“Whatever.” Jasmine could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. “So can I ask a question?”
“Shoot,” Jared responded.
“Do you guys like Chad?” Silence. Her thumbnail found its way between her teeth again.
“Yeah, we do. He is his own man. He faced this shit storm and dealt with it. Not many men would have been able to deal with the amount of crap that was flung at him.” Jason’s words brought a sheen of tears to her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Besides, now I have an in for concert tickets,” Jared teased.
“Ass.”
“Brat.”
“I love you guys.” She didn’t try to disguise the tears in her voice.
“And we love you. Go tell your guy what’s up. Give Dixon and/or Drake a heads up, and one or both of them will fly you to Nashville when you’re ready to go.”
“I will.”
She hung up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She drew a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She had some great news to deliver and the start of a new life to begin with Chad.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The rush of the past two weeks seemed to meld together into one long interview. Chad’s manager, Terry, had secured the services of another PR firm while his lawyers severed all relationships with Millicent’s company. Just as he suspected, once he left her stables, all the other talent started bailing ship. Of course, the fact that the woman was being held without bond for the hired murder of five people may have had something to do with that too. The forensic accountants had found money transfers to Burns for the past four years. While there had been no spike in the accounts at the time of the murders, the money, the deathbed confession, and circumstantial evidence were enough to remand her until trial.
Chad and Jasmine cleaned house in Nashville. Everyone had been given notice to find other places to live when he first arrived in South Dakota, and Chad had provided financial assistance in locating other residences. Chad put Kirk in charge of ensuring everyone was settled. He hadn’t seen Kirk since the day he’d walked out of his complex over two months ago.
At Jason’s suggestion, Chad had met with his lawyers and management team away from his Nashville complex and conducted all meetings at his lawyer’s offices. Jasmine’s security teams made certain of their privacy. She’d been busy updating his security, getting a handle on his travel arrangements and his interview schedule, and working with the CMAs security on his performance and presentation. Chad spent hours behind closed doors with his legal team and pounded out a path forward. He worked through countless mountains of paperwork, started the process of divesting three companies, and initiated the groundwork for his own recording label.
He and Jasmine had put an offer on the Koehler place, which was accepted immediately. They had been meeting with architects in Nashville to draft the blueprints of their new home—a home, not the hotel that his Tennessee mansion had turned into. Jasmine was in charge of everything except the music room and the recording studios.
Chad stretched and pushed away from his desk in the office. The house was eerily quiet. He didn’t realize how much noise had been in his life BG, or Before Guardian. Chad stood and cracked his back. They’d be leaving tomorrow morning after the awards ceremony. They were moving to South Dakota, permanently.
With a smile, Chad pulled the center drawer of his desk open, grabbed a small black velvet box and pocketed it. He hadn’t found the exact right time to ask her… yet. A smile spread across his face. The song he was singing tonight was new. I Am, With You, was the song he’d written while traveling with Jasmine to South Dakota. He’d be singing it with his guitar as his only accompaniment. He glanced at the grandfather clock across the room. After placing all the documentation for his lawyers in a briefcase, he wandered out into the hall and down the stairs. He crossed through the massive entryway and headed back to the rooms where Jasmine’s security team was headquartered.
“Hey, Chad, what can we do for you?”
Chad lifted the leather case. “The last of the documents for the lawyers. You guys got everything you need to close up shop?”
“Yes, sir, we are good to go. We’ll have a skeleton crew here. The rest will fly with you and Jasmine to the training complex. We’ll leave from there and head home for Thanksgiving. After that? Who knows where we’ll end up?”
“Thank you for making these two weeks easier.”
“Not a problem, it’s what we do.”
Chad shook the man’s hand. He hadn’t known any of the team long, but each and every one of them were good men.
