Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
JASON
“Have you heard from Terry or Layton?” I ask Gordon as I climb into the car. The two of us have just been to check on the latest shipment of equipment delivered for Calvin and his team. When I heard how they use their knowledge and training to dig out criminals and sexual predators the police can’t find, I knew we had to do all we could to help them. With the contacts we have with weapon production as well as other items of detection and destruction, it was easy to come to a deal with them to ensure they always have the best equipment to hand. At the end of the day, that’s why we took over these contracts. To make sure the equipment didn’t end up in the wrong hands.
“Nothing, but neither would contact us unless something were wrong,” he answers as we pull away from the warehouse.
Glancing at my watch, I see it’s ten past five, which means Jasmine should be out of therapy by now. I hate that none of us are there if she’s had a painful session. The twins have both been to a meeting with a new chain of gyms to encourage them to buy our gym equipment, which Sean has designed and pushed since leaving university. It’s his side business, and it’s blooming. He organised this meeting weeks ago, so he had to be there. I tried to reschedule the handover, which Gordon and I just left, at the last minute, but it was today or never, so I had no choice. As for Christian, I have no idea where he is. We woke up to find him gone this morning, and no one can get a response from him. Even when Jaz messaged to see if he was still taking her to therapy, he didn’t reply, which upset her, even if she was unwilling to admit it.
We drive silently as I watch my phone, waiting to hear from my girl. She always sends a message in our family chat to let us know she is out of therapy and how she’s doing. I don’t know what it is, but something’s telling me I should be with her, that something’s happened, or she is upset after whatever they discussed. It’s not the first time I haven’t been able to be there, but we’ve always ensured that one of us is.
I quickly check the trackers and see that Layton's car is approaching the house. The new security system sends me a notification showing them pulling up at the back door. Jasmine jumps out of the car and heads straight for the house, not looking up at the camera and giving it a wave like usual, knowing one of us will see it.
“Head home. I want to check on Jaz before we head to the bar.” Gordon takes the turn without question.
I repeatedly try to tell myself everything is okay, but my gut tells me to get to the house as quickly as possible. I message the twins to see if they have heard from her, but Maximus immediately says they haven’t, and they are heading back to the house as well. I’m about to message him back when Layton’s name flashes up on my phone, and I answer it in less than a second.
“Hey, is she okay?”
“No,” Layton sighs before I hear Nickleback blaring in the background. “I tried to call Christian, as I know you are busy, but he’s still not answering, and neither is Terry. She needs one of you here. Who’s the closest?”
“Probably me. We will be there in five minutes. Have you spoken to the twins?”
“No, you were my first call when I couldn’t get Christian. I’m checking the tracker now, and I think Sean may be closer than you, but I can’t see where Maximus is.”
“He’s in Sean’s car. Tell them I’m on my way, and we will deal with whatever’s upset her together.” I hear Layton agree as the call ends. I don’t have to tell Gordon to speed up as he already has. I might miss Calvin having my back, but Gordon is proving just as good at reading the room and knowing what I need without saying it.
“Of all the days for therapy not to go well,” I sigh, rubbing my face as the guilt settles in my gut.
“You can't all be there every time. The four of you run several very successful and stressful businesses. Jaz knows that and understands why she had to go alone today,” Gordon points out.
“We have a schedule and are meant to keep to it, but Christian disappeared when he was meant to be with her.” I don’t know what has gotten into my brother recently, but I never thought he would put anything before Jasmine. He could have asked me or the twins to deal with whatever cropped up, but once again, he is keeping us out of the loop, and it’s getting old fast, especially now Jasmine is suffering because of it. He can think again if he thinks I will keep my mouth shut this time.
We pull up outside the back of the house, and I tell Gordon to wait for my call before jumping out and heading through the back door. As soon as I leave the kitchen, I hear Jasmine’s music and know it’s not a good sign. Taking two stairs at a time, I reach the landing and find Maximus and Sean standing outside her bedroom. The music is deafening, even though her door is closed.
“Have either of you been in?” They turn to look at me and shake their heads.
