Page 64 of Bulletproof Love

“Keep being a brat and I’ll show you what happens,” he says, voice thick.

“Am I interrupting something?” Damon snickers from the doorway.

I try to step back but Jasper’s grip stays firm on my waist, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that catches me off guard. Like he’s done playing games and knows exactly what he wants.

Blake follows Damon in, focused on her phone. “Hope I dressed warm enough. Glad you found those HotHands things though.” She stops short. “Oh.”

I dart my tongue out to moisten my lip, noticing how Jasper tracks the movement. It’s hot… so fucking hot. “We need to go,” I finally manage. He releases me slowly, and when he steps away, the absence of his body against mine leaves an ache.

“Fal, you’re gonna freeze in that. Where’s your pants?” Blake asks, always being a caretaker.

I shrug, purposely looking at Jasper and adding innuendo to my voice. “Dirty.” I swear his eyes darken.

Blake grabs a shovel, shaking her head. “Wish Lee was here. Feels wrong without him.”

“His fucking father,” Damon says. “I knew he’d be gone awhile. Always happens.”

“He texted earlier,” Blake says. “Said he’s okay, and has something to tell us when he gets back.”

“He texted you, but not me?” Jasper says. “Rude.”

Blake grins, knowing full well she has us all wrapped around her finger. “He wished us luck. Said to message him if we find anything.”

“Metal detector in the car?” I ask Jasper.

He nods. “All set. Let’s go find our Russian popsicle.”

I swear to God.

* * *

The sun paintsthe sky in shades of gold by the time we park near the hill. I had no idea about the fire Jasper and Damon set the other night. If I knew, I may have thought better of coming back here. This whole thing is a huge gamble anyway. I don’t trust Mischa for a second. I could see her drinking champagne on some first class flight to Paris, laughing away at how she sent us on a wild goose chase. Or more aptly, a dead goose chase.

But on the off chance she’s telling the truth, it’s worth a night of numb fingertips and cold feet.

The damage to the house is worse than I imagined. What little structure it was holding onto is gone, replaced by the charred bones of a home. Good riddance. I hope the memory of what happened in there burned along with it.

“I’ll go with Blake to search,” I offer. “We can use the metal detector.”

Damon and Jasper laugh in unison like a pair of cartoon villains. It’s honestly weird as hell. Damon turns to look at us in the backseat. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

Blake squeezes my hand. “I have to agree with him, Fal. Not that I wouldn’t love some girl time, but we kinda need the guys to do the digging.”

I scoff. “We’re strong. We can dig ourselves.”

“Yeah, have fun with that,” she says, sliding out of the backseat. The same backseat where Jasper had me bent like a pretzel. My cheeks heat despite the chill that blows into the car from the open door.

Jasper flips the seat so I can climb out from the passenger side, smirking as I stand up. “I’ll just enjoy the moonlight and fresh air while you do all the manual labor. Better stretch first.”

“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll make sure to dig you a grave with a nice view,” I say.

He cages me between his chest and the car door, lowering his head so only I hear him. “Careful, Trouble, the last time you threatened to put me six feet under, I had you coming apart on my tongue.”

I stand tall, working my fingers from his cheeks down the slope of his neck. His breath hitches and pupils grow like the shadows stretching around us. Once I reach his throat, my hand forms a collar, squeezing lightly. “Funny, I remember you being the desperate one.” His pulse jumps against my palm as I give his body a firm shove.

Jasper’s stare scorches my skin as I grab a shovel and flashlight from the trunk. I love having the last word and he knows it.

Once we reach the top of the hill, I’m even less optimistic that we’ll find something. The area spans the entire block—over a thousand feet for sure. There’s rocks, trees, and dead branches scattered everywhere. It looks as if the only living thing to come through here are deer or squirrels. The ground is going to be frozen solid.

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