Page 2 of Nighted

We unlocked the door and headed upstairs. “Nothing unusual. Thinking about my mom. She’s been on my mind a lot today.”

“I’m not surprised. But you have nothing to worry about. I’ve always got your back.” Jasper’s attempt at reassurance was sweet, but misplaced.

“It’s not that…” I sighed, walking into the apartment. “I’m not worried about myself. I hope we find her before she causes more trouble for people. I should’ve taken her down when I had the chance.”

Jasper pulled me into his arms again, kissing my forehead. “I love you, and you made the decision you felt was right at the time. We will find her. I promise you.”

I gave him a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“What for?” He held me at arm’s length so he could look at me.

“For being you. For having my back.” I glared at him. “But not for besting me at tracking today. Your betrayal was unforgivable.”

Jasper smiled widely, crinkling the skin around his eyes. “I’m sure I can find some way to make my mistake up to you.” He trailed his finger down my neck, following with soft kisses. My traitorous body responded to him easily, and I felt his smile against my skin. But before I could suggest we take this to the bedroom, I looked over Jasper’s shoulder and noticed the balcony door was ajar. Weird, because I was usually pretty paranoid about making sure everything was locked up tight when we left. Maybe Jasper had left the door open.

“Jasper?” I tried to get his attention, but he was too focused on his current task. I gently pushed him away, trying again. “Hey, Jasp?”

“Mmm?” His eyes were unfocused, but at least I somewhat had his attention now.

“Did you forget to close the balcony door?” One of us must have forgotten. It was the only logical explanation.

Jasper was instantly alert. “What? It’s open?” He went over to check out the sliding door, easily slipping into investigator mode. “You sure you didn’t forget?”

“Pretty sure.” The lock had been acting up for weeks. Maybe the wind knocked it open. No reason to panic, right?

He sighed, face close to the latch. “I remember locking the handle before we left. I was hoping you had opened the door again. But it looks like the lock has been broken.”

The idea had already been at the forefront of my mind, and I readily caught up to his line of thinking. “Someone broke in.”

* * *

It had been a quiet few months, with not a whole lot of action. I assumed we had been lucky, but apparently not. Obviously, Jasper was thinking the same thing.

“Okay. Okay.” Jasper ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in a ridiculous manner. “This still could mean nothing. Might have been some kids playing around.”

“Sure.” Sarcasm dripped from my response. “Playing around on the third floor. Makes sense.” I was not comfortable. At all. “Who did this? What did they want?”

Jasper crossed the floor, embracing me in his arms. “Hey. Don’t panic. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Let’s take a look around, see if anything is missing. If it’s supernatural in nature, it might be someone checking out the new Venator.”

“Not helping,” I muttered. I knew peace wouldn’t last for long, not in this job. But I didn’t think when it came, it would feel quite as violating. I had been thinking more along the lines of a fight or two.

We were interrupted by a pounding on the front door. “Ignore it. They can come back later,” Jasper told me, his voice muffled by my hair.

But the banging escalated and was followed by a loud voice. “Ava Green, I know you’re in there! Open up now!” Mollie. At the worst possible time.

I sighed. “Shit. I should let her in. She’ll break down the door otherwise. Can we pretend nothing happened for like five minutes?”

Jasper’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course.” I knew he was as uncomfortable as I was, but we would have to fake it for the time being. I swung open the front door and there stood Mollie, looking perfect in a slim colourful dress, and not a hair out of place. She took in my appearance, gaping at my messy bun and my muddy workout attire. As long as she didn’t notice my agitation, she could judge my current appearance all she wanted. Thankfully, she had other things on her mind.

“You’ve forgotten!” Mollie had perfected the look of accusation over the years, and she was currently using it against me.

Forgotten. I had forgotten something. But even trying as hard as I could, I couldn’t grasp at the wisps of my memory. “No I haven’t!” I instinctively defended myself, but then immediately caved. “What have I forgotten?”

Choosing the most unfortunate moment to come up behind me, Jasper gently placed a calloused hand on my shoulder. “Oh hey, Mol. How’s everything going?” He acted like he didn’t have a care in the world, while I was sure I had the words “stressed out” written across my forehead. Damn him.

Mollie turned her accusing stare on Jasper. “Your girlfriend has forgotten our plans today, and I’m certain you had something to do with her lack of memory!”

Jasper held up his hands as if to protect himself from Mollie’s sharp words. He had learned Mollie could mean business, and not to mess with her when she was in this sort of mood. He looked to me as if I had the answers. But if I did, I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.

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