Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
J asmine sat stiffly on Pat’s couch, her fingers curled around the mug of tea he’d given her. The heat seeped into her palms, grounding her, though it did little to still the tremors still vibrating through her body.
She was out. Safe.
She should be relieved, but she wasn’t. A nervous energy still coiled inside her, keeping her alert, as if any second Amir would come bursting through the door to drag her back.
Across from her, Pat leaned back in his chair, a beer dangling loosely from his fingers, but his entire frame radiated a tension she recognized all too well. The rigid shoulders, the flicker of his jaw as he clenched it, the way his gaze kept drifting—like he was mentally cataloging every mistake, every failure.
She’d seen it before.
It was guilt.
He was blaming himself. Not for failing the mission—but for compromising it to save her.
“Sorry I didn’t get a chance to let you into the house,” she said quietly. “I know you were hoping to plant that bug. I feel like I ruined everything for you.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, his fingers tightening around the bottle. His response was slow, deliberate. “No, I did that all by myself. But your safety was the priority.”
She studied him, tilting her head slightly. “Was it?”
His gaze snapped to hers. “Of course.” But she saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes, the war raging inside him.
Pat was a man who’d spent his life making the hard calls, putting the mission first—no matter the cost. The kind of man who would sacrifice anything, anyone, for the greater good.
And yet… tonight, he hadn’t.
She was well aware he’d compromised the op. For her.
He knew it. She knew it. And from his stormy expression, he was still trying to figure out why.
And for some reason, that made it worse.
This was a man used to certainty, to control. To executing a plan with cold precision. But she’d knocked him off course.
He raked a hand through his short, dark hair, greying at the temples, his frustration palpable. “I couldn’t leave you there to be raped. Not by that monster.” His voice was rougher now, as if the thought alone made him physically ill.
Something in her chest tightened.
He had saved her. But at what cost?
“If only Adam hadn’t met with Amir, none of this would ever have happened,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
Pat sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “How did your husband end up working with Al-Jabiri?”
She tensed, her fingers tightening around the mug. “It’s a long story.”
“We have all night.”
Fair enough.
She took a slow, steadying breath before beginning. “They met at a work event. Adam was always networking, always making connections. I should have known something was wrong, but at the time, I thought nothing of it. Then one day, Amir called him and asked to meet somewhere private. Adam agreed.”
Pat’s brows furrowed. “Why?”
She let out a humorless laugh. “To be honest, I don’t know. I think it was professional curiosity. Maybe a little arrogance. Adam thought he was too smart to be played.”
A muscle ticked in Pat’s jaw, but he didn’t comment.
Jasmine felt her cheeks burn. “You know what the worst thing is? I didn’t even realize he was missing until two days later.” She let out a weak, self-deprecating laugh. “I know how that sounds, but we lived separate lives. He was obsessed with his work, and I was obsessed with mine.”
Pat tilted his head, eyes unreadable. “You slept in separate rooms.”
It wasn’t a question.
She stiffened. “Yes.”
The way he was watching her made her skin tingle. Not in an uncomfortable way, but in a way that made her hyperaware of every breath, every flicker of his gaze.
Why did it feel so intimate to admit that?
She cleared her throat. “When he first left, I called his office, but they hadn’t seen him. Then, he called me, out of the blue, and told me not to worry. He said he was working on something important and would be home soon.”
She paused, memories flashing through her mind. “He sounded a bit strange, but he’d gone away for work before, so I didn’t think much of it.”
Pat’s expression darkened. “What happened then?”
“Two weeks later, he came home. He was a wreck. Gaunt, exhausted, paranoid. I knew then that something was terribly wrong. When I pressed him, he finally told me the truth.”
She swallowed hard. “They’d taken him. Threatened him. Said they’d kill me and Ryan if he didn’t make an explosive device for them.”
Pat’s grip on his beer tightened. “Bastards.”
“He was terrified. Said he had to finish the job, but he didn’t think they’d let him live afterward.” She hesitated. “He wanted to run. Said we should flee, together.”
Pat stiffened. “You didn’t want to go?”
“I was in shock.” She shook her head. “I didn’t think the situation was that bad. I thought if we went to the police, we could fix it.”
Pat scoffed. “You didn’t know who you were dealing with.”
“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t.”
Silence stretched between them.
When she carried on, her voice was hoarse. “The next day, I came home and found him hanging from the banister.”
Pat let out a low hiss. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” She gulped, then looked away. “It was the shock that got to me the most. I fell out of love with him long ago, but he was still my husband.”
Pat’s gaze flicked over her face, lingering just a little too long.
“After Adam died, they came for me,” she said softly. “They wanted to know what he’d told me.”
Pat’s jaw tightened. “They kidnapped you?”
She nodded. “That’s why I had to earn their trust.”
“It was a good plan.”
For the first time since they’d sat down, she became acutely aware of the way his thighs stretched against his jeans, of the solid strength in his forearms, the way his presence filled the entire room.
And the way it made her feel… protected.
“They were going to kill me,” she whispered.
Pat frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Amir said their business was almost done. That after this weekend, they’d be moving on.”
Pat shot to his feet. “He actually said that. That they’d be moving on?”
“Yes, I think whatever they’re planning is going to be this weekend.”
His gaze blazed. “Saturday.”
She nodded. “Like the note said.”
He pulled out his phone, already shifting back into mission mode. “Excuse me.”
And just like that, the operator was back.
But Jasmine knew something had changed between them.
And from the way Pat hesitated for just a split second before walking away, she knew he felt it too.