Page 82 of Jasper

Jasper took one last look at Julio and wanted to feel something other than a lessening of his anger. He should be disgusted, terrified of himself, of Conner. But he wasn’t.

He was just glad she was safe.

They drove back to Jasper’s apartment—it was the closest—and got cleaned up before heading back to the hospital.

She still wasn’t awake when he slipped into her room. The nurse assured him she wasn’t in pain when he asked. At least she could sleep.

“You’re safe now, pretty girl. I took care of it. No one’s coming after you.”

He prayed to God he was right. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He’d just rest his eyes until she opened hers.

But his body decided he needed to sleep, and he passed out cold.

When Sloane woke up, the first thing she looked for was Jasper, but he wasn’t there. She wasn’t alone, though. Jo and Mason were talking quietly in two chairs by her bedside. They both had some scrapes and bruises from the shootout but looked okay otherwise.

She tried to sit up, but pain lanced her middle, and she let out a gasp.

Mason’s head snapped around, and his eyes widened. “You’re awake.”

She tried to speak but ended up coughing, which in turn caused another round of pain to rip through her abdomen.

“Easy,” Mason cautioned. “You’ll rip your stitches. Jo, let the nurses know she’s awake.”

Sloane cleared her throat. “Mateo?”

“He’s fine,” Mason assured her and helped her sip a little water. “He’s babysitting your kittens right now. He said to tell you so you don’t worry.”

Sloane smiled. She hadn’t remembered the kittens yet, but when she did, she knew she’d have pitched a fit until someone told her where they were. They’d been in the back of the office in their carrier when the shooting started, so she knew they were safe from random bullets, but someone might have forgotten they were there.

“How you feeling?”

His eyes were black, darker than Jasper’s brown ones. It made her sweep the room again, hoping he’d walk through the door. She found herself feeling bereft without him. Scared. All that made her answer to Mason’s question a little more abrupt than she meant it to be.

“Like I got shot?”

He grinned at her grumpy tone. “Jasper asked us to sit with you while the police took his statement. They wouldn’t be put off anymore, so he had to go to the station. He’ll be back soon, though.”

That explained his absence.

“He hasn’t left this room for two days. Viktor brought him clothes this morning and told him to shower before he stank out the floor.”

“I…”

“Girl, don’t even try to say you weren’t looking for him. You looked about as sad as a kicked puppy when you realized he wasn’t here.” Mason sat back and stretched out his legs. “He’s just as crazy about you as you are him. I hope you plan on keeping him. The guy’s had a couple of hard years. He needs something good to happen to him, and I think that’s you.”

Did these people just blurt out whatever was in their heads? “I…I’m keeping him,” Sloane said.

“That’s what he said about you.” Mason leaned forward. “When’s the wedding?”

Sloane was saved from having to answer when the nurse came and shooed everyone out. The doctor came in a few minutes after that and did a few tests. They’d apparently kept her in a medical coma yesterday so she could heal and were all waiting for her to wake up today.

Three bullets went into her abdomen and did record damage, including hitting one of her kidneys. It was still iffy on whether she’d lose it, but they were monitoring the situation. They were also shoving antibiotics down her throat because there had been a lot of debris in the wounds. Through her IV, anyway. She also had dozens of tiny cuts all over her body from the broken glass. All in all, she was a right bloody mess, as her friend Mallory from London would say.

She was lucky to be alive. That was the gist of what the doctor told her. If she hadn’t gotten to the hospital so quickly, she probably would have died. Thank God KSI’s office building was minutes from the hospital.

There one minute, gone the next. Like her mother.

Sloane took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She wasn’t dead, but she wasn’t sure she was safe either. They’d found her despite Jasper’s best efforts, and it almost got others killed, including a little boy. While she survived this round, who knew if she’d survive the next one.

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