Jasper
"Eyes on me," he said quietly. She didn't move. Her gaze remained locked on the silver-haired man standing beside the SUV. "Sophia." Still, nothing.
Ronan shifted closer to her other side, careful not to touch her—not without permission. "We've got you," Ronan said.
The silver-haired man smiled politely. He looked more like a university professor than someone connected to Keller's organization, with his perfect posture, tailored charcoal suit, and Italian leather shoes.
He had no visible weapon, but men like him rarely carried one because they paid other people to pull triggers.
"My name is Malcolm Ashcroft." His cultured voice echoed through the garage. "I'd appreciate five minutes with Sophia.”
"No," Dante answered instantly.
Ashcroft sighed dramatically. "I wasn't speaking to you."
His eyes settled on Sophia. "I've been looking for you." Sophia took one involuntary step backward. Jasper noticed, and he also noticed something else—she didn't hide behind Dante. She didn't hide behind any of them. She simply moved toward the people she trusted.
"You know him?" Jasper asked without taking his eyes off Ashcroft.
Sophia nodded once. "He used to bring books to the compound.” She wrapped both arms around herself.
Ronan frowned. "Books?"
Sophia laughed bitterly. "He wanted us to be educated."
Ashcroft looked almost offended. "An ignorant commodity is a poor investment." Every muscle in Jasper's body tightened when the guy called Sophia a commodity. The bastard had just referred to human beings as inventory.
Jasper had heard enough. He stepped forward. "If you take one more step?—"
Ashcroft smiled. "You'll shoot me?"
"I will,” Jasper promised.
"No." Ashcroft's smile widened. "You won't."
"You arrogant ass,” Ronan growled.
"No, I’m just a practical man.” He adjusted the cuff of his jacket. "You need me alive."
Jasper's finger rested against the trigger. "I really don't."
Ashcroft chuckled. "But Sophia does." That seemed to get everyone's attention. "You've been recovering memories." Ashcroft looked directly at Sophia. "Slowly." She stared back in silence, not answering him. "You've remembered Keller, and a few names. You remembered your time at the church.
She still didn’t answer him, but he smiled and nodded approvingly. "Excellent." Sophia looked physically sick.
"What do you want?" Dante shouted.
"The same thing everyone wants,” Ashcroft said.
"And what's that?" Dante asked.
"The truth,” Ashcroft said.
Ronan laughed. "Pretty sure that's the last thing you want."
Ashcroft ignored him. "Sophia." His voice softened. "You've forgotten something."
She shook her head. "No."
"You have." He took one slow step forward, and Jasper immediately matched it. Ashcroft stopped. "I suppose this is where the bodyguard growls at me."
Jasper's expression never changed. "I'm not much of a growler,” Jasper said.
"No?" Ashcroft asked.
"No. I simply end problems,” Ronan said. “And I leave the growling up to my partner.” For the first time, Ashcroft's smile faltered.
A black sedan raced into the garage. It slid sideways between Ashcroft and the STARR team. Doors flew open, and four tactical agents poured out—Avery was first.
She spotted Jasper. "You planning to stand there all day?"
Ronan grinned. "We were having a conversation."
"Looks boring." She raised her rifle. "Can we shoot him now?"
Ashcroft sighed. "So uncivilized." Smoke grenades exploded around the SUV, and gray clouds swallowed the garage.
Jasper immediately turned. "Dante!"
"Got her,” Dante shouted.
After meeting her eyes, Jasper grabbed Sophia's wrist. "Is this okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes." He didn't miss the fact that she'd nodded before he'd touched her. They might have only just met, but on some level, Sophia trusted him, and that was going to be key in keeping her safe.
The team sprinted through the smoke, and gunfire echoed behind them. Ashcroft's men fired blindly, and STARR agents answered with disciplined bursts. By the time the smoke cleared, the silver-haired man was gone, and so was the SUV.
Avery cursed. "He slipped away." Jasper wasn't surprised. Men like Ashcroft survived because they never fought battles they could lose.
He looked down at Sophia. She was staring at the floor. "What did he mean about you remembering things?"
She looked up at him. “When he said I was remembering things?” she asked.
“No, when he said you forgot something,” Jasper said.
