When Jasper was led into the squad room in handcuffs, the first person he saw was Gabe. His mate. His new lover. The asshole who’d ordered his arrest, something Jasper had thought Gabe was done with. But when he’d overheard the officers talking about how angry Detective Prescott had sounded when he’d ordered them to pick him up Jasper had realized Gabe still wasn’t sure about him. Which had been a really crappy way to cap off what had been the most amazing night of his life.

When Gabe, who must have been watching for him, turned away from his conversation with Detective Trewitt and faced him, Jasper glared at him accusingly and raised his cuffed wrists. A muscle in Gabe’s jaw bunched as he looked at him, his eyes pleading for Jasper to have faith, to trust, his body straining like he wanted to come to him and was fighting to keep himself in place.

Or that could have just been Jasper’s heart talking. The same foolish heart that was urging him to give Gabe that trust.

As he was escorted by the officers, who each had a hold of one of his arms, across the room on a path that took him past Gabe and Detective Trewitt, Jasper kept his gaze trained on his mate, desperately wanting to believe the message in his eyes. As he passed Gabe, Jasper turned his head to keep him in sight, his heart skipping a beat when Gabe took a step toward him. Then Jasper was being led out of the squad room and down a hallway he was all too familiar with, ending up in the same interrogation room he’d been in before.

He sighed and laid his head on the table once the officers had left the room, wondering for the hundredth time why he’d been arrested this time. God. Two times in one week. His mother was going to kill him when she found out.

Then she’d probably kill Gabe.

——

It felt like hours before the door opened to admit Detective Trewitt and an officer he didn’t recognize.

Lifting his head, Jasper looked from Detective Trewitt to the new guy and back. “Where’s Gabe?”

“Detective Prescott is with the Captain,” Detective Trewitt said, the seriousness of his expression causing a sinking sensation in Jasper’s stomach. “Detective Hawkins will be assisting me with this interview.”

“Oh,” Jasper said, his heart clenching with worry for Gabe, hoping his discussion with the Captain had nothing to do with Jasper.

 Detective Hawkins pulled out the chair directly across from him and flipped it around, straddling it backward with his arms crossed over the top of it as he stared at Jasper, the hard look in his eyes more than a little bit scary.

Detective Trewitt pulled out the chair next to Detective Hawkins, then set a stack of folders and a couple of evidence bags on the table, one of which held Jasper’s cell phone. He then placed a small silver box on top of the folders before taking his seat.

Jasper frowned at the silver box, something about it making him uneasy. Enough so he didn’t want to take his eyes off of it, having the strangest feeling it was waiting to attack the moment he did. It took Detective Trewitt calling his name two times before he was able to force himself to look away from it and give the Detective his attention.

Trewitt looked at the silver box, then back at him. “Problem?”

“I’m not sure.” Jasper was about to ask where he’d gotten it, then hesitated, thinking it might be better if he didn’t know. Plus, Caspian had warned him the last time he’d been arrested to not offer up information too freely if he didn’t have to, so Jasper shook his head. “No. It’s…it’s nothing.”

Detective Trewitt studied him, his eyes narrowing as if he didn’t believe him and wanted to push. Just as Jasper was about to break and ask him if he knew what was inside the box, Detective Trewitt looked away and pulled out a pad of paper from under the stack of folders. Taking a pen from his inside jacket pocket, he looked at Jasper and said, “Please tell us where you were between the hours of ten p.m. and five a.m. on March 29th.”

“Last night?” Jasper asked, looking at him in confusion. “I was at home. Why?”

“Is there anyone who can confirm your whereabouts?”

“My next-door neighbor can.”

“Name.”

“Spencer Harris.”

Detective Trewitt jotted a note on the pad, then raised his eyes to Jasper. “Will Mr. Harris be able to vouch for your presence the entire time?”

“Uhm, no, probably not.”

“Is there anyone who can?”

Jasper hesitated, biting his lip. “There might be,” he finally offered.

“Name.”

Shooting a quick look at Detective Hawkins, Jasper shook his head. “I’d rather not say.”

Detective Trewitt raised his head from where he was taking notes. “Why not?”

“Because it’s of a personal nature.”

“Meaning they were with you last night for intimate reasons?” Detective Trewitt asked, the directness of his stare slightly unnerving.

Jasper nodded. “Yes.”

Detective Trewitt jotted another note on his pad as he said, “Then they should be able to provide you with an alibi.”

“Yes,” Jasper said, still not knowing why he needed one. “But I’m not sure if they want their involvement with me made public.”

Setting his pen down, Trewitt clasped his hands on the notepad. “Mr. Belmont, these are serious allegations being laid against you.”

Serious allegations? What was he talking about?

“So if you have someone who can vouch for your whereabouts, you need to tell us.”

His stomach churning with uneasiness, Jasper still shook his head. “I-I can’t.”

