Jasper unbuckled his seatbelt, then leaned over and hugged his mother. “Thanks for the ride home.”

“No need to thank me. I was more than happy to drive you. Besides,” she said, tugging on his hair, “it gave us some time alone to talk about your detective.”

“You mean to grill me about my detective,” Jasper said with a laugh as he pulled back.

“Grilling your child on their new love interest is one of the joys of being a mother.” Her laughter was like tinkling drops of sunshine. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she said, “Your father’s on his way home.”

Jasper groaned. “Didn’t you tell him I was fine?”

“I did. But despite my assurances, he wanted to see for himself that you were okay.”

“But his work.”

“Is only work. His clients will understand or he’ll get new clients.”

“But I know how much he’d been looking forward to meeting Mr. Ramirez’s team.”

“You’re his son. There is no contest.”

Jasper nodded. The one thing he’d never been in doubt of was how much his parents loved him. “When will he be back?”

“His flight gets in tomorrow at midnight. You can expect to see us that morning.”’

“Uhm, Gabe might be here.” At least, Jasper sure hoped he would be.

“Tell him to put on the coffee. We should be here by nine.”

“Alright.” He hugged her again. “I’m glad you were with me today.”

“Your father and I will always be there for you.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “As will your friends. You’d better go. Spencer is waiting for you.”

Jasper looked over and grinned when he saw Spencer on his porch, telltale pink pastry box in his hands. The big one. Jasper gave his mother a quick kiss. “Love you, Mom. Drive safe.”

“You as well.” A small pause. “Though I suppose you’ll have to replace your vehicle first.”

Jasper groaned as he opened the car door. “Don’t remind me. The insurance claim is going to be a nightmare.”

“Nonsense. If Steve gives you any trouble, tell him to call me.”

Jasper paused halfway out of the car and looked back at her. “You don’t have to look after all my problems. I can take care of myself.”

“I know that, dear. But have him call me all the same.”

“Sure,” Jasper said, knowing his mom would be on the phone with Steve the minute she got home, smoothing the way for him. Which, in this case, he was grateful for. He closed the door and stood back, watching as his mother backed out of his driveway, then waved her off before loping up the stairs to greet Spencer. “Shouldn’t you be at the bakery?”

“Katie’s covering for me so I could check up on you to make sure you hadn’t broken your head after your daredevil stunt.”

“Gotcha,” Jasper said, unlocking his front door. Grabbing the large pink box from Spencer, he kicked off his shoes in the entryway, then carried the box to the kitchen and set it on the counter. Flipping open the lid, Jasper’s stomach growled when he saw the assortment of donuts, cinnamon buns, and fudge-covered brownies inside. Grabbing a brownie, Jasper stuffed it into his mouth, groaning when the rich chocolatey square all but melted on his tongue. Once he’d finished it, Jasper picked out a donut then went to the cupboard and pulled down two glasses, filling them both with milk. Handing one to Spencer, he bit off half of the donut, chewing fast, then shoved the rest of it in his mouth as he reached for another brownie.

“Hungry?” Spencer asked with a laugh.

“Starving,” Jasper said, drinking down half his milk, then filling his glass up again.

“I thought you might be. But you might want to slow down or you’re going to make yourself sick.”

Jasper bit into his brownie, hurriedly chewing and swallowing, before saying, “I can’t help it. You brought all my favorites.”

“Least I could do when my best friend drives off a cliff,” Spencer said, picking out a donut, then shutting the lid and putting the box on top of the refrigerator.

Jasper stopped with his brownie halfway to his mouth when the memory flashed into his mind. “God, I hope I never experience anything like that again.”

Spencer looked at him in concern. “Can you tell me what happened? Or will that be too traumatic for you?”

“No, I’d like to talk to you about it. Maybe you can make sense of what happened because I sure as hell can’t.”

“Okay.” Spencer sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island, then dunked his donut in his milk. Nodding his head at Jasper, he said, “You can start by telling me where you took off to in the middle of the night.”

“I was going to Elwood’s,” Jasper said, taking a seat across from him.

“Why?”

“He found some information on the dark web he wanted to show me.”

Spencer’s eyebrow shot up. “Elwood knows how to get on the dark web?”

“That’s what I said. I guess he found a guy who helped him get on there.”

Spencer frowned. “I thought the dark web was this secret place that you needed some special software or something to access. Why would someone just help him get onto it?”

Jasper shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe the guy owed him or something.”

