Mirage: Veiled Love Duet: Book One

by Radcliff, C. M.

  Releasing his hands, the gun clatters onto the floor as I push away from him and stand up. Wiping the blood from my face, I glare down at him. “Dead fucking wrong.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Axel

  “AXEL!” A loud voice bounces off the walls as it echoes throughout the house. Cradling Jaslyn’s head in my lap, I brush her hair from her face and my fingertips find her neck, gently feeling for a pulse.

  Footsteps pound down the hallway and sneakers squeak across the floor as they skid to a stop in the doorway.

  “Jesus Christ.” Rush releases a breath, heavy with shock as he strides across the room to me. “What the fuck happened?”

  Glancing up at him, his eyes are an ice cold, frigid blue as they meet mine. “He happened.” I nod to Jasper, lying in a pool of his own blood. “I need you to call 911.”

  Rush already has his phone in his hand and quickly dials the number. “Is she..?”

  Dead.

  I quickly shake my head as Rush watches me, talking to the operator on the phone.

  “Tell them to hurry,” I say in a low tone. Her pulse is slow and faint as it pumps the small amount of blood that’s left throughout her body. With every beat of her heart, the pool of blood around us grows.

  She’s not dead, but she will be if they don’t get here soon.

  Repositioning her head, I clutch at her bloody scalp, applying pressure to the open wounds. There’s blood everywhere and I can’t tell where it’s coming from anymore.

  “They’re on their way.” Rush’s voice is quiet as he tucks his phone in his pocket. Nodding, I keep my eyes on Jaslyn as he starts to pace around the room.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask Rush as he pauses by the window and peers outside.

  “You weren’t answering your phone and something didn’t feel right.” He glances over his shoulder and his eyes fall to Jaslyn. “My gut is never wrong.”

  Rush falls silent for a moment as his eyes scan the room and linger on Jasper’s unmoving body. “You gotta get outta here,” he declares as he looks back at me. “This shit doesn’t look good for you at all.”

  Cutting my eyes at him, I violently shake my head. “Fuck no,” I growl. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “I’ll stay.”

  “I’m not fucking leaving her.” My tone is clipped, and my words are short. Just the thought of leaving her is enough to drive me insane.

  Rush purses his lips and lets out an exaggerated sigh. Rolling his eyes, he drags a chair away from the table and drops down onto it.

  “What are you doing?” I bite out with a scowl.

  Shaking his head with an appalled expression, he scoffs. “You really think I’m gonna leave you here like this?”

  No, I don’t, because that’s not Rush. Rush is my family and family doesn’t leave when shit hits the fan.

  Thanking him silently, he nods as he turns to look back out the window. Silence fills the room as I hold Jaslyn’s fractured skull in my hands as we wait. That’s the only thing left that we can do.

  ♦♦♦

  Time stands still and it feels like it takes hours for the paramedics to come, when in reality, they show up within a matter of minutes. Suddenly the house is swarmed with emergency personnel and cops and the room becomes a whirlwind of chaos.

  Paramedics quickly assessed Jaslyn and pried her from my grasp. Within the blink of an eye, she was secured on a stretcher and being whisked away.

  My heart kicks into overdrive as panic rapidly courses through my body. Scrambling to my feet, I rush after them in a hurry. Just as I reach the front door, a detective steps out in front of me, blocking the doorway.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the thick burly man says as he grabs my arm. “I’m Detective Reynolds. I just have some questions before we let you go.”

  Glancing down at his hand, my eyes quickly flash to his with a hardened glare. “What do you want?”

  “What did you say your name was?”

  “I didn’t,” I growl as my gaze meets Rush’s from across the room. His brow furrows and he clenches his jaw as he scowls at me. “Axel Reed.”

  The detective tilts his head to the side and nods once. “What is your relation to Miss Astor and Mr. Lafar?”

  My relation? That’s a fucking loaded question, to say the least.

  “I work for Jasper and live in their pool house.” And I’m in love with his fiancée, who has been sleeping with me.

