Chapter 14

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Amber tightly gripped Jasper's hand, as they slowly made their way to the front door. She took a deep breath and asked, "Why does it feel like I'm walking into a death trap?"

"Probably because you are," he stated calmly. "We can leave anytime."

From the inside, she heard a moan, and she winced. "No, I can't." Not giving herself a chance to change her mind, she rapped hard on the door.

"Come in."

She looked over at Jasper, then pushed open the door and stepped inside, Jasper still holding her hand to support her, as he stepped forward with her.

"You were told to come alone," the man said, from somewhere in the darkness.

"No, you didn't tell me to do that," she argued. "You didn't say anything about that."

After a short pause came a half laugh. "Pretty cocky for somebody who's facing down a gun."

"Not the first time," she murmured.

He stepped out of the shadows, and Amber saw a man she didn't recognize. She didn't know anything about him, and she frowned. "Why on earth do you want to kill me and this lovely doctor?"

"Because this lovely doctor did such a damn good job, and he saved somebody who wasn't supposed to be saved."

"Mason," she stated, with a nod. "You think the entire base isn't looking for you?"

"That's nice. Do I look like I care?" With a brutal laugh, he glared at Jasper beside her. "What the hell do you want, tough guy?"

"Nothing," Jasper replied. "I came here with her."

"Her bodyguard?"

"Her partner," he stated coolly. "Nobody takes what's mine."

She stiffened under the possessive tone of his voice and wasn't sure whether he was acting or something else was to this bravado. It's not that she was angered by it by any means. If anything, that protectiveness was lovely to hear, especially right now. Jasper squeezed her fingers, and she responded by gripping his even harder. If nothing else he was a lifeline for her right now, one that she desperately needed.

"What have you done with the good doctor?" Jasper asked.

The gunman shrugged. "Gave him a taste of his own medicine."

She didn't even want to comprehend what that meant for a man who did surgeries on the worst and hardest cases. "Let me see him," she stated abruptly.

He laughed. "Why? Do you think you'll save him?"

"Maybe, if you left me anything to save."

"I was hoping not to, but he's tougher than I imagined."

She winced. "Then let me look at him."

"I guess if you keep him alive, I can just beat him up some more," he added, grinning at her.

The darkness in his soul was hard to ignore. "That's what you do? You just beat people up?"

"Sure, why not?" he murmured, with a casual wave of his hand. "You can go in and see him, but your buddy here cannot." She stiffened because she knew exactly what reaction that would bring about from Jasper, and she wasn't wrong.

"In that case she's not going anywhere," Jasper declared, hanging on to her arm tightly.

She looked over at him. "I have to go see Dr. Charles."

"No, you don't," he argued, "not unless this guy will give you free rein to go in and to come back out again."

"She's the one who came here, so obviously she cares more about the doctor than you do."

"I don't think so," Jasper countered, "but somehow you managed to make her feel guilty about this whole thing."

"And so she should. If she hadn't taken that damn video, we wouldn't be here right now."

"That's like saying, if you hadn't come to the hospital with ill intent to figure out whether your shot went wrong or not," she declared in a hard tone, "we wouldn't be here either."

She heard Jasper moan under his breath at her tone, but she was past caring. If she would die here, she would die here, but she would be damned if she would die muzzled. "I don't know why you felt it necessary to try and kill Mason. He's well loved by everybody," she cried out.

"Not everybody," the gunman corrected, glaring at her, "and you don't know anything."

"I don't know anything," she repeated, with a shriek of frustration, "because you won't tell me anything."

He nodded. "You're damn right. I won't. This guy let himself get caught, and that is why he's dead."

She frowned. "You don't mean this guy as in the doctor?"

"No, not him, but…" Then their gunman stopped and frowned.

"Right, the friend you left as a gift."

"Did you like that?" he asked, with an odd excitement.

"Not particularly. I like my men alive, not dead."

He burst out laughing, thinking that was some hilarious joke.