“More likely Elwood paid him.” Spencer drank the rest of his milk, then pushed his glass aside. “Okay, so he was on the dark web and found something. What was it?”

Jasper shook his head. “I don’t know. Elwood wouldn’t tell me. Said I needed to look at it myself. He also warned me that information on the dark web can disappear without warning, so he wanted me to get to his place as quickly as possible.”

“Which is why you tore out of here in the middle of the night.”

Jasper nodded.

Spencer crossed his arms on the island. “And the accident? How did that happen?”

“It was the weirdest thing. I was having a great drive. The moon was bright, there was no traffic on the road, I had the music cranked—”

“Gaga?”

Jasper shook his head. “Pink.”

“Solid choice,” Spencer said, nodding. “I assume with all that going on you were speeding?”

“A bit. But I slowed down when I got to that bad stretch of road just before Dead Man’s Gulch. At least, I tried to. But my brakes didn’t work.”

Spencer frowned. “Didn’t you just have your car in the shop?”

Jasper nodded. “Cliff gave it a complete inspection and tune-up.”

“Then why weren’t your brakes working?” Spencer’s eyes went wide. “Is there any chance…do you think Cliff could have sabotaged your car?”

Jasper froze. Cliff? It seemed unlikely. He’d known Cliff since he was a kid and had always taken his vehicles to him. So had his parents. But Gabe had said he couldn’t trust anybody. Not even people he’d known his whole life. Except…

“It wasn’t just the faulty brakes. I’d made it through the twisty section and was coasting to a stop when something slammed into my car and forced me off the road.”

“What the hell hit you?”

“Nothing,” Jasper said, grabbing onto his friend’s arm. “There was nothing there, Spencer.”

“Like nothing, nothing?”

“Nothing. So either I somehow missed seeing whatever ran into me.”

“Which is unlikely.”

“Or there was nothing to see.”

“Meaning someone used some powerful magic to force you off the road.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah.”

“Fuck.” Spencer got up and grabbed the pastry box off of the refrigerator.

Twenty minutes later…

Jasper groaned and held onto his stomach. “Oh, god, I think I might have eaten too many donuts.”

“You think? You almost finished off the entire box.”

“I can’t help it. Everything was so good.”

Spencer snorted. “I know you love my baking, but maybe you should leave the rest until tomorrow. You don’t want to send yourself into a sugar coma.”

Coma? Jasper lurched forward in his seat. “Shit. I was supposed to call Elwood. I completely forgot.” He dug his phone out of his pocket.

“What do you need to talk to Elwood for?”

“Lucas was asking for him,” Jasper said as he dialed. “I think they’re dating.”

“Lucas and Elwood? For real?”

Jasper nodded, then put his phone on speaker when his call connected.

“Jasper?” Elwood said, sounding surprised. “How did you…what happened to you last night? I thought you were coming over.”

“I had a bit of an acc—”

“I wish you’d have come here like you said you were going to. The information I wanted to show you is gone. It disappeared about two hours ago.”

“Crap. Is there any way it can be traced back to whoever put it there?”

“I’ve been trying to recover anything, but so far, no luck. Not even Jack’s techniques worked.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. He’d thought the whole Jack Riddlestone thing was beyond ridiculous.

Shaking his head at his friend, Jasper asked, “So we’ve got no way of knowing who it was then?”

“No. Maybe if you’d come here when I asked, you could have given me more information to work with, but it’s too late now.”

“I’m really sorry, Elwood. I tried to get there, but I, uh, got in a bit of an accident.”

“Oh, shit. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just a few bruises. I actually called because I have some good news for you”

“Oh?”

“I saw Lucas while I was at the hospital and he wants—”

“Why was Lucas in the hospital? Is he sick or something?”

“No,” Jasper said slowly. How did Elwood not know? “He’s in a coma.”

“What? Since when? What happened to him?”

“He was attacked about a week ago.”

“Oh my god,” Elwood said. “Is he…is he going to be okay?”

“I think so. Lucas woke up when I was there. It was just for a bit, but it looks promising.”

“Okay, good. That’s good. Thanks for letting me know,” Elwood said, a strange tightness in his voice.

Jasper frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” Elwood said, the tightness still there. “Why do you ask?”

“You sound a bit strange.”

“It must be the shock. I had no idea Lucas was injured.”

And why was that? Jasper thought, looking at Spencer, who was frowning at Jasper’s phone. “Uhm, Elwood, I don’t mean to be rude, and you can tell me it’s none of my business if you want, but you and Lucas…you’re together, right?”

