Freeing Jasper

by Riley Edwards

  When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “So damn proud of you both.”

  Jasper walked away leaving me stunned. What had changed? That was my thought as I sat on the couch. Between thanking God my son was safe, I was trying to puzzle out what he meant.

  It didn’t take long for Jason to fall asleep in my arms. I followed shortly thereafter drifting off knowing that Jasper was there. We’d be safe.

  ***

  “Emily,” Connor's voice pulled me from sleep. “Sorry to wake you, we’re getting ready to leave.”

  “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Where are we going?” I asked.

  “You and Jason are going to Jasper’s house.”

  “How’s my house?” I was afraid of the answer. I think my insurance would cover the damage, however, it couldn’t replace all my keepsakes. All of the memories.

  “The front of the house is a total loss, smoke and water damage to the rest. I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  I closed my eyes thinking of all the things I could never replace. Fucking Liam, I hated him. “I’m not sure my insurance will cover crazy people firebombing my house,” I whispered trying not to wake Jason.

  “That doesn’t matter. Jasper took care of that and called the Commander. A marker was called in with the Fire Chief. On record, the fire started because of faulty wiring. They don’t want the police involved.”

  Jasper saved the day again. First, he puts his military career on the line, now he was asking people to commit perjury on my behalf.

  “When will this end?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

  “Soon. You good going with Jasper?”

  “Did he say he wants us going with him?” I asked.

  “No. He said you and Jason were going with him. And if I tried to take you guys with me, he’d shoot me in the balls.”

  “No, he didn’t.” I smiled. That was mildly funny if he did actually say that.

  “He did. I’d like to keep my balls, but if you’d rather come back with me, I can take one for the team.” He laughed.

  “I’d like to go with Jasper.”

  “I thought so. You did great tonight.” I followed Connor’s gaze and saw Jasper walking our way.

  “I was scared shitless, but I admit the driving fast part at the end was kinda cool.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Jasper said when he stopped in front of us.

  “Think about what?” I asked trying to look as innocent as possible.

  “Driving that fast again,” he answered.

  I wasn’t going to argue with him about it now, but I would be driving the Camaro again.

  “Sorry about your car. Is there a lot of damage?” I asked.

  “Didn’t look and don’t care. All I care about is that you and Jason are safe.”

  There it was; Levi called it. He didn’t care that his car was damaged.

  We were more important.

  The hope I was trying to stop, grew.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jasper

  I looked at a sleeping Emily and Jason in my bed. Jason lay half over his mother, her arms wrapped tightly around his little body. They looked peaceful in their slumber, their faces relaxed, so much love between the two of them. Thank God, they were safe. I’ve been on a lot of missions over the years, faced down a good number of terrorists, and other generally bad men. Guns have been held to my head, knives to my throat. I had watched Roman hold a gun to Lily and threaten to kill her. And never in any of those situations had I had a hard time keeping my heart rate and fear in check.

  When I walked into Jason’s room and saw him sitting on his bed, scared, something changed in me. Knowing that Emily had trusted me enough to take care of the one person she loved most in this world changed something, too. Feelings and wants I had long ago buried came to the surface. I could no longer deny I was falling in love with her, and with her came Jason.

  Levi had followed Gains out to the freeway but lost him. He was just as pissed as I was that Gains had gotten away. The kick in the ass was Levi could’ve overtaken Gains, however, not on a highway with innocent civilians around. It wasn’t worth the risk of harming other drivers on the road, so Levi had slowed his speed and let Gains go.

  When we caught up to that fucker, I was going to gut him. He’d never be an issue for them again. I closed my bedroom door and thought about all the things we needed to do tomorrow. Emily and Jason had lost pretty much everything. We’d have to stop by the mall and get them new clothes and Jason some toys. I looked in my spare bedroom; it had a bed and some stacked boxes in the corner, otherwise it was as barren and boring as the rest of my house.

  Could I convince Emily to stay here with me? Was it too soon to ask her to move in with me? Fuck, but I didn’t care if it was too fast, I was ready. Now that I had the one person that made me feel whole, one I could see a future with, I wasn’t letting her go.

  I went to the fridge – empty. Another thing we had to do tomorrow if Emily and Jason were going to be staying here. I needed something other than condiments and a six-pack. I grabbed a beer and popped the top. There were a few more hours until sunrise. It was going to be a busy day. The team had everything in place to take down Phillips. Once he was in lock-up, all efforts could be turned to Gains.

  ***

  Levi showed up bright and early with a box of donuts, a gallon of milk, and a carton of orange juice.

  “These are the best donuts ever,” Jason exclaimed eating his second one.

  “Slow down, bud. You’re gonna give yourself a stomach ache.” I laughed as Jason shoved more into his mouth.

  “Manners,” Emily chastised.

  “Sorry,” Jason grumbled.

  I went back to the file Levi had brought over and scanned the new intel on Philips and Chuck, the bank manager.

  “Did you know Chuck had a stepson in the Army?” I asked.

  “He did? No, Chuck didn’t talk much about his private life. I knew he was married only because he had a photo of him and his wife on the filing cabinet behind his desk. Sometimes he forgot to stand it back up after he was done…” Emily stopped herself from finishing.

