Arriving home, Jasper put Spencer’s car in park, then sat there holding onto the steering wheel, his heart pounding in his chest and his stomach churning with nervous excitement. This was it. The big night. The moment he’d been waiting for since first meeting Gabe. Jasper was finally going to tell him how he felt. And though he hadn’t said anything, not with words anyway, Gabe agreeing to be bonded to the shard had proven to Jasper that Gabe felt the same way about him. He had a feeling it was going to be an epic night of hot sex and delicious baked treats. Or if Jasper had his way, both at the same time.

He’d spent the entire drive home thinking up all kinds of creative—and unauthorized—ways to use the box of pastries Spencer had given him.

When Jasper had told Spencer he was going to tell Gabe he loved him, Spencer had squealed, squeezed him so tight it had hurt—but in a good way—then declared such a momentous occasion couldn’t be celebrated without sugar, his love language. He’d put together a humongous box filled with all of Jasper’s favorites, shoved it in his arms, along with the keys to his car, then pushed him out the door telling him to go home and get ready for his man.

Jasper had gladly accepted both, then after giving Spencer a one-armed hug, he’d taken his advice and rushed home so he could get everything prepared for Gabe’s arrival. And while he was waiting for him, Jasper might just have to sample one or two—okay, three…no, make that four—of the treats in the big pink box.

But no more than that. He had plans for the rest.

Snickering, Jasper got out of the car and went around to the back and opened the trunk to get his box of pastries. As he grabbed hold of it, he heard a noise behind him. Twisting to see who it was, he felt the shard slip from the collar of his shirt but didn’t realize the chain had caught on one of the appliances Spencer kept in his car until it snapped when he stood. Sighing, Jasper rested the box on his hip and reached down to get it, smiling when a figure moved out of the shadows. “Gabe, you’re early. I thought…Elwood? What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask if you’d come with me to visit Lucas,” Elwood said, moving further into the light.

He hadn’t done that yet? Elwood really was a dickhead boyfriend. Trying to keep the judgment from his face, Jasper shifted to block Elwood’s view of the shard, then turned to face him, bringing the box forward and holding it with both hands. “Don’t you want to see Lucas by yourself?”

Elwood shook his head. “To be honest, no. I’m a bit nervous about seeing him.”

Jasper frowned. “But he’s your boyfriend. Why would you be nervous?”

“I don’t know,” Elwood said, shrugging. “It’s just…it’s different now that I know how he feels. I was really hoping you’d come and give me some moral support.”

“Oh,” Jasper said, trying to think of a way to say no without sounding like a dickhead himself. “I, um—”

“Please,” Elwood said, holding his hand out to him. “You’re the one who made me realize how distant I’ve been with him. I’d really like it if you were there when I tell Lucas how I feel.”

“I don’t know, Elwood. That’s something that should be between the two of you. I really don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be there.” He knew he sure didn’t want to have an audience when he told Gabe he loved him.

“But I’d like you to be there,” Elwood said, coming closer, stopping a few feet away. “Will you please come with me? I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell him without you.”

Well, shit. Now what was he supposed to do?

“So, will you do it?” Elwood asked, the intensity in his eyes making Jasper shift uneasily. “Will you come with me?”

“I guess,” Jasper said hesitantly. “But I can’t stay long. I’m expecting someone later.”

“Who? The cop?”

Jasper frowned. “How do you know about Gabe?”

Elwood shrugged. “I’ve seen you guys around.”

“You have?” Jasper couldn’t think of where. The only places he’d really been with Gabe were at his house and the police station the two times he’d been arrested. And Elwood hadn’t been at either, so how had he—

“Can we leave now?” Elwood asked, shoving his hands in his pocket. “Before I talk myself out of it.”

“I, uh, sure,” Jasper said, not seeing any way out of it without looking like a jerk. “I just need a minute to put these inside.” He raised the large pink box, in case Elwood had somehow missed seeing it.