It wasn't. She was dead serious, but there would be no talking to this guy.

"Pretty damn cheeky for somebody in your position," the gunman snarled.

She shrugged. "Then shoot me now," she dared him. "I don't even know why you wanted to bring me here."

"I want the video."

She frowned at him. "What difference does it make? You've already killed the guy in the video. He's dead. The police have his body, so what freaking difference does it make now?"

He repeated, "I want the video."

She shrugged, pulled out her phone, and tossed it at him. "It's there."

He tossed it back at her. "Bring it up. Let me see it."

She unlocked her phone and brought up the video, then tossed it back at him. He hit Play and studied the video. Then, as if realizing nothing here made a difference, he smiled. "Good, this is nice and clean then."

"Nothing's nice and clean about leaving bodies everywhere," Jasper declared, his tone hard.

"There'll be a couple more now," the gunman threatened. "You shouldn't have come with your girlfriend."

"Maybe I shouldn't have, but she was insistent about coming to see the doctor. Dr. Charles has been a friend."

"That's her fault. She should never have signed up for something like that," the gunman stated. "What an idiot boyfriend you are to let her do this."

"Let me do this?" she asked in a hard tone.

He rolled his eyes. "What are you, some feminist? She's not worth it, you know," the gunman added abruptly, addressing Jasper.

Jasper smiled and stated, "Yes, she is."

The gunman snorted at that. "Man, you've got it bad."

"Maybe," Jasper said cheerfully, "but it's not your problem."

"No, it isn't because you'll both die now," he snapped, glaring at her. "You didn't expect to get away from here, did you?"

"Maybe not, but we want to see that Dr. Charles was okay."

"He's not doing okay," the gunman stressed in exasperation. "I never intended for him to be okay."

She stared at him steadily. "And yet you haven't killed him, but you could have."

"No, I needed him to bring you in."

She shrugged. "I'm here. Now what?"

And, with that, the tableau froze. The gunman glared at her. "I'm not sure what I'll do about you, but the doctor will die, and your little pet here will also die."

She frowned at the gunman. "You'll seriously call him a pet? Wow." She looked over at Jasper. "I think you just got demoted."

He shrugged, his gaze never leaving the gunman. "Maybe." He gripped her hand tighter and lifted his free hand to his head and scratched. "And maybe not."

The gunman lifted his gun arm, pointed it at him, and asked, "Any last words?"

A red dot appeared on the gunman's forehead.

"Yeah," Jasper replied, with half a smile. "Die, motherfucker." Then he dropped his raised hand. Almost instantly glass shattered all around them, and now a dripping red dot appeared on the gunman's forehead, as he and his gun fell harmlessly to the ground.

Amber was frozen, as it all seemed to happen so fast. She was too stunned to even think. Thankfully she didn't react and hurt herself further.

Jasper released her hand and muttered, "Go on, honey. Take a look at the doctor and see how bad he is. I'm calling an ambulance." She took another look at their gunman, then headed in the direction of the moans. There on the floor was Dr. Charles, bloody, puffy, and bruised, one eye openly staring at her in horror.

She eased herself down beside him, grasped his hand, and whispered, "It's all right. It's over. You're safe now."

He closed his eyes and whispered, "Thank God."

"Let me check you over," she murmured.

"Spleen," he whispered. "I think he ruptured my spleen."

"Well, good, that's something we can fix," she replied, trying for a cheerful tone.

"I could," he said, "but I'm not so sure about my residents."

She chuckled, relieved to hear the humor in his voice. "You keep that sense of humor. You know perfectly well we have some very talented people on staff."

"I know," he whispered, "but, damn, I'm tired."

"I don't want you going out now," she warned him, and he opened his eyes. "Remember how I need you awake. You know the drill, Doctor. I need you conscious, and we have an ambulance on the way."

"And if I can't stay awake?" he asked, that same thread of amusement in his voice.

