Jasper Page 14

  Trevor backed away and held up his hand. “Whoa, that was… thank you. Let’s go see Travis.” Jasper was glad to know his distraction worked. When Trevor adjusted his hard-on, he knew it worked too well.

  They made their way to the fourth floor where a policeman was standing guard. Jasper knew the male was a Gargoyle. He was appreciative to whoever thought to station someone outside Travis’s room. When they approached, he held out his hand to Jasper. “Slade Ransom. Pax explained what happened and asked that I keep watch over Travis.” He didn’t offer to shake Trevor’s hand. He did fist his heart and bow his head briefly. “Trevor, he’s been asking for you.”

  Jasper wanted to give Trevor time alone with his brother, so he didn’t move to go in with him until Trevor grabbed his hand. “Please,” was all he said.

  Slade smiled at their joined hands. Jasper wondered if he was the gay friend Paxton had mentioned. Jasper motioned for Trevor to go first. The door was sliding glass, and it was wide open. Slade didn’t close it behind them, but he did stand in the entrance with his back to them. Jasper stood just inside the room, letting his mate go to his brother.

  “Travis,” he said, his voice breaking. Jasper wanted to comfort Trevor, but the brothers needed a moment without him interfering.

  “Hey, buddy. Doc says I’m going to be fine.”

  “I know, it’s just…”

  “Stop, okay? I’m here. That bastard…” Travis stopped speaking when he noticed Jasper. “Who’s this?”

  Trevor turned, motioning for Jasper to step closer. “Travis, this is my bo… my…”

  “I’m Jasper, and I’m really glad you’re okay.” Trevor had come close to calling him his boyfriend. If circumstances were different, Jasper would be elated. He was still unsure if they should be together or not, at least until Theron was taken care of.

  Travis looked between the two. When his eyes landed on Trevor, his face softened. Jasper couldn’t see Trevor’s face to know what caused his brother to smile like he did. “Can you do me a favor? Can you see if you can find out how Rachel’s doing? Nobody will tell me anything. And Molly. Where’s Molly?”

  At first, Jasper attributed Travis’s fairly decent mood to the IV attached to his arm. Now, he realized Travis hadn’t heard the news yet. Trevor pulled the chair close to the bed and grabbed Travis’s hand. “Molly’s fine. But Rachel… I’m so sorry.”

  “No, she has to be okay. No!” he yelled.

  Slade, followed closely by a nurse, entered the room. The Goyle stayed out of the way, but the nurse figured out quickly what was going on when Travis kept saying, “She can’t be gone. She can’t be dead. No, I just found her.” The nurse left and returned with a syringe. She injected the contents into Travis’s IV. She didn’t offer words of condolence, but she did smooth his hair back like a mother would do. When the medicine took effect, she left them alone.

  “I’m so sorry, Trav. If I could change it, I would. If I could take away the pain, I would,” Trevor whispered.

  “I know,” Travis said groggily, the tears slowing down. Trevor wiped his brother’s face with a tissue. “She was so pretty. And funny. You’d have loved her. Always making jokes, just like you. She was smart, too. Just like you. She even liked Darth Vader. I think she was you in girl form.”

  “She couldn’t be. You said she was pretty.”

  Travis’s eyes snapped to his brother. “Are you calling me ugly?”

  Trevor countered, “Of course not. You’ve always been the handsome one everyone gushes over.”

  Travis was blinking, trying to stay awake. “You idiot. You look just like me,” he whispered right before his eyes closed.

  Jasper hoped Travis’s words would sink in with Trevor. Being his clone, they did look like twins, but to Jasper, Trevor was the more handsome of the two. Maybe one day he could convince his mate just how good-looking he was.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dane was sitting at the diner where Marley worked, enjoying a Christmas day latte when he got the call about the third body. Asking her to put his drink in a to-go cup was nothing unusual. He wanted to spend as much time around his mate as he could without actually spending time with her. As much as he wanted to ask her on a date, take her to Chez Vaison for a nice meal and maybe dancing afterwards, he wouldn’t risk her being caught in the crossfire of a Clan war.