Sophia closed her eyes. "I don't know." Her breathing hitched, and he could tell that she was remembering something. She squeezed her temples with her fingers. "I remember that there was another room."
Her eyes flew open. "No." Another memory seemed to have surfaced. "There wasn't just one prison."
Jasper's pulse quickened. "What do you remember?"
"A little girl." Sophia's voice cracked. "She couldn't have been older than eight." Silence settled over the garage. "She kept asking for her mother." Tears spilled down Sophia's cheeks. "I promised I'd help her." She looked at Jasper with heartbreaking guilt. "I never did."
Jasper stepped closer. This time, he didn't hesitate. He gently cupped the back of her head. "You were surviving something pretty horrific yourself."
"I left her,” Sophia said. "I don't even know if she's alive."
Jasper held her gaze. "Then we'll find out."
She searched his eyes. "You'd do that?"
He didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"Why?"
His answer came as naturally as breathing.
"Because nobody gets left behind." Sophia stared at him for several long seconds.
Then, without thinking, she leaned forward until her forehead rested lightly against his shoulder.
Just for a moment, it was the briefest touch, but it was the first she'd initiated.
Jasper stayed perfectly still because he knew how much courage that single gesture had taken.
Across the garage, Ronan watched the moment with a small smile.
Dante noticed it too. His little sister hadn't just survived another attack.
For the first time since Keller stole her freedom, she'd chosen to trust someone outside her family.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to make Jasper silently vow one thing.
He wasn't just going to protect Sophia Manzo.
He was going to help her keep every promise Keller had stolen from her—including finding the little girl she'd never forgotten.
Jasper had learned long ago that silence told him more than words ever could.
The drive away from the hospital should have been filled with relief.
Instead, no one spoke. Avery drove, and Dante sat in the passenger seat, scanning every mirror.
Ronan occupied the third row, keeping an eye on the vehicles behind them.
Sophia sat beside Jasper, not because anyone had assigned seats, but because she'd quietly chosen the one place where she could see every door in the armored SUV.
They drove for about twenty minutes before Avery turned through a pair of iron gates hidden behind a dense line of pine trees.
The estate looked more like an upscale lodge than a STARR safe house.
Stone walls lined the outside of the building, and it was covered in floor-to-ceiling windows.
A private lake was just beyond the trees.
The place was well protected with motion sensors, thermal cameras, and enough security to withstand a small army.
"This one's clean," Avery said. "No one outside the Director knows this location."
Ronan smirked. "You say that every time."
"I mean it every time,” Avery insisted. The SUV rolled to a stop, and no one hurried to get out. Jasper climbed out first. He checked the rooflines, the tree line, and perimeters. When he was satisfied, he opened Sophia's door.
"You good?" he asked.
She nodded and then looked down. "I hate that you ask me that."
"I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just checking in on you.”
"It makes me feel—” She searched for the word. "Fragile."
He shook his head. "No."
"What then?" she asked.
"Important,” Jasper said. She looked at him, and he smiled. "There's a difference. You’re important, Sophia, and I need to know how you’re doing.”
“All right,” she breathed. She shivered, and he silently cursed.
“Let’s get you inside,” he said. Sophia nodded and followed him into the safe house.
Inside, the house felt warm. A fire burned in the great room, and the kitchen smelled faintly of fresh bread.
Someone had stocked the refrigerator. Sophia stood just inside the doorway as her eyes swept across the room.
She wasn't looking at the furniture. She was calculating escape routes.
Jasper recognized it instantly. He'd done the same thing for years after Afghanistan.
He knew firsthand that trauma never really disappeared; it simply became quieter.
Ronan wandered into the kitchen. "I'm making coffee."
Avery laughed. "That's optimistic."
"You say that like it's a difficult task," Ronan said. He disappeared into the kitchen, and within minutes, smoke poured from the kitchen. Ronan came running out to the great room, cursing.
Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose. "What did you do?"
"I—” Ronan looked genuinely confused. "I may have forgotten water."
Avery burst into laughter. "You burned coffee?"
"I didn't know that was possible,” Ronan said.
Sophia stared at Ronan, and a small laugh escaped her, and everyone stopped. Ronan looked absurdly pleased with himself. Sophia covered her mouth immediately.