  “Done with what?” Levi questioned.

  “If you’re done eating why don’t you go wash your hands and face,” Emily told Jason.

  She waited for Jason to push back from the table and leave the room before she continued.

  “I hate to be a gossip and speak ill of the dead. But, it was pretty well known that he was cheating on his wife with Beverly. She’d go in his office, shut the door, and be in there for a long while. She’d also stay late. There were times after she left his office that the picture of him and his wife would still be face down. Like he had forgotten to stand the frame back up,” Emily explained.

  “Wait. Beverly Foster? She has a three-year-old daughter?” I asked.

  “That’s her. She was there, the day of the robbery,” she confirmed.

  I knew the name Beverly sounded familiar.

  “Did she ever tell you who her daughter’s father was?” Levi asked.

  “No, never a name. She said he didn’t want the baby, signed away his legal rights, and moved away,” Emily said.

  Levi was taking down notes about the love triangle, or foursome as it may be, that was getting more convoluted the more we dug.

  “Did you ever meet Chuck’s wife?” I asked.

  “Once. She came in demanding to see Chuck. I checked that Beverly was at her station before I took her back. I hated covering up their affair. It was wrong, and I felt bad. However, I didn’t want the woman going postal in a bank full of customers.”

  “Smart call,” Levi said.

  “Can I watch TV?” Jason asked walking back into the kitchen.

  “Sure thing, let me help you,” I said taking Jason into the living room.

  I set him up on the recliner and showed him how to use the remote, and figured I needed to add buying a couch on the list of things to get done today. Two recliners wouldn’t do.
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  “Thanks,” he said.

  I knelt down in front of him. “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “I guess,” he mumbled.

  He wasn’t okay.

  “You can tell me, bud. What’s wrong?” I prompted.

  “I want my blanket and my bear,” he told me.

  Damn, Emily would’ve known to grab those things last night. I didn’t even think that Jason would want to take something special with him out of his room. With the house on fire I was more concerned with getting him out. A dad would’ve known.

  “I’ll see what I can do about getting them for you this afternoon. If we can’t get them, I’ll take you to get something new.” Then I thought about something I had in my office, something I bought when I pulled my head out of my ass and was going to go after Liz. “I’ll be right back.”

  I grabbed the stuffed bear off my desk. I had seen it in the PX, and on a whim, I bought it. The bear was dressed in Army fatigues, complete with hat and boots. My heart ached for the child I had never met. For her mother that I turned my back on. “I’m so sorry Liz,” I whispered to the room.

  Jason was where I had left him on the recliner flipping through the channels. “Will this work for now?” I asked, handing him the bear.

  His face lit up, and he took the bear. “This is so cool. He’s wearing ACUs.” It was funny hearing a kid so young knowing the acronym for an Army combat uniform.

  “Yep, and a pair of Oakley standard issue tac boots. Cool right?” I tapped the boots.

  “Thanks, Jasper. He’s awesome. I’ll be careful with him, I promise.”

  “No worries, bud. He’s yours.”

  Jason started playing with the bear, and I made my way back to the kitchen table, both Levi and Emily staring at me. What the hell?

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Levi said and went back to his file.

  Emily continued to look at me, her eyes shiny. “Thank you.”

  “For?” I asked.

  “Being so good to him.”

  I had fucked up with her so bad in the beginning that she was now thanking me for being nice to a little boy. I might have felt uncomfortable around kids because they reminded me of everything I had lost, everything I had pushed away and turned my back on, but I didn’t not like kids. I wasn’t some cocksucker who would be mean to a kid.

  “I filled her in on Captain Phillips,” Levi changed the subject. “Seems Phillips had been in the branch as well to take out a personal loan.”

  “To pay off his gambling debts, if I had to guess. I looked over his finances, too. Seems he blew through the money that Roman gave him monthly. Between paying off Beverly to be quiet, his gambling, and drug habit, he was stretched thin,” I added.

  “I really am oblivious; all of this was happening right in front of me, and I didn’t even notice. Hell, I even thought you guys were in research and development.” Emily’s face got tight, and she shook her head.

  “Why would you know? You had no reason to suspect anything was going on,” Levi said.

  “It’s scary to think all of this was going on in my branch under my nose. It goes to show you really can’t trust anyone.”

  I hoped I wasn’t included in that blanket statement. Logically I knew she trusted me; she left me to take care of Jason, but there was still a nag in the back of my mind.

  “Connor’s on his way over,” I told Emily. “He’s gonna stay here with you and Jason while we take down Philips. It shouldn’t take long. We’re picking him up at his office.”

  “Do you think Liam will come after us again?” she asked softly.

  “Yes,” I answered. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this, but I need you to stay vigilant. Gains is dangerous. He’s not going to stop until he has that book. I don’t want you scared, just aware. You and Jason will be protected.”

  “Can’t I give him the book and be done?” she asked.

  “No. He needs to be gone, once and for all. Steven did a good job keeping him away all these years. Now he needs to be put down so he never comes after you two again.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She was worrying her lip again, biting it, and I wanted to lean across the table and lick the sting of her bite away.

