by J. R. Ryder
“You might not have a choice…” I answered somberly.
“Don’t talk like that.” He shook his head. “You’re going to be okay. I’m making sure of it. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“Jasper. Listen to me. I know you don’t want to think about this right now but it’s possible that you could lose me.”
“Mandy.”
“And I just want to tell you how much I love you.”
He held me tight. “Please, don’t go. I finally remembered.”
I smiled. “Then, you know that you’ve already saved me once and that you’ve done nothing but make me happy since that moment so thank you.” Before I could say anything else, I started to cough. Doing so caused me tremendous pain. I cried out. I tried to bite my lip to keep it back but it was no use. The pain was too great. “I… love you…”
Chapter 34 (Jasper)
I looked at her for a moment. Already, her skin was pale. She was losing blood and fast. I was terrified that it was already too late to save her.
No. I couldn’t think like that.
She was going to survive this. She had to.
I couldn’t afford to lose her.
taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on her hip to keep her in place. I knew this was going to hurt. After all, I had experienced the same agony when I was a SEAL. The pain is something you can’t quite describe – like a fire that touches your very soul.
Carefully, I pulled away her clothes, exposing the wound. To my relief, it wasn’t as bad as the blood made it see. The bullet hole was narrow and clean for the most part. The bullet itself was nowhere to be found. Good. That meant there was less chance of infection.
Seeing that there wasn’t much I could do, I stitched her up and prayed for the best.
I pressed my hand against her forehead but it was still too soon to see if she had a fever.
Gently, I picked her up and carried her to bed. Wolf followed behind me, limping. As soon as I put her down, he laid down beside her, placing his head on her chest as if to say that he’d protect her.
I nodded my head.
There was unfinished business to attend to.
Downstairs, Keith was slowly getting to his feet. I couldn’t stand the sight of him. This lowlife was nothing but a piece of shit underneath my shoe. First of all, he had abused Mandy while they were dating. Second, his family supported sex work. Third, he had barged into my home and shot my girlfriend.
He was going to pay – and pay dearly.
No, in fact, he was going to regret the day he ever laid eyes on me.
With my anger raging through every vein in my body, I grabbed him by the shirt. “If she fucking dies, I want you to know that I will find a way to end your miserable life myself. I’m going to kill you so slowly that you’re going to go hoarse begging me for mercy. All your family members are going to pale in comparison. You don’t know what I’m capable of…”
He spat in my face.
Big mistake.
I tightened my hold on his shirt, lifting him off the ground.
“You don’t scare me.”
“You have a lot of guts for someone who is completely defenseless. You couldn’t beat me even with a gun. You’re nothing more than a coward.” I snarled.
“Then, kill me.”
“Oh, but that’s exactly what you want, isn’t it? You want me to kill you. That’s the easy way out. I rather have you rotting behind bars where you belong. You can be the prison bitch for the rest of your life.”
“You made this threat before and still I got away.”
“Only because you were willing to abandon your own family to save your own skin.”
He shrugged. “They would have done the same.”
“Some family you got there.”
“Better than your immigrant parents.” He smirked seeing the expression on my face.
“What you thought you could keep it a secret?”
“Leave them out of this.” I ground my teeth. “They have nothing to do with this.”
“I just don’t know how you can lecture me when you neglected your own parents while they were on their deathbeds. Oh, that’s right, you were too busy partying it up to pick up the phone. Then, when you did, you were too drunk to say anything worth remembering. You told your father to go to hell, didn’t you?”
“How do you know this.”
“I have my sources.”
I slammed him into the wall. “How do you know this?”
“One of the girls you used to hire for ‘entertainment’ was one of ours. You aren’t a saint, Mr. Kilroy, so don’t even pretend that you are. You know, we aren’t so different, you and I.”
“We are nothing alike.”
“That’s what you’d like to think but I can guarantee you that we are.” He grinned.
“Keep smiling and I swear I’ll wipe that dirty smirk right off your face.”
“Go ahead.”
Keeping my word, I swung at his face. My fist collided with his mouth. I flinched slightly, cutting my knuckle on his tooth. When I looked back at him, there were gaps in his smile where I had knocked out his teeth.
