Chapter 158
Sobate stumbled into the room, flanked by a wary soldier. Jasper’s cold eyes flicked to her.
“Hey, you,” he snapped at the soldier, “Tie her to the chair.”
The soldier froze, clearly conflicted.
Jasper’s voice sliced through the silence, “Do it or I’ll let my uncle deal with you.”
Pinned by fear, the soldier nodded.
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He took a length of rope and secured Sophia’s wrists and ankles to the chair. Her complexion turned ghostly white.
Her voice shook as she pleaded, “Please don’t do this.”
Jasper waved a dismissive hand at the soldier. “You, get out.”
The door shut behind them, leaving Sophia alone with him.
He inched closer, gaze dark with unbridled hunger.
“You cost me my manhood,” he growled. “Now I’ll make you suffer.”
Sophia’s eyes widened, her chest tight with terror. “Please, Mister Jasper, don’t-”
“Shut up!” he snarled, striking her across the cheek.
She gasped by the pain, head snapping to the side.
Jasper’s fingers clamped around her jaw, forcing her to face him. “Don’t test me,” he warned, voice dripping with menace.
He released her, stalking toward a small wooden chest near the wall.
Its hinges creaked as he lifted the lid, revealing an array of sex toys designed for many purposes.
He grabbed a scissor and returned, pressing the cold metal against the fabric of her pants.
Sophia trembled, tears stinging her eyes. “Please–please don’t,” she pleaded.
Jasper’s hand snapped out again, delivering another hard slap. “How many times do I have to say it? Be quiet.”
Sophia’s fear and pain ignited into a flash of anger.
She glared at him through tear–blurred vision.
“When Alex finds out,” she hissed, “he won’t just break you. He’ll kill you.”
Jasper smirked, unflinching. “Let him try. My uncle will gut him before he even steps foot here.”
He lifted the scissors again. “Now behave, so maybe I won’t have to cut too deep.”
The Study
Jarvis eyed the young man standing across from him, every nerve an edge. “Who are you?”
Alex stepped forward, his presence an almost physical weight pressing down on the room. “A man like you doesn’t need my natne,” he said quietly.
A chill crawled up Jarvis’s spine.
He’d been in wars, killed without pause, but Alex exuded a darkness that made every instinct scream danger.
“All you need to know,” Alex continued, settling into a chair and propping his boots on the desk, “is that I killed Harlan. He
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touched my woman. I don’t let that slide,”
Taric tried to swallow his growing dread. “Do you know who I am??
Alex’s gaze was razor–sharp, his voice edged with quiet menace, know exactly who you are, Lieutenant Jarvis Drake. You’ve earned just enough merit to make me hesitate–otherwise, you’d already be dead. Consider that a gift.”
Before Jarvis could muster a response, his phone buzzed, slicing through the tension.
Alex barely spared it a glance. “You might want to answer that.”
Jarvis glanced at the caller and immediately stiffened.
“General,” he blurted, rising to his feet as though the man could see him.
A firm voice crackled through the line. “Lieutenant, I hear you left your post for Vancouver.”
“Yes, sir. It was personal.”
“I don’t care. Drop whatever you’re doing and return. That’s an order.”
Alarm tightened Jarvis’s chest. How the hell does he know?
The general’s tone turned grave. “Listen to me carefully. You’re a good soldier. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t bother calling. The man you’re hunting… outranks even me. Cross him, and you, your family–everyone–will be dead within an hour.”
Jarvis felt the blood drain from his face. “Are… are you serious, sir??
“I don’t joke,” the general snapped. “If you’ve already stirred trouble, fix it. Now. Because if he decides to retaliate, I won’t be able to protect you.” The line went dead.
Silence pressed in like a storm cloud.
Jarvis turned to Alex, a million thoughts colliding in his mind. But no words came out.
Alex rose with a lethal calm.
“I killed Harlan because he touched what’s mine. If anything happens to her…” His eyes flashed murder. “I’ll bury the entire Drake family.”
Jarvis’s heart pounded.
He knew, in that moment, he’d made a disastrous mistake.
“I’ll stop everything,” he promised, voice quivering. “Please… wait here.”
He bolted out of the study, mind racing, lungs seizing. God, please let Jasper have kept his hands off that woman.
Back at Jasper’s Suite
Jarvis found the soldier who’d escorted Sophia. “Where are they?” he demanded.
“Inside,” the soldier said, voice trembling. “He–he tied her up.”
Jarvis felt cold sweat break across his forehead. If Sophia was harmed, the Drake family was doomed.
He reached the door–it was locked. He didn’t hesitate.
One powerful kick and the doorframe exploded, wood shards raining onto the floor.
Sophia sat bound to a chair, pants sliced open.
Tears streaked her cheeks. Jasper stood naked except for bandages covering his lower body, sex toys in hand.
Chapter 154
He turned, surprise flashing Across his textures.
“Unele,” Jasper sneered, “ever heard of knocking?”
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jaw clenched, Jarvis advanced, ignoring the stench of fear and sweat. “Last time you tried to touch her, you ended up in the hospital. Then your father tried, and he ended up in the morgue.”
Jasper eyed him warily. “So?”
“And now,” Jarvis said, lifting his gun and pressing it between Jasper’s eyes, “you want the entire Drake family to die for your stupidity again?”
“What
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Bang
Bang
Bang
Jasper’s body jerked with each shot before it hit the floor, blood pooling beneath him.
Sophia screamed, eyes squeezed shut against the horror.
Gunpowder fumes stung the air.
Jarvis hurried to untie her. “Miss Lancaster,” he said, voice taut with guilt. “I was deceived. I made a terrible mistake.”
Sophia stared in shock, her ears ringing, her entire body shaking
He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. Truly,”
Her vision blurred with tears, mind reeling. 1
An apology–from the man who’d just executed his own nephew. It was almost too surreal to process.