“Why don’t you bring that with you? I know Lucas would enjoy them. He hasn’t been able to get any since your friend banned him from his bakery.”

“Spencer banned him?”

“Yes. Your friends are ridiculously loyal to you.”

Jasper smiled. They really were.

“Including Lucas.”

Shaking his head, Jasper said, “No. Lucas definitely wasn’t loyal to me. Not even when I was with him.”

“You mean because of the way he used you to get close to your mother?”

“Yes,” Jasper said slowly. “How do you know about that?”

“Lucas told me everything. How he was with you to please his father. How you let him get close to your family, made him feel welcome. How much it hurt him when you cut him off from them. How angry he was that you broke up with him for no good reason. He told me all of it.”

“Uh, lying to me and using me were perfectly valid reasons for breaking up with him.”

“Not really.”

“Yes, they were. He shouldn’t have used me like that.”

Elwood shook his head, his lip curling up in a sneer. “It’s like you don’t understand how things work in the real world. If you want to get ahead you need to use whoever you can, in as many ways as you can, for as long as you can, telling whatever lies you have to to get them to do what you want.”

Jasper stared at him in shock. Elwood didn’t actually believe that. Did he?

“And Lucas knew that,” Elwood said, taking a step toward him. “But you left your mark on him, just like you do on everyone. In the end, he chose you.” Another step.

Dread pooled in Jasper’s gut. “What did you do?” But he knew. Oh, god, he knew exactly what Elwood had done. Spencer had been right all along.

“What I had to.” Elwood came closer. Jasper took a step back, stopping when he hit the car’s bumper. “I couldn’t let his disloyalty go unpunished.”

“But you’re his boyfriend.”

“Which has nothing to do with anything. Lucas should have been loyal.”

“How can you be like this? Today you were so…”

The mean edge to Elwood’s smile had him shifting to the side. “Poor Jasper. Are you confused about the act I put on for you and your friend?”

Jasper blinked. “You knew we were there?”

“From the beginning.”

“But all those good deeds? You’re saying they were fake?”

Elwood nodded. “Every last one of them.”

“No. The kids…they knew you. They trusted you. That wasn’t fake.”

“No, that was deliberate. All part of the master plan.”

Jasper felt clueless. “What plan?”

A maniacal light came into Elwood’s eyes. “The first rule to gaining power is to start building your army when they’re young and impressionable. If you make the lower classes grateful for what you can provide, you control the masses.”

Jasper felt like throwing up. “That’s…that’s—”

“That’s how you win.”

“No. It’s fucking disgusting. They trust you. Look up to you.”

“Which is what makes them so easy to manipulate. And control. When I call on them, they’ll do whatever I want.”

Bile rose in his throat.

“But enough about them. It’s time to deal with you.” Elwood took another step toward him.

Jasper tensed as Elwood came closer, ready to hit someone for the first time in his life. He thought he should be a bit worried by how much he wanted to pop Elwood in the mouth, but the little bastard deserved it for messing with those kids. And hurting Lucas.

Elwood took another step toward him.

Jasper’s magic rose, making his crystals flare up.

Elwood’s eyes flicked to the wrap on Jasper’s wrist. He sneered as he looked back at Jasper. “You don’t really think you can take me, do you?”

“I’m twice your size, asshole, and ten times as powerful. I know I can take you.” Jasper flexed his knees, getting ready to jump at him.

Elwood laughed. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” He stepped forward again, then he glanced toward the trunk, his eyes going wide. “Fuck me. Is that a shard?”

Shit. Jasper threw the box of pastries at Elwood’s head and lunged for it. As his fingers curled around the chain, Elwood kicked him in the ribs, knocking him sideways. He grabbed onto the edge of the car to hold himself up, then turned to face Elwood in time to see him pull a small black bag from his pocket.

Jasper raised his arms, the crystals in his wrap and his tourmaline ring glowing with the magic he was pushing through them. A protective field snapped into place between him and Elwood.

