Jasper, page 3
At his use of the word assassination, Tesla gasped.
Jasper winced again. “See? I’m not used to sugarcoating words.”
“Don’t start now,” she muttered. “I’ve always trusted you to tell me the truth, and I need that to continue.”
“And that you will have.” He leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and added, “So tell me, what your gut is telling you right now?”
“If killing Mason didn’t work the first time, that should make any second attempt on his life harder to do. So I would think our son’s health would be in danger now. Mine too, if only to put added pressure on Mason or to use us as leverage. That alone might finish off Mason,” she replied, shaking her head. “My father will protect Sebastian. However, since I’m here at the hospital, that makes me an easier target than my son. Hopefully they will come after me, not Sebastian. Plus I presume the shooter or his minions will be looking for me—or for anybody else—waiting for an update on Mason, right?”
The fact that she had thought such a thing meant that, somewhere along the line, she considered that a possibility. “Are you not telling me something?”
“No,” she said. “Maybe over the years I’ve gotten jaded … or overly suspicious.”
“Absolutely,” Jasper agreed, “as you should. So, now you’re not going anywhere without me, and you’ll get a guard until we get to the bottom of this.”
“Oh, as if I want that,” she stated in horror.
“You brought it up,” he pointed out, with a smile. “And Mason will have my hide if anything happens to you and his children, born and soon to be born.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I will,” he confirmed, “unless I can’t be here. … So we need somebody else assigned to just look after you and to check in on Sebastian, someone we trust. But more than that, I need an investigator to help me on this.” He pulled out his phone, looked down at it for a long moment.
Tesla noted, “You don’t even know who to call, do you?”
“No, in many ways I don’t,” he admitted, “because I don’t know many people in this place. I’m not sure who can and cannot be trusted. Because the shooter was on base for this attack, I am more than a little concerned about having somebody from the base involved in the sniper shooting.”
“Mason has a lot of men and a lot of teams who will be here in a heartbeat, and I’m surprised that they’re not here already.”
“That’s because the front entrance to the hospital has been shut down,” Jasper explained, “and your phone’s off.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t shut it off.”
“No, but I did,” he declared, relaying those words with a hard look. “The last thing you need is to be bombarded by everybody asking how you are, where Sebastian is, and the latest updates on Mason.”
She pulled out her phone and stared at it blankly. “That was pretty tricky of you.”
He gave her a small smile. “Not to take control, by any means,” he shared, “but to limit additional contact. Only so much you can handle. With your father watching Sebastian, just focus on Mason, you, and the coming baby. Now, do you know any men I can trust here to help me in this investigation?”
“Lots,” she declared, “but, if you want somebody completely not connected to this base, you mentioned Masters. He’s relatively new to Mason’s team. He passed Mason’s good judgment, at least at the time.” She smiled. “Obviously you know I can name so many people, men Mason admires and who would bend over backwards to do whatever was needed.”
“I’m sure, and I’ll need them as backups; but, for my investigation team, I want faces that nobody has seen or who are new to the base.”
“Won’t new to the base make them suspicious?”
He smiled. “That’s true.” He put away his phone. “I’m heading out for a meeting right now, and I’ve contacted somebody who will look after you.”
She stared at him. “You’re leaving now?” Her voice rose into a small squawk.
“I am because I want to get on this investigation team,” he stated, “and that means, I have to go in person to make my arguments.”
She just nodded. A moment later, he pointed behind her. She turned, and there, waiting in the wings, were Markus and Evan. She smiled at the two men, who acknowledged her with a dip of their heads, before they turned to study their surroundings.
“So they were already here for me, weren’t they?” Tesla sighed. “As I said, Mason has easily fifty men we could call on in a situation like this.”
“Yeah, and a lot of them will be put on officially,” Jasper noted, “but I also need some covert people for investigations, people nobody knows and who are here unofficially, but that’s my problem to solve.”
“Start with Masters,” she suggested, “particularly if you already know him.”
“I do. I haven’t seen him in years, but he was always real back then.”
“I know he passed Mason’s radar test because he invited him to join one of the SEAL teams.”
“Good enough for me.” Jasper nodded at her. “I’ll contact Masters. In the meantime, Markus and Evan are your bodyguards. They will be switched out on a regular basis, so everybody is fresh. Lots of people are pretty pissed off because you’re right. At the end of the day, Mason was well loved.” Then he winced, realizing that he’d used past tense. “Is well loved,” he corrected.
She gave him a haunted look. “He has to survive,” she whispered.
“He will,” Jasper said. “Stand firm on that. Mason won’t leave you now.” She nodded, but the tears were evident in the corners of her eyes.
“Go do what you can do,” she whispered. “I need to know that this asshole is caught and that Mason, the baby, Sebastian and I will be fine.”
Jasper got up and walked over to where Markus leaned against one of the walls. “Two men you trust every four to six hours, set up in teams, don’t care how. I’ll get funding.”
“You’re leaving?” Markus asked.
