Jasper, page 1
Books in This Series:
Jasper, Book 1
Masters, Book 2
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Sneak Peek from Masters
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
There is no greater motive than bloodlust, DNA, and revenge mixed up in a cocktail of hatred …
Jasper, watching Mason go down, is all-in on the investigation. Taking over the current investigation team, he distrusts everyone. Tesla, his cousin, expects Jasper to get to the bottom of this and fast.
ER nurse Amber isn’t on Mason’s team but knows something major is happening. The hospital is overwhelmed with men, as they want updates on Mason’s condition. A few look like they belong, and then a couple don’t. Taking pictures of those in question, she sends them to Jasper, which starts a cascading chain of events. And none of it good.
Hunting down Mason’s shooter, Jasper is sidelined by keeping Amber safe, when she’s targeted next. He must keep them both safe, … even as the investigation heats up and gets even uglier.
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Prologue
‡
The plane touched down in a controlled smooth movement, hardly jarring the few passengers seated inside. A gorgeous blue sky was outside, a typical sunny California day.
Mason and several other men from the Shadow Recon team waited for the plane to come to a full stop. When it finally stopped rolling, Mason grabbed his bags, tired, happy, but somewhat sad.
As answers went, the ones the team had found in the Arctic training base hadn’t been the easiest. At the core was fear and self-preservation. Such common human failings and, in this one case, one with massive consequences, as individually the men involved had slid deeper and deeper into their lies and deceit.
The fact that Elijah had reached out and had contacted Mason directly would help his case but not enough, though it sounded as if the cancer would likely take him pretty damn quickly anyway. Still, he wanted to answer as many questions about as many cases as he could, so some families could find some closure.
Mason wanted that too. Families were still suffering, as they looked for answers to the deaths of their loved ones. Deaths that were meaningless, senseless, and all the more painful for the betrayal by these men, who should have supported their military brethren, not taking them down, not making them victims.
When the back door to the plane opened, and Mason walked out onto the tarmac, he held up a hand to shield his eyes, wishing he’d brought his sunglasses with him because it was a bright sunny day. Tesla was planning to pick him up, and they would spend a few days together, before he headed back to the office, his field mission over.
He headed for the main hangar, falling in behind the other men. He had places to go to, but chances were good that Tesla would be here somewhere, waiting. And she never did what he expected of her. She was her own person, a special soul, and he was blessed every day to come home to her.
Hearing a shout off to the side, he turned and caught sight of her, hopping out of the Jeep and rushing toward him, her pregnant belly bouncing lightly with every step.
Mason grinned and laughed, as she opened her arms and raced toward him. He dropped his bag and raced in her direction.
He hadn’t made it ten steps when an odd ping hit his head, and he was stopped in his tracks, a slow paralysis taking over his body. He stared at his beloved wife, watching her confusion, then her horror, followed then by her scream that seemed ripped from her very soul.
Mason’s knees buckled, even as he recognized the red flow covering him was his blood. He collapsed to the asphalt beneath him, and the world around him went black and silent, … as he was sucked into the murky darkness.
Chapter 1
‡
Jasper raced toward the crowd as people called out in a frenzy, “Man down! Man down!” Up ahead, desperately trying to get to her husband, Tesla struggled to get through the masses. With her rounded belly, she was in danger of getting knocked over or injured in some other way. Jasper quickly came up behind her, and, wrapping his arms around her, swung her off to the side and whispered in a hushed voice, “I’ll get to him and determine his status. You stay here.”
She half buckled against him, as he gently put her on her feet, out of the way of the chaos all around them. Then he turned and quickly fought his way to Mason’s side.
Mason, his eyes open, stared skyward, but it was obvious that he was in shock. Blood poured from the gunshot wound to his head, and Jasper caught a glimpse of shattered bone behind it. It seemed as if the bullet must have hit the bone, pushing the fragment outward, and then traveling through to the ground somewhere behind Mason. “Somebody find that damn bullet,” Jasper barked, and others scattered.
Frowning, Jasper dropped down beside another man, who was working on Mason. “Are the EMTs on the way?”
The man, with his hand and a piece of cloth on Mason’s head wound, gave a curt nod. “They are. We need to get him stabilized …” He let his voice trail off.
Jasper immediately checked over the rest of Mason. A bullet wound appeared on his lower abdomen. Jasper immediately ripped off part of his shirt, folded it quickly, and applied pressure to stop the bleeding from that wound too.
The other guy nodded at him in approval. “Nobody saw anything, of course,” he said in a clipped tone, as he turned to look at the crowd that still remained.
Immediately everybody nearby shook their heads.
“From this angle, I would call it as a sniper atop that roof,” Jasper said, pointing to the red building off to the side. “Get a team over there now.”