He swung through the kitchen on the way back upstairs and grabbed a tray of cheese and fruit. From experience, he knew they needed to eat before the awards ceremony. The first time he went, he didn’t eat and his stomach damn near ate through his backbone by the time he got to some food at one of the after-parties—if you could call the little bits of nothing they served food. He’d ended up going out with his crew. They invaded the closest McDonald’s, ate and played an impromptu a cappella jam session. Bad idea. The cops had to respond due to the traffic jam they caused. Lord, he’d been fussed at by his manager and Millicent for that stunt. The smile slid from his face at the thought of the woman who was capable of hiring a killer to murder innocent people. He couldn’t figure her motives. Why would she do something like that? What could she possibly stand to gain? And threatening him? It just didn’t make sense. Talk about killing the golden goose.
He opened the music room door. “Jazz, where are you?” He heard a muffled thump from the bedroom. She’d been stressing over which dress to wear tonight. The woman was probably still trying to make a decision.
The door to the bedroom stood slightly ajar. He kicked it open and made a grand display of the tray he carried, only to drop the thing at the sight of what greeted him.
“Move, and she dies.” Blood trickled from Jasmine’s mouth and nose and soaked the gag Kirk had stuffed in her mouth. Crimson trickled down her chin, over her breast, and stained her white lace bra. Her right eye was swelling shut, and Kirk held a gun to her temple. Chad swallowed hard and looked up into Kirk’s eyes. Jasmine had fought back. The man’s eyebrow had been laid open, his cheek had a huge red welt, and his lip was split. How the hell did he get the upper hand?
“Kirk? Why?”
The man grabbed a handful of Jasmine’s hair. She swayed on her knees, her eyes boring into Chad’s.
“You were supposed to die, you son of a bitch! You were supposed to take the rap for the murders or die, so she’d see me!” Spittle spewed from the man’s mouth and hung suspended from his lips. Kirk’s hands shook. He pushed the gun into the side of Jasmine’s head, forcing her sideways. That’s when Chad realized blood was running down the back of her arm.
“Jasmine sees you, Kirk.”
“Not her, you asshole! Millicent. Your precious bodyguard is the reason it all went to hell! I’m going to kill this bitch! She took Milli from me!”
Chad’s mind whirred, trying to make connections. “She didn’t do anything, Kirk. She was with me. Millicent went to jail for hiring a killer.”
“No, you stupid mother fucker! I hired Burns! I told him who to kill! I was the one who left you death threats when the fucking FBI wouldn’t investigate you for the murders! You were supposed to be blamed. She’d see you weren’t what she needed in her life. Then she’d see she needed me!”
Chad’s gut dropped as the puzzle pieces all locked into place. Kirk lifted Jasmine by the hair. She struggled to stand up with her arms tied behind her back. She shot a look towards the bed where she kept her gun. Chad followed her eyes and then looked at her again. She shot another hard look at the bed and crumpled, falling away from Kirk. The man’s grasp of her hair prevented her from hitting the floor. The bastard raged at her action, kicking her back violently, tearing a scream from behind her gag.
Chad dove for the bed. He slid over the silk sheets, his hands diving beneath Jasmine’s pillow. A sharp p
ain sliced through his arm. Chad rolled off the bed, falling to the floor, and pointed the gun. Kirk pulled Jasmine in front of him by her hair. “I’ll kill you both!”
Jasmine’s eyes darted down to the right before he saw her leg flash forward. Then she propelled it backward into Kirk’s kneecap. He fell forward, the gun slipping from Jasmine’s temple to in front of her face. Jasmine lurched and used her body to move his arm away from Chad. Kirk squeezed off a round that shattered the bedroom window. Jasmine fell to the ground, but Kirk remained standing. He took aim at the back of Jasmine’s head. Chad opened fire and emptied the clip into the madman.
Kirk’s body jerked with the force of each bullet. His arm flew up, the gun still gripped in his hand. He squeezed the trigger again in his macabre dance. Kirk stumbled backward and slammed into the wall. The man’s eyes traveled toward Chad. Blood frothed from his lips and down his chin. Small dark stains of blood spread slowly across the man’s shirt before his body crumpled, sliding in a ragdoll fashion down the wall. Chad lunged toward Jasmine. His right arm was numb and useless. He used his left to remove the gag.