Good.
“Go ahead, hit me again.”
“What are you, some kind of masochist?”
“Maybe.” He chuckled. “Maybe you’re turning me on right now.” He laughed.
“You’re sick.” I threw him to the ground. “I’m going to make sure you never see the light of day again.”
***
“How is she doing?” Andy walked into the hospital room with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
“She’s stable but she hasn’t woken up yet.”
“I see.” Andy nodded his head. “At least this whole mess is over now. Keith is in custody and they found the remaining Hitchcocks.”
“I’ll only feel better when she wakes up.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to find the silver lining in this situation.”
I sighed. “I know. I’m just on edge.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“When we were in the Navy together, you were such a timid guy. Then, when you entered the corporate world, you did a full three-sixty, finding a boatload of confidence. You weren’t the same man. For a long time, I thought you’d never find a girl, especially since you were bringing a new one home every week.”
I hung my head. “I don’t really want to be reminded of all that. You know, I went to the mountains to forget but everything keeps chasing me into the woods.”
“Well, if you ask me after all this is settled – after the court hearings are over with – I’d ask her to marry you.”
“Marry me?” My eyes widened at the thought.
“Yes. You love her, don’t you?”
“With all my heart.”
“Then, what’s the big deal?”
“It’s just… I don’t know if we’re ready for that.”
“Deep down, you know you want it. You’re lonely and you need a wife.”
“When did you become a fountain of wisdom?”
“Because I know how to listen to people even when they are quiet.” He smiled a mysterious smile. “Maybe you should take a minute to listen to your heart, it might tell you a thing or two.”
Chapter 35 (Mandy)
I woke up to a bright white light. It hurt my eyes, forcing me to close them once more.
Underneath my body, uncomfortable springs pressed against my back. Where was I? What was going on? Why was the side of my body on fire?
I tried to think, slowly pushing away the cobwebs cast over my memories.
Suddenly, it all came crashing back. Keith. The gun. Jasper.
I moved my hand to my side only to find that it was heavily bandaged. I really had been shot after all. Remembering all the pain I felt during that moment, I was surprised to find that I was still alive. Had Jasper saved me? But how? What about Keith? Had he finally been caught or was he still lur
king in the shadows, planning his next attack?
“Mandy…” My name was mumbled by a familiar voice.
I turned my head and dared to open my eyes once more. The white light was still irritating but I suffered through it, letting my eyes adjust.
Once I could see properly, I was surprised to see Jasper reclined in a hospital chair. He was fast asleep, mouth slightly open.
I watched him for a while. Occasionally, he would mumble my name. What was going through his head at that moment, I wondered. I wanted to reach out and touch him but he was too far away so I just watched him for a little longer.
Andy walked into the room.
He smiled at me. “You’re awake.”
I nodded but doing so made me realize just how sore my body was. Every inch screamed with pain.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I was just hit by a train.”
“That’s to be expected. Do you remember what happened?”
I nodded. “Keith shot me.”
“Right.”
“Is Jasper alright?”
“He’s perfectly fine.” He answered with an amused look on his face. “You’re the one in the hospital bed and yet, you still ask if he’s okay. You must really love him.”
“I do.”
Andy smiled. “I think you two were meant to find one another.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked but my mouth was so dry that it came out in a hoarse whisper.
“Here.” He gave me some water. “And, let me call the nurse. I’m sure they want to talk to you.”
“Wait. I need to ask you something.”
“Hmm?”
“Jasper moved to the mountains to be alone. Do you think there will ever come a time when he’ll want to get rid of me to be alone again?”
Andy was quiet for a moment. “No. I don’t think you have to worry about that. So long as the two of you are alone together, I think everything will be okay.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Andy.” I squeezed his hand. “You’ve been a tremendous help. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“You don’t happen to have any sisters, do you?”
I furrowed my brow together in confusion. “Sisters?”
“Well, I get lonely too! Jasper isn’t the only one living in the mountains!”
I laughed. “No, sorry, no sisters.”
“Darn.”
“ I’m sure you’ll find a girl of your own.”
“I hope so.”
Just then, Jasper started to move. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, locking with mine.
My heart skipped a beat.