"In that case, I'll have to throw ice water in your face. And I'm not sure whether that will hurt you or help you, considering your face has already been beaten up."

"You've probably just been waiting for a chance to do that," he teased, trying for a smile that looked horrible on him, "but I'm damn glad to see you."

"I'm damn glad to see you alive," she muttered. "I was afraid you were a goner."

"He kept threatening me, telling me that he had one more thread to tie up, and then I would be history," he shared. "I don't even know what I did."

"You saved Mason," she replied, "although I'm not sure whether or not he shot Mason."

"It wasn't him," Dr. Charles stated. "He told me something about he was a scout, sent to the hospital to keep an eye on everything, and it all went to hell, when I fixed up somebody I shouldn't have."

"Yeah," she said calmly, "and, if this guy isn't the sniper who fired the shot, then we're still looking for somebody else."

"He made it seem that he was part of a team."

She thought about that, as she checked him over. Her left hand applied pressure on the wound bleeding the worst. "Looks like he broke an arm, and your ankle is in rough shape, and well…" She stopped and winced. "That gorgeous face of yours appears to have a broken nose."

He snorted. "That'll be like the twelfth time," he pointed out. "I don't think it'll fix anymore."

"Don't worry. The girls will still love you anyway."

He gave her a sad smile. "Lost my wife a long time ago," he murmured, sounding like a lost puppy. "I haven't been in the market since."

"No, but maybe you should reconsider that now," she suggested. "You've been given a second chance to live. Maybe it's time to find somebody to share it with."

He then came back with another one-liner that had her chuckling. "I can't. You already came in with somebody, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, apparently I ended up with a guardian angel."

"Good," he said, "but see what I mean? All the good ones are taken." Then he groaned softly and whispered, "I don't think I can stay conscious."

"What is it we're always telling our patients?" she murmured, and his eyes opened wide, as he stared at her through the puffiness. She nodded. "It's not an option. You stay awake, and you do not give up on me."

"I'm not giving up," he whispered, "but I feel pretty rough."

"I know you do," she acknowledged, sympathy in her tone, but she couldn't let him succumb to that pain. "The ambulance will be here momentarily."

"Momentarily doesn't sound quite the same when it's your version of the word."

She smiled down at him, stroking the hair off his bruised and bloodied face with her free hand. "Just think," she added. "You're a hero."

"No, I'm so not a hero. I didn't do anything. As a matter of fact, I begged him to let me go."

"And you feel bad about that?" she asked in astonishment. "I would have begged right off the bat," she noted, with a chuckle. "You can't feel bad about anything to do with these people. They're assholes, and we are the good people. We spend our lives saving people, and sometimes, when we get on the wrong side of humanity, it can be ugly because we don't have the tools to deal with the assholes. You did just fine."

"Ah, I don't know about that."

"Don't ever feel ashamed of begging for your life," she stated. "Every man, every woman would do exactly the same thing, if they found themselves in the same situation."

He let out a gentle sigh. "I think you're wrong, but you make me feel better, and, for the moment, I'll let you."

She chuckled. "And that's a good thing. You should let me because you've done good today." In the distance, she heard sirens, and she smiled. "Hear that?… The sirens are almost here."

"You're just telling me that so I don't fall asleep," he murmured.

"You should hear them yourself," she stated. "Open your eyes. Look at me. Look at me."

Under duress, he opened his good eye and stared up at her.

She nodded. "Now listen. Then tell me that you can hear them." In the distance, the sirens were getting louder and louder.

The relief was easy to see in his gaze, as he whispered, "Thank God."

"I know, but it is happening, and you'll be okay. Just hold tight." After that, things happened at a pace that she knew to expect, and yet it still seemed almost in slow motion, as she watched and waited for the team to come in.

She gave them the little bit of information that she had for them, and they quickly packed up the doctor and moved him out into the ambulance and away.