There was a pause, long enough for Jasper to think he’d gotten that wrong, then Elwood said, “We are. Sorry for not saying anything the other day. I thought it would be too awkward telling you I was seeing your ex-boyfriend so I decided it was probably best if I said nothing.”

“It’s fine. I get why you didn’t want to tell me.”

“So why are you asking if we’re together? Were you hoping to get back with him?”

“God, no. Nothing like that. It’s just…Lucas has been in the hospital for almost a week. How come you didn’t know? Weren’t you worried when you didn’t hear from him?”

“To be honest, I’ve been so busy lately I didn’t even realize how long it’d been since I last talked to him. Father’s got me working on a couple of projects that are taking up all my time. And then you asked me to look into your hacker problem, so…”

“Oh, god. I’m so sorry. If I’d known your workload was that full, I wouldn’t have asked for help.”

“It’s fine. Searching for your hacker was the best part. I had so much fun digging through all those layers of information searching for traces of them.”

Jasper made a face. That didn’t sound like fun to him. “I’m glad it wasn’t too much of a burden for you. But maybe you shouldn’t keep looking.”

“Why not?” Elwood asked, sounding almost hurt. “Is it because of the dark web thing? That’s not my fault. I told you the information might disappear.”

“No, it’s not that. I just didn’t realize how much I was asking of you.” Including the danger he might have put Elwood in.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s really not. And I appreciate all of the time you’ve put in, but you don’t need to do any more. You’ve done enough.”

“But—”

“You should spend that time with Lucas instead. He was asking for you.”

There was a pause, then, “He was?”

“Yeah. Quite a few times actually. He wouldn’t settle down until I promised to make sure you came to see him. I know you’re busy, but is there any chance you could go visit with him today?”

“Uhm, sure. I can do that.”

“Great. Just don’t be alarmed if he’s not awake when you get there. The nurses said he’ll be drifting in and out of consciousness for the next few days before he fully comes out of his coma.”

“Maybe it would be better if I waited until then to visit.”

“No. You should go now. The nurses told me that coma patients are a lot more aware of what’s going on around them than we realize. I’m sure just you being there will make Lucas feel better.”

“Well, we want to do what’s best for Lucas, don’t we?” There was the sound of a drawer opening and closing, then a chair rolling back. “I’ll head over right away.”

“Excellent. Just make sure to check in with the head nurse when you get there so she can get you past the guard.”

There was a loud crash.

Jasper’s gaze darted to Spencer, who still had a frown on his face, then he looked back at his phone. “Elwood? Are you okay?”

Elwood’s voice was faint when he said, “Yes. I dropped something. Give me a sec.” There was a hollow sounding bang, followed by a drawer slamming, then Elwood was back. “Did you say Lucas has a guard?”

“Yes.” Jasper lowered his voice, even though Elwood and Spencer were the only ones who could hear him. “I don’t know this for sure, but I think the guard is there to protect him from whoever attacked him.”

Elwood gasped. “You think Lucas knows who it was?”

“Maybe. If he did see them, he’ll be able to identify them for the police.”

“Shit,” Elwood said. “That’s not good.”

“I know,” Jasper said. “Lucas could be in a lot of danger.”

“It’s a good thing he has a guard then.” There was a pause, then Elwood asked, “Did he…did Lucas say anything to you when you were there? Anything about who attacked him?”

“No. He was barely awake and all he did was ask for you. He must really love you.” There was another crash. Loud enough Jasper winced.

“Sorry, I dropped the phone,” Elwood said, his voice distant. Then he was back. “You think Lucas loves me?”

Jasper rolled his eyes. Geesh. Didn’t these guys talk to each other?

“Of course we talk to each other. But Lucas loving me never came up.”

Oops. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Well now that you know, maybe you should say something back. Lucas deserves to know how his boyfriend feels about him. Especially when he’s been injured.”

“You’re absolutely right. I’ll tell him when I see him.” Another drawer opened and closed. “Do you think I’ll have any problems getting past the guard?”

“No.” Especially not if it was the same guard who’d been on duty when Jasper was there. “But if you do have any trouble, speak to the nurses. I told them Lucas was asking for you, so they’ll get you in.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. They’re the ones who told me that seeing you will make him happy, which will make him want to get better faster.”

“Then I’d better get going.”

“Okay. If Lucas wakes up while you’re there, tell him I said hi.”

