40. Jasper
Chapter forty
A s Max and I drive home, I wonder why Mina always takes off without us. I just want to make sure she’s okay. I hate the idea of her walking home alone, plus it’s a long walk in the cold, and she doesn’t even seem to have a jacket. At least we know where she lives and the path she takes now.
Our truck creeps slowly down the street, over a hundred feet back from where Mina quickly walks, unknowing of us basically stalking her. I know she doesn’t want us to take her home, and I don’t want to press it right now when we can just watch from a distance to make sure she’s safe. I mean, there is a serial killer on the loose and there is a chance she’s a target, so I wasn’t going to let her walk alone if I could help it.
We have a camera attached to the telephone pole across from her house now that alerts us to movement at the front of her house, so we can keep an eye out for Jeff, or anyone else, without having to stake the place out twenty-four-seven anymore. Even though I’m not happy about no longer being close if she needs us.
“What is she doing?” Max asks me.
I glance over at her as I press the brake to stop our movement. She’s standing on the sidewalk a few houses down from hers and drops her bag on the ground, then takes off her hoodie, Max’s hoodie, and shoves it in her bag. I see her do something with her phone, and shove that into her bag too.
Then she starts braiding her hair again into the two braids we’ve seen her wear a few times. They don’t suit her, although she’s gorgeous no matter what her hair looks like. I just prefer her hair hanging loose around her shoulders.
“She must want her mom to see her a certain way. Your hoodie would cause questions about where she got it. I’m not sure why her hair would matter, though,” I tell him honestly.
We watch her walk the last few hundred feet to her house and right before she opens the door, even from where we sit in our truck, I can see her take a deep breath before opening it.
“That doesn’t look like someone who’s happy to be going home,” I mumble.
“No, it doesn’t,” Max agrees as he frowns at her house. We watch for about twenty minutes and when nothing happens, we slowly make our way home.
Neither of us says anything for a while, too lost in our own thoughts. But after a while, Max breaks the silence.
“Jasp, do you think she’s safe there?”
“I don’t know, Max. I really hope so, though.”
“Me too.” After another minute, he speaks again. “I really care about her, Jasp. Do you think she could be the one? And I know she’s only seventeen, but she won’t be forever.”
“Hmm,” I hum in agreement. “I care about her, too. It doesn’t help that she doesn’t look seventeen, despite her naiveness. But yeah, Max, I think she’s perfect for us.”
“Really?” He looks at me in surprise.
“ Yeah, it’s obvious she likes all of us, even if it confuses her, and we’re all obviously drawn to her. Everything is just a mess right now with the case, and school and… Mina. We need to take everything slowly and not spook her. Especially if she’s in witness protection, we could lose her if we aren’t careful. If they ran and changed their identity, we might never be able to find her. Some people live their whole lives in witness protection.”
“All the more reason to solve this case, as quickly as possible,” Max says firmly.
“Agreed.”
When we get home, Dom has us do a round of our daily debriefs. They tell us more about their theory that she’s in witness protection, and it makes sense. Perfect sense, in fact. It makes almost all the puzzle pieces fit in place. But what nags at me is her having to walk home, alone, and her reaction to going into her house. If she has a stalker that she’s running from, wouldn’t her mother not want her walking anywhere? And wouldn’t she feel more afraid outside her home, not stepping back into it? Unless there’s someone inside her home she’s equally afraid of.
“Max, she can’t live here, she’s only seventeen,” Dom says with a sigh, clueing me in that I’ve missed part of the conversation, lost in my own thoughts.
“You didn’t see her today, she didn’t want to go in that house,” he says, slapping his palms on the kitchen island to emphasize his point.
Dom raises an eyebrow and glances at me. “Really?”
I sigh, pushing my hair back from my face as I lean my hip against the counter. “Yeah. it looked like she had to build up the courage to enter.”
“I told you!” Atlas yells, pointing at Dom. “We should just kidnap her!”
“Yes!” Max yells, pointing at Atlas in excitement.
“ Whoa, who said anything about kidnapping her?” I ask in confusion.
Atlas turns to me, jamming his finger into the counter to make his point. “She’s not safe there. We would keep her safe.”
“Atlas…” Gideon says worriedly. “She’s a seventeen year old minor, she can’t live with seven grown ass men. And we definitely can’t kidnap her, we’d go to jail if we were caught.”
Atlas crosses his arms and shrugs like that’s the least of his worries. “So we won’t get caught. Ben can create a better fake identity than the one they’re using now. And in six months, when she turns eighteen, it won’t matter anymore.”
He was gunning for her to live with us. He wasn’t suggesting we get her out of her home, then put her somewhere safe. No, he wanted her here specifically.