“I’m off for a meeting right now,” he shared, as the men measured him. Markus particularly studied him intently. “Yeah, you don’t know me, and I don’t know you,” he admitted, understanding Markus’s reluctance. “Tesla is my cousin. Mason and I go way back, and no way in hell I want anybody coming after Sebastian and Tesla and the baby, much less another attempt on Mason.”
Markus nodded. “That ain’t happening on our watch.”
“Potentially somebody in the waiting room or hanging around here is looking for an update on Mason’s condition and any other intel they can get. They may be blending into the crowd, as if seated among supposed family and friends,” he noted. “If the job is done, maybe they are too, or they’ll move on to a secondary target. And, if the job isn’t done, the entire family is here right now, outside of Tesla’s father, who has Sebastian. As you two probably already know, Mason’s parents and his brother have passed away.”
Markus nodded and surveyed the room quickly. “Where are you going?”
“I’ve got a meeting with the brass,” Jasper shared. “I want this investigation to be mine.”
Surprised, Markus asked, “Have you got the chops to make that happen?”
“Yes, if I want to force it, which right now I do,” he stated succinctly. “I’m just hoping not to have to use pressure.”
“Use it,” Markus declared, looking at Tesla. “Nobody knows you, so you’re an unknown face, who will be both suspicious and not.”
“Yeah, true enough. What about Masters? Do you know him?”
“I do know him,” Markus confirmed. “How do you know him?”
“From a few years back,” Jasper said. “I’m hoping he’s still on the straight and narrow because I need a couple people who are green here but still solid to add as investigators on my team.”
Markus hesitated and then nodded. “Vet Masters,” he suggested, “and, if you need somebody else, I might have a couple more names.”
“Okay, I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” Jasper said. “First I’ll get Tesla some tea, and then I’ve got to get to that meeting.” He looked down at his phone and winced.
“I can get the tea,” Evan offered.
Jasper nodded to him but said, “I’ll deliver the tea. I want to ensure that she’s covered. She’s holding up, but then none of us would expect anything less.”
“Exactly,” Evan replied. “My wife is one of the doctors here.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, she’s doing a stint here, training for some specialized surgical procedure,” he explained, with a wave of his hand. “I can’t even tell you what the hell it’s all about, but she’s up in the OR right now.”
“That’s good to know. So can you get some inside scoop for us?”
“I’ll get all the scoop I can pry out of her,” he said, with a grin. “She’s a straight shooter, so if something can be shared, she’ll say it. She won’t sugarcoat the truth.”
“None of us needs sugarcoating right now,” Jasper agreed.
And, with that, he raced to the cafeteria area, grabbed a cup of tea, and picked up a little bit of food, knowing that Tesla probably wouldn’t eat it, but the baby might need some nutrition.
When he rejoined Tesla, he handed her the muffin and tea. “Remember that the baby’s blood sugar might need a boost.”
Chapter 3
‡
Amber worked tirelessly for the next few hours, until her shift was over. She checked in with Tesla several times, brought her a little bit of food from the staff’s break room and made her more tea. When she saw the woman flagging, she suggested, “I know you want to stay here, and I know that you’re all about looking after Mason and making sure you stay connected to your husband. I completely understand.” Still, Amber felt that Tesla needed to see reason. “He’s due to come out of surgery anytime now, but you need to look after yourself, and you need to look after the baby.”
Tesla blinked slowly and nodded. “I was planning on going home, as soon as I find out how he is,” she murmured.
“And yet you could be at home, feet up, resting, and I could call you.” She gave Tesla a reassuring smile. “You also seem to have some men keeping an eye on you.” Amber’s gaze wandered over at the two men standing guard. “Apparently we’re still in danger.”
Tesla shrugged. “Until it’s solved, they will make sure that I don’t become the next victim.”
“Ouch.” Amber frowned. “I don’t want to even think of that.”
Just then the surgeon walked toward them, fatigue on his face, but a somewhat cautious smile. Amber was happy to see that Dr. Charles had been on Mason’s surgical team.
When Tesla struggled to rise, the doctor rushed to her side. “Don’t get up,” he murmured.
At that point, Amber stepped away and spoke to someone else.
The doctor took a deep breath. “Mason is out of surgery, and he’s doing … okay, considering. His vitals are poor right now, but we expect them to pick up.”
Tesla sighed in relief, yet Amber heard a but coming.
“He bled pretty heavily through the surgery,” the doc explained. “So that is an issue, but we’ve got lots of blood for him now, and we’ve put out the call for more.”
“Thank you.”
“We can call upon lots of people on base, if necessary,” he shared, “and I’ve been told the phone has been ringing off the wall with people who want to donate blood, so that’s always a good thing.”
She looked up at him gratefully. “That’s very sweet. Thank you for sharing that.”
“I can only tell you that, for the moment, we’re cautiously optimistic,” he added, “but please understand. He is definitely not out of the woods, and recovery will be slow.”
“That’s fine,” she whispered, with a nod. “At least he’s alive, and he can work at recovering. … The alternative is just too hard to even imagine.”
“I understand that. Obviously it’s a tough scenario, but again, we’re cautiously optimistic. Now, please go on home and look after yourself.”