As she stood up and stepped outside, she looked around at the strange light and realized that they were lights from what looked like one million vehicles parked outside. Blinded, she stumbled out the front door and was caught from behind and wrapped up in strong, warm arms. Instinctively she knew who held her, and she buried her face against Jasper's chest, choking back the sobs that she wanted to let loose but didn't dare quite yet.

"It's all right," he whispered, as he held her close. "I'll get you home soon. Then you can crash."

She looked up at him. "Keep telling me that, and I might believe you. All I could do was keep Dr. Charles focused, keep him awake, and keep pressure on some of that bleeding."

"That's what he will remember." Jasper hesitated and then asked, "He will remember, right?"

"I think so," she said. "He thought his spleen was ruptured, which is the most worrisome. He has multiple injuries, but the rest are more incapacitating, rather than life-threatening—a broken nose and broken arm, maybe a bruised ankle. I don't understand how people can do things like that."

"That's a very strategic tactic," Jasper noted calmly. "Incapacitate them so they can't come after you, and then you continue to toy and torment them."

"Toying and tormenting a good man like that?" she asked, staring up at him. "Did I ever tell you that I don't like people?"

"I'm pretty sure that, even if you haven't told me, I would still understand," he replied, with a gentle smile.

She relaxed a bit and looked around. When someone called out, she stiffened, and he just held her close. When people approached, she lifted her head, looked around, and saw the police, plus several men she didn't recognize, but they were all talking to Jasper. She listened as the conversation rippled around her for a few moments. Then she was asked to provide whatever additional information she had. When someone specifically asked if the doctor had told her anything, she nodded.

"He did," she whispered and then proceeded to tell them the little bits and pieces he had shared.

"Shit, this gunman was part of a whole team?"

"Something like that," she murmured, "though I'm not exactly sure what a team looks like in a case like this."

"Neither do we," Jasper admitted, with a nod, "but we'll find out." He looked at the guys all around him.

A few she thought she recognized and thought maybe a couple were the ones Jasper had been working with, but she wasn't sure.

"I'm taking her home. She's still in rough shape from the hit-and-run," Jasper explained. "So, if you want to meet at my place, that's fine. I just need to get her off her feet."

She groaned. "I'm fine. I can hold up a bit longer."

Looking at her, he shook his head. "Nope, that will just make you worse off in the long run. No point in saving one person at the expense of another. I told you that already."

"As I recall, it seemed to be more of an order at the time. I don't recall there being a whole lot of discussion about it."

He chuckled. "Not my fault you didn't listen," he quipped, as he unreservedly moved her toward his vehicle.

She sighed with relief. "I am tired."

"Let's go. Let's get you home."

She collapsed into the seat, feeling a weariness like she hadn't experienced in a very long time.

He looked over at her, as he started the engine. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," she murmured. "It had a happy ending, after all."

He nodded.

"You could have told me what your plans were," she burst out, "so I wouldn't have been so worried."

"Yeah, and when was I supposed to do that?"

She frowned, realizing that she hadn't given him a whole lot of options for talking. She shrugged. "Maybe I didn't give you a chance. I don't know. I was just keeping the gunman's attention on me, hoping you could figure something out. But I sure would have felt better had I known what to expect."

"But the reality is, that would have changed the way you behaved, so you might have given it away."

She winced. "That's true. I might have."

"You've shown enough bravado already," he stated in a dry tone. When she glared at him, he smiled and nodded. "Come on. You know it yourself."

"I had to get to Dr. Charles," she said, with a nod. "I've seen him save people who were well past the point of saving," she murmured. "He's a truly gifted surgeon, and, even if I was lost, the world needed him."

He looked over at her and grabbed her hand. "The world needs you too," he murmured.

She sat back, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Jasper, let's go home."

*

Jasper damn nearhad a heart attack, watching Amber arguing with the gunman about going in to see Dr. Charles. The fact that she had done what she did and did it in the way she had done it, made Jasper like her even more. The fact that he already liked her, had already opened his heart to her, was something he was still coming to terms with. Hard not to since she was special in so many ways, but the last thing he wanted right now was a relationship, particularly when he was involved in this case, which had already taken several ugly turns.

