and Emily’s fake marriage.
“And where do you fit into this?” Levi asked pulling a folder out of his backpack handing it to me. “I did a full work up on you as well.” He wasn’t all that pleased either that Connor had done a background check on me. I knew I was clean and my service records were sealed. But I also knew what he did find. My daughter’s death certificate. The thought that he knew about my daughter had me seeing red.
“A friend,” Connor replied.
“What kind of friend?” Levi pushed.
I didn’t understand where Levi was going with this; however, if he was pushing it meant he knew something.
“A close one.” Connor didn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of being questioned.
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