Page 42 of Bulletproof Love

“Hey!” I repeat louder. This time all three guys turn to face me. “I think I figured out a plan. Damon, please tell me you still have those smoke bombs?”

Damon’s face lights up, his dimples even pop.

Jasper scratches his chin. “Trouble, I like how this is sounding.”

* * *

The next thirtyminutes are a whirlwind of chaos. Within that chaos, I manage to keep a semblance of control, guiding the guys through my plan. We make it far enough away from the estate to get our devices working again, and while I work on unjamming the frequency blocker, Jasper calls someone named Ray for back up.

With precious time ticking down, my pulse feels like a pounding drum. It could already be too late to help any of those victims, but I haven’t seen many cars on the road, so I’m holding onto hope.

“We need this to go perfectly,” I say to Jasper, harsher than I mean to. We’re about to reach the back door. Walking in there again feels all kinds of wrong. It’s only my own sheer will and stubbornness that keep my feet moving forward.

“What makes you think I don’t know that?” His tone tells me we’re right back to our favorite game. Instead of being annoyed, it calms me. I know this—our push and pull.

I exaggerate scratching my head and tapping my chin. “Hmm, I don’t know… past impulse control issues, I guess.”

He smirks at me. “If I have impulse control issues, then you have control issues.”

“I do not.”

“Okay…” He chuckles and checks the entrance for anyone we’d need to watch out for.

“I don’t like your tone.”

He turns quickly just as I’m about to enter the doorway, catching me off guard. His body presses against mine while his hand reaches above my head, resting on the door frame. Heat flows through my previously chilled limbs, settling in my core. “Well, I like yours. Go on, keep being a control freak. It turns me the hell on.”

A server hurries nearby and I shove him away. I’m sure my face is red from how flushed I feel, but we don’t have time for this. “Keep it in your pants.”

“You’ll be saying differently soon enough.” God, he’s so arrogant I wish I could smack the shit out of him.

With things looking exactly how we left them, we head to the ballroom, where the sound of drunk party goers and lively music is even louder than before. “Ready?” I ask.

His eyes are alight with a fire I haven’t seen before. This must be the Jasper I’d been missing out on. He pulls a smoke bomb out of the larger bag on my shoulder, a wide grin on his face. “Fuck yeah.”

All at once, chaos breaks out and we’re the masterminds behind it. We set off smoke bombs in the ballroom while Leon triggers the security and smoke alarms. In the confusion, Jasper and I run downstairs into the auction chamber. It’s empty… Not even a flickering candle is left.

“Fuck!” Jasper picks up a candelabra and throws it against the stone wall.

This was the one part of the plan we were unsure of. In the time it took us to figure everything out, they must have moved the victims. We don’t have time to sit here and throw a tantrum; we have to act. “Come on. Let’s go check down there. That’s where they brought them in.”

I don’t wait for him to catch up. I’m running before I can think, the blaring of alarms making my head spin. My feet pound against the stone floor and I collide with a large figure as soon as I turn the corner into the corridor.

The masked figure faces me, and I recognize him as one of Fairfax’s guys. Jasper falls in behind me, but I barely feel his presence. I’m too busy taking in the huge gun in the masked man’s hands.

“You can’t be down here.” He looks us over, Jasper in his tuxedo and me in my dress, looking like party guests who have taken a wrong turn. He clearly doesn’t remember us from earlier. Which, weird… I don’t think I could forget two people I watched essentially fuck in front of me that quickly. If it were me, I’d never forget.

“Our bad.” Jasper wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. He sounds like he’s chatting with a buddy as he asks, “What’s going on with the alarms?”

“The party’s upstairs,” he says. His dark eyes dismiss us as his cell phone rings.

Leon’s voice is in my ear at the same time. “I found the blueprints of the house. There’s another exit down there.”

Jasper flashes me a look. It’s quick and I know exactly what he’s thinking.

But I beat him to it.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

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