"I'm sorry,” she said.
Jasper frowned. "For laughing?"
"I—” She looked embarrassed. "It felt wrong."
His chest tightened. "No." He met her eyes. "It sounded right."
Dante cleared his throat. “How about we get you settled in one of the rooms, Sis, and then I need to head home to check on Lark. She’s due any day now, and I like to check on her every few hours—especially while Rocco is out of town on a mission.”
“You’ll let me know when she goes into labor, won’t you? I don’t want to miss my nephew’s birth,” Sophia said.
“I promise,” Dante said. Jasper watched as Sophia followed her brother down the hallway to the bedrooms. He turned to find Ronan smiling at him like a loon, and all he wanted to do was punch the guy.
“Don’t,” Jasper warned.
“I didn’t say a word, man,” Ronan defended.
“Let’s make you cavemen some coffee, and then I’m going to catch a ride back to town with Dante. I’ll leave the van here for you guys, in case you need a way out,” Avery said.
Jasper found Sophia standing on the dock overlooking the lake. The water reflected the fading colors of sunset. She hugged herself against the cool breeze.
He stopped several feet away. "I won't interrupt."
"You aren't." She didn't turn around. "I just forgot lakes could be so pretty."
He blinked. "What?"
"For three years, I never saw anything other than concrete walls.” She watched the water ripple, and silence settled between them. "I thought I'd forgotten what open space looked like."
Jasper looked across the lake. "I grew up in Montana."
She smiled faintly. "Big sky country."
"Yep,” Jasper said.
“My father used to take us camping." Her smile faded. "I've been trying to remember his face."
His heart sank. "You can't remember your dad’s face?"
"Just bits and pieces of him,” she said, closing her eyes. "I remember his laugh and the way he'd carry Dante on his shoulders." She swallowed. "But his face is blurry.” A tear slipped down her cheek.
Without thinking, Jasper reached into his wallet and removed a worn photograph of his parents, his younger sister, and him. He was about sixteen years old. "My mother used to say that pictures keep memories from fading.” He handed it to Sophia.
She studied the photograph carefully. "They look happy."
"They were,” he said.
She handed it back. "I don't have any pictures."
Jasper made a decision. "When we get home, we can get every photograph Dante has." She looked up at him, and her eyes widened.
"You'd do that?"
He shrugged. "It seems like something worth doing."
The back door opened, and Ronan walked onto the dock carrying three mugs. "I successfully made hot chocolate."
Jasper raised an eyebrow at his partner. "No smoke?"
"Fuck off,” Ronan grumbled. He handed Sophia a mug, and she accepted it with a shy smile.
"Thank you,” she said.
"You smiled at me,” Ronan said.
"I did,” she agreed.
"I should write this down,” Ronan said.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't ruin it."
"I never ruin anything,” Ronan insisted.
Jasper barked out his laugh. "You once blew up the microwave."
"It was an experimental burrito,” Ronan defended.
"It was frozen, and you didn’t read the instructions,” Jasper said.
"It fought back, and it was stronger than I was.” Another laugh escaped Sophia, and Jasper watched her carefully. The nightmares wouldn't vanish overnight, and neither would the fear. But for the first time, she wasn't simply surviving the hours; she was beginning to live inside them.
Jasper's phone vibrated. It was the secure STARR line. He stepped away from the others before answering. "Kane."
The Director didn't waste time calling him. "We identified the man from the hospital."
Jasper's expression hardened. "Malcolm Ashcroft?"
"That's the name he uses,” the Director said.
"Uses?" Jasper asked.
"It's an alias,” he said.
Jasper's pulse quickened. "Who is he then?"
"We matched his DNA." Jasper glanced back toward Sophia, who was quietly laughing as Ronan dramatically defended his cooking skills.
"Tell me,” Jasper demanded.
The Director's voice turned grim. "Malcolm Ashcroft isn't Keller's partner."
Jasper frowned. "Then who is he?"
"He's Sophia Manzo's biological father." The world seemed to stop.
Jasper slowly looked back toward the woman standing on the dock.
The woman who had spent three years believing she knew exactly who had stolen her life.
She had no idea the truth was even worse because the man hunting her wasn't just connected to her nightmares; he had helped create them.