AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I remember.” I wave for him to follow me. “Come on. Let’s talk about it.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going for a drive.”
“A drive?” He glances over his shoulder. “Where? Why?”
“We can’t discuss the Italians here. There are eyes and ears everywhere.”
Jasper’s expression clears. There’s hope in his face. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.”
“Dom.” As soon as I call for my second, Jasper stiffens. I ignore it. “Bring the car around.”
The moment Dominik disappears to fetch the vehicle, Jasper takes another step towards me. His tongue flickers in the corner of his mouth like a snake as he whispers in my ear, “I know you trust Dominik, but I think he’s working for the Italians. I think he’s working for the other side.”
I clasp Jasper’s shoulder. “He’s not coming with us, Jas. He’s just bringing the car around.”
Jasper nods, but he’s a ball of nervous energy. I’m not sure if it’s paranoia or some side effect of whatever he’s using these days.But when Dom tosses me the keys to the Jaguar, Jasper gives him a wide berth as he slides into the passenger seat.
“Follow behind us,” I whisper over the hood of the car. “Be subtle.”
Dominik makes a show of disappearing back into the restaurant, but a few minutes later, I see headlights pop up in the rearview.
Jasper, whose eyes only slip from the mirror long enough for him to look over his shoulder, notices, too. “We’re being followed.”
I shake my head, speaking evenly. “No one’s following us.”
For a few more minutes, I need him to stay calm. Just until we can get outside the city.
“I recognize the car,” he insists. “That’s Dominik behind us.”
“He went back inside the restaurant. You saw him.”
Maybe I should’ve gone for a drugged shot. Jasper claims to be sober, but we both know he wouldn’t have been able to refuse a toast.
The trouble is whether the chemical cocktail in his veins would have handled it.
“That’s Dominik,” Jasper repeats again, twisting around in his seat. “He’s following?—”
Suddenly, he stiffens. The nervous energy that has been buzzing off of him all night dissipates. It’s like a switch has flipped, and he’s wholly focused on me. “You don’t really believe me about any of this, do you?” he demands.
The clarity in his eyes is why I can’t bring myself to lie to him. “I think it’s time to call this, Jas. You had a good run, but it’s over now.”
“No…”
“I can’t trust you anymore,” I say as gently as I’m capable of. “You’re not cut out for this life.”
“I am,” he insists. “I’ve done it before?—!”
“And you barely survived the first time. The only reason you did is because I intervened. I owed you a debt, but—” My gaze slices towards him for a brief second. “—that debt is now paid.”
He pales. “Arsen… Brother…”
“I can’t risk what I’ve built on you. You’re not a safe bet. It’s only a matter of time before you piss off the wrong person or make the wrong move?—”
“I can follow your orders. I can get in line!”
“I have a family now, Jas,” I continue. “I have to think of them first.”
