Jasper groaned and pushed his mother’s hand away from his head. “Mom. Stop. I’m fine. You heard what the doctor said. There’s nothing wrong with me except for some bruising from the seatbelt and where I hit my head on the window.”

“I’d still like to check for myself that he didn’t miss anything.”

When he saw the slight tremble in her hand as she reached for him again, Jasper realized she worried she was. He caught her hand and placed it over his heart. “Check as long as you like, Mom.”

Taking him at his word, his mother gave him a thorough inspection, which for some reason included his ears. When she was done, she smiled and brushed the hair back from his face. “It would seem your doctor was correct. Except for some slight bruising, you appear to be fine.”

And even though she sounded composed, Jasper could see the tension around her eyes. “You know I was never in any real danger.”

“I know. But sometimes logic doesn’t have anything to do with the way a mother feels when her only son is almost killed by driving off a cliff.”

“I was pushed.”

“I’m aware of that.” She held his gaze as a tear leaked slowly from her eye.

Shit. Jasper grabbed onto her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I know you didn’t. I’m sorry for getting emotional on you.”

“It’s fine,” Jasper said, holding her tighter.

After a moment, she leaned back and brushed the wetness from her eyes, letting out a small laugh. “I’m being silly. I know you weren’t in any real danger. But it was rather terrifying seeing your car halfway down the ravine knowing the only thing keeping you from falling was this.” She rested the fingers of her fingers on the shard hanging around his neck.

Jasper’s hand came up and covered hers. He had a pretty good idea of how scary it had been for her after seeing how wild Gabe’s eyes had been during their hurried conversation in the back of the ambulance. “I’m lucky you gave it to me. I’m not sure the shard could have saved me if I hadn’t actually been wearing it.”

“I don’t know that it could have.” Shadows filled her eyes.

“Oh, Mom,” Jasper said, pulling her back into his arms. As he breathed in her familiar and comforting scent he realized she wasn’t the only one who’d needed a hug. Going over the edge of the cliff had been the most frightening thing he’d ever experienced. And even though he’d known the shard would do its best to save him, that hadn’t made it any less terrifying when he’d seen the ground rushing toward him. Being held by his mother was helping to settle the shakes he’d been holding in. But not all the way. There was another set of arms he needed even more.

Pulling back, Jasper tucked a strand of hair that had come loose from her chignon behind her ear. Another sign of how worried she’d been. “I love you, Mom.”

“And I love you,” she said, cupping his face and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Try not to worry me like that again.”

“I’ll try,” Jasper said, closing his eyes and leaning into her palm. “Can I go home now?”

She laughed, sounding more like herself. “I’m surprised you lasted this long.”

Jasper was too. He didn’t do well in hospitals.

“I’ll go find the doctor to sign your discharge papers.” Running her hand down his face, she tapped him on the nose. “Go easy on your detective. You gave him quite a scare tonight.” Then she was gone.

Jasper stared after her. Did she mean…was Gabe here? Then he blinked, sure he was seeing things when Gabe appeared in the doorway.

“Gabe,” he whispered, his throat suddenly tight.

“Shit.” Gabe rushed over and pulled him against his body, wrapping Jasper up so tight he could barely breathe. “I’ve got you. Let it out.”

And feeling truly safe for the first time in hours, Jasper let himself go, giving in to the emotions he’d been holding back, trusting in Gabe to hold him together.

——

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cry all over you,” Jasper said, looking down at his hands, a bit embarrassed at the way he’d fallen apart.

“It’s fine. And completely natural.”

“Sure.”

“Look at me.”

Jasper shook his head.

Fingers under his chin tilted his head back until he could see Gabe, whose eyes held no judgment, only understanding. “It is natural. And healing. When we experience a great shock, sometimes everything gets all bottled up inside. We feel like we’ve got it all under control, that we’re fine, then suddenly, like that,” he snapped his fingers, “it explodes and needs a way out. Tears are one of the ways it releases.”

“I still feel stupid for crying,” Jasper said, thinking Gabe probably never cried like a baby. “It’s not like I didn’t know I’d be okay.”

“What are you talking about? You were forced off a fucking cliff. Of course you wouldn’t be okay. It’s a miracle you’re even alive.”

“Not really. I knew the shard would keep me safe.” Mostly.

Gabe glanced at his pendant and frowned. “You and your mother put too much faith in that piece of rock. I’d rather you just stopped taking stupid chances with your safety.”

“I wasn’t taking a stupid chance,” Jasper said. “I was just driving.”

“In the middle of the night when you should have been asleep in bed. What the hell were you doing driving through Dead Man’s Gulch anyway?”

“Elwood called.”

Instant scowl. “Why was he calling you in the middle of the night?”

“He said he found something I had to see.”

“And it couldn’t have fucking waited until morning?”

Jasper shook his head. “It was something on the dark web. Elwood said it could disappear at any time and that I needed to come right away.”

“So you did,” Gabe said, sighing loudly. “Without giving any thought to the danger you were putting yourself in.”

“I was just driving there and back. I should have been fine.”