“We spoke to Layton downstairs, and he’s worried. Apparently, she ran out of her therapist's office and was beside the car quicker than he could unlock it.”
“Fuck,” I groan, rubbing my face.
“Where the fuck is Christian? He was meant to be with her!” Maximus hisses through gritted teeth, his eyes ablaze with anger.
“I don’t know, something important must have come up, especially for him not to be here for her therapy,” I know I need to keep the peace; if Christian is up to something dodgy, I want to keep the twins out of it as well as Jasmine. But with me, he doesn’t have a choice. I need to know what the fuck is going on.
“Stop making excuses for him. He’s dropped the ball and hurt her in the process; he needs to sort his shit out!” Maximus snaps, getting angrier.
“I know, and he will be told, but getting angry right now isn’t helping Jaz. She needs you to be calm, so if you need to take a minute to sort your head out, go and do it. Do not let her see you like this.”
Maximus glares at me for a moment before his face softens. He nods slightly before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down.
“We were saying before you arrived that we think you should go in and see what’s going on,” Sean explains.
“If we all go in together, it might be too much for her,” Maximus finishes. I nod in agreement as we’ve all noticed that one of us is sometimes better than all.
“Wish me luck,” I sigh as I knock on her door. I wait a few seconds and listen for her, but I can’t hear anything over the music. I look at the twins and sigh before knocking again as I open the door.
“Jazzy?” I stop as I look at the bed, expecting her to be on it, but all I can see is her bag. “Jazzy?” I call again, heading to the bathroom to check if she’s there, but I find it empty. “Jazzy, where are you?” I shout, rushing over to her stereo to shut off the music.
“Where is she?”
I turn to see the twins entering the room. Sean heads straight for the walk-in wardrobe but curses when he doesn’t find her there.
“Check the other rooms,” I order, rushing out of Jasmine’s and heading to Christian’s. I call out to her and check everywhere, but it’s empty. As I leave his room, planning to head to mine, I see Sean rushing out of it.
“She's not in yours. Maximus is checking mine.”
“She’s not in either of ours,” Maximus adds as he joins us at the top of the stairs. “She must be downstairs,” Maximus declares as he turns and storms down the stairs. We all rush, taking them as quickly as possible.
“You two search here; I’ll check the studio and gym.” The twins nod once before rushing off in different directions before I head for the underground gym and studio.
I can hear more music as soon as I enter, but not the type she usually dances to. I’m about to check her studio when I hear something coming from the sparring room where we keep the punching bags and boxing ring.
Hearing the sound again, there is no mistaking what I hear. I slowly open the door.
Inside, I find Jasmine in a pair of shorts and a sports bra, wearing boxing gloves and hitting a punching bag. From how she is breathing and going for it, I think it’s safe to say something has really upset her today.
“Jazzy?” I call softly as I walk into the room. The way her shoulders jump for a second tells me she heard, but she doesn’t stop her assault on the bag. I approach and stand slightly behind it so she can see me, but she doesn’t have to stop what she’s doing if she doesn’t want to.
“Hey, what’s happened?”
Jasmine’s eyes lock with mine briefly before she hits the bag twice. It starts to swing, making it a little more difficult for her to hit, so I hold it in place for her. She freezes for a second when she sees me holding it, but I nod at the bag in my arms.
“Keep going.” She says nothing but starts punching again, each time getting harder and faster. I watch as the tears slowly slide down her cheek, and it takes everything in me to keep holding the bag and not pulling her into my arms.
“I hate her.” The three words spill from her mouth with such venom that it takes me a second to realise it was Jasmine speaking and not a voice from the sound system.
“Who?” I ask, even though I can guess the answer.
“My fucking. Bitch. Of. A. Mother.” She punches the bag with each word. The tears are flowing freely now, and I can see she’s starting to break.
“I hate her,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “I’m glad she’s dead.” She’s never voiced much about Carol's death. We always assumed it was because she killed her to save Christian. But I’m starting to think it may be more than that.
“Say it again,” I demand as I watch how her body responds to the mini outburst.