  So far, every single mate had been targeted. It wasn’t a pattern Dane wanted to see include his pretty waitress. He would continue to visit her daily for his latte, but that was as close as he would dare to get. Dane stood to leave, and Marley grabbed his arm, not letting him walk away. She put her hand around his neck, pulling his head down so she could kiss his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Chief,” she whispered in his ear. Before that day, she’d insisted on calling him Detective as she had ever since she started working there. Her warm breath in his ear stirred his cock. He bit back the moan that threatened to bubble up from his chest. She was too enticing.

  He drove across town to the crime scene. Dane wasn’t glad Jasper was at the hospital with Trevor, but he was happy to be back in the field. Kaya had been a hands-on chief, going to crime scenes with her detectives. Now he understood why. Sitting behind a desk all day bored the hell out of him.

  Dane moved around the scene the same way he had when he was a detective. He and Dante discussed the victim like they had no idea who was behind the murder.

  “Dane. Abbott!” Dante was trying to get his attention.

  “Sorry, what?”

  “I was saying we’re done here. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just thinking about where this is going,” Dane said, swiping his hand through the air over the latest victim. He looked around to make sure they were out of earshot of any of the emergency responders. “Has Julian been able to come up with any sign of Theron?”

  “He spotted a black SUV leaving the area around Trevor’s apartment earlier this morning, but when the cameras picked it back up, it had a different tag number. Either he has the ability to make a vehicle disappear, he’s changing license plates, or there’s more than one SUV. Julian is working around the clock to find him before any more innocents are killed.”

  “How’s Trevor holding up? I haven’t seen him since the Quinn incident.” Dane had been shocked when Trevor twisted the pistol out of his holster and fired one shot at Troy Quinn. He understood why he did it, though. If his mate was being shot at, he’d protect her, too. Even if she had impenetrable wings.

  “He seems to be taking it well. I can’t get a read on his vitals, because he’s around Jasper most of the time. That in itself is keeping him in a tailspin. And now with his brother coming under fire? He’s bound to be close to losing control.”

  Dane looked at the note that had been pinned to victim number three. Keep. “Can you keep… We know this bastard has at least two more targets. I’ve got everyone looking out for black SUV’s. I’ve instructed them to call it in if they see one and not engage the driver. I can’t explain to them the driver is a psychotic Gargoyle who could rip their head off. For now, nobody has questioned me, but it’s only a matter of time until one of them does. I would.”

  “I know it must be hard for you, playing both sides. I’ve done it for so long, it is second nature.”

  “What, lying to the people around you?” Dane asked.

  “Not lying, no. Skating the truth. We do whatever we must to keep the humans safe. Speaking of the truth, here’s your chance to start skating,” Dante said, pointing to the news crew. “Have you noticed anything different lately?

  Dane frowned then snapped his fingers. “Yes. Katherine Fox hasn’t been showing up before the investigators can get to a scene. Makes you wonder if something happened to her source.”

  “I haven’t seen her in a while. If I get the chance, I’ll ask Julian if he knows what’s going on with his mate. Now, I’m going to get this body to the morgue so I can get back to Trevor.”

  “Give him my best,” Dane said. He tossed the plastic evi
dence bag onto the seat beside him and started his car. “Can you keep… what, or who?” he asked aloud. Jasper? Trevor? Who was in Theron’s crosshairs, and why was he going after random victims instead of the Stone Society? As he pulled away from the crime scene, he muttered, “Merry fucking Christmas.”

  Since it was Christmas, Dante had given the techs who worked in the morgue the day off. He and an orderly unloaded the latest victim, and Dante transported the body into the morgue. This kill felt different. It was not neat like the first two had been, if you can call a laceration to the throat with a claw neat. If Dante didn’t know better, he would think someone else had killed this man. Time of Death was approximately eight hours earlier, and with Theron being spotted in Athens, it was probable he had one of his cohorts do the honors with this victim. Tim Dobbins, twenty-seven, had been jogging in the park. While most people were home celebrating Christmas, Mr. Dobbins had been enjoying the fresh crisp air of the early Georgia morning when he was garroted.