Detective Hawkins leaned forward, his face going harder as he asked, “Can’t or won’t?”

Jasper looked between him and Detective Trewitt, swallowing hard. “Uhm, won’t, I guess.”

“You may want to reconsider,” Detective Trewitt said. “As the prime suspect, it’s in your best interests to provide us with an alibi if you have one or you’ll be charged with the attempted murder of Lucas Johnson.”

Jasper’s eyes, which had been sliding toward the box, snapped back to Detective Trewitt. “Did you say murder? Wait. Lucas Johnson? Someone tried to murder Lucas?”

Detective Trewitt frowned at him. “Did the arresting officers not tell you why you were being brought in?”

Jasper shook his head, then stopped and squinted, trying to think. “I’m…not sure. It was all so confusing. I was in the bathroom showering when they kicked the door in and started shouting at me. Next thing I knew I was being yanked from the shower and tossed to the ground and handcuffed.” He shook his head, still not believing what had happened. “The officer that cuffed me wasn’t even going to let me get dressed at first until the other officer made him.”

Detective Trewitt pinched his nose and sighed. “Did they at least Mirandize you?”

Jasper nodded. “Yes.” Which is why he’d kept his mouth shut and not asked any questions.

“At least they did that much,” Detective Trewitt muttered, looking at Jasper, his face more serious than it had previously been. Jasper immediately tensed. “Jasper Belmont, it’s my duty to inform you that you are being charged with the attempted murder of Lucas Johnstone, aggravated assault with intent to harm, use of deadly force with a magical object, and fleeing the scene of a crime.”

Jasper’s mouth fell open in shock. “What? There must be some mistake.”

“There’s no mistake.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” Jasper gasped, finding it hard to breathe. Holy fuck. They were charging him with attempted murder.

“You did,” Detective Hawkins barked out.

Jasper turned to him and shook his head, spots floating in front of his eyes. “I-I didn’t.” When he felt himself tipping sideways, Jasper grabbed onto the edge of the table and tried to focus on Detective Trewitt’s face, which kept going in and out of focus.

“Our preliminary investigation of the crime scene found evidence that points to you as Mr. Johnson’s attacker. If you have an alibi for the time in question, you need to provide it now or you will be charged with the attempted murder of Mr. Johnson.”

“But I didn’t do it,” Jasper whispered. “I didn’t.”

“If you didn’t do it, then you need to tell us who was with you between the hours of ten p.m. and five o’clock a.m. this morning so we can confirm your alibi. If it checks out, we’ll be able to release you. If it doesn’t…”

Jasper stared at him, his body numb as his mind spun in a thousand directions. Why would the police think he’d hurt Lucas? What kind of evidence had they found? He hadn’t even seen him so there must be something to prove Jasper hadn’t done it. Oh, god. But what if there wasn’t? What if they locked him up for the next twenty years? What would that do to his mother and father? What would that do to Gabe? Should tell them who’d been with him last night. But what would happen to Gabe if he did? Would it cost him the job he loved? What if it ruined his life? Would he hate Jasper forever if he told them? Or would he understand and forgive? Or did that even matter since Jasper knew he’d never forgive himself if his cowardice harmed his mate?

When he realized he’d do anything, face anything, sacrifice anything for Gabe, all the other noise in his head disappeared. Jasper knew what he had to do.

“Mr. Belmont.” Detective Trewitt said, staring at him with an intensity that had Jasper sitting up straighter. “Please tell us who you were with last night.”

Jasper took a deep breath, then shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that. Not without their permission.”

Trewitt studied him a moment longer, then nodded, giving him a look that held both frustration and approval. “All right. Then we have no choice but to continue.”

“I understand,” Jasper said calmly. He’d made his decision. He just had to see it through to the end. And pray that the police found something that would prove his innocence.

Detective Trewitt moved the silver box to the side—drawing Jasper’s attention to it again—and flipped open the top file folder. Shuffling through the papers, he pulled out a couple of pages and slid them across the table to Jasper. “Please tell me why you wanted to see Lucas Johnson.”

Tearing his gaze off the box, Jasper squinted at him. “I’m sorry.”

“Why were you trying to contact Mr. Johnson?” He pointed to the pages on the table.

Jasper kept one eye on Trewitt as he picked them up. Glancing down at the top sheet of paper, his stomach rolled when he saw what was on it.

“That’s a log of the messages you sent to Lucas Johnson from your phone over the past week,” Detective Trewitt said. “Tell us why you were trying to reach him.”

Jasper licked his lips nervously. “I, uhm, wanted to talk to him.”

“About?”

“I wanted to ask why he’d lied to the police about me. I wanted to know why he tried to convince you I was faking the stalking to get attention when he knows I’m not like that.”

“And when you finally got in touch with him, you what? Didn’t like what you heard so you tried to take the law into your own hands and punish him for it?” Detective Hawkins growled.