“I hate her.” This time, I notice a wobble in her voice, and I know she will break soon, which is what she needs.
“Again.”
This time, it’s not a word that comes out of Jasmine’s mouth but a small scream of frustration.
“Again,” I order as she punches the bag, but there’s not as much power in it; she’s losing focus.
“Again,” I say as she hits the bag one last time with such force I struggle to stay on my feet. The exact second she punches it, a scream erupts from within her, and her whole body becomes ridged.
I let go of the bag and only just catch her as she falls and continues to scream. She’s expelling so much pain and anguish it's hard to watch. Now she’s started, she can’t hold it in as she continues to scream and cry in my arms as I hold her on the padded floor.
It feels like she screams for minutes; by the time the last scream ends, her voice is almost non-existent. She sobs and shakes in my arms, and I don’t know what to do. What the hell happened for her to have this much of a reaction to her therapy session?
Jasmine shivers in my arms, and I know she will feel the air conditioning down here. It’s enough to make me think and act.
“Put your arms around my neck, Angel,” I whisper as I lift her from the floor and head towards the exit, planning on carrying her to her room. I notice the twins for the first time and can see the pain in their eyes. I know they will want to do something to help her, but I am unsure how.
“Can you grab her a bottle of water and one of those protein bars she likes? We’ll be in her room.”
Sean nods before rushing off to get what I requested.
“Her favourite blanket is in the sitting room; I’ll go get it,” Maximus says as he walks out of the gym, holding doors open for me as we go. I thank him as I head towards the stairs and continue to carry her in my arms, unsure if I can put her down.
As I enter her room, I know the best thing for her will be to rest, but I also know she hates getting into bed before showering after a workout. So, instead of placing her on the bed, I walk into her bathroom and squat down next to the bath, keeping her on my lap as I turn the taps on.
“Let’s get you bathed and into bed, Angel,” I whisper as I hold her close and wait for the bath to fill. I hope I’m doing the right thing and won't make matters worse.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Jasmine lies in the bath as I sit on a stall beside the tub. I’ve washed her hair and hopefully helped her to feel a little better. She hasn’t said a word, only responding with nods and shakes of her head when asked a question. The twins are giving us a little space and waiting for us in the bedroom. Neither of them wants to be too far away.
“Are you ready to come out, Angel?” I watch her nod; her usual bright eyes have lost all sparkle, and her face lacks emotion. For someone who usually always wears a smile, it breaks my heart to see her like this.
Not caring about my shirt getting wet, I lift her from the bath and place her on my knee, where I have a towel ready for her. Wrapping her in two towels plus one for her hair, I carry her into the bedroom. Maximus and Sean both jump to their feet as we enter, but I shake my head, signalling for them to stay back until I have her settled.
Sitting her on the edge of the bed, I dry her off and help her put on a pair of pyjamas she loves. I brush her hair and towel it dry before twisting it into a plait and tying it off at the end with a hair elastic. Helping her to stand, I pull back the covers and watch as she climbs in, picking up her teddy from where it sits and holding it close to her chest.
“Do you need anything, Angel?” I ask, sitting on the edge of her bed as I run a hand over her still-damp hair. She shakes her head, so I reach over to kiss it before standing, but she grabs my hand.
“Stay.” That one word is barely a whisper, but the pleading in her eyes speaks volumes.
“Of course, I’m not leaving you. Move over.” Jasmine slides across to give me some room, and I lie on the bed beside her before pulling her into my arms. She looks at the other two, and they slowly slide onto the bed, so they are close too.
“What do you need, Shorty?” Maximus whispers as he holds her from behind.
“Time,” she croaks, her voice raw from screaming as she did.
“You can have all the time in the world, Princess. You don’t have to tell us anything until you are ready.” Sean whispers as he sits at the bottom of the bed, running his hand up and down her leg. She nods once and closes her eyes, no doubt exhausted after everything that she’s been through. I look at my brothers over our sleeping girl, and they share the look of disbelief and pure heartache for the woman we love and all she is going through.