  “Okay,” Reynolds says slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Can you tell me what happened here?”

  Fuck.

  “He tried to kill her,” I bark angrily, clenching my fists tightly. “I need to go with her,” I say frantically as I look past the detective and watch as they load Jaslyn into the ambulance. “I can’t leave her, so I’m gonna need you to get the fuck out of my way.”

  “We understand that, Mr. Reed, but we need you to come down to the station to give an official statement before we can.”

  “Fuck that,” I scoff, pulling away from him. Rush narrows his eyes at me as he comes up beside me.

  “Dude,” he whispers harshly in my ear. “Just shut the fuck up and go before you give them other shit to charge you with.”

  “She doesn’t have anyone,” I growl at him.

  Pulling away, Rush’s ice cold eyes soften as they search mine. “She has us,” he says softly. “I’ll be there until you can.”

  Letting out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding, I close my eyes for a moment and nod with a clenched jaw.

  “Hang tight, Axe.” There’s an underlying harshness in his tone that I don’t miss. Brushing past us, Rush steps outside and glances over his shoulder. “And don’t say a fucking word until your lawyer is there.”

  We’ve lived most of our lives on the wrong side of the law. Both of us know how this shit goes for people like us. If it weren’t for Rush, I couldn’t afford a lawyer and I have a feeling that I’m going to need one. They’re going to need someone to point their fingers at and I just became their number one suspect.

  The fucked up thing is—I am guilty. Jasper’s blood is on my hands. Their number one suspect is their killer.

  I stare after Rush as he slips into his car and speeds down the street after the ambulance. I should be with him. I should be the one going with her, but here I am, stuck.

  “Come on, Mr. Reed.” Reynolds motions for me to follow him. Reluctantly, I step out the door, following behind him. Opening the back door of the cruiser, he holds it open for me as I drop down onto the seat. Reynolds slams the door shut and I’m locked inside as he climbs in and sits behind the steering wheel. “This will all be over soon, as long as your statement checks out.”

  Ignoring him, I stare out the window as a black body bag is pulled out the front door on a stretcher. Reynolds starts the car and quickly pulls away from the house. Craning my neck, I continue to watch as they load Jasper into another ambulance.

  I told Jaslyn that I’d take care of him. I always envisioned him leaving in a body bag, but this isn’t how things were supposed to go down. The only thing that was part of the plan was Jasper’s death.

  Jaslyn wasn’t supposed to be on her deathbed in the hospital. And I wasn’t supposed to be in the back of a cop car.

  How did we get here and how were we going to get out?

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Axel

  SITTING UP, the thin mattress pad shifts to the side as I swing my legs over the edge. My white socks hit the cool concrete floor and the hem of my faded navy-blue pants ride up to my ankles. A loud snore sounds from the bed above me, and my cellmate groans as he rolls over in his sleep.

  I lucked out with having a cellmate who acts like I’m invisible. He’s practically a mute and either spends his time asleep or with his nose in a book. Thankfully his name isn’t Bubba and he isn’t looking for a bitch. I’d hate to accrue any legitimate murder charges while I’m locked up.

  Prison isn’t like what you see on TV or in movie
s. It’s cold and loud and filthy, but it’s also quiet and fucking lonely. The depressing gray walls add to the weight of self-loathing that sits upon your shoulders. Everything is bleak and your soul becomes weak, slowly hardening you into a cold shell of who you once were.

  Standing up, I walk across the tiny cell and piss in the metal toilet and stare at my reflection in the dirty faux mirror on the wall. In the small amount of time that I’ve been here, I barely recognize myself anymore. I grew up in the system, I lived in a group home, and none of that was remotely comparable to being thrown in prison and locked up like a fucking animal.

  I’ve been in here for two weeks now.

  That’s all it took to wear my mind down.

  It’s been two weeks since I’ve been closed off from the outside world.

  And two weeks since I’ve seen her.

