Page 142 of The Protégé

Jasper eyed Elena while blood poured out of his hand and thighs. “I thought you had better taste than some scholarship funded bitch who doesn’t know her place.”

Jasper really had a death wish today.

I charged at him, but Elena held me back. “He’s not worth it.”

The desire to kill him surged in me.

Jasper limped toward the door, took off his shirt to bind the wound in his hand. “You should’ve learned your lesson with Kate.”

“What did you say?” I stalked over to him.

He smirked. “Nothing important. Only that I don’t know what you did to her to make hertake so many pills.”

How did he know that detail that had been scrubbed from themedical reports? I’d paid a lot of money to protect her and her family.

Something dark rose in me. I walked over to a wall and slapped a hand on it. It recognized my palm, and the door slid opened. I grabbed a gun, cocked it, aiming it at Jasper.

“I can kill you right now and feed you to the sharks. Or I can transport your body and dump it in your back yard just like thatlawyer you killed when he didn’t want to help you create a fake contract for one of your business endeavors.”

The cockiness on his face changed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The DNA test for the gold button had come back. It was more complicated than I’d realized. But I didn’t have the capacity to deal with that right now.

Elena came up beside me, sliding an arm around my waist, trying to comfort me. I didn’t want to kill this fucker in front of her.

Jasper was vermin I could use.

“You have five minutes to get off my island. If you ever come near Elena again, or if I ever see you on my island or near any of my properties, you will die a spectacular death. Those are orders my men will abide by. Don’t give me a reason to kill you. Get the fuck out!”

He flared his nostrils. “How can you treat family like this?”

“We all know you’re really not part of this family,” I snarled.

I hit the bullseye. A muscle twitched in his jaw. I could tell he wanted to say something and make a threat to me and Elena, but that truth stopped him.

He knew that I knew what he had done. There was nothing he could do about it.

“You can call the authorities.” I gestured to his injured thighs and hand. “Just know you’ll be sitting in jail for assault, attempted rape, and trespassing on private property.”

When his boat roared away, Elena pushed my hand down, took the gun away, and placed it on the table.

She had tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

I gathered her into my arms. “That should be me asking you. Are you hurt anywhere? What did he do to you? Tell me everything.”

Usually, I had cameras active when I was away. But I didn’t want them on because she was here. I wanted to give her the privacy of being in my home.

If I had the cameras active, I would have seeneverything. I would have been here sooner or sent someone to help her.

“I’m sorry,” I said, tightening my arms around her.

“It’s not your fault.”

I cupped her face. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

She shook her head. “I’m not a kid, Orion. You can’t be with me all the time. Plus, it’s time I face the past.”

“How do you know him?” I led her to the couch and ushered her beside.

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