Jasper’s eyes shot to him. “What? No. I wouldn’t. And I never reached him. Lucas blocked me so he didn’t receive any of my texts.”

Trewitt slid another piece of paper across the table. “This is the message log from Mr. Johnson’s phone.”

Jasper made no move to touch the page, knowing he didn’t want to see what was on it.

“Please read the text that came in at one twenty-seven a.m.”

Jasper’s fingers trembled as he picked up the paper. Looking down at the sheet until he found the correct text, he froze, then started shaking his head. “No. This isn’t…no.”

“Please read the text, Mr. Belmont.”

Jasper looked at him, then back down at the paper, his hand shaking so badly he could barely make out the words as he read, “Meet me at my store. I need to talk to you.”

“And where did that text originate from?”

Jasper opened his mouth, but couldn’t make himself say it.

“Please tell us where the text originated from.”

Jasper licked his lips. “It says…but it can’t…it’s not…”

“Just answer the damned question,” Hawkins said, banging his fist on the table.

Eying Hawkins warily, Jasper whispered, “It says it came from me.” He looked at Detective Trewitt. “But it couldn’t have. I didn’t send this.”

“Please look at the last message sent from your phone.”

Jasper set down the record of texts from Lucas’ phone and picked up the log from his. He flipped to the last page and sucked in a breath, going lightheaded when he saw the last entry. “Meet me at my store. I need to talk to you.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t send this.” Looking at Trewitt, he said, “Please. You have to believe me. I didn’t send this. I don’t know why it’s on my phone.”

“What happened when you met up with him?”

“Nothing. I mean, I didn’t. I never—”

“Tell us the truth, Mr. Belmont,” Hawkins said, leaning forward and bracing his hands on the table. “What did you do when you met Mr. Johnson at your store?”

“I didn’t. I wasn’t there. I-I—”

“You were.”

“I wasn’t. You have to believe me.” He looked at Trewitt. “Please. I didn’t do anything.”

“Just be honest with us, Mr. Belmont, and tell us everything you know,” Detective Trewitt said, giving Jasper a look he didn’t understand. “Everything. The evidence always has a way of telling out.”

But if all the evidence was pointing to him, how was that going to help? Jasper stared at Trewitt, not sure what he expected him to do. When the detective’s eyes flicked toward the doorway, Jasper glanced over to it and then back to him, not understanding but knowing he was missing something. When Detective Trewitt did it again, this time making a scowly face, Jasper finally caught on. Oh shit. He must know that Gabe was his alibi and wanted Jasper to admit it.

But if he did, it would go in his statement and could destroy Gabe’s career. If he didn’t, he was going to jail for attempted murder since there was no way to explain away the text messages on his phone and Lucas’.

Jasper stared blankly at the pages he was holding, wishing, not for the first time, that Gabe was there so he could ask him what he should do. But since Gabe wasn’t, Jasper was going to have to make the decision on his own.

Or was he?

Setting the pages down, he pushed them to the middle of the table, then sat back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of him, squeezing them tightly to try to stop them from shaking. “I think I’d like to speak to my lawyer before I say anything else.”

As if he’d been standing in the wings waiting for his cue, the door opened and Caspian stepped into the room. “Not another word, Jasper.”

Jasper slumped in the chair, never happier to see anyone in his life.

——

“Bah,” Caspian said, tossing the papers back on the table. “This means nothing. We already know we’re dealing with an experienced hacker. It’d be the work of a minute to break into Jasper’s phone and make it look like he’d sent those texts.”

“Which doesn’t prove he didn’t send that last text,” Detective Hawkins said.

“No. But you have no way to prove that he did,” Caspian rebutted, shoving the pages over to him. “This will never make it to Court, Detective.”

“Your client admitted to wanting to meet with Mr. Johnson,” Detective Trewitt said.

“Wanting to doesn’t mean he did. And my client has an ironclad alibi for the time in question.”

Jasper looked at Caspian in surprise. How did he know that?

“Does your client have an alibi for this?” Detective Hawkins asked, reaching for the silver box.

Jasper’s head snapped around. He jerked forward in his chair, reaching toward it. “Don’t—”

But he was too late. Hawkins flipped open the lid and shoved it to the center of the table.

Jasper cried out when a wave of wrongness poured from the red and black stone inside of the box and slammed into him, invisible fingers going around his throat and choking him. Fumbling for the box, it took Jasper two tries to get the lid closed. As he flicked the latch down, cutting off the malevolent energy, the fingers around his neck slid away. But a residual darkness still hung in the room, settling on his skin like an oily film.

“Fuck,” Jasper gasped, falling forward as he tried to get air into his lungs.

“Are you alright?” Trewitt asked.