“But you weren’t. Whoever’s working against you has stepped up their game. Which means you won’t be safe until we catch them.”

“I’ll be fine as long as I’m wearing this,” Jasper said, holding up the shard.

“You can’t trust your life to a fucking piece of rock.”

“I can. The shard—”

“Do you have any idea of what you put me through tonight?” Gabe said, grabbing him by the arms. “I thought you were going to…I thought…you almost…” He stopped, a muscle in his jaw flexing, then ground out, “You almost died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t get to die on me. I don’t know how…if you’re gone…you don’t get to leave me. You hear me? You don’t.”

Jasper scrambled to his knees and threw his arms around Gabe’s neck. “I won’t. I promise I’ll never leave you. You’re stuck with me forever.”

Gabe buried his face in Jasper’s neck. “I know that should terrify me, but somehow it doesn’t”

Jasper sighed when Gabe pulled him closer. Both of them held each other tight, not saying anything else until Jasper’s mother returned with his discharge papers.

——

“So,” his mother said as she pushed his wheelchair down the hall, the only way they’d let him leave. “Your detective has it quite bad for you.”

He looked back over his shoulder, smiling that someone other than himself thought so. “You think?”

“I know. But he’s not ready to admit it yet.”

“No. I don’t think Gabe’s used to dealing with those kinds of emotions. I think they scare him.”

“Not as much as almost losing you did.”

“I know.”

“You should try not to worry him so much.”

“I don’t mean to. It’s just—”

“You don’t see threats everywhere the way he does.”

“No.”

“I didn’t raise you to be overly suspicious and your belief in the essential goodness of people is one of your greatest strengths. However, until the police catch whoever’s after you, it might be in your best interests to be more wary of those around you.” His mother pushed his chair to the side, then set the brake and came around and stood in front of him. Taking his hands in hers, she squeezed his fingers. “I don’t ask this lightly since I know it goes against everything I taught you, but with how things are going…”

“It’s okay, mom.” Jasper squeezed her fingers back. “I get it. Gabe said pretty much the same thing. Whoever we’re dealing with isn’t playing by the rules. And even if I’ll be okay, whoever’s with me might be seriously hurt.”

She nodded. “True. Though the shard should protect you both.”

“But just in case, I’ll try to be more careful.”

“Which relieves my heart.” She squeezed his hand again and smiled at him. “And will make your detective happy.”

More than she knew.

As they were passing the nurses’ station, Jasper remembered that Lucas was in the hospital. “Wait,” he said, putting his hands on the wheels to stop them from turning. “I need to find out what room Lucas is in. I want to check on him.”

“Whyever would you wish to do that?” his mother asked with a sniff, obviously not having forgiven him for betraying Jasper. “The man is a user and a liar. He established a relationship with you under false pretenses. He—”

“Was hurt because of me, Mom. He may be an ass, but I still want to see how he’s doing.”

She sighed. “Of course you do.”

After wheeling him over to the desk so he could find out what room Lucas was in, she pushed him through the hospital and got him up to the third floor, then parked his wheelchair outside Lucas’ room. But she refused to go in, saying she’d wait for him to be done with his foolishness.

Shaking his head at her stubbornness—she was usually more forgiving, but not when it came to him—Jasper rolled himself through the doorway and over to Lucas’ hospital bed, sucking in a breath of horror at his first sight of his ex-boyfriend. Moving closer, Jasper’s heart squeezed when he saw how frail Lucas was, which was so far from how he normally looked that Jasper couldn’t reconcile what his eyes were telling him. The Lucas he knew was fit and muscular—mostly from being naturally athletic, but he was also disciplined when it came to working out and eating well—and glowed with health. But this Lucas looked like he’d been wasting away in the hospital bed for years, not a matter of days.

Whatever the tainted stone had done to him wasn’t going to be fixed by medical means or regular healing magic, which were barely keeping him alive. But if Jasper added his magic to the mix, his crystals might just be able to save him.

Jasper untied the wrap from around his wrist and ran his fingertips over the healing and protective crystals woven in it to wake them, then reached for Lucas’ arm. Just before his hand made contact he stopped, realizing these crystals weren’t going to be enough to heal him. But he had one that would.

He quickly took the wrap apart, separating the leather strips from the crystals, which he set aside, then dug into his pocket and pulled out the Red Jasper stone that had been created when he’d destroyed the hex. Holding its warmth in his hand, Jasper rubbed his thumb over it, now understanding why he’d felt compelled to keep it with him. This special stone, transformed through fire and magic into something greater than it had been, was the only thing that was going to be able to help Lucas. It was the yang to the corrupted Red Jasper stone and would bring everything back in balance.

Laying the strips of leather cord across his lap, Jasper began braiding them together. When he reached the midway point, he added the Red Jasper, knotting the leather around it to secure it in place, then finished braiding the rest of the strap. When he was done, Jasper tied it around Lucas’ wrist.

The Red Jasper pulsed, alive with its own power, the flame inside of it growing brighter when Jasper rested his fingers on it and let a trickle of his power flow into the stone to give it a boost. He knew Lucas would need all the help he could give him to fully recover from the dark magic that had taken him down.

