Page 32 of Claimed
Chapter Eleven
Iput on my second shoe, and as soon as my foot hit the floor, I looked up at Jasper, who had just gotten off the phone with the helicopter pilot. The two of them were planning the logistics of our flight off the property. The weather had kicked up again, and Jasperdidn’t want to put our lives in jeopardy, but he wanted to get out of Dodge the fastest way possible.
An uneasy feeling had been brewing within me ever since Jasper announced we were on our way to have a talk with his grandparents. I sighed forcefully. “My love, you’re a thinker. Have you thought this through?”
“No, but I’m tired of thinking it through. How about I let fucking rawemotion guide me for change.”
I shook my head, wondering if he realized what he had just said. That didn’t sound like Jasper at all. But maybe he wasn’t supposed to sound like himself. His whole world had been turned upside down the moment he learned his mother had been kidnapped. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes—not that mine were so spectacular.
I was about to invite him tosit down beside me to cool off when my cell phone rang. I still had it set to only send important contacts through. I raised a finger, gesturing for Jasper to give me a second, as I reached for my purse.
Jasper’s cell phone rang as well, and he swiftly answered his call. “Yeah.”
Once I retrieved my device, I saw that it was who I expected it to be and eagerly swiped the green bar.“Hey, Branson.”
“What the fuck!” Jasper roared and stomped out of the room, the phone to his ear.
“Are you okay?” Branson asked.
I grimaced at the empty space Jasper had left behind. “Yeah. That’s my boyfriend. He was on a phone call.”
“Well,” he said in a tone that indicated that he didn’t need to address it further, “I came up empty. I ran the names and attemptedto connect them with the Christmases and the large sums of cash that would be associated with each individual, and I found nothing.”
“No Peter Turgot?”
“None who would be in the age range of the student who informed on Asher Christmas. Also, there’s no Benjamin Dow who ever had those large sums of cash in a bank account. My professional conclusion is that these sources are bunk.I wouldn’t run that story if I were you.”
Of course, he had no idea why I’d asked him to run those details. “Send me the invoice,” I said.
“I’ll send it right away. Call me if you need anything else,” he said.
I told him I definitely would, and we ended our call. Jasper was outside, speaking loudly, but I couldn’t make out his words. My phone chimed. The invoice had arrived,and I opened it—my inquiry had cost five thousand dollars. Branson was a superior investigator but expensive, and I was running out of money. I had to get to work soon. I was still getting royalties from my books, but each month, the checks were smaller. Whenever I did a public appearance, which was arranged by the publishers, my sales spiked. But I hadn’t done one of those in a long time. Regardless,I paid the invoice and then took a moment to think about what I would do next to help further my career.
“Holly,” Jasper called. His tone was laced with a lot of anger.
I shot to my feet. “What?” I shouted back.
“Come here.”
I grabbed my coat and purse and rushed into the living room. Jasper was sitting on the sofa, looking at the screen of the laptop on the coffeetable.
“What is it?” I asked as I approached him.
He turned to look at me with his eyes narrowed. “What the fuck is this?”
I scowled at the screen as I sat beside him. It was an article fromJWR, and it included all the details I’d fed Kylie. She was careful to make sure that she only used information from my fake sources.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. I was hurtand even more heartbroken than before. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to tell you I fed Kylie the fake story yesterday.”
“You actually did it?”
I nodded. “I said I would.”
“But you should’ve informed me first.” Jasper folded his arms as he examined me.
I tightened my mouth, avoiding saying what I was thinking. Before our current situation, I would have told Jasper to go tohell. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. But he was the one who’d informed me about Kylie’s dishonest acts. I owed him a strong degree of allegiance.
“I apologize, my love. Things went so fast last night that what I’d done slipped my mind. But I should’ve told you before doing it. I was just so angry.”