With that, several men took off. He hoped that others had heard the shots and were already pursuing the gunman, so that the guys heading there now were just secondary assistance. Now, Jasper heard the sirens of emergency vehicles racing toward them. He looked over at the other guy, realized it was Masters, and asked in a low voice, “Chances?”
“It’s Mason,” Masters said curtly. “In other cases, not much chance, but it’s him,” he added, shaking his head. “And he’s got everything in the world to live for,” he murmured, as he cast a glance to where Tesla stood, still vertical, but barely, as she stared out at the crowd, her face white, shock and fear evident in her gaze. “I’ve got this, if you want to deal with her,” Masters offered.
“I’ll deal with her once we get Mason squared away with the EMTs,” Jasper murmured.
“You are family, aren’t you?”
He gave him a small smile. “Yeah, cousins by marriage.”
“That’s family, and she’ll need it.”
“She’ll also need answers,” he said, his voice determined.
Masters frowned at him. “You’re not active military though, are you?”
“I am, although not exactly with a popular division.”
“Oh, shit, are you upstairs?”
“Somewhat, yeah. Let’s just say, an unpopular department.” He chuckled. “Still, that could be exactly what we need right now.”
Masters didn’t say anything for a long moment, then he nodded. “Let’s hope not.”
“The sniper must have balls of stone on him.” Trying to fight back the fear overtaking his thoughts as he stared down at Mason, Jasper murmured, “And I’m sure he’s long gone now.”
“Do you know something we don’t?”
“Not yet”—Jasper glared around—“but you can bet I’ll be hunting this one down myself.”
“I’m sure you will,” Masters agreed, checking Mason’s pulse yet again. “If you need a hand, you let me know.”
“I’ll need a hand, guaranteed,” he said, looking over at him.
“This won’t be a one-person job.” Masters shifted his hand pressure on Mason’s head wound, looking around to see if help was near. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Any idea what’s going on?”
“Not yet, but this was too well-thought-out. Somebody knew when he was flying in, what shape he would be in, and where he was going next, so …”
Masters sucked in his breath. “Are you seriously suggesting an inside job?”
“I’m not saying anything,” Jasper replied, his tone hardening as the paramedics arrived, quickly moving the two of them back, so they could take over Mason’s care. “I’ll take Tesla to the hospital.” Jasper noted her hovering close to the paramedics.
“You better clean up first.”
“Tesla is tougher than that,” he said, with a shrug. “She won’t give a shit about my being covered in blood. She’ll just want to be with Mason,” he said, turning toward her. “I’ll clean up at the hospital.” And, with that, he raced to Tesla, who was now sitting on the ground, rocking, her arms wrapped around her belly, as she watched her husband get loaded onto a gurney. As Jasper approached, she took one look at him and winced.
He nodded. “Yes, it’s Mason’s blood, and it’s serious. He’s been shot twice. We don’t know if there are more injuries. Let’s get you and Mason to the hospital.”< br />
He reached out a bloody hand that he’d done his best to wipe on his jeans, but no way to soften the full effect of the fact that he was covered in her husband’s blood. He knew more than most how Mason and Tesla had forged a close, tight-knit union and what it would do to her should Mason be lost.
Still, she reached up and grasped Jasper’s hand firmly. “Just get me there,” she grunted, her tone harsh.
“I’m planning on it,” he said. “Let’s go.”
*
As soon as Jasper settled Tesla into the passenger seat, he walked to the back of his vehicle. He pulled out a clean shirt and stripped off the bloody one he now wore. Using other medical supplies he kept on hand, he did his best to wipe off as much blood as he could, tossing it all back in the trunk. Then he got in the driver’s seat and pulled out.
“What do you know about Masters?” he asked Tesla in a clipped tone.
With a sigh, she stated, “I don’t know anything about him. He’s just around.”
“Was he supposed to pick up Mason?”
She thought about it but obviously was struggling to concentrate.
“Stay focused. We must collect as much information as we can, and fast. So I need you to tell me everything you can think of.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I hear you. … I do. … I’m just not sure I have an answer.”
“Better than making one up,” he replied, with a smile.
“Not something I would ever do,” she murmured.
“You know as well as I do that we’ve got to get to the bottom of this—and fast.”
“He was targeted, wasn’t he?” She spoke in a whisper.
“Absolutely. He got off that plane with no opportunity to do anything but take a full hit,” Jasper confirmed. “So the question is, who set this up?”
She shook her head, her bottom lip trembling a bit. “Everybody loves Mason.”
Jasper wouldn’t argue with her because obviously somebody did not love Mason, but Jasper knew what she meant. Generally Mason was highly respected by both those below and above him, but there would always be somebody crosswise for some reason. An outlier would work to make life miserable for him. And that was just the current way of the world. Whenever you had somebody who succeeded, somebody else chose to work against that success. Obviously somebody was determined to interrupt or to derail Mason’s intentions.
Jasper glanced at Tesla. “Stay strong.” Her back stiffened, as he smirked in response. “There’s my girl.”