Elwood laughed again and threw the black bag, which passed through Jasper’s shield like it wasn’t even there, and smashed onto the ground at Jasper’s feet.

Black smoke billowed around him.

Jasper held his breath and tried to move away, but he was locked in place. Smoke curled up his body, squeezing, writhing over his skin like oily streamers of burning ice. Tendrils wound around his head, poking and prodding, forcing their way into his nose and ears. Jasper cried out, breathing them in. He sank to his knees, the silver chain falling from his fingers when his energy, his magic, his life, drained from him. Swaying in place, he stared up at Elwood and gasped, “Why?” before crashing to the ground.

“Because you never deserved Lucas,” Elwood said, stepping through the smoke that was swirling around Jasper. “Just like you don’t deserve this.”

Jasper clawed at his throat when the black smoke forced its way into his lungs, choking him, burning him from the inside out, helpless to stop Elwood when he picked up the shard that had been guarded by Jasper’s family since it had first been gifted to Clarissa.

Elwood squatted next to him, the shard dangling from his hand, just out of Jasper’s reach. “Now, they both belong to me.”

The crazed possessiveness in Elwood’s eyes was the last thing Jasper saw before a black fog swept over him, taking him away.

——

“Fuck, Em. We’re too late.” Gabe jumped from Emerson’s car and ran over to the crushed box of donuts laying on the ground. He pulled his phone from his pocket and shined its light on the open trunk, then down to the donut box, which is when he noticed that the grass under his feet was black. Crouching, he ran his hand over it, the brittle blades breaking under his touch and making his skin feel numb. He brought his hand close to his face to look at his fingers, then coughed when a vile, caustic odor attacked his nose.

Emerson joined him, his eyes going from the trunk to the crumpled pink box, then back to the trunk. He crouched and picked up a set of keys, holding them out to Gabe, his eyes filled with worry.

He wasn’t the only one fucking worried. Gabe grabbed the keys, then coughed again. Spitting to clear his mouth of the foul taste of whatever had killed the grass, he stood, wiping his watery eyes on his sleeve. “How the fuck are we going to find him before that bastard kills him?”

Emerson shook his head. “I don’t know. We could try Elwood’s house, but that’s just going to waste time we don’t…wait. I have an idea.” He pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?” Gabe asked, then coughed again.

“Mariella. She found Jasper once. Let’s hope she can do it again.”

Gabe nodded, then spit again as Emerson dialed her number. After wiping off his mouth, he stared at the keys in his hand, his heart clenching at the thought of his innocent Jasper in the hands of a madman, then he closed the keys in his fist, squeezing tight as he tried not to think of what Elwood might be doing to him, knowing it would only mess up his mind when he needed to be clearheaded and focused.

But Gabe had seen too much evil in the world, so his mind kept coming up with one horrific scenario after another, no matter how hard he tried to block them.

Emerson’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed. “Mrs. Belmont. It’s Detective Trewitt. Gabe and I…Oh. You’re already on your way. Okay. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Not ten minutes later a dark colored sedan drove down the street and stopped in front of Jasper’s house. Mariella, and a man who looked enough like Jasper he had to be his father, got out and hurried over to him and Emerson.

“Where’s Jasper?” Mariella asked, stopping in front of Gabe.

“We think Elwood Carlisle took him,” Gabe said hoarsely, his throat still feeling raw.

She looked at him in surprise. “Montgomery’s son?”

“Yes ma’am,” Emerson said.

She frowned, then turned, her eyes going from the car to the box on the ground. Walking over to where the grass had turned black, she studied it, then before Gabe could call out a warning, crouched down next to it, but thankfully, didn’t touch it. After a moment, she got to her feet. “Someone used dark magic here.”

“I figured,” Gabe said.

Wiping her hands on her skirt, Mariella said, “This is Spencer’s car. Did Elwood take him as well?”

Gabe shook his head. “Spencer’s still at the bakery.”

