Page 57 of Jasper

Mateo was Kade and Angel’s son who had been raised by one of the many Mexican cartels. It had taken a large-scale operation across law enforcement agencies to rescue the kid, but it had been Conner who found Mateo. The carnage he left in his wake was massive. No one but the team at KSI knew he was even involved in the killing. Another reason to never get on the bad side of Conner Kincaid. He was effective at killing and getting away with it.

“She’s terrified, and she has every right to be. She saw some of their goons throwing away body parts that turned out to be the prosecution’s main witness.”

“Wait, are you talking about the Mendez case?”

“Yeah.”

Cole let out a string of curse words that rivaled all five Kincaid brothers.

“Get her and get the fuck out right now. Those motherfuckers won’t waste time. They’ll come in and shoot you before you have time to react.”

“Shit.”

“Yes, shit. Hang up the damn phone and get gone.”

Jasper didn’t waste another second. He disconnected the call and took the stairs two at a time. He trusted Cole’s word. The man knew Miami, and he knew the major players. Jasper didn’t. If Cole said get out, they’d get the fuck out.

He glanced at her room, but the door was open, and she wasn’t there. He pounded on the bathroom door.

“Sloane!”

There was no answer, and he knocked again. Still nothing, and a queasy feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

“Sloane? Are you okay in there?”

When she didn’t answer, he took a deep breath and opened the door. She was sitting in the tub, arms wrapped around her legs, staring at nothing. She looked stoned, but he knew that wasn’t what was going on. She was in shock.

“Sloane?” He approached the tub carefully, grabbing the towel he’d placed on the toilet for her earlier. “Hey, sweetheart, it’s time to get out of the tub.”

She looked pale, and he could tell the water was cooling. She had to be freezing. He reached in and lifted her out of the tub, setting her on the fuzzy bath rug. She blinked but otherwise didn’t move.

This was not the fucking time for her to be having a breakdown of some kind. He growled in frustration but kept his touch gentle as he dried her off. He didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.

Leaving her there, he grabbed a pair of sweats and a long-sleeved t-shirt out of her drawers. Fuzzy socks completed what his patience would let him dig for. She’d be commando, but once they got away from here, she could change.

For once in his life, he wasn’t pervy. Her body was gorgeous, but it wasn’t about that. She was in shock and needed him to be strong for her. He dressed her then picked her up and took her downstairs.

While he didn’t like leaving her alone, he needed to pack them both a go-bag. He even remembered to grab her bag of cameras. Sloane would eviscerate him if he forgot those.

He collected the kittens and put them in their carrier along with the baby blanket Sloane had bought for them. The litter box was dumped and packed into the truck with extra litter.

Once he’d loaded up their bags and the kittens’ things, he squatted in front of Sloane. She stared unblinkingly straight ahead.

“Sloane, we need to go.” He took her hands and was alarmed at how cold they were. “Sweetheart, I need to you look at me.”

Frustration warred with worry. Maybe she needed to go to the hospital? Fuck, he wasn’t a combat medic. But he knew someone who was.

He dialed another member of KSI—Max Sherridon.

“Jasper where the fuck are you? Kade is livid.”

“I need help.”

“Name it.”

Now, that was the true meaning of brotherhood developed alongside each other in the Corps. No questions, just an offer of help.

“Talk to Cole. He’ll fill you in on everything, but I’ve got a girl I think has gone into shock. I’m afraid to take her to the hospital. Cole can tell you why. What do I do?”

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