After checking the energies swirling around Lucas, which already felt improved, Jasper collected the crystals scattered on the blanket and shoved them in his pocket.

 “Hey, you. What are you doing in here?”

Jasper looked over at the nurse who was standing just inside the doorway, eyeing him suspiciously. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see my friend before I left.”

“Nobody’s supposed to be in here. How did you get past the guard?”

Guard? “There was nobody there when I came in.”

Scowling at the doorway, the nurse muttered under his breath before turning back to Jasper.  “You’re going to have to leave. This is a restricted room.”

“Okay,” Jasper said, wheeling back from the bed. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize the room was off limits.”

The nurse came over to the bed, frowning when he saw Lucas’ arm. He pointed to the wrap. “What is this?”

“That’s a healing stone,” Jasper said, though it was a lot more than that. “I thought it would help him.”

“You can’t just come in here and start using unapproved magic on my patient.”

“I know I should probably have asked first. But I really think this is the only thing that’s going to help him,” Jasper said. “I can already tell that it’s working.”

“I’ll just see about that.” Keeping one eye on him, the nurse studied the stone tied to Lucas’ wrist. Jasper felt a slight tingle in the air, then the nurse looked over at Jasper. “What kind of stone is this? I don’t recognize it.”

“It’s a Red Jasper.”

“It feels alive.”

“It kind of is, in a way.”

“Hmm.” The nurse studied the monitors over Lucas’ bed and nodded. “His vitals are improving. And some of the heaviness that’s been lingering around him feels lighter.” He pulled out a chart from the foot of Lucas’ bed and jotted down some notes then put it back. Turning to Jasper, he said, “I’ll make an exception and let you stay for a bit because whatever you’re doing is helping him. But I can only give you five minutes. Then you’ll have to leave.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll let the guard know you have my permission to stay.”

“Thank you.” Jasper waited until the nurse left the room, then rolled his wheelchair to the top of the bed. Crossing his arms on the bed rail, he rested his chin on them. “I’m sorry you got hurt, Lucas. I’m so sorry that someone harmed you to get to me. We’re trying to find them but, well, it’s not going well. They seem to have a way to avoid detection. It’s like they’re invisible since nobody has seen them even with everything they’ve done. Except maybe for you. I think you might be the only one who knows who they are…oh.”

Jasper looked toward the doorway, suddenly understanding why there was a guard outside, even if they were doing a crappy job of keeping people out of Lucas’ room. Something he had a sneaky suspicion the nurse would be addressing with the guard’s supervisor. He turned back and let out a little shriek when he saw Lucas looking at him.

“Holy shit. You almost gave me a heart attack.” Then it hit him. “Oh my god, you’re awake. You’re really awake.” He looked toward the door, wondering if he should go get the nurse, when Lucas made a gasping sound, drawing his attention back to him.

Jasper leaned closer. “Are you okay? Are you in any pain?”

Lucas tried to say something, but it was too garbled for Jasper to understand.

“Maybe you shouldn’t try to talk yet.”

But Lucas’ mouth opened again. This time Jasper could almost make out what he said, though his words were mostly air. “Ah…woo…”

“Ahwoo? What’s that?”

“Ah…woo…pu..puh…leez.”

Jasper squinted and leaned closer, his ear almost touching Lucas’ lips.

“El…woo.”

Jasper sat back. “Did you say Elwood?”

“El…woo. Puh…leez.” Lucas’ eyes closed.

“What about Elwood? Do you want to see him?”

Lucas’ eyelids fluttered open. “Puh…leez.”

That was definitely a please. “Okay,” Jasper said, gently stroking his arm. “I’ll let him know you want to see him.”

“Elwoo…puh…leez. Elwoo…”

“Wow. You really want him bad, huh?”

“Elwoo…”

“Yeah, I got it, Lucas. I’ll make sure he comes to see you.”

The nurse came running in, took one look at Lucas, then rushed over to the bed and started looking at the screens. Pressing a couple of buttons, he turned to Jasper. “You have to leave now.”

Jasper nodded and rested his hand on Lucas’ arm. “I’ll come see you again when you’re better.”

“Elwoo…puh…leez.”

“He’ll be here soon, Lucas. I promise.” Jasper would make sure of it.

“Elwoo…” Then Lucas’ eyes closed. And stayed closed.

Jasper sent another pulse of magic through the stone on Lucas’ wrist, then quietly wheeled himself out of the room, noting the guard was back on duty.

He stopped by the nurses’ station and talked to them for a few minutes, then went searching for his mother who was apparently terrorizing the doctors on the fourth floor. As he wheeled himself down the hallways, he couldn’t help but wonder if Elwood wasn’t part of the reason he and Lucas hadn’t worked out—well, that and the whole Lucas using him on orders from his father thing—because it was clear Lucas cared for Elwood a lot. More than he’d ever cared for Jasper.

Which didn’t sting the way it would have only a few weeks ago. Back before Gabe owned a giant piece of his heart.