They had gotten through this leg of it, and nobody was more grateful than Jasper, but it still could get much uglier so quickly that he didn't want Amber involved in any way. Yet he knew he would have to fight to keep her out of it.

What he had to do was convince her to stay at his house, and, if he was lucky, convince her to stay long enough for them to get to know each other well enough for him to determine whether this attraction he felt was two-way or just one. He wanted to believe it went both ways, but he'd been wrong before. Lessons learned from the past held him back, when there had probably been opportunities he could have taken. However, she was injured anyway. Plus, he wanted time, time to go slowly, time to realize whether this was something serious or the complete opposite.

And it didn't seem they would get a whole lot of time right now either. He had to work. He had to deal with this Mason shooting.

As he pulled into his garage and locked the doors behind them, she asked, "Is the team coming?"

"They'll be here in a few hours. Everybody will do a regroup right now."

"Good enough. Will they consider it rude if I go lie down?"

He chuckled. "They're all expecting you to go lie down and are probably waiting for that, so you're not in the middle of the meeting."

She opened her eyes and asked, "Do I need to be part of it?"

"No, but I'll fill you in afterward."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I think you probably will, if only to ensure that I stay out of trouble."

He nodded, as he opened the passenger door and helped her out. "Be sure you take some painkillers," he suggested, "or you'll be damn sore tomorrow."

"I will," she said. "Did you mean it about staying at your house for the next few days?"

"I said a lot longer than a few days. How about you staying long enough for us to see if we have anything?" At that, she opened her eyes wide and stared at him. "Or will you just pretend absolutely nothing is there?"

"No, I definitely won't pretend that," she replied. "I was just thinking we might have more time to work it out later."

"We might, or we might not."

"Good point," she murmured. "In that case, as long as you're okay with a house guest for a little while, I'll stay."

"I want you to stay at least until all this is put to rest," he confirmed. "I don't know how many other people might know what your involvement was tonight, but I don't want them coming back after you." He watched the color fade from her skin, and he nodded. "So, please consider yourself a most welcome guest."

"No strings?" she asked warily.

"No strings," he declared, his eyes open wide. "Unless you want to tie them."

She stared up at him and asked, "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "At least if we spend some time together, we can see if anything long-term is between us."

"I already feel as if there is. I just don't know that I can trust it."

"You and me both," he admitted. "I think walking wounded in terms of relationships might apply,… at least to me."

"To you, yes," she agreed. "I don't have that excuse."

"And you don't need one," he told her, as he led her into the living room and up the stairs. "Remember that you get to be you. You don't have to be anybody else."

She smiled. "As long as you remember that too. You don't have to be anybody else either."

He burst out laughing. "And, of course, you would throw my words at me."

"Of course," she said, "because it's far too easy to get hung up on the rights and the wrongs without being that person. Right now, I think we've had a lucky escape, and I, for one, need some rest."

"Go for it," he said. "I'll meet with the guys, and then I will check up on you. However, if you're sleeping, I won't wake you," he promised.

"Good, because I'm not sure I'll even get back to sleep. The nightmares will be something else."

He stared at her and nodded. "Anytime you need to be reassured, you give me a call."

"We'll see, but right now, I'll just sleep." And, with that, she took the last few steps into her bedroom and closed the door.

He stood outside for a long moment, wondering if he should have said something more, but he found it hard to go in that direction right now. When the door opened again, and she stepped back out, he smiled.

"You still haven't left," she noted, returning his smile.

"No, I'm still here, still contemplating life."

She nodded. "Probably more than contemplating life, but I just wanted to give you something else to contemplate." And, with that, she pulled his head down and gave him a big kiss. When she broke away, she smiled at him. "Thank you for saving my life."

And she turned and walked back into the bedroom and shut the door once more.