  The first two crime scenes were void of any trace evidence. The ground around this victim was disturbed where the killer had stepped in the blood and tracked it over the pathway as he ran away. Even though CSU had taken their photos and were running the shoe prints for possible clues, Dante had taken his own picture and sent it to Julian. Normally, he didn’t overstep the humans’ investigation, but this was his family being targeted. The sooner they found Theron and his cronies, the better.

  As much as Dante wanted to be home with his mate and son, the Clan needed him to focus on the body before him. He was an expert at finding small clues humans would never see. Along with his Gargoyle sight and sense of smell, Dante had a sixth sense about him that sometimes allowed him to glimpse bits and pieces of what happened.

  He spent hours going over the victim, praying he found something, anything, that would lead them to the killer. When he realized how late it was getting, he decided to give it a break. He needed to get Trevor’s spare clothes and take them back to the hospital, which was over an hour away. He’d spoken to Isabelle earlier, and she wanted to ride with him. Connor was happy to spend time with Amelia, and Abbi welcomed Maria into their home. Dante couldn’t ask for a better family to pitch in and help when things went south. Here lately, it seemed things were staying below the equator. He was ready for the days when the Goyles could enjoy spending time with their mates and each other without looking over their shoulder, wondering who would be targeted next. He was ready to wield his sword if the end result meant peace for a time.

  Dante closed up the morgue and swung by Trevor’s apartment. When he stuck the key in the first lock, he found it to be unlocked. Dante turned the knob, and the door opened. He reached out with his senses but found no one in the apartment. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Dante took a look around, searching for anything out of place. Since he’d never been inside Trevor’s apartment before, he didn’t know what to look for.

  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he set about finding a gym bag and clothes as well as toiletries. When he returned to the living area, he noticed a piece of wrapping paper beside the garbage can. Now that was out of place. Trevor was a neat freak at work, so it only made sense he would be at home as well. Dante picked the paper up by the corner, careful not to disrupt any fingerprints that might have been left behind. As soon as he touched the wrapping, he envisioned a gloved hand holding the same paper. Another flash showed the return address through the eyes of whomever was holding the paper. That was all Dante saw, but it was enough. Someone had been in Trevor’s apartment. Dante would bet his Aston Martin it was Theron, and that was how he made the connection. Even though he’d followed Trevor last time he visited Travis, Dante doubted Theron had figured out they were brothers. Now he knew they were family.

  Dante hated to call Trevor and tell him his home had been invaded, but he knew Trevor would never forgive himself if something happened to those journals that chronicled the clones in and around New Atlanta. He pulled out his phone and dialed Jasper’s number.

  “Hello, Dante.”

  “Jasper, how is Travis?”

  “Hold on.” Jasper told Trevor it was Dante, and he was taking the call in the hall. His Gargoyle hearing didn’t miss the sound of a kiss on the other end. He wanted both Jasper and Trevor to be happy, but he had a bad feeling theirs was going to be a long, bumpy road. “Okay, I’m back. Travis was okay until he found out his girlfriend didn’t make it. The nurse sedated him. He woke up a little bit ago and has pretty much shut down mentally.”

  “How’s Trevor holding up?”

  “He’s hanging in there, but he’s worried about his brother.”

  “We have a little problem on this end.” Dante didn’t want to cause Trevor more worries, but he needed to know what happened.

  “What now?” Jasper asked, exasperated.

  “When I went to gather Trevor’s clothes, his door was unlocked. I might have chalked it up to him forgetting, but there is no way he would leave his apartment unguarded.”

  “The journals. Oh, gods. Were they stolen?”

  “Not as far as I know, but then again I don’t know where he keeps them.”

  Jasper didn’t speak for a moment. Footsteps sounded then the opening of a door. When he spoke again, Dante knew he was in the stairwell. “They’re in his bedroom closet.”

  “I’m surprised he shared this with you.” And he was. Trevor must trust Jasper more than Dante realized.

