“No. Actually, Coughlan wasn’t as upset about your involvement this time.”
That did surprise her.
“Then, I don’t understand. Why have you changed your mind?” After the kiss they’d shared in the morgue’s office, Leo had been certain his feelings for her were sincere.
Jasper got up from the sofa with a groan, as if his bones ached. He went to the decanter and poured himself another brandy. With his back to her, he said, “There is going to be trouble soon. I’m afraid there is no avoiding it.”
He faced her, and at his severe mien, Leo rose to her feet, bracing herself for whatever he had to say.
“Andrew Carter picked me up as I was leaving the Yard this evening.”
She hadn’t known what to expect, but it wasn’t that. “Why? What did he want?”
Belatedly, she assessed Jasper for any injuries that he might have been concealing. But his tie was neat; his clothing, if rumpled, wasn’t damaged. He didn’t sport so much as a bruise.
“He knows who I am.”
The words shoved at her. She didn’t—couldn’t—draw breath.
“He knows what the Inspector did, presenting the drowned boy wearing my clothes and in possession of my grandmother’s rosary beads as me to my aunt.”
That day, the Inspector had bent the letter of the law, though Leo didn’t believe it was for personal gain. He’d wanted to protect Jasper from what would happen to him if he were sent back to his aunt and uncle. So, he’d gotten creative and taken a risk, and for sixteen years, it had worked. Until now.
“Do they all know?”
Jasper shook his head. “Not yet.”
She crossed the room to where he continued to stand. “What does he want?” But then, she considered Jasper’s job, his position with the Metropolitan Police, and answered her own question: “He plans to blackmail you.”
It was the only reason Andrew Carter would keep such knowledge to himself rather than share it with the rest of his family.
Jasper looked down into his glass, unable to meet her gaze. “He knows what I stand to lose if anyone at the Yard learns the truth. And if he informs the others…well, I don’t need to articulate what they will do.”
A swirl of cold nausea struck her. No, he needn’t articulate that. The Carters would see what Jasper had done as a betrayal. They would punish him the same way they had her father. The bilious spin of her stomach intensified when she thought of how Jasper would answer any demands Andrew made.
“You won’t bend to his will.”
Jasper would rather give up his career, his very life, than become corrupted.
“I won’t,” he agreed. At last, he looked up at her. “Unless he threatens you. That is why it would be best if we don’t change how things stand between us.”
Leo shook her head, confused. The two points failed to connect in her mind. “Why would you say that?”
Jasper set his still full glass of brandy on the drinks table. “He’s had a man watching me for some time. He’s seen you. Us.”
That word—us—brought her back to the morgue office when they’d kissed in the open doorway. Sergeant Lewis had come upon them, but perhaps someone else had been watching too.
“Andrew doesn’t seem to know that you’re already aware of the truth. He believes the threat to expose to you who I am and what I did on the night of your family’s murders will sway me to fall in line.”
“But that will fail to work in his favor,” Leo said, catching on.
“And then he will find another way to use you.” Jasper’s eyes filled with torment. “I will give up my job, my reputation, if pressed. But I will not risk you or your safety.”
Leo knew how strongly he felt about protecting her. He’d made a vow to keep her safe, no matter what. But he wasn’t thinking clearly. “Ending things between us now will do nothing to stop Andrew. He already knows you care for me and that I care for you.”
Saying it aloud brought a rush of blood to her cheeks. But she wasn’t sorry. It was the truth. She no longer wished to confine her feelings for him or guard them.
“Besides, you said it yourself,” she went on. “There can be no going back to the way things were.”