“Not sure,” Jasper wheezed, touching his neck, hissing when his fingers made contact, his skin feeling like it had been burned. Panting, he raised his head and squinted at Detective Trewitt. “Where the hell did you get that stone?”

“It was on the ground next to Lucas’ body.” Detective Trewitt leaned closer to him. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Jasper nodded. “Just…just give me a minute.”

“Take as much time as you need,” Detective Trewitt said, frowning at the box.

The room fell silent, everyone watching as Jasper pulled himself together. After a few minutes, his heart finally slowed and his breaths started to come easier, though still painfully, through what felt like a crushed throat.

When Jasper sat up, Detective Trewitt looked him over carefully, then quietly said, “The stone didn’t affect any of us the way it just did you? Do you know why?”

Looking at the box, Jasper motioned for Detective Trewitt to move it further away from him, which he immediately did. Blowing out a breath, Jasper leaned back in his chair. “I think it was targeted at me.”

“To you,” Detective Trewitt asked, still frowning as he looked from Jasper to the silver box, then back.

Jasper nodded.

“What kind of stone was that?” Detective Hawkins asked. “I didn’t recognize it.”

“A Red Jasper stone.” Jasper took another breath, this one coming even easier. “Or at least, it used to be.”

“It’s not anymore?”

“No.” Jasper shook his head as he stared at the silver box trapping the black and red hate-filled stone that wanted to destroy him. He shuddered, running his hands up and down his arms, trying to wipe away that crawling sense of evil. “It’s been contaminated. Changed. The magic at its core has been destroyed, consumed by whatever took its place. It’s…it’s like the stone’s spirit, its purpose, was erased and replaced by something else. Something dark. Something dangerous.”

Detective Trewitt stared at the box. “Could it be used to kill?”

“Yes,” Jasper whispered, not taking his eyes off it. “If someone channeled power through it, yes, it definitely could.”

“Shit.”

Then Jasper gasped, his gaze flying to Detective Trewitt. “Did you touch it? Did Gabe?”

“No,” Detective Trewitt said, his words immediately calming Jasper’s heart. “Gabe and I didn’t like how it felt, so we put it in the container we use to contain unknown magic.”

Which was good thinking on their part. “And you’re sure nobody touched it with their bare hands?”

“Nobody touched it.”

Jasper blew out a breath. “Okay. Good.”

Detective Trewitt pointed to the box. “That’s lead-lined silver. Will that be enough to contain it?”

That was a good question. Jasper studied the silver box. He’d known there was something not right about it before, but now that he knew what was inside, he could feel the wrongness seeping from it. “The box shields most of it, but not all. If someone is around it too long, they could become infected by the darkness in it..”

“Then we can’t keep it in the evidence locker.”

Jasper shook his head. “No. The stone will have to be destroyed.”

“How? By smashing it?”

“God, no,” Jasper said, looking at him in horror. “If you do that, you’ll just set the darkness free. The stone needs to be nullified first before it’s destroyed.”

“How the hell are we supposed to do that?” Hawkins asked.

“It might be possible to neutralize it by cleansing it. I just…I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”  Jasper looked at Detective Trewitt. “We’re going to need my mother. She’s the only one powerful enough to take care of it.”

“Alright,” he said, picking up his pen. “Give me her number and I’ll call here as soon as we’re done here.”

“Which I believe is now, Detectives,” Caspian said, standing. “I’ll let Mrs. Belmont know you wish to speak with her. I expect she’ll be quite eager to talk to the detectives who arrested her son for the second time this week.”

Detective Trewitt winced, then nodded. “I expect she will.”

The door opened, sending everyone into a flurry of motion.

Detective Trewitt was out of his chair in a flash, his hands raised. “I’m sorry. You can’t be in here.”

Detective Hawkins jumped to his feet, his hand on his weapon. “Ma’am, you need to leave.”

Caspian smiled at the woman. “Mariella. I thought you’d be here sooner.”

Jasper blinked, sure he was seeing things. “Mom?”

Detective Hawkins’ head snapped around. “That’s your mother?”

Jasper nodded, stunned that she was actually there.

They both looked back at the doorway when someone else appeared.

“Captain?” Detective Trewitt said, looking at him in surprise.

“At ease, Detectives,” Captain Jack Bristow said as he walked into the room. “Mrs. Belmont is here at my request.”

His mother followed the Captain in and came over to Jasper, frowning as she looked over him, before resting her fingers against the side of his neck.

Jasper sighed when the burning faded, replaced by a cool tingling sensation. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Then Gabe appeared in the doorway.

Jasper’s heart shot to his throat when those piercing eyes locked on him. He began to tremble when Gabe headed directly for him, easing past his mother until he stood over Jasper.

“Gabe,” he breathed, “you’re here.”

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

When Gabe squatted in front of him and took hold of his hands, Jasper closed his eyes, knowing in that moment that everything was going to be all right.