  “He’s my mate,” Jasper snapped.

  “Yes, he is. My apologies. I did not mean he shouldn’t trust you. It’s just I know how he feels about this information. I doubted he would ever share the location of the journals with anyone.”

  “Sorry. I’m just worried about all this shit, you know? First Travis, now Trevor’s apartment. What next?”

  “Jasper, I’ve learned never to ask that question. You won’t like the answer. I am standing in Trevor’s bedroom, and I’ve opened the closet door. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, but again, I’m not sure what to look for. Hang on a second.” Dante noticed a variation in the carpet where it appeared something had been slid across it. He ran his hand along the wall and found a slight indention at one point. With very little pressure he was able to slide a secret panel away from the rest of the wall. Trevor’s journals were there and intact. “I was able to locate the secret panel. His journals are safe. However, I am taking them to my home for the time being. Once I lock them in my safe, Isabelle and I are headed that way.”

  “Thank you, Dante. I’m not telling Trevor about his apartment until Travis is out of the hospital. He has enough on his mind without adding to it.”

  “Agreed. I will see you soon.”

  Dante hung up and added the journals to the bag of clothes. He made sure to lock up behind him and headed for home. He called Julian on the way and asked him to find someone to place a security system at Trevor’s apartment. Normally, Julian installed all their alarms, but he had his hands full with finding Theron. Once home, Dante made quick work of securing the journals in his hidden safe before he and Isabelle hit the road.

  They had just pulled onto Interstate 20 when his phone rang. He was surprised when Paxton’s name appeared on the caller I.D. “Paxton, is everything okay?”

  “No, it’s not. We got ballistics back on the bullet that killed Travis’s girlfriend. The gun that was used is registered to Jasper.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jasper asked Trevor if he was hungry. It was closing in on six o’clock, and Paxton would be there soon. Trevor assured him he was okay. If he needed something, he’d run down to the cafeteria. He explained how a lot of his meals came from the cafeteria at New Atlanta hospital, and he was okay with that. Since Travis was in ICU, Jasper and Trevor discussed getting a hotel room. Travis’s home was a crime scene, so they couldn’t stay there. Jasper told him he wanted to have it professionally cleaned while Travis was in the hospital so when he was released, it would be one less thing he had to worry about
. They were discussing the hotel when Dante and Isabelle arrived, followed by Paxton.

  Jasper could feel the turmoil coming off all three of them. When Dante motioned for Jasper to step out into the hallway, Trevor said, “Oh no you don’t. I might not be part of the badass club, but I’m not going to be left out of your conversations.”

  “Trev…”

  “Jas...” His mate stood with his hands fisted at his side. He was right. Whatever it was, Jasper would tell him anyway, so he might as well hear it from Dante.

  “Okay. Dante, what is it?”

  Isabelle was the one who spoke up. “Can we go somewhere more private for this?”

  They were currently in a waiting room with other families of those patients in ICU. “What in the fuck is going on? Dante just spit it out,” Jasper whispered. He was worried if Isabelle thought it was bad.

  Pax had his hat in his hands, squeezing the bill and releasing. He motioned for them to move to the far side of the room. When they were out of earshot of the others, he said, “Jasper, I have some bad news. We got a match on the gun used to kill Miss Montgomery. It’s registered to you.”

  “Me? That’s impossible.” He automatically placed his hand on his service weapon at his hip. “My other guns are locked up at home.”

  “Do you have a Sig Sauer P226?”

  “Yes, but like I said, it’s at home.”

  “Is it locked in a safe?”

  “No, it’s in the console of my Jeep that is locked in the garage.”

  “When was the last time you saw it?” Pax wasn’t accusing Jasper; he was doing his job.

  “Yesterday morning when we went to Rafael’s for breakfast.” Jasper thought back. Had he seen it then? He didn’t remember getting into the console for anything. It might not have been there. “If someone got to my gun, then they got into my garage. My locked-up-secure garage with an alarm system. I need to go.” He started out the door but stopped when Trevor called his name.