Page 131 of Broken Pact

“Well I don’t love you. And any second now, Jasper is going to storm in, and he might really kill you this time. But if you let me go now, we can all forget about this.” I give him my very best soothing tone, willing him to find reason.

His nostrils flare with anger and he releases my face with a rough shove. I wince as my head knocks against the headboard.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you,” he says with a sneer.

My heart seizes inside my chest. If he did something to Jasper, I . . . I don’t know what I’m going to do, but it’s going to be wild. And violent.

“What did you do to Jasper?”

His chuckle is dark, full of self-satisfaction as he looks at me. “I didn’t do anything. But I have it on good authority that he’ll be quite occupied for some time.”

My stomach sinks at Grant's ominous words, dread pooling in my gut.

Grant smirks, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “Let’s just say I made a mutually exclusive deal with someone to help.”

I fucking knew there was something weird about that woman today. That has to be who Grant’s talking about. And I fucking knew Jasper wasn’t two-timing me. I almost cry out of relief, but then I remember that I’m zip tied to my late grandmother’s bed in her house that my cousin now owns.

Someone will find me here eventually. I just have to buy myself some time until then. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Maybe if I play along, I can get him to drop his guard long enough that I can run. Or fuck it, I’m sure there’s something in here I can use as a weapon if I had to.

“What’s the end game here? You can’t just keep me tied up in this house forever.”

He smiles then, an unsettling twist of his lips. “Of course not, sweetheart. This is just temporary, until you come to your senses and realize we’re meant to be together. I have it all planned out. All you have to do is be patient.”

He pulls another cloth from behind his back, covering my nose and mouth again. I’m unconscious in seconds.

60

JASPER

Naomi’s voice is a grating whine in the back of my mind, but I tune her out. I can’t let her bullshit cloud my thoughts right now. I need answers, not her twisted delusions. My gut churns with a sense of impending doom, and every second that passes without knowing what the fuck is going on amps it up further.

“Why are we going to the lake? I don’t have a swimsuit,” she complains.

I nudge her to keep her walking, the wood dock creaking as we reach the end of my pier. “I don’t want you in my fucking house, Naomi.”

“We’re supposed to be happy and together now, Jasper. And you’re ruining it.” She turns around to face me, her back to the lake, and stomps her foot like a fucking child.

“And where is my fucking cat?” All of his favorite hiding spots were empty. My chest pinches at the thought of him wandering around out here alone. It’s mildly irrational considering he was an outdoor cat, but he became a domesticated little prince years ago. I don’t even know if he remembers how to defend himself out here.

She blinks those owlish eyes at me. “I don’t know. Maybe your little whore took it.”

I clench my jaw so hard I swear my teeth might shatter. "Watch your fucking mouth.

Naomi’s eyes narrow, her face twisting from an ugly sneer into something heartbroken as quickly as if she flicked a switch. “She doesn’t deserve you, Jasper. She’ll never understand you like I do. We’re the same, you and I. We’re meant to be together.”

I take a step closer, my voice low and dangerous. “Last fucking chance to tell me the truth.”

She cuts me off, her voice shaky but still tinged with that damn delusional hope. “Jasper, please! I didn’t mean for things to get this far. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The plan was simple, okay? We’d be together, and Coraline would be with him. Everyone would be happy.”

“Who?”

My fists clench at my sides, and my mind fractures with possibilities. Is it retaliation from Falcone? Another club trying to start shit with Reapers? Is it fucking random because my half-sister is unhinged?

The sheer number of possibilities is overwhelming. I can’t possibly follow up on them all. I need more information.

And the only person who can give it to me won’t stop talking in fucking riddles.

Her eyes dart to the side, like she’s trying to find an escape route. “I don’t know his real name,” she stammers. “He never told me. He just said that he knew Coraline, and that he’d take care of her so we could be together. That was the deal.”

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