  Last night had gone to shit. I had my girl naked in bed getting ready for round two when Gains showed up and literally blew that moment to hell.

  “Nothing is going to happen to any of us. We know what we’re doing,” I told her.

  “This isn’t our first rodeo. Gains is child’s play. An unruly child, but a child nonetheless. He won’t be an issue for you much longer,” Levi said.

  My phone vibrated when I checked it was a text from Connor.

  “Connor’s here,” I announced, getting up to answer the door. The man was growing on me. We had the same objective, keeping Jason and Emily away from Gains. He had proved to be smart and trustworthy.

  “I checked the book like you asked. You were right; the numbers are bank account numbers. I ran a trace, seems Gains was paying off some rather important people. Not only in Petersburg, but the surrounding areas as well,” Connor said as soon as I opened the door.

  “Did any of the accounts match up to the accounts we gave you?” I asked.

  Levi had given Connor a list of all know bank accounts and routing numbers to Roman’s accounts, as well as Phillips, and the Army Specialist-turned-drug dealer Miller.

  “No,” he answered.

  “Good.” I opened the door wider letting him enter.

  “Uncle Connor,” Jason said and jumped up running to him.

  A twinge of jealousy tingled my spine. It was irrational. Jason had known Connor his whole life. But I wanted Jason’s eyes to light up like that when I entered the room. I wanted him to run to me in excitement. Not Connor.

  “Hey. What’s that?” Connor asked, pointing to the bear.

  “Jasper gave him to me. He’s cool.” I didn’t know if Jason was referring to the bear or me. Either way, my heart swelled with…happiness.

  “He is cool,” Connor said, with a thoughtful expression.

  It was time to go pick up Phillips. Before I left, I needed to talk to Emily. “A word?” I asked.

  “Sure,” she answered and followed me back to my bedroom.

  I shut the door behind us and pushed her against the door, caging her in. She started to say something, but I silenced her with a kiss. I’d been dying to kiss her all morning. I needed my lips on hers, needed to remind her of our connection. The kiss quickly turned demanding, I angled her head for better access. I consumed her, holding nothing back. Not my passion, my want, my need for her, and most of all, not the love that had taken root.

  I slowed the kiss before I took it too far. My hands were itching to touch her, feel her soft skin pebble under my fingertips, taste her sweetness.

  “What’s changed?” she asked against my lips.

  It took me a minute to break out of the sexual fog and remember what she was asking. “Everything,” I said, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I know I said I wasn’t sure if I could make you promises. I was wrong.” I kissed her again. “I want those promises between us.” I deepened the kiss again, loving the way she melted into me. I pulled away and readied myself to say the words, ones I had never said to a woman, not even to Liz in all the years we had known each other. “I’m falling in love with you.”

  I felt rather than heard the sharp intake of her breath against my lips. “Me, too. I tried to stop it. I knew you weren’t ready for us, but I couldn’t,” she admitted.

  Thank fuck she felt the same way.

  “I have to go. We’ll talk more when I get home. I want you and Jason here, with me. Think about it. I know you have to do what you think is best for him, but you need to know, I want you guys in my house.”

  “Until I can find a new house?” she asked.

  “No. For good. This goes where I hope to fuck it does, there’s no point in you finding a place only to move bac
k here.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she answered.

  That would have to do for now. She needed to think, and I had a scumbag to lock up. However, I would be thinking of ways to make her stay if she decided it was best for her to leave.

  “Good enough. Be safe today. Please listen to Connor. We’ll go to the mall and get you guys some stuff when I get home.”

  She nodded her head and smiled. “Okay, Jasper.” Her smile, my name whispered from her lips was a direct shot to my gut. I wanted that smile directed at me, every day. “Please be safe.”

  “Always.”

  This fuckstick better go down easy and talk fast. I didn’t have time to screw with Philips today. I wanted to get home to Emily and Jason. I wanted to be surrounded by their goodness. Now I understood why Lenox was always in such a rush to get home after a mission. He had something at home – love and family waiting for him.

  I wanted that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jasper

  Clark, Levi, Lenox and I donned our uniforms for today’s festivities and followed the Commander into the building where Captain Phillips worked. The staff sergeant that sat behind the desk jumped to attention calling out, “Attention on deck,” when the Commander entered. With a snap of his head to the NCO, he continued to the stairs not bothering to announce the purpose of his visit.

  Captain Phillips was sitting behind his desk when we entered his office.

  “What the fu…” Phillips snapped at the interruption but quickly stood when he saw it was the Commander who had entered without knocking.

  “Please, excuse my manners, Commander,” Phillips recovered.

  “Your manners? What mode of action would you like me to excuse?” the Commander asked.

  “I’m not tracking, sir,” Phillips responded, still standing at attention.

  “No, I guess you wouldn’t. Probably pretty hard to track when you’re gacked out on coke, trying to hide your mistress and love child, and selling out your country, you motherfucking prick. Guess that’s a full-time job in itself.” Phillips reached down toward his desk drawer. Clark, Levi, Lenox and I all drew our sidearms and leveled them at Phillips. “Go ahead, you disgraceful piece of shit. I dare you,” the Commander taunted.