Page 65 of Hidden With You

ChapterTwenty-One

It had taken all of Jasper’s willpower to wait until morning, and he’d had to talk himself out of going to the bastard’s house at least five times during the night. Better to go to the office, anyway. He wanted witnesses.

He wanted everyone at Stark Security to know what that little worm Owen had done. And he wanted witnesses when he forced the prick to explain why he’d taken that poor woman’s life.

He crossed The Domino’s pavilion, watching the Santa Monica business park come to life. Most people were clustered around the coffee cart, enjoying the morning before they started their workday.

But Jasper had a mission. And today, he really didn’t need caffeine.

He headed to Stark Security, the anchor tenant for the complex, then held back as two agents he didn’t recognize entered. When he saw that no one else was approaching the door, he hurried over, drew a breath, then yanked open the door and crossed the threshold.

He paused, feeling all eyes on him. He was on official probation as of this morning per the email Ryan had distributed before midnight. No fieldwork. Grunt-style computer research and data entry for the next three months.

That was fine by Jasper.

Hell, in an hour he might not even have that as a job. But being fired was a small price to pay to avenge Melinda’s life.

He ignored the whispers as he crossed to Owen’s workspace. The office was still mostly empty. It was only eight, and most agents didn’t arrive until nine or later, the job tending to call for late nights, after all.

Owen pushed a desk, however, and he was right where he was supposed to be, his eyes full of curiosity as Jasper came closer and closer, until finally they were barely a foot apart. That’s when Jasper lashed out with one hell of a left hook and got the traitorous prick right in the jaw.

Owen stumbled back, his mouth bleeding. He fell against his rolling chair and went down.

Jasper didn’t think. Hell, he wasn’t even in his body. All he knew—all that existed—was the fight. He was on top of Owen, pounding the lousy prick’s face, landing hard blows to his chest, doing whatever he could to cause damage before the other agents in the room dragged him off.

It didn’t take long.

Less than thirty seconds later, two of the security staff had ripped him off of Owen and cuffed his hands behind his back. Someone shouted that Ryan was in the parking garage, and all the while, Jasper stood there with a smile on his face, watching Owen bleeding and in pain on the floor.

“What the hell?” Leah shouted, grabbing Jasper’s arm and shaking him. His balance was off from the cuffs, and he stumbled against Owen’s desk, then snapped his attention to Leah.

“He killed her. That noxious little worm killed Melinda.”

“Everyone, back to work.” Ryan’s voice rang through the room, and the lingering staff scattered. “Leah, you stay. Is he okay?” Ryan asked with a nod to Owen, who was on the floor with Quincy, who’d grabbed a First aid kit.

“He’ll be fine. Sore. But fine.” Quincy shot Jasper a curious look but didn’t say anything. Just continued to treat Owen, who looked far too healthy for Jasper’s taste.

“Seriously, Jasper,” Leah snapped. “What the fuck?” She glanced up at Ryan. “Sorry. I’ll stay quiet.”

“No. That was my exact question.”

“He killed Melinda Barrett. A source. The first and only solid lead I’ve had in my investigation as to who killed my wife and daughter.” He forced his voice to stay level. Professional. Though why he was bothering, he wasn’t sure. He’d already blown professional all to hell.

“If that’s true, I’d probably have done the same thing,” Ryan said. “So what’s your proof?”

He jangled his cuffs. “Easier to tell if I can also show.”

Ryan signaled to Leah, who uncuffed him. He rolled his shoulders, then glared at Owen.

“Don’t even think about it,” Ryan said. “You two, in the conference room. Opposite sides of the table. You even think about getting into it, and I will have you in a detention cell so fast it will make your head spin. Quincy, you too.”

“We’ll be joining the conference, too.”

Ollie’s familiar voice came from near the door, and Jasper’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up to see Zelda standing there with Ollie beside her, both in jogging shorts.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ryan began, but Zelda cut him off. “You’re the one who assigned him to protect me, and yesterday I learned that he’d been tasked to kill me. So yeah, I think it is necessary. Unless you want to give me a chance to talk to him now.”

Jasper held his breath, hoping Ryan agreed. He needed to talk to her. Needed to figure out a way to get them back on track. But at the same time, if she was making a clean break from him, he’d just as soon postpone the pain.