Strong Enough (Tall, Dark, and Dangerous #1)(60)
Despite my resolve to remain detached, to listen with half an ear and keep my emotions out of it, I feel my chin tremble in response to his words.
Not until you.
“I don’t know if there was any point, not from the second I met you, when I could’ve hurt you. Not like that anyway. I guess I knew all along that my attraction to you would end up hurting you one way or the other. But I couldn’t resist you. Didn’t really want to. Then again, monsters are selfish. I don’t know why I’m even surprised.”
I try to ignore the way his confession eases my soul, eases some of the pain that I’m trying so hard not to feel. I open my blurry eyes and trace a finger along the shiny wood inlay of the passenger-side door. I can’t look at Jasper. I can’t let myself see what expression he’s wearing, see his eyes.
“And my father? You think killing him wouldn’t have hurt me more than you taking my life?”
“Muse, you have to understand that I’ve never, never hesitated before. All the things you made me feel are new to me. I can’t say for sure what I would’ve done, but I can tell you right now that even if he hadn’t come through with the information I needed, I wouldn’t have taken him from you. If he’d turned out to be a traitor, I don’t know what I’d have done. I’d have hated whatever it was because he was my commander. Men like us, we live by a code. And if he’d violated that code, he’d have deserved death. But even so, I couldn’t have killed him. I couldn’t have done that to you.”
I close my eyes again, battling over whether to believe him. He’s never lied to me before. Left things out, yes. Vital things like being assigned to kill me and my father, but he’s never actually lied.
“What did you want from him anyway?”
“I needed to know who he works for, who calls the shots for him. I knew if he wouldn’t give up a name, he was dirty. That’s how I would’ve known he was involved.”
“Involved in what?”
He pauses. I hear him take a deep breath as though he’s delving into something else that’s unpleasant. “Killing the members of our team. Delta Five consisted of your father and four men. Rogan, Reid, Tag and me. We’re being targeted. Now I know your father is, too. You’ll meet the rest of them soon. Well, all but one. Reid. They got to him first. After I notified the cleaner, I called the others while you were packing, told them to get to Atlanta.”
“For what?” I snap. I’m understandably alarmed. Four dangerous men, angry ones, at that, descending on my father. Who would be okay with that?
“They need to be warned. In person. Our trust needs to be reestablished. And they need to be able to take precautions. Obviously the people they care about could be in danger.”
“So you all did the same kinds of . . . jobs?”
“We all had our specialties, but we all did whatever we had to do to get the job done. We worked as a team for three and a half years. The four of us practically lived together. And in situations like the ones we often found ourselves in, you quickly become like family. Tight. Trusted. Dependable. But when it came time to re-up, two of the four couldn’t. Rogan had a brother who got hurt and needed him. Tag had a death in the family that required he take over the business back in the states. So it was just me and Reid left. Our assignments were solo after the group dissolved, but we kept in touch. We all have, actually. Until Reid got killed two months ago, that is.” Another pause. When Jasper begins to speak again, his voice is taut with an underlying anger. “The thing about men like us is that it takes someone with a high level of clearance to even find out about our existence, much less to be able to find us on an op and take us out, like with Reid. Or to target the family of someone who took on a new identity like I did. There’s a traitor somewhere in the mix. Someone who hired a low-level * like Matt. And I’m gonna find out who it is.”
I finally turn to look at him. “And you think my father can help with that?”
“I know he can. Now that I know he’s not involved.”
“And then what? You find out who this person is and kill him? Is that your plan?”
“Yes.” No wavering. No hesitation. No questions asked. “The penalty for treason is death.”
“Wh-what about my father?”
“Your father can take care of himself. He’s part of us. One of us.”
“So you’ll get your name, exact your pound of flesh and then disappear?”
“Yes. It’s what I do.”
“And if someone else is sent to finish the job you couldn’t?”
“The only reason I even took the assignment to take care of the Colonel was so that no one else would get to him and kill him before I could get answers. He went underground because he knew what happened with Reid was foul play. He also knew that if anyone was sent after him, it’d be me. I’m the best at what I do. And I’m sure he knew once I found out about you, I’d use you to get to him. And that there would be no safer place for you than with me until I got my answers. He’s always a step ahead. That’s why he was chosen to lead a team like ours. As I said, your father can take care of himself. He has contacts. He knows things. He knew I was coming. Like me, he put it together about our team being sold out. Men like Reid don’t just get killed on their way to an op that way. No one should’ve known where he was going. Except the very people who ordered him to go there.”