Page 7 of Lethal

Even though he’s waiting for some kind of reaction, I don’t show any outward signs of what I’m thinking. It seems to put him on edge. “So why didn’t you follow through on it? Why am I still alive?” Strangely, the thought thrills me, lighting sparks of lust that pebble my nipples. I move to sit on his lap, wanting to get closer.

He eyes me warily, not sure what my intentions are, but nonetheless, he wraps an arm around me, and slides his other hand along my legs at his side. “The night you killed for the first time was the same night the hit went live. There’s a sort of pecking order as to who sees the dossier when it goes active.”

I run my nose along his throat, sending a shiver down his spine. He doesn’t let it distract him from his explanation, though. “I get to see them before anyone else, and luckily I was already in D.C.” His hand runs up my leg where it was still resting, to land on my upper thigh, then shifts inward. Instantly, his thumb moves back and forth, threatening to distract me. Working to turn me on even more than his words are. “I had a few hours before the party to start my research, a deep dive into everything that made up Remington Halston. And then once I was done, I stalked your every move. Followed you to the party, watched you on the balcony, saw you stumble away and get escorted into that scum’s car.”

He pauses to smile at me, his dimple popping into existence. When he doesn’t immediately continue, I speak up, “But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t do it.”

The hand not on my leg moves, his thumb swiping my collarbone before he grips the back of my neck. He leans in to graze my ear with his lips as he whispers in my ear, “If you want to hear about all the dirty details of how I didn’t kill you, you need to be patient.”

His warm breath brushes over my neck, making me shiver. Before he can continue, the jet lands, the announcement of the impending touchdown going unnoticed by me. The jerk of wheels meeting tarmac doesn’t affect me with how firmly Jasper holds me in place. He draws back from my ear, and with one glance, we move at the same time to close the distance between our lips.

Jasper doesn’t waste time with his previous softness. He dives right in, demanding my soul with every lash of his tongue. His fingers thread through my hair at the nape of my neck, gripping it in a punishing hold that causes needles of sharp pain to bloom. It adds to our need. The desperation to get closer.

The copper taste of blood mingles with our tongues after I bite his bottom lip, and he rips me away from him. “Naughty, naughty, Little Bird.” The rumble of his voice is like a vibrating caress that runs straight to my clit.

“Not to interrupt your fun, but the flight crew needs us to deboard. They’ve been chartered for another flight.” Grayson’s voice pops the bubble that cuts us off from the rest of the world. Sound seems to filter in, chatter from the flight crew and shouting from the airport personnel outside. Damn party poopers.

It crosses my mind what a difference this flight was from using Cole’s jet. His staff is much less hands on, something I prefer.

“Right as I’m finally distracted too,” I whine playfully. “This isn’t over. I want to hear the rest of our romantic beginnings. Every little detail of it.”

Grayson lets out a quiet chuckle. “Only you could think a tale of how he stalked and plotted to murder you is a sweet story.” He holds out his hand, helping me stand from Jasper’s lap, who assists by grasping my hips and pushing me up. He immediately presses his chest to my back, keeping us in close contact as we walk to the exit.

Once more, the dread of facing an impossible task looms over me. I let Jasper distract me… I wasted precious moments that could have been spent trying to build a game plan.

How in the hell am I going to find Cole?

Jasper arranged for a car to be waiting for us, and he immediately climbs into the driver’s side while Grayson holds the passenger door open for me. “Where are we going?” I ask him as there’s a click of Grayson tucking himself in the backseat, and the car starts moving. It’s so odd seeing Jasper in the driver’s seat when it’s been Vander’s job for so fucking long.

“You’ll see,” Jasper says. His tone of voice doesn’t leave much room for me to press him again. Instead, I lay my head back, letting the exhaustion wash over me. The same pounding question repeats over and over in my mind. How will we find Cole?

It’s become so clear that he’s not the nerdy computer genius with a sexy British accent like I thought he was. He’s so much more. Cole is dangerous, cunning, and brutal. He’s one of the faces behind the Ravenmaster name. He’s the man who has been stalking me. Cole planted himself in my life so he could get close to me.

So many lies have spilled from his lips, and as angry as I am about him leaving me behind, I simply want answers right now. I want to know all the little things that sparked his obsession with me. Jasper telling me the story of how he found me sparked something inside me. The dark, twisted, demented part of me wants to hear it all.

And even more, I want my family to be complete again. Half of my men are fuck only knows where… and it’s like part of me is missing. How did I get here? To where I care about someone other than myself. It’s exhausting.

Getting comfortable, I lean my head against the glass, watching as everything passes us by. Before I know it, the lull of the car moving puts me to sleep, my fatigue winning out.

It feels as if I just closed my eyes a minute ago, but when Jasper’s hand finds my leg and my eyes flutter open, the clock says it’s been an hour. I must have needed the rest more than I realized. I search the area outside the car windows and find we’re parked in front of a restaurant.

“Is this where Cole is?” I unbuckle my seatbelt, ready to bolt from the vehicle to track him down.

“No.” Jasper’s hand clamps onto my leg, keeping me in place.

I turn my gaze to him, scowling when I find a peaceful calm softening his features compared to the chaotic mess consuming my thoughts. “Then why are we here?” I huff in exasperation. “We need to find Cole before I lose my goddamn mind or he does something stupid like get caught.”

He leans toward me, pinning me in place with his gaze as surely as his hand holds me down. “No, Little Bird, what you need is to eat and take a breath. Vander is with Cole. We’ll find answers, but first, we’re eating a meal.”

Once again, his tone leaves no room for argument. And something about him wanting to take care of me speaks to an unknown part hidden inside me. Jasper and I haven’t had as much time together. The reassurance he’s still mine… I didn’t know it was missing.

I’m not a completely changed woman though, I’m still myself at my core. So a challenge passes between us as I stare into his eyes. His unwavering determination to put me above everything else going on, against my stubbornness. My hard-headed need to be right, to sacrifice anything so I can get to Cole faster.

It’s not surprising Jasper wins the battle, especially when he coos, “Little Bird. Be a good girl and do as I say.” He lovingly holds the side of my face, cradling it in the palm of his hand. “Lean on me, and I’ll make sure everything turns out better than okay.” The passenger door pops open and he glances over my shoulder as Grayson rests a hand there. “Lean on us, Raven. You aren’t in this alone.”

He makes my resolve melt, but as the last shreds are dripping free, another argument comes to mind. “You’ve said that before. You told me you’d make sure he didn’t leave without me. What happened to that?” There’s a slight bite to my words.

Jasper glances down before meeting my gaze again, wincing. “I’m sorry I failed you. I thought I’d be able to stop him. But you can trust me on this. Let me prove it to you.”

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