“Atlas?” I ask, drawing all of their attention to me. “You want her to live here, with us?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His brows furrow as if he doesn’t understand what I’m asking. “Why?” he repeats in confusion.
“Yeah, why? I’m tired of nobody saying what we’re all thinking. You like her. You all like her,” I say, my gaze roaming over all six of my brothers. “And you want to, what? Date her?”
He shakes his head. “No. I mean, yes. But that makes it sound… less than it is. I don’t just want to date her. I want to own her.”
“Atl—” Gideon and I start to argue with him, but he cuts us off qu ickly.
“No, wait—” he says, his palms out towards us. “Just listen. I want to own her, but she would own me, too. Dating doesn’t feel like it would be enough with her, but if we need to start there, then fine.”
“Okay, but that all being said, she’s still a minor,” Ben adds.
“In this state she is, but we could move to one where it’s seventeen,” Tucker says, surprising me. “What?” he says with a shrug when we all look at him. “You think I enjoy being her teacher and keeping her at arm’s length? It’s obvious she’ll fit perfectly with us. We just have to figure out this fucking case so we can stop pretending.”
“Okay,” Dom says, placing both palms on the countertop and taking control of the conversation. “I think everybody agrees they are interested in exploring something with her…” He pauses, waiting for any of us to disagree, but as he looks around, everyone nods and he continues. “She is above the legal age of consent but not considered an adult. So try to keep things PG-13 for now until we figure out this case. Once that’s over with, we can tell her who we really are and find out if she’s even interested, and we go from there. If we have to stay back until she turns eighteen, then we will. Understood?”
“Yes,” I say, and it’s echoed around the room.
“Good. Now, let’s talk about any potential leads from the other students,” he says. And our conversation turns to two of my least favorite topics: locker room gossip and upcoming high school parties.
An hour later, as we finish up, my phone buzzes, and Mina’s name lights up the screen. I smirk as I jog up to my room to chat with her in private.
Angel: Hi.
Me: Hi Angel, did you get home ok?
Angel: Yes, thanks .
Me: I wish you’d let us drive you home.
Angel: I can’t, not yet.
Yet? That was progress, at least.
Me: Just tell me when you’re ready.
Angel: I will.
Me: What are you doing tonight?
Angel: Just resting.
Me: I wish you could come over.
Angel: Me too.
Me: Yea?
Angel: Of course, I love being with you guys.
My heart skips a beat at her casual use of the L word. I knew what she meant, I just wanted to be around her all the time, too. She was like a magnet that pulled me in.
Me: And if you were here, what would you want to do?
Angel: I don’t know.
Me: I’m sure you have some ideas…
Angel: You could give me some options.
Me: Hmm.. alright.
Me: Would you want to do something fun, relaxing or exciting?
Angel: If I chose all 3, what would you suggest we do?
Me: We could start by watching tv while we sit on the couch snuggling and eating popcorn.
Angel: That sounds fun.
Me: Then as you get more and more comfortable you’d lean against me, and I’d put my arm around you, stroking my fingers over your hair.
Angel: That sounds exciting.
Me: No, that’s the relaxing part .
Angel: So when does it get exciting?
Me: When you turn your face to mine and I kiss you. Then I’d lay you down on your back and press myself against you, worshipping your mouth.
Dom said to keep it PG-13, but a little sexting couldn’t hurt, right? But when a few minutes have passed, and she hasn’t replied, I worry I’ve scared her off.
Me: Did I scare you, Angel?
Angel: I just… didn’t know you felt that way.
Really? After all the flirting and hugs, she still didn’t realize I was attracted to her?
Me: Angel, I care about you… a lot. Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but you’re sweet and kind and I love being around you.
Angel: Do you really mean that?
Me: I do.
Angel: Thank you Jasper. I care about you, too.
Me: I wish you were here right now so I could hug you.
Angel: Me too… but also…
Me: also…?
Angel: But also, I’m dying to know what a kiss from you would feel like.
I drop my head back on my bed and groan. Fuck if that doesn’t get me hard. Not wanting to leave her hanging after being so bold and open with me, I quickly respond.
Me: It’ll happen angel, when the time is right.
There, that response buys me a bit of time, right? Why did Dom have to tell us to keep it PG-13? I was playing the part of an eighteen-year-old, and there was nothing wrong with an eighteen-year-old kissing a seventeen-year-old. But in reality I’m twenty-two, and although five years isn’t a lot, I am lying to her.
I s igh as another message comes through
Angel: I’m getting tired now, I’m going to lie down, ttyl.
Me: Sleep well Angel xox
Dropping my phone on my nightstand, I sigh. I hope we can figure out this case soon or I’m gonna have a serious case of permanent blue balls.