  There was so much blood…

  When they took her away, she barely had a pulse, but it was there. I felt it under my own fingertips. But the blood… she lost so much—too much. I wasn’t sure that she would survive it and when the police escorted me from the scene, I wasn’t sure that I would survive it either.

  They had enough evidence to hold me and enough to keep me from posting bail. All within one night, my life was turned upside down and I lost all ability to form a rational thought.

  I was allowed one phone call and it was Rush. He was the only connection that I had with the outside world and with Jaslyn. He followed her to the hospital when I couldn’t, and I was whisked away to the police station instead.

  Rush was with her when they took her in for emergency surgery and he was with her when they brought her out alive. I found out that night that she was in a coma. Her prognosis was undetermined, but she was alive and that was the only thing that was holding me together at this point.

  “Reed,” a guard says as he unlocks my cell door. “Let’s go. You got a visitor.”

  Nodding, I stand up, turning around for him to cuff me.

  The guard leads me into the visitor’s room, and I find Rush waiting at one of the tables. His face falls as he watches me walk over to the table and drop down into the seat across from him.

  “Damn, yo.” He leans forward, resting his arms on the table. “You look like shit.”

  Clenching my jaw, I glare at him. “How do you think you looked when you were in here?”

  Rush purses his lips and nods in agreement. “Touché.” His eyes quickly scan the room. “I’m sure not much has changed around this place either.”

  “I wouldn’t know.” I shrug. “I was only ever in a holding cell here, not in gen pop like you.”

  Chuckling, he shakes his head and gives me the middle finger. “I didn’t come here for you to roast my ass.”

  “No, you didn’t.” I pause as my face grows somber. “How is she?”

  I’m dying a slow death inside, locked away within the walls of this prison, unable to see her. I need to be with her, more than ever before. She needs me and I can’t be there for her when she needs me the most.

  Rush lets out a deep sigh. “She’s alive, but it’s still a waiting game.”

  My body grows rigid as I clench my fists and grit my teeth. “And I’m fucking stuck here in this shit hole waiting when I should be there with her.”

  “We’ll get you out of here, Axel,” Rush assures me eagerly as he leans forward on his arms. “As soon as she wakes up, we’ll get you the fuck out.”

  Sitting back in my seat, I shake my head. “If she wakes up.”

  “She’s a fucking fighter, bro.” He smiles and it reaches his eyes. “She’ll wake up when her body’s ready.”

  “Promise me that she won’t wake up alone.” The thought of her alone kills me more than not being there with her.

  “She won’t,” he promises. “I won’t leave her side, no matter what. You have my word.”

  His word is gold and I trust Rush with my life… and hers. He’s the only one I can count on to step up while I’m locked up and unable to be there.

  “If I don’t get out of here, I need you to make sure she’s safe.” Even with Jasper dead, the need to protect her is still my priority. It’s the only thing that matters.

  “Fuck you and your ‘if’ bullshit,” he scoffs. “We’re getting you the fuck out of here.”

  A harsh laugh escapes my lips as I stare at him in disbelief. “Did you forget about the murder charges, Rush? If I’m found guilty, the only way I’m leaving here is in a body bag.”

  Shaking his head, Rush leans back, folding his arms across his chest. “You won’t be found guilty because there won’t even be a trial. Once she’s awake, they’ll drop the charges because they won’t have a case. You’re fucking innocent and she can prove that.”

  Nothing in life is guaranteed.

  “Rush,” I say quietly, pleading with my eyes.

  “Fuck,” he mutters, shaking his head. “Of course you have my word, but she won’t need me because she’ll have you.”

  Dragging my hand down my face, I nod skeptically. No one knows what the future may hold, and I need to make sure my bases are covered. My freedom could be a mirage, but we won’t know until Jaslyn wakes up.

  If she wakes up…

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Jaslyn

  HUSHED VOICES and the soft beeping of a machine creep into my ears. My head throbs in perfect rhythm with the sounds as they grow louder. The throbbing flows through the rest of my body and my muscles and bones begin to ache.

