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Jasper walked further away from the doors, Atticus on his heels, and trusting his friend with everything he held dear, he switched the call to speakerphone.
"...she will not enjoy life with me, boy," Dominic rambled on, apparently oblivious to the brief altercation between Jasper and Atticus. "You have until midnight to decide. One of us will rut a baby into that girl—I'm being nice and giving you the choice of who."
Atticus's face darkened so quickly, it felt like he'd sucked all the sunlight from the world. Green eyes glowered into Jasper's, his expression mirroring what Jasper felt.
"The choice is made, Dominic. Anarchy isn't an option."
"Well then, I anticipate the pleasure of meeting her under not so pleasant circumstances. Don't say I didn't warn you, Jasper." More keyboard tapping, another chuckle. "Such a shame to see your friends are back in the hospital. Pregnancy issues, yes? Eighth floor, room eight-oh-six. You know, technology is a marvel, isn't it? Simply amazing how everyone trusts their personal data into computer systems. With enough money and people with the right skillsets, it's ridiculously easy to access...everything."
Jasper's heart stuttered to a halt. His father had taken several steps further in his quest to be a monster than Jasper thought. He was widening the network, sucking Jasper back into the net. He bared his teeth, trying to think how to keep Anarchy safe and away from the tendrils Dominic extended. "You're a dead man, Dominic."
Atticus shook his head and sliced his finger across his throat, indicating he wanted Jasper to end the call. There was fury brewing in the big man, equal to Jasper's rage, and something tight eased inside him as he realized he didn't have to defend his woman alone. No matter how good his father's tech team might be, there was no one more exceptional at gaining and utilizing information than Atticus.
"You're too soft to pull the trigger, boy. I—"
His thumb pressed the disconnect button before Dominic could spew more bullshit. He didn't resist when Atticus plucked the phone from his grasp before he broke it into tiny pieces. Meeting his eyes, Jasper asked, "Do you need me to explain?"
"Do you need to explain Dominic Fairfax is up to his old tricks once again? No. The part where Anarchy is involved, yeah, you're gonna need to bring me up to speed on that."
Clusterfuck. Why did he always end up in the middle of a clusterfuck? Jasper sighed and scrubbed his face hard with the heels of his hands. His breath escaped in plumes into the cold air, but his body was so pumped up with adrenaline and the urge to pummel his father's face in, he couldn't feel the chill.
He took his time replaying the conversation, taking the opportunity to roll the words through his head slowly. Dominic wanted Anarchy—not as a woman, but as a means of leverage. Obviously, he was aware of Jasper's failed attempt to go home—whether he knew whyJasper had gone back remained unseen.
Jasper's voice faltered when he tried to talk about Leigh.
"Brother, you don't need to tell me about her. I already know about Leigh Montgomery and what transpired. Fairfax might be an arrogant fucker with money to burn on corrupt employees, but trust me when I say my team is far more advanced and thorough. I assume you didn't know Leigh was dead?"
He shook his head. "After...after it happened, she disappeared. Rita held her in the lab for weeks, but then she vanished. Her mother, too. We got a new housekeeper, and Rita said they were moving back to New York to be with their family. Shit." The sickness spread through him as he understood how naive he'd been. "The mother's dead too, isn't she?"
"Likely before the attempted impregnation of her daughter. We haven't found any bodies matching either of them. Now we know Dominic's resurrecting his operation, I'll focus more resources on taking him down. I need to borrow your phone for a few hours," Atticus said, pocketing it. "My guys can work their magic on it."
"Who the fuck are you, and who do you work for?" Jasper asked in exasperation.
The corners of his eyes creased. "Do you honestly want to know?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
"Okay, then." Atticus glanced around, then shifted slightly. "I run a highly-trained, highly-skilled team of individuals for the purposes of retrieval, disposal, and apprehension. We do things the cops, the FBI, and all the other government agencies can't legally do. We can trace missing people, locate kidnap victims, and extract them from their circumstances."
"Wet work?"
Something dark flashed in the green. "We handle wet work, yes. Sometimes we're asked to take on cases, sometimes we assign ourselves to cases that pique our interest. Dominic Fairfax landed on my radar when I met you. I think it's time the team was given the green light to take him out, don't you?"
Relief swamped Jasper. "Are you gonna let me help?"
Atticus thumped his shoulder. "I think you're gonna be instrumental. Leave the details with me for now. We need to get our asses upstairs before Connie kicks them into next week. Your job from here on out is to watch Anarchy; don't let her out of your sight."
It was too much to hope for, a life without the threat of his father hanging over his neck like a guillotine blade. He'd managed well enough over the years to build a life for himself, but Dominic had gone too far in dragging Anarchy into the hell of his past.
Jasper was willing to do anything to neutralize the threat.
Murder included.
*
Bodie was roomed in a completely different part of the hospital, Anarchy noted as she hurried along behind Mistress Connie's long, confident strides. This wasn't the surgical wing, far from it. Whoever decorated this wing had been a happy, optimistic soul.
Pinks and yellows and creams. Bright, cheery colors designed to brighten the walls and the spirits of those with the misfortune to require spending any time here.
