Page 68 of Jasper
I sit on the edge of the bed, folding my hands in my lap. “What is it?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he just looks down at the folded sheet in his hands.
“I’m not being nosy, but in this kind of environment, telling me what’s going on will keep me safer than always being in the dark,” I tell him gently.
His jaw flexes. “A drone was spotted in the woods behind the clubhouse.”
That news fills me with worry. “Like the one that was at my house?”
“Yeah, it’s the Hyenas. Onyx said he’s sure of it. It’s a slightly different model than the last one, smaller and faster.”
“So they’re adapting—changing their drones to keep you from shooting them out of the air so easily.”
“That’s what I think as well. Onyx thinks they might have been testing for range. It didn’t breach the perimeter, but it got damn close.”
“How close is too close?” I ask.
Jasper moves to the window, glancing out. “Close enough for me to not like it.”
He folds the paper and sets it down on the dresser, away from the baby clothes. It feels like he’s trying to keep some kind of separation between our family life and club life. We both know that’s not really possible, though.
“Do you think they’re watching us again?” I ask.
He doesn’t look at me when he answers. “I think they never stopped.”
The room is quiet for a few long seconds. Then he turns back, his eyes darker than before.
“I need you to be honest with me.”
“Always.”
“If something feels off—even a sound outside the window, a face that doesn’t belong—come to me straight away. Don’t make the mistake of brushing it off. Don’t second-guess yourself. Tell my old man or one of my brothers if I’m not here. Can you do that?”
I nod. “Of course. We’re responsible for a lot of lives here at the clubhouse. We can’t afford to take any chances.”
“This isn’t just about us anymore,” he says, reaching out to put one hand against my stomach. “It’s him, too.”
“I know. It’s better to have the prospects run down a bunch of things that don’t pan out than to miss one that costs us lives or destroys property.”
He pulls me into a tight hug. “You understand completely the position we’re in. We have a safe room. If the security alarm goes off, get all the women down there immediately.”
I cup his jaw with one hand, feeling the tension under my fingers. “And be careful out there.”
He leans into the touch for just a second, then rises, grabbing his phone from the charger.
“I’m going to meet with my old man, reposition patrols, and add another guy on night watch.”
I stand and move with him to the door. “Be careful.”
He kisses my temple. “You just keep the home fires burning. I’ll be back with your property cut once I’m finished.”
After kissing me soundly, he runs off to do his thing. The door clicks shut behind him, and I’m alone—just my unborn child and me. But the room doesn’t feel empty. It feels like it’s filled with all the love Jasper left behind.
Chapter 24
Jasper
Ishoot off a quick text to the brother who sorts out our cuts, asking him to make a property cut for Tessa. He’s in the clubhouse today, so I’m not surprised when he tells me that he’ll have it ready in a couple of hours and will put it in my office.
