Page 63 of Jasper

“Hey, now, pretty girl, stay with me. You’re safe. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

His voice was like a cool balm to her feverish skin. It calmed her, and she twisted in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. He was comfort, a shield between her and the bad memories.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I got you.”

Sloane shrank against him. “Can they find us here?”

“No. They have no idea who I really am. Even if they ask around town, everyone knows me as Robert Colone. You’re the only person who called me Jasper. This room is registered in my name. You’re safe, baby, I swear.”

Sloane tilted her head up so she could see him. His expression was fierce, and she didn’t doubt he’d do whatever it took to protect her. Jasper was a flirt with an overinflated ego, but he was also honest. If he said they were safe, then they were.

She sat there in his lap with him stroking her hair for the longest time. She watched the kittens romp over the floor as their food grew cold. But she wasn’t cold. She was warm and safe.

For the first time since her mother died, she felt safe.

And that was all Jasper.

“You okay?” he whispered.

She nodded.

“If you pass out on me, I’m throwing you in the shower and turning on the cold water.”

She laughed. It was weird to laugh when she was so scared, but it felt good too. Like things might be okay.

“I’ll scream louder than Patches when she’s hungry.”

“Dear God, I thought management was going to get called. She was louder than the damn TV.”

“You’re a big old softie, aren’t you?”

“Bite your tongue, woman. I have a reputation to protect.”

“I was afraid of you.”

“That, I knew. You couldn’t get away from me fast enough at the airport.”

“Well, you might have been the next Ted Bundy. How was I to know? I was on the run from people I’d just seen dumping body parts, after all. But that’s not what I was talking about.”

He frowned.

“I meant after, once I started to get to know you. I was afraid.”

“Why?”

“Because you were kind. You treated me with respect even when you were flirting like a maniac. It scared me because I was afraid to let myself get close, afraid you’d hurt me. Even without meaning to.”

“I would never…”

She put a finger to her lips. “Let me finish this before I lose my nerve.”

He shushed.

“I have this habit of falling hard and fast and usually for the wrong men. Brad is a case in point, but it goes deeper than that. I always picked guys I knew weren’t right for me. They weren’t the bad boy, the overachiever, or even normal. They were just wrong for me. Brad was the first one who was abusive, though. He caught me at a vulnerable time in my life.”

“You don’t have to tell me this, Sloane.”

She studied him, trying to determine if he was just saying that or he didn’t want to hear it. She always had such bad luck she didn’t want to screw this up.

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