  My eyelids are stuck together like glue as I slowly peel them open. The light in the room is dim, but it’s bright enough to burn my eyes. Quickly, I squeeze them shut and lie perfectly still. I want the darkness back, where it was quiet and painless.

  Trying again, I open my eyes, squinting as they adjust to the dimly lit room. I take everything in as I slowly scan the unfamiliar room. The walls are white and sterile, the air is cold, and there’s no homey vibe. A couch sits across the room against a large window and a TV is mounted to the wall across from me.

  Glancing at my feet, my eyes move up the white blankets covering my body until my chin is touching my chest. Panic hits me like a ton of bricks. What I’m wearing isn’t mine.

  It’s a hospital gown and I’m lying in a hospital bed.

  My heart pounds in my chest as I struggle to catch my breath. The last time I was in the hospital was when my father died. And now I’m the one lying in a bed.

  Nothing makes sense and I can’t think of a single reason why I would even be here. The confusion hits me almost as hard as the panic did, but then I hear their voices again. Glancing to the other side of the room, I see the computer on wheels next to a small counter tucked in the corner.

  A short brunette with a messy bun stands with her back to me as she talks to some guy. He’s tall, dressed in a black t-shirt and joggers with his arms covered in ink. He towers over the girl in matching black scrubs and he winks at her with a smirk as she puts her hands on her hips.

  Leaning forward, the guy puts his lips against the nurse’s ear and whispers to her. I watch the two of them in confusion as he glances up at me. His bright blue eyes meet mine and they grow wide as he gasps loudly.

  “Shit!” he shouts as he brushes past the nurse and practically leaps across the room to my bed. “Holy fuck, you’re awake.”

  The nurse spins on her heel and rushes over beside him. “Stop yelling,” she scolds the guy before turning to me with a smile. “My name is Iyla and I’ve been one your nurses while you’ve been here.” Grabbing her name badge, she scans it with a handheld scanner attached to the computer and begins typing.

  My brow furrows and my eyes bounce between her and the blue-eyed bad boy. “How long have I been here?” I croak and swallow hard against the feeling of razor blades inside my throat.

  Iyla’s hazel eyes flash to mine. “I’m just going to ask you a few questions, okay?”

  Ignoring the pain in my head, I nod slowly.

  “Do you know what yea
r it is?”

  “2019,” I answer without hesitation.

  Iyla nods, entering something on her computer. “Can you tell me your name?”

  “Jaslyn Astor.”

  “Good.” She smiles and points at the guy next to her. “Can you tell me who this is?”

  He stares at me silently with his bright blue eyes searching mine. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks, that’s for sure, but there’s something so familiar about him. His name is on the tip of my tongue, but when I open my mouth, nothing comes out… because there is nothing.

  “No,” I whisper.

  Clenching his jaw, the guy cuts his eyes at Iyla and silently mouths ‘what the fuck.’

  “Do you remember what happened or why you are here?”

  I shake my head silently as the tears begin to fill my eyes.

  “Okay,” Iyla says slowly as she glances at the guy. “Let me go get the doctor and I will be right back, okay?”

  Iyla quickly slips out of the room, leaving the blue-eyed bad boy behind.

  “You really don’t remember anything?” he questions me in disbelief. “Nothing at all?”

  “I said no already,” I say in a clipped tone. “Who the hell are you?”

  He narrows his eyes at me as they grow darker with a storm brewing inside them. “You don’t remember me.”

  He says the words with such conviction, as if he can read my mind, and the mystery of who he is grows with the confusion.

  Frowning, I sadly shake my head and his face falls as I confirm what he already knows.

  “Fuck!” he shouts as he spins around, driving his fist into one of the cabinet doors. “I need you to fucking remember!”

  The door flies open and Iyla rushes in, grabbing the guy by his arm. “Rush,” she barks loudly. Her voice is demanding, and his attention quickly shifts to her. “You need to get out. Now.”