“Gun. Get his gun!” Jasmine gasped. Chad reached over and removed the gun from lifeless fingers. The pounding of footsteps up the stairs and the crashing in of his music room doors spiked his adrenaline again. He lifted Kirk’s weapon and leveled it on the door. Jasmine rolled to her side and yelled, “Secure Tempest!” His security team charged into the room. Chad dropped the weapon and tried to untie Jasmine’s hands. “Someone get me a fucking knife!” he yelled. A blade appeared and sliced through her bindings.
“Ambulance is on the way. We need to get the bleeding stopped, Mr. Nelson.”
Chad nodded. “She’s bleeding heavy. Down her back. Need to make sure she’s okay.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll take care of her, too.”
“Too?” Chad blinked up at the security specialist. He didn’t understand. “Who else is hurt?”
Jasmine reached out and grabbed his hand from her prone position on the floor. He swung his head back to his beautiful woman. Her eye was swollen shut and blood smeared across her face, but she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Her lips moved. Had she spoken? He blinked hard to clear his vision and peered down at her. He knew she’d said something. But things weren’t making sense. He stared at her hand in his. Damn it, he was tired. Movements and voices jumbled into a cascade of noise that obliterated everything.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chad woke up when his mom called his name. He felt like he’d drunk a whole bottle of scotch by himself. Lord, this couldn’t be good. He hadn’t gotten this drunk in years. His momma was going to whip his ever-loving hide. Chad peeled his eyes open and squinted in the direction of her voice.
“Mom?” He blinked, but the light was too bright to keep his eyes open.
“That’s right, Teddy. Open your eyes for me. I want to make sure you’re not brain damaged.”
Chad licked his lips but kept his eyes closed. “Your fault. You dropped me one too many times.”
A low rumble of laughter sounded to his right. Chad tried to lift his hand to block the bright lights. “Oh, fuck me. That hurts!”
“Teddy, language.”
He rolled his head toward his mom’s voice. “Sorry. Turn off the lights, yeah?” He heard a click and blinked open his eyes without the blistering pain searing his corneas to the back of his brain. Hospital. Jasmine. Oh, fuck, Kirk!
Chad launched upwards, only to have strong arms push him back into the bed. “No! Damn it! Jasmine! I have to help Jasmine!”
“You did, Chad. She’s safe. She’s safe.”
Chad grabbed at the arms that pinned him to the bed.
Dixon smiled at him and repeated his words. “You saved her from Kirk. She’s safe. They have her in a room down the hall. She’s pretty banged up, but she’ll be just fine.”
“I want to see her. Man, you got to get me to her room.”
“Teddy, you just got out of surgery. Jasmine’s momma and family are down there. These two boys have been here since they all flew in.”
“Surgery?”
“A bullet tore through your inner arm and nicked an artery. You lost a shit-ton of blood. They repaired it. Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to play the harp, Martha.”
“Damn, that’s cool. I never could before. Seriously, though, Double D, y’all need to take me to Jasmine.”
“Not right now, son.” His mom answered for the guys. Hell, he saw the willingness in their eyes. He needed to get his mom occupied with something else, but she wasn’t budging. Finally, he just shook his head. “You don’t understand. I love her. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“I know, baby. A momma always knows. She’s resting. Like you should be.”
Chad shook his head. He needed to see her. Kirk… Kirk… oh fuck, he’d killed Kirk. He grabbed at Dixon’s hand. “I shot him. He was going to kill Jasmine. I killed Kirk.”
Dixon squeezed his hand in return. “Yeah, Jasmine and the team gave their statement. The cops are going to want to talk to you, but it is just a formality. Guardian’s people found a money trail that connects Kirk to Burns, and the deposits just before and after each murder substantiate his claim that he was responsible.”
He loosened his grip and tried to control his breathing. “Millicent?”
“She’s out of custody.”
“He loved her.”
