Page 87 of Jasper

“Did I hurt you? Do you need—”

“No, Jasper, you didn’t hurt me. I hurt me. I should know better than to lift my arms.”

“Fuck…no more kissing until you’re better.”

That was not what she wanted to hear.

He laughed at her sour expression. “There is going to be plenty of kissing, sweetheart, just not until you have time to heal a little.”

“Everyone keeps asking me if I’m moving to New York. Did you perhaps tell them I was thinking about it?”

“I might have. I honestly don’t remember that much of the last few days. I’ll tell them to lay off.”

“No, it’s sweet that they’re all rooting for you with a girl none of them knows. Crazy, but sweet.”

“They know me, and they know I wouldn’t be insanely crazy about a girl unless she was special.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Why don’t we get this tree set up so I can bitch out the nurses for trying to make me take it down?”

“Conner came by.”

He stopped mid-bend. “What?”

“He wanted to talk about my plans in regard to what I saw. He said if I didn’t go to the police, he could guarantee the mobsters would leave me alone.”

“The cartel, not the mob.”

“Same to me.”

“Trust me, they’re not. The cartel is about a thousand times more lethal than the mob. He said he could guarantee that?”

Sloane nodded.

“Then he means it. Conner has…”

“Yeah, I got that,” she said dryly. “Mr. Serial Killer means what he says, I think. I take back all my doubts about you being the next Ted Bundy. That guy could scare the pants off Charles Manson.”

“I believe that.”

“He also said if I wanted to go to the police, he’d back my play. That no matter what, he’d make sure I was safe. It would just be harder.”

Jasper frowned.

“Mobster genocide,” she told him.

“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she wanted to do it instead. She loved the feel of his hair. The strands were baby soft.

“I’m not going to pursue it. I know it’s probably wrong, but if he can get those guys to leave me alone, I’m all for it.”

“It’s not wrong, Sloane. It might cause his family to have no closure, but they won’t be in danger, and neither will you. Nobody else has to die. He had kids, kids who had nothing to do with any of this. They should be safe too.”

“You think Conner has the juice to keep that promise?”

“I do.”

Sloane nodded, not sure how she really felt about her decision, but she’d made it, and now she’d live with it.

“I was thinking…”

“That’s not a good sign.”

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