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“Yeah, I’m on it,” he says.
“This guy got desperate. To fire shots outside a police station is crazy. Whoever this is wants Jasmine dead and soon. It’s like he’s got a time limit,” I say. The guys look at me with confusion. “Think about it. Her whole life, nothing happens, then in the last month or so, there were three separate incidents on her life. What happened at that point to have someone come after her this way?”
“You think she saw something and doesn’t even know it?” Caleb asks.
“Maybe.” I shrug. “It just doesn’t make any sense. They didn’t pick a dark alley. These are all very visible places. Even her apartment has a ton of people walking in and out of the building. Out in front of her school with kids watching… Isn’t that strange?”
“I see what you mean,” Damian says. “What happened during that time to make someone go after a second-grade schoolteacher?”
“That’s a question for Jasmine,” Alex says.
“Yeah, but before we go there, I want to run something by you all.” Caleb waits for us to acknowledge him, then continues, “We need to get this person out in the open. We can keep Jasmine hidden, and all that’s going to do is keep this guy away and waiting for an opportunity to strike when we let our guard down. My thought is to send someone undercover at the school. I’ve already done a full background check on the principal, and she’s solid. I can arrange for one of us to become a substitute teacher for a few weeks. Hopefully, we won’t need that long, but that way, someone will be with her all day. The rest of us will be running down leads and investigating suspects.”
“I like it, but which one of us is qualified to teach kids?” Damian asks.
“I am,” I interject. “I have a masters in art.”
“Holy shit, man,” Alex says. “Why didn’t you say anything? I knew you studied art, but a masters? That’s awesome.”
“It was something I thought I wanted, but I figured out that I was meant to be a cop. But I can teach art for a few weeks.” I turn to Caleb. “Do you think you can make that work with the principal?”
“Yeah, I think we can make that work,” Caleb agrees. “That leaves the three of us to handle the rest.”
“I also think Jasmine can’t go back to her apartment. She should stay here,” I tell them.
“We’ll have eyes on her,” Caleb says.
“It’s too risky. If I’m watching her at work, it makes sense that I’m with her at night.”
“If this guy is watching, he’ll follow you both here,” Damian says.
“Let them. This place is more secure than Fort Knox. If they think Jasmine’s got a man in her life, it’ll put them off their game.” I can make as many excuses as I want, but the truth is I don’t like the idea of her being away from me.
Caleb nods. “We’ll have to run this past her first. She may want to go back to her own space. It’s her home, and she may be more comfortable there.”
“That’s another question for Jasmine,” Alex adds.
We decide it’s time to share our plan with her. The ladies are all sitting back chatting, Chloe and Sabrina sharing about their jobs at the clinic. “There was this one child, he and his family were in a car accident. It was horrible. His mom and dad had minor injuries, but this little boy was pinned. It took over a month in hospital and two months of physiotherapy, but he’s walking again. A few more months and he’s going to be running,” Sabrina says.
My gaze is glued to Jasmine and the tears filling her eyes over a little boy she hasn’t met. She’s compassionate and gentle. I know I’m feeling far too much for a girl I haven’t even known for twenty-four hours, but I can’t help myself.
Alex bends next to his girl and kisses her on the cheek. “That’s beautiful, baby. I hate to break it up, but we have to ask Jasmine some questions.”
Jasmine perks up when her name is mentioned. “Yes, of course. How can I help?”
Caleb explains the plan for keeping tabs on her while she’s working. Jasmine seems relieved to know that I’ll be close by if needed. “We’ll arrange for Zeke to have the classroom right next door.”
“That makes me feel a lot better.” Jasmine turns to me and asks, “Are you okay with this?”
“Sure. No problem at all,” I say casually. “There’s one other thing I think you should think about.” She tilts her head to one side and waits for me to go on. “I don’t think you should go back to your apartment. My apartment is more secure.”
“But—”
“The options are either you stay here, or I stay with you at your place. I prefer here. I’ve got security set up, and I have more control over the environment, but if you insist, I’ll make it work at yours.”
I can see Jasmine is a little stunned by my directness, but this is about her safety and well-being, and if I need to be stern to get her to see the situation is dire, then so be it.
After a couple of breaths, Jasmine looks around the room. Chloe and Sabrina are still staring at me in surprise. I guess my tone was more intense than I thought.