“Will do.” Then he was gone.

Jasper looked at Spencer. “Did that conversation seem weird to you? It seemed weird to me.”

“Yeah. Super weird. Especially the shitty boyfriend part.”

“Right? What kind of guy doesn’t know his boyfriend is in the hospital for a week?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer said, shaking his head. “You’d think he’d have wanted to talk to Lucas at least once over the last few days.”

“I couldn’t imagine going that long without checking in with Gabe.”

“Me either. Lucas is obviously more into Elwood than Elwood is into him.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I kind of feel bad for Lucas. He really does love him. From the moment he woke up, he kept saying, ‘Elwood, please,’ over and over. Well, it was more like, Elwoo…puh…leez, Elwoo puh…leez, but it was clear what he wanted.”

Spencer stilled. “Uhm, J. He was saying, Elwoo…puh leez?”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah. Over and over. Lucas was begging me to get him.”

“I don’t think that was it.”

“Of course it was.”

Spencer shook his head.

Jasper frowned. “Why? What do you think he was saying?”

“Is there any chance he could have been saying Elwood, police?”

“Why would he…wait. You think Lucas wanted the police?”

Spencer nodded.

Jasper stared at his friend.

Spencer stared back.

Jasper broke first. “No.”

“J—”

Jasper shook his head. “Nuh, uh. If you’re thinking Elwood’s the one who attacked Lucas, there’s no way.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s crazy, that’s why.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is. Elwood’s so…so…you know what he’s like. He’s not the killer type.”

“And what exactly is the killer type?”

“I don’t know. But not him.”

“Just because he doesn’t seem like the type doesn’t mean he isn’t.”

“No, but it also doesn’t mean he is.” Jasper tried to bring up an image of Elwood attacking Lucas and leaving him for dead, but couldn’t make it work. “I just don’t see it, Spence.”

“What about your crystals? What do they say about him?”

“Not much. They kind of went quiet when I met with Elwood.”

 “That’s not normal, is it?”

“Not really,” Jasper said, shrugging. “But they’d have warned me if there was anything wrong with him.”

Spencer frowned at his wrist wrap. “Unless he messed with them somehow.”

“Why would he mess with them?”

“I don’t know. But maybe you should check.”

Even though he thought Spencer was being a little ridiculous, Jasper ran his fingers over his crystals to wake them, then asked. All he got back was sleepy confusion. He looked back at Spencer and shook his head. “They don’t know.”

“So he could have messed with them.”

“I doubt it.”

“But it’s not impossible.”

“No,” Jasper said slowly. “But I’m not sure how he could have.”

“I don’t like it.”

Now that Spencer had put doubts in his mind, Jasper wasn’t sure he did either. Because if Spencer was right and Elwood had somehow done something to his crystals, that meant… “Why do you think it was Elwood who attacked Lucas?”

Spencer shrugged. “I just got a weird feeling when you were talking to him. Something was off about the whole conversation. The things he was saying…he was acting…off.”

Jasper nodded. The conversation had been weird. But not enough for him to think Elwood was a killer. Spencer had obviously picked up on something Jasper had missed. “You really think he’s the one who hurt Lucas?”

Spencer nodded. “I do.”

“You realize that makes him my stalker.”

“I know.”

“Which means he tried to frame me for murder.”

“Uh, huh.”

“You know none of this makes any sense.”

“I do.”

“But you still think Elwood’s behind everything?”

“Yes.”

Jasper let out a breath. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

They stared at each other, neither of them saying anything else. Jasper broke first again. “I’m going to need more sugar for this.”

Spencer snorted, then grabbed the last two donuts from the box and handed one to Jasper. “Do you think we should say anything to Gabe?”

Jasper bit into his donut, thinking as he chewed. He shook his head. “No. We don’t have any proof Elwood’s done anything. I don’t want to get him into trouble with the police if he’s innocent.”

“And if I’m right and he was the one who attacked Lucas?”

“Then Gabe’s probably going to kill me for not letting him know.”

Spencer nodded. “Yeah. I can totally see that.” He took a bite of his donut. “So what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse Elwood of anything if he’s innocent. But if he’s the one who attacked Lucas…” Jasper shoved the last of his donut in his mouth. Once he’d swallowed, he said, “Maybe we should watch him for a bit. See if he does anything suspicious.”

 “And if he does—”

“I’ll tell Gabe immediately.” And hope his detective was in a forgiving mood.