Page 10 of Claimed
I fanned my fingers against my breastbone, stifling a gasp. It was clear to me that this Beth had the right credentialswhen it came to being Kat’s mother, as far as Randolph Christmas was concerned. The journalist in me had just bitten into another vital part of the story.
“Are you positive she’s not your mother?” I asked.
“I’m exhausted,” Kat announced with a sigh. “Can I close my eyes and rest?”
“Yes,” Jasper said before I could push for a response to my last question.
Perhaps hewas irritated by my pushy method of questioning her, but I didn’t feel apologetic about it. We had just uncovered some very pertinent information. Eve’s real name was Katie. She was in hiding—we still didn’t know for how long. The biggest chunk of discovery was that a young woman who lived with her might have been her mother. But we needed to know more about Bam and the girls who lived in the housewith Kat—hopefully some detail that would allow us to find them.
“Got it,” Jasper said to the person on the other end of the phone. Then he took a quick look in Kat’s direction. His frown was severe. “Kat, do you have a cell phone?”
She flinched. “Um, yes.”
He held out his hand. “Let me have it.”
Kat hesitated and then she bent over. I heard her bag unzip, then sheput her cell phone in the palm of his hand.
“Got it,” Jasper said.
The vehicle slowed down until it stopped along the curb and in front of a driveway. Jasper opened the door and rushed out into the cold. Kat and I watched, stunned, as he trotted around the back of the SUV.
“What the fuck is he doing?” she whispered, neck craned, body twisted in an effort not to lose sightof him. He threw the cell phone into a storm drain, and Kat gasped. “What the fuck!”
A minute later, Jasper was back behind the wheel and calmly buckling his seat belt.
“Why did you do that?” Kat cried, sitting on the edge of her seat.
He pulled away from the curb. “My security believes we’re being tracked through your device.”
“But I told you, Zach doesn’t have a car,”she whined. “And he hasn’t called like he should’ve by now, and I’m worried.”
“We’ll get you another device, a safer one. And I’m working on a background check for Zachary Keating. Once he’s cleared, you’ll be able to communicate with him.”
Her mouth fell open, probably in shock that he already knew her boyfriend’s full name. Suddenly, she turned to look out the window, probablycontemplating her escape. Jasper was done explaining, and he didn’t acknowledge her distress.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s for the best.”
Kat shrugged my hand off her. “Don’t touch me.”
“Hey!” Jasper roared.
“You don’t just get to take my phone if you feel like it,” Kat said brusquely.
“I told you I’ll replace it.”
She shook her headfrantically. “Let me out at the next corner.”
“Just sit back and be quiet!” Jasper yelled in a tone that made me shiver.
“You’re a monster!” she shouted. “You’re the fucking devil, like your father!”
I gasped as my eyes grew wide. She had no idea how cutting her words were. My interest was split between wanting to calm her and console him.
Jasper glanced at her, butthis time, he took the precious seconds needed to really pay attention to her state of mind. “I apologize for the tone I took with you,” he said, keeping his attention on her while watching the road. “We’re in a dangerous situation. I’m trying to get us to safety without being noticed.”
“But I can’t call Zach,” she said.
Jasper’s eyebrows furrowed. “Not yet. I want to make sure thisZach is safe before you contact him again.”
