Other than in passing, I hadn’t seen them much these past couple years. But now that news of Mateo’s return had spread, they’d probably be stopping by The Eloise more often, hoping to snag his notice, just like in high school.
Clarissa scanned the lobby, searching for my brother, but when her eyes landed on Jasper, she did a double take. Her cheeks flushed and she leaned in to whisper something in Fran’s ear.
Then Fran’s gaze shot straight to Jasper too.
I rolled my eyes and rounded the counter as they neared.
“Hey, Eloise.” Fran pulled me into a hug.
Clarissa was still staring at Jasper as he talked to Winn and Covie.
“Hey,” I said. “What are you guys up to today?”
“Lunch at Knuckles.”
“Fun. Hey, Clarissa.”
She tore her eyes from Jasper’s face. “Hi. Um, who is that?”
“My husband.”
She blinked, and as my statement settled in, her eyes widened. “Oh. I heard you got married. I just . . . I haven’t seen you guys around town.”
“Yep, that’s him.”
Clarissa gave me an exaggerated frown. “Busted. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I laughed, waving it off. “I check him out all the time too.”
“Well, before I embarrass myself even more, we’re going to lunch.” Clarissa looped her arm with Fran’s and together, they headed for the restaurant.
I shifted past the desk, about to go and say hello to Covie myself, but when I looked over, Jasper was shoving past Winn.
His face was hard, his eyes . . . frantic.
I froze.
Time slowed.
Jasper ran, his body an explosion as he sprinted across the lobby.
Behind him, Winn was reaching for her gun.
Why was she reaching for her gun?
My heart jumped, my eyes tracking in the same direction as hers.
And there, by the front door, was Blaze.
Everything clicked at once.
Jasper’s fear.
Winn’s shout to drop it.
The pistol Blaze had lifted and aimed my way.
One moment, I was standing on my own two feet.
The next, chaos.
My body slammed into the floor, the wind knocked entirely out of my lungs.
Gunfire filled the lobby, the noise so loud it drowned out the screams and shouts.
Then . . . quiet.
A silence so eerie it chilled me to the core.
Jasper’s body covered mine. He’d slammed into me so hard that we’d flown behind the counter, skidding to a stop.
Warmth spread against my shoulder. Wet warmth.
Blood.
“Jasper,” I whispered, ice flooding my veins.
He didn’t move. His body was hard and so heavy against mine it was hard to breathe.
Beyond the counter, people were crying. Footsteps pounded on the floor. But I blocked it all out, shifting back and forth, trying to dislodge Jasper. Why wasn’t he moving?
“Jasper.” My voice was panicked. I leaned up as far as my neck would stretch, trying to see where he was hurt. Red spread through the white cotton of his shirt, all across his shoulder. “Jasper.”
He didn’t move. He didn’t breathe.
My gaze caught on his hand, pressed against the floor at our sides.
His left hand.
And on his finger, the wedding band I’d given him weeks ago.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
JASPER
Five shots.
I’d heard five shots go off as I’d tackled Eloise to the floor. Then . . . nothing. For a long moment, not a sound.
But beyond the counter, people were moving now. Footsteps. Crying. Screaming. The doors had opened and people were shouting outside, calling for help.
“Jasper.” Eloise shook me, squirming beneath me.
I didn’t budge.
Was Blaze still out there? How long until he rounded the counter to come for Eloise? Part of me wanted to risk it. To look around and see if there was a way to get her the hell out of this hotel. But I stayed huddled on top of her, hoping that my body would be enough to shield hers.
“Jasper,” she screamed in my ear.
I was crushing her. But I didn’t move.
“Winn!” Eloise shouted.
My hold on her only tightened, my frame molding around hers like I was trying to tuck her into my pocket.
At my movement, Eloise stilled. “Jas? Oh my God. You’re bleeding. You have to move. You have to get up. I need to get you help.”
Bleeding? The pain registered a moment later. The burning in my shoulder. The blood, soaking my shirt.
Fuck.
That motherfucker had tried to kill Eloise.
I shoved up, ignoring the screaming in my shoulder. The world tipped upside down, spinning until it had righted itself again.
“Are you hurt?” Safe behind the counter, I used my good arm to start checking every inch of her body.
Eloise scrambled to her knees, her hands going to the blood. Her blue eyes flooded. “Oh my God. Your shoulder. Winn!”
A moment later, Winn rounded the counter, her gun gripped in her hands.
“Blaze?” I asked.
Winn shook her head, her expression hard but grim. A cop doing what she’d been trained to do. To lock it down. To help others.
“Put pressure on it, Eloise.” Winn’s voice was calm. Firm. “Until an ambulance gets here, just keep pressure on it.”
Eloise nodded, the tears beginning to streak down her face as she pressed her hands to the hole in my shoulder. One side where the bullet had gone in. And the other where the bullet had come out.
I hissed, the pain beginning to blur the edges of my mind. “Are you okay?”
“He shot you.” Her voice trembled. “He shot you.”
But he hadn’t shot her.
I sagged against the counter, the crash coming.
Eloise was okay. She was okay.
If I had lost her today, if I hadn’t been fast enough . . .
Fuck, I could have lost her.
“I love you,” I whispered.
A sob escaped her mouth. Her hands clamped my shoulder so hard I winced, but with the tears streaming down her face, she didn’t notice. “Why did you do that?”
I tried to lift my arm but it wouldn’t work.
Why wouldn’t it work?
Oh, yeah. That motherfucker had shot me. Was Blaze dead?
“Jasper, look at me.” Eloise moved so close to my face that my eyes crossed. “Stay with me.”
“Where else would I be?”
She pressed her forehead to mine, then kissed my mouth, her salty tears lingering on my lips. “I love you. Don’t close your eyes.”
“Okay,” I murmured and closed my eyes. My body was going into shock. The adrenaline. The blood. “Love you, El.”
The world faded in and out. EMTs. An ambulance. Talia wearing her hospital scrubs. Pain. Getting shot hurt like a bitch. It all faded in and out with a blur.
Everything but Eloise.
Until I was in a hospital bed and she finally let me close my eyes.
When I woke up, minutes or hours later, darkness had settled beyond the windows. And asleep beside me in the narrow bed, my wife.
Cuddling.
I closed my eyes.
And pulled her closer.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
JASPER
Eloise held up a hand, stopping me from crossing the loft. Her gaze darted between me and my target.
The bed.
“Don’t you dare.”
“I’m fine.” I took a step, ready to rumple the covers she’d so crisply made while I’d been in the shower.
“Jasper,” she warned. “You’re not fine. You got shot.”
“Two weeks ago.”
Her mouth pursed in a thin line.