She nodded, then slowly got up with his help. “I may run home for a bit of a break, but I need to see Mason before I go.”
“You won’t see him for a few hours at least.”
“Considering the severity of his wounds, I plan to stay with my husband. Can I have a cot delivered to his room?”
“Because you’re pregnant, I wouldn’t advise that,” he replied bluntly. “I don’t want a second patient.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “If your wife was in that hospital room,” she argued, “would you say the same thing?” When he frowned, she nodded. “Exactly, you wouldn’t. If our situations were reversed, you would be camped out in her room for the duration, and you know it.”
He cast a glance around the room and saw Amber. Their gazes locked for a moment, and then Amber came to Tesla’s aid, promising the doctor, “I can arrange it, and I will get her to stretch out and to rest.”
He frowned, not liking the idea, but Tesla was undeterred.
Amber had to admire the tenacity it took to stand her ground, especially when she was so obviously exhausted.
Tesla added, “If he doesn’t make it, at least … I, I would have spent his last few minutes with him,” she whispered, tears clogging up her throat. “Please don’t take that away from me.” The doctor opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head. “Again, if our positions were reversed, where would you be staying the night?”
He groaned. “Fine.” Then he looked at Amber, with a frustrated glance. “You will handle setting this up?”
“I will, Doctor,” she stated, with a smile. “I’m off duty anyway.”
At that, Tesla turned and said, “No, in that case you need to go home.”
Amber shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re in lockdown. Remember? Just give me a minute and let me go find out which room Mason’s been assigned to. Once they’ve got him moved in and settled, I’ll arrange to get another bed in there for you.”
Tesla smiled and nodded. “Somehow I’m sure it will work out.”
“However,” the doctor interjected, “the minute you become a patient, all deals are off.”
“Got it.” She smiled up at the doctor. “Thank you.”
Shrugging in resignation, he muttered, “This is against my medical advice.”
“Objections noted,” Tesla murmured. “You and I both know that I need to do this.”
He sighed. “I hope your husband is half as stubborn as you are,” he grumbled. “It will bode well for his recovery.”
Tesla burst into laughter at that, and the doc even grinned back at her. “And thank you for that laugh. I hadn’t realized how much I needed the relief and the chance to breathe.”
“That’s part of the problem with you hanging around the hospital,” the doc pointed out. “The stress and this tension is not good for you. You’ll put yourself into early labor, and we’ll have two of you here, with a newborn in the nursery or an incubator.”
“If it happens, it happens,” Tesla declared, “but not because I’m not looking after myself. So let me go lie down on a bed beside my husband, and I will work whatever mumbo-jumbo magic I can dream up. You’ve done your part, for which I am very thankful. Now let me get in there and let him know that I’m here for him.”
“Pretty sure he knows already,” the doc replied. “Tesla is your name, I presume.”
“It is, but why do you say that?”
“Because he was hollering about looking after Tesla every time he surfaced. I kept telling him that we would do just that and that he needed to focus on getting better, so he could take over the job. That seemed to calm him down.”
“He probably thought he was dying,” she whispered.
“Oh, I imagine he was, and I can’t guarantee that he isn’t. However, it is a good sign, with that head injury of his, that he remembers you and that he called you by name.” And, with that, he nodded to the two women and left.
Amber held up one hand and addressed Tesla. “Give me a few minutes.” And, with that, Amber quickly walked over to find out what room Mason was being transferred to. With that done, she headed up to check the status of the preparation of his room in the ICU. As she strode to the room, the attending nurse frowned. “It’s already been cleared with the doctor and promised,” Amber shared. “Plus, she’s pregnant.”
“Oh great. So what then? You think we need another patient to look after?” Amber just waited for the nurse to blow off some steam. The attending nurse sighed. “Fine, whatever. You know the rules as well as I do.”
“I do, but, if we can get a cot in here, Tesla promised that she’ll be quiet as a mouse in the corner.”
At that, the other nurse rolled her eyes. “Sure, until chaos erupts, and she’s in the way, and we need to move her.”
“If that’s the case, we move her, and that’s the consequence of being right here on the spot. You and I both know that, if our husbands were in ICU, we would be here too.”
The other nurse winced and nodded. “Unfortunately I had to be here for mine not all that long ago, so I hear you, and that’s fine. Just give us a few minutes to get the patient set up.”
“Will you bring in a cot, or do you want me to handle it?”
“We’ll deal with it,” she offered, “just give us some time.” And, with that, she turned and walked away.
Amber waited until Mason was brought in and settled. Then, once everybody had given him a full check of his vitals and his wounds, the orderlies brought in a cot. She smiled her thanks at them, and they quickly disappeared. She studied the layout of the room, happy a private room with a bathroom had been assigned, which included a little bit of extra space, where they could hopefully get Tesla set up in a fairly comfortable way.
And, with that, Amber returned to the ER waiting area and smiled at Tesla. “Let’s go.” She noted the relief on the Tesla’s face, as she slowly got up, and they moved to the ICU, along with her two bodyguards. “You might have fooled the doctor, but you haven’t fooled me. You’re in a lot of physical pain, and we can’t have that.”
