Page 335 of Romeo

“Dark SUV picked us up about an hour outside the city. Stayed with me through enough turns that it wasn’t coincidence.”

Gator’s voice changed. “You still got him?”

“No. Lost him about fifteen minutes ago.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Jasper glanced into the mirror again. “You send anybody?”

“Hell no. You asked me to get you out quiet; I got you out quiet.”

I stared at Jasper while the meaning settled over me. Whatever this was, he hadn’t expected it. Neither had Gator.

His cousin asked where we were, and Jasper gave him the name of a road I had already forgotten. Gator apparently knew exactly where he meant because he told Jasper to stay off the main route and use a different landing.

“I know the one,” Jasper said.

Gator swore quietly. “Rome, what the fuck is this?”

Jasper’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. “Don’t know yet.”

Something about those words made me look at him more carefully.

Not everything happening this morning had surprised him.

The SUV had.

The rest of it hadn’t.

When the call ended, I waited until Jasper set the phone in the console before asking, “Were you expecting something like this?”

“No.”

I believed him, but that wasn’t really what I was asking. “Then why did you have all this planned before we left?”

For several seconds, he said nothing. The road narrowed ahead, trees pressing closer on either side, and I watched the side of his face while he decided how much to tell me.

“I wanted you somewhere nobody could get to you easily.”

The words took away what little remained of the lightness from the morning.

“Why?”

Jasper exhaled slowly through his nose. “I learned somethin’ yesterday.”

My stomach tightened. “Yesterday when?”

He glanced at me before returning his attention to the road.

I didn’t need another answer to know.

“Before we got married?”

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“No.”