Page 53 of Zero Hour

“Oh, my God,” Jasmine murmured.

“He blamed me,” Pat said, his voice rougher now. “I was the Commander, the one in charge of the op. Before his trial, he swore revenge. I didn’t take him seriously—he was looking at life for terrorism charges. But he got a damn good lawyer. Got out in eight years.”

She sucked in a breath. “How the hell did he get out so soon?”

“Good behavior. Legal loopholes. The usual bullshit.” He took a long pull from his beer.And I should’ve put a bullet in his head when I had the chance.

He didn’t say that part out loud.

Instead, he leaned back, exhaling slowly.

“And the first thing he did when he got out?” His gaze hardened. “He found a way to destroy my life, the way he believed I’d destroyed his.”

Jasmine’s fingers tightened around her cup. “What do you mean?”

Pat met her gaze, his throat tight. Jesus, he didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to drag her into his goddamn nightmares.

But she needed to hear the truth.

“He killed my fiancée.”

She inhaled sharply, hands flying to her mouth. “No.”

He nodded once, his jaw rigid.

“I never thought I’d find anyone else after my wife died, but Astrid—” His voice cracked. He sucked in a breath and forced himself to carry on. “We’d known each other from before…” Why he felt he had to excuse his relationship with her, his second chance at happiness, he didn’t know. Shaking his head, he kept going, “He forced her off the road one winter night. She crashed into a tree. Died on impact.”

“Oh, my God.” Jasmine’s voice trembled. “Patrick, I?—”

He waved her off, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I didn’t know. Thought it was just a tragic accident. Didn’t see the note he’d left.”

He scraped a hand over his face. Fuck, why the hell was he telling her this? He hadn’t told anyone the truth, not even Blade. He hadn’t let himself. Because once he started, it was like ripping open an old wound and letting it bleed all over again.

“That’s what he told you in the restaurant,” she murmured, eyes brightening with understanding.

His voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears. “He said it was payback. An eye for an eye.”

She stared at him, eyes full of sorrow. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

A sharp, bitter laugh rumbled from his chest. “I know. That’s why I’m telling you this. Now do you get it? Al-Jabiri isn’t some poor, traumatized kid who lost his family. He’s a goddamn monster. He’d have destroyed you, Jasmine. There was no way you would have survived that. Survived him.”

There was a long pause as she processed this. He gripped his beer, waiting for her to react. Hoping he hadn’t been too hard on her. After all, he was the one who’d turned her, asked her to spy on the Falcon for him.

Eventually, she whispered, “I know.”

Pat clenched his hand around the bottle. At least she knew now. “This time when I catch him,” he growled. “I swear to God, I’m going to make sure he never walks free again.”

CHAPTER 20

Jasmine sat stiffly on Pat’s couch, her fingers curled around the mug of tea he’d given her. The heat seeped into her palms, grounding her, though it did little to still the tremors still vibrating through her body.

She was out. Safe.

She should be relieved, but she wasn’t. A nervous energy still coiled inside her, keeping her alert, as if any second Amir would come bursting through the door to drag her back.

Across from her, Pat leaned back in his chair, a beer dangling loosely from his fingers, but his entire frame radiated a tension she recognized all too well. The rigid shoulders, the flicker of his jaw as he clenched it, the way his gaze kept drifting—like he was mentally cataloging every mistake, every failure.

She’d seen it before.

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