Without hesitation, he got out of his seat and took my cheeks into his hands. “You’re awake!” He exclaimed. “You’re actually awake.”
“Yes,” I said, attempting to nod. “Have you been here this whole time?”
“For the past two days, he hasn’t left your side.” Andy pointed out. “You should have seen him when you were in surgery. He paced around the waiting room so many times that I wouldn’t be surprised if he wore out the carpet.”
“Did you really worry about me that much?”
“Of course.” He took my hand, squeezing it gently. “You were worried about me after my accident, weren’t you?”
Just thinking about it made my heart ache. “I did.”
Jasper glanced over at Andy who quickly got the message. He excused himself from the room.
Now that we were alone, my heart beat even faster.
“I was so scared.” He whispered.
“Let’s not think about it anymore. It’s in the past now.”
“I can’t.” He pressed. “You were bleeding so much. All I could think about was the fact that you were going to die in my arms.”
“Shh.” I ran my fingers along the side of his face. “I don’t want you to get upset.”
He leaned forward, pressing our foreheads together. “I love you so much and I never want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either,” I said.
We fell into a tranquil silence. I melted into his warmth as it radiated off his body and wrapped around mine. “Promise never to leave me?” He whispered.
“I promise.” I looked up at him.
Naturally, our lips collided together into a sweet, much-needed kiss.
He held me tight but not too tight as to hurt me.
Our lips danced together, yearning the feel of the other. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling on it slightly, feeling like I never wanted to let him go.
as our breathing became ragged, he broke off and looked at me. “I don’t want the heart monitor to break.” He said with a smirk.
I chuckled. “Good call.” I laid back on my bed and looked up at the ceiling. There was one question that was weighing down on my chest like an elephant. “What about Keith?” I finally asked.
Jasper was quiet for a moment before he took my hand and squeezed it gently. “You won’t have to worry about him ever again.”
My eyes widened. “You didn’t…”
“No. I brought him to the station. He’s waiting to stand trial. We’ll have to appear as witnesses.”
I sighed in relief.
“You’re finally going to get the justice you deserve, Mandy. That man is never going to hurt you again.”
Just the thought of living a life free of fear was something that was hard to imagine. For too long, I was constantly looking over my shoulder.
But now, that was about to change.
Chapter 36 (Jasper)
It took Mandy two weeks to be discharged from the hospital. As soon as they gave her the okay to go home, I was there with my car, ready to get her some decent food.
“Are you sure you want to go back to the cottage?” I asked her as I pushed her wheelchair.
“Yes.”
“ if something happens, we’re too far from the hospital.”
“Nothing’s going to happen.” She answered, voice confident. “As long as you’re by my side, I know nothing can hurt me.”
I smiled, kissing the top of her head. “That’s right.”
She nuzzled against me. “ let’s go home. Of course, if you don’t want me in your cottage anymore…”
“Don’t be silly.” I laughed. “I always want you there. It makes me happy to have you by my side.”
There was a hint of doubt on her face.
“Mandy, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Okay, everyone knows that when a girl says she’s ‘fine’ that means she’s not fine.”
“Seriously. I’m fine.”
“Mandy.”
She sighed. “I’m sure scared that you’ll get bored of me and ask me to leave. I know when I first met you, I kept trying to push you away. I was so fixated on being independent that it frightened me to have someone to depend on.”
“There’s nothing for you to be afraid of, Mandy. I love you.” I kissed her lips ever so gently. “ stop worrying, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“How about this? We get some really nice Chinese food, bring it back to the cottage, and then eat it on the porch together. I’m sure Wolf would appreciate some General Tsao’s chicken.”
She laughed. “He appreciates anything that is even mildly edible.”
“You’re right about that.”
“Anyway, how does that sound?”
“Perfect.” She smiled up at me. The sight of her perfect smile sent my heart rocketing through my chest. It was one of the reasons why I had fallen in love with her.
“Do you know what Chinese place you’d want to order from?” I asked, absentmindedly navigating my way through the maze of corridors. Of course, most hospitals are set up to make it extremely easy to get lost.
Despite having a great sense of direction, I still managed to lose my way.
“How about New China? They have really good Crab Ragoons.”
