Page 22 of Jasper

They stopped at the tree line and hunkered down to watch.

“Melody said her parents were in the third cell from the right,” Jasper whispered

“I’ll grab the edge and lift myself up to tell them to be ready,” Patton said with a low voice.

Jasper nodded, sending Lucius and Indio to the left of the building and following Alfie to the right as Patton headed for the prison.

With swift silent movements, Jasper and his friends kept to the shadows until they crested the edge of the building and could see around the front. As reported, they watched one male on foot walking around the prison. He passed by them without noticing, his gaze on his cell phone, which would be a costly error on his part. As he moved around the back of the prison and out of sight, Jasper heard a loud thud and soft grunt and knew the male was out of commission.

He glanced at his friends, then nodded, and they moved forward quickly, taking the guard by surprise. Jasper slapped a hand over his mouth and cut off his air supply with his arm across his neck, waiting until the guard went limp to drag him into the shadows and out of sight. Patting the male’s pockets, he located the keys to the building and hurried back to the door.

The lock was loud in the quiet of the night and Jasper glanced over his shoulder, wondering how long it would be beforesomeone noticed there was no guard at the door or keeping patrol on foot.

Swinging the door open, they hustled inside and went directly to the third cell, where Melody’s parents stood at the bars.

“Where’s Melody?” Viola asked. “Is she safe?”

“She’s behind the wheel of one of our vehicles at the access road, along with one of my friends. She’s safe,” Jasper said.

On the third try, he found the right key and unlocked their cell. Viola gave him a quick hug. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Thank you,” Finn said.

Lucius, who was keeping watch at the door, said, “Shit, we’ve got company.”

“Let’s go,” Jasper said, grasping Viola by her upper arm.

“We have to set the others free,” Finn said, “and fight Ludo.”

“Hey, I’m here to set you free, it’s the only thing I promised,” Jasper said. “You can stay, but I’m not getting involved.”

“Guys,” Lucius said, “now or never.”

Jasper shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t set anyone else free.”

“We can’t leave them,” Viola said.

A low growl echoed from outside.

“Time’s up,” Jasper said.

“Damn it,” Finn said. He grabbed the keys from Jasper and tossed them into the cell of another male. “Hide those. Get free and get to safety, I’ll be back.”

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Jasper said.

Melody tapped her foot to a song in her head, humming softly and staring out the windshield into the dark. Her window wasdown, but she didn’t hear anything aside from the occasional bird or bug, or rustling leaves. She wished that Jasper had been on board with her coming with him to the prison, but she knew she’d be a distraction if he was worried about her safety.

She couldn’t believe she’d finally gotten back in touch with him again. Seven years didn’t sound like a whole long time, but it had felt like an eternity. A lonely, terrible eternity.

She didn’t know what to expect once she saw her parents again, and how they’d feel with her planning to go back to New Jersey with Jasper. They’d understand, she was sure, but she doubted they’d be happy. Maybe they’d ask Jasper to come back to… what was that?

Her wolf stirred and she swore she heard the crack of a branch that sounded entirely out of place among the natural sounds of the forest.

Sliding down into the seat as far as she could, she peered into the side mirror and saw someone in dark clothing sneaking up the road behind Benjamin’s vehicle.

Oh shit! She didn’t have a way to get in touch with him, and he didn’t seem to realize someone was coming. If she honked the horn, she’d alert the whole damn pack of bad guys, so she couldn’t do that.

What could she do?

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