“Good.” She took another look around, then motioned to her husband, who promptly moved over to her side. “I’ve seen all I need to, dear. It’s time to go get our boy.”

They started walking back to their car.

Gabe cut them off halfway. “Hold up. This is police business. You’re not going anywhere.”

“My son was taken, Detective.”

“I understand that. But his kidnapping is part of an active investigation, which means you need to stay out of it. Emerson and I will rescue Jasper.”

“And how do you propose to find him?” Mariella asked.

“You know where he is,” Gabe said, not sure how, but knowing it was true.

She nodded. “In a way.”

“Then you can tell us.”

“I cannot.”

“What do you mean, you can’t? Jasper’s life may be at stake. This is not the time for some fucking power play.”

She held up her hand. “You misunderstand, Detective. I can feel where Jasper is and can lead you to him, but I cannot provide his exact location. Not until I get closer to him.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed as he studied her. “You can feel him?”

“Yes. And if your heart was more open to him, you’d be able to feel him too.”

Knowing he was being judged and found wanting, Gabe scowled at her.

Mr. Belmont snorted and rested his hand on Mariella’s shoulder. “How about I go wait in the car while you and the detective sort this out?” Then giving Gabe a sympathetic look, he strolled toward the black sedan parked alongside the curb.

Emerson, who should have had Gabe’s back, took off after him. “Why don’t I wait with you, Mr. Belmont? I hate seeing a grown man cry.”

“Call me Shaw,” Mr. Belmont said, holding out his hand. “I have the feeling we’re going to be family. That is if my sweet wife doesn’t scare off Jasper’s young man.”

Gabe turned his scowl on his partner, who only grinned at him, then he turned back to Mariella and crossed his arms. “Something you’re trying to tell me, Mrs. Belmont.”

Smiling at him in a way that had him gritting his teeth, Mariella said, “Tell me, Detective. Do you love my son?”

“Seriously? We’re doing this again?” Gabe said. “What does it matter? We need to find Jasper before Elwood hurts him.”

“Jasper will be fine until we get there.”

“How can you say that? Elwood obviously has access to black magic. He could be hurting Jasper right now.”

“The shard will keep him safe.”

“Will it? Because that fucking piece of rock didn’t even stop him from being kidnapped, so I’m not going to count on it to keep him safe.”

Mariella nodded, a troubled look coming to her face. “I don’t know why it allowed him to be taken. But I do know Jasper will not come to further harm.”

“Well, I don’t know any such thing. We need to go find him now.”

“The shard will protect him until we arrive,” Mariella said again, the conviction in her voice as strong as it was the first time.

“What if Elwood took the shard from him?”

“Elwood could try and probably has, but the shard is loyal to my family and will not give him what he wants.”

“How can you possibly have this much faith in a piece of rock?” Gabe asked, not getting it. Even though he’d felt the power of the shared, he wasn’t willing to bet Jasper’s life on it.

“Because I know it will not fail him.”

“It already has.”

“And yet, it hasn’t.”

Gabe growled and shoved his hands in his pocket so he didn’t strangle her, realizing at that moment that Jasper had the same effect on him. He might look like his father, but he sure as fuck took after his mother.

“Now, Detective, if you’ll just tell me how you feel about my son, we could get on our way.”

Gabe stared at her, sure he must have heard wrong. But knew he hadn’t when she arched her eyebrow and tapped the face of her watch. All of his patience—which admittedly wasn’t much—disappeared in a flash.

“You have got to be motherfucking kidding me. Jasper could be dying and you want to know about my goddamned feelings. Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“Detective—”

“Why are we standing here having this stupid conversation when we should be looking for Jasper before he gets fucking killed?”

“Detective, you must calm—”

“And how the fucking hell is a feeling going to lead us to Jasper?” When she opened her mouth, he held up his hand. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear one more fucking word about that stupid shard.”

Clasping her hands in front of her, Mariella’s eyebrow went up again as she asked, “Are you quite done now, Detective?”