“I think she knew. That’s why she wouldn’t say anything. Maybe in some messed up way, she loved him too. He was insane, Teddy. His obsession ate away at him for years.” His momma ran her hand through his hair as she spoke. “As soon as the doctors clear it, we’ll wheel you down to Jasmine’s room, or if she can move before you, she can come down here.”
“Where is she?” he asked Drake.
The guy smiled and lifted an eyebrow. “Two doors down the hall to your left as you exit.”
Chad nodded. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He just needed a little rest before he got up out of bed.
Rest wasn’t going to happen, though. First, the doctors came through, then the nurses, after them the detectives needed a statement, and then the MIB showed up along with Amanda and Frank. His mom hovered like a helicopter and Dixon and Drake hung out until the room got too crowded. Damn it. He wanted to see Jasmine, and he hurt. Hurt like a mother fucker, but he couldn’t show it because he needed to get to Jasmine. Chad’s nurse showed up, chased everyone out, put a syringe into his IV and hit the plunger. It was the last thing he remembered until something woke him. When he opened his eyes, it was dark. Sounds of a busy hospital filtered in from the hall. A noise drew his attention to the door. It opened, flooding the room with light. Doc wheeled Jasmine into his room.
Her face was mottled with bruises and swollen, but she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Chad, if you can slide over without too much discomfort we can make this transfer happen.” Adam lowered his bedrail, and Chad scooched over, lifting his good arm to make room for her. Jasmine groaned as she lifted off the wheelchair with Adam’s help. The small whimper when she lay down beside him told him how much pain she was in.
Adam covered them both and made sure Chad’s IV wasn’t tangled up.
“A deal is a deal, woman.” He pulled two tablets out of his pocket and handed them to Jasmine. She took them and a drink of water he held for her. Jasmine carefully lowered herself onto Chad’s shoulder.
“She refused to take any pain medication unless she was allowed to see you.”
Chad rolled his head toward her and gently kissed her forehead. “Stubborn girl.”
Doc put the rail back up and headed out of the room. “I’ll see you both in the morning. Get some sleep.”
Not likely, at least not right now. Chad had to get some answers to the questions that were racing through his mind. “How did he get to you?” He shivered when her hand ghosted over his chest.
“I was in the dressi
ng room. I’d just tried on the Prada again. I thought I’d made a decision but wanted to see them both one more time. I’d just stepped out of the dress when he hit me on the back of the head with something. I didn’t hear him come in. The next thing I know, he’s dragging me around by the hair, and I’m tied up and gagged. I faded in and out a couple of times. I don’t know how long he waited for you to come up. He was raving about Millicent. He told me how he was going to kill us. He wanted you to watch me die because you killed Millicent’s love for him. I tried to get away a couple times, head butted him and ran, but the son of a bitch was quick and mean.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t come up sooner.”
“I’m not. If he hadn’t been so worked up, my distraction might not have worked.” Jasmine sighed and settled a little deeper against him.
“I wonder if Millicent knew how much he cared for her. He’d play it off as it was him that wasn’t interested, just having a good time. I assumed he was using her as much as she was using him.”
“You couldn’t have seen it. Don’t blame yourself.”
“You were bleeding, your back.”
“He cut my scalp where he hit me. Every time he pulled my hair, it would bleed. It’s nothing.”
“I saw the way he kicked you. I see what he did to your face. It was something.”
Jasmine yawned and hummed. “It’s over.”
“It is. Guess we missed the award ceremony.” Chad was more than okay with that, except he had the perfect proposal worked out. Damn, he had the ring in his pocket… Where were his clothes?
“Yeah. Wonder if you won.”
Chad kissed her forehead again. “Baby, they couldn’t give me any award better than what I have in my arms right now.”
Jasmine gave a small chuff of air that resembled a laugh. “Those comments will make me think you love me.”
“I do love you.” Chad was fading fast. He tried to pry his eyelids open again, but her warmth and the medication they were giving him sucked him under.
“You going to marry me someday?” Her words tugged at his consciousness, pulling him back.
Jasmine (Kings of Guardian Book 6) Page 22
