Page 66 of Humility

Jasmine didn’t take her sleeping medication last night, and the disappointment of not getting those hours with her put me in a foul mood this morning. I’d woken up and glared at the screen, trying to figure out the best time to announce that we were real.

It was like Enzo had handed me the paint because I’d done a great job painting myself into a corner. I now knew she still wanted me. Hell, I knew she still loved me. It didn’t matter what she said now. Her subconscious told me all I needed to know. So why wasn’t I rushing over there and kicking in the door to reveal myself to her?

Pacing in front of the monitors, I watched her as she did some cleaning, then got changed and put on a jacket.

“What are you up to now?”

“I’m doing a crossword,” Dario answered from across the room.

“Not you. Jasmine is getting ready to go somewhere, but where would she go without a car?”

“Maybe she just wants some fresh air and to go for a walk, or maybe she called for a ride to go to town,” he casually said, and I turned around to face him as my earlier annoyance shifted into anger.

“Like hell that’s happening.” Stomping across the room, I opened my desk, pulled out my gun, and quickly swiveled on the silencer.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m not letting her get into a stranger’s car without protection. Do you have any idea what kind of weirdos are out there who would take advantage of her?”

He looked up over the crossword book and lifted a condescending brow in my direction. “You don’t say.”

“Sarcasm, I see. We’re different,” I said, stuffing the gun into the holster I always wore. I grabbed my suit jacket and tugged it on just as Jasmine walked out her front door.

“You’re right, we’re worse.”

“I don’t think I like your attitude,” I snarled at Dario.

“That’s fair. Half the time, I don’t like you, so I guess we’re even.” He stood up and rolled out his shoulders. He looked like a fucking giant sprouting up from the ground. Dario cracked his neck as he stared at me coolly, waiting for my response.

“I don’t have time for this. I need to go.” Maneuvering around the desk, I marched out of the office and felt him following in my wake. “You don’t need to come.”

“We going to have this argument again? What I do is literally built into the job title. You’re the body, I’m the guard. Bodyguard, see how that works?”

“You are so…fuck.” I bit my tongue. Arguing with Dario was a waste of time, and he knew exactly what buttons to press to make me want to shoot him. I was more tempted than usual.

“Fine, you drive,” I said, pulling out my phone and bringing up the monitoring app as we got in Dario’s truck. I searched all the outside cameras and just about fainted when I saw Jasmine rolling out of the driveway on an old bicycle I didn’t know we had on the property. “What the hell does she think she’s doing?”

I held up the phone to show Dario just before she disappeared around the corner.

“It’s a twenty-minute bike ride to town, and what if she gets hit by a car or someone tries to kidnap her or gets a flat tire? Hell, what if she falls off and breaks something?”

“Whoa, man, take a fucking breath. People have been riding bikes for generations, and Jasmine is a grown-ass adult, despite what you think. She traveled here from home and made it in one piece and has been in town before. Give her a little credit.”

“You’re right,” I said, but my chest hurt, and my stomach was tied in knots. The panic was new. I didn’t panic, not about anything, but the thought of Jasmine being injured or losing her again made me want to throw up.

“That’s all you’re going to say?”

“Why, do you want me to argue with you?” I glared at the side of Dario’s head as he pulled up to the stop sign that would take us to Jasmine’s house. “Wait here until she turns onto the main road. We don’t want her to see us.”

“I think I know how to tail someone,” Dario said, but I ignored his annoyed tone and watched the little flashing light on my phone.

“Okay, she just turned, let’s go.” The stupid, anxious feeling wouldn’t leave me even though, logically, I knew there was no need for it. Reaching the corner, I looked down the road and saw her off to the side, peddling for town. A red sports car whipped by where we were parked and shook the truck. I held my breath as the asshole blew past Jasmine, and she swerved onto the gravel.

“Fuck,” Dario said, his eyes wide as he stared at the almost fatal moment.

“That fucker almost hit her, and you thought I was overreacting.” The weight of my gun pressed into my side, and I wished I’d shot the fucker as he drove by.

“Fine, you weren’t overreacting, at least where cars are concerned,” Dario said and pointed down the road. “We should wait til she is past the next sideroad, then drive there, turn in, and watch until she passes the next. I really hate following people in broad daylight.”