She snorted. “Always the same Jasper. You might not know me as well as you think.”
“I never claimed to. All I need to know right now is that you’ll make it through this,” he explained, “and that you’ll do your darndest to not let Mason know how upset you are and how worried you are about his making it through this.”
She continued to glare at him. “Mason knows that I’ll be there for whatever needs to be done, no matter the outcome.”
“Good. So I’ll be straight with you. I didn’t see anything close to his spine, so I highly doubt we’ll hear of any paralysis or the like. I’m more concerned about his surviving. I won’t minimize the damage. I saw a lot of bleeding.” She swallowed and nodded. “Yet he’ll get the very best medical attention available, and you can bet they are already on it.”
“Right.” She took a deep breath.
He listened cautiously, hoping that she wouldn’t hyperventilate on him. Sure enough, she pulled herself back into a state of calm control. He gave her a small smile. “You’re doing great. Let’s keep it that way.”
She didn’t say anything to that and took a moment to take stock. “You will find out who did this, won’t you?”
“I plan to. There’ll be one hell of an investigation.”
“Good.” She turned to him, declaring, “You also know this was an inside job.”
He winced. “I was hoping you wouldn’t pick up on that quite so fast.”
“Like hell I wouldn’t. Shot on base, by sniper fire, with enough skill to take that shot and to not miss,” she summed up. “So, even if it wasn’t somebody who is currently on base, maybe somebody just not currently on active duty, … you must know perfectly well that somebody coming from that background had an intel contact inside.”
“Potentially,” he admitted, “but let’s not rule out the fact that we could be dealing with a foreign entity as well.”
She sat back, pondering it silently.
“You and I both know that, as Mason has climbed the ranks, he’s also made enemies.” She stiffened, but he shook his head. “No, this isn’t a time to sugarcoat it. Enemies, they happen to all of us. That doesn’t mean that Mason’s any less of a man, any less of that perfect person you love so well,” he added. “Enemies happen. We do our best, but they’re still out there, and, God help us, somebody wanted Mason dead. That wasn’t a casual shot. Somebody was deliberately trying to take him out.”
“They won’t succeed,” she stated flatly. “No way in hell Mason would leave me right now.”
Jasper half smiled at that. Mason had and always would fight damn hard to get to Tesla’s side, and that wouldn’t change. However, the fact remained that Mason wasn’t necessarily in control right now. He had to wake up. He had to understand what the stakes were. Subconsciously he would probably know that he had been critically injured and that his team would all pitch in and help.
“Promise me,” she began, her voice thick. He winced. “Don’t give me any bullshit. Promise me that.”
“I promise,” Jasper vowed. “I promise that we will get to the bottom of this. I don’t know if it will be me directing this case, but I will ensure that I am involved in some way or another.”
She glanced over at him. “You haven’t even had your department meeting yet, have you?”
“No, I haven’t,” he replied, “and they may decide that I’m too close to this case, too close to Mason. After all, we are related,” he noted in a wry tone.
“I don’t give a crap what they say,” she snapped.
“Good, then you may want to apply some pressure yourself.”
She frowned at him, then immediately pulled out her phone and started sending text messages.
“Keep in mind that you cannot come across as a completely overwhelmed. irrational and hysterical woman,” he noted. After a moment of silence she shot him a look that had him grinning back at her. “Just checking. Not a person on base wouldn’t allow you some leeway, after what you’ve just witnessed.” He shut up under her stare.
“Doesn’t matter whether they would or not,” she declared, her tone determined.
“Who are you contacting?” he asked, as she went back to texting.
She shrugged. “As high up as I can go.”
“Good, but what are you telling them?”
“That I want you on the case.” When he sucked in his breath, she nodded. “You might not like that, but there’s not much of a choice right now.”
“You won’t make me very popular, will you?”
“Like you give a shit about a popularity contest,” she noted.
“No, I don’t, and, yes, this is the work I do, so no doubt about my popularity status. However, that’s not exactly the way to get started on a new base, and I don’t know people here.”
“Yet you seem to know Masters,” she pointed out, a question in her tone.
“I knew him from way back. Plus I met him a couple days ago, when I was on base.”
“Does he have any idea why you were here?”
“No, but I’ve come from a SEAL team that he knew, so we share mutual friends.”
“Do you have a good rep or a bad one?”
“I have a hard rep,” he clarified, yet his tone remained neutral. “I don’t give a damn how they take that.”
She burst out laughing at that, then immediately stopped. “God, I shouldn’t be laughing at a time like this.”
“Not much to laugh about right now,” he agreed. “Yet, if laughter helps you to stay balanced, if it helps you to remain somewhat stable, and if it gives you a different perspective so you can handle what’s coming,” he shared, “then laugh. You hang on to anything that you can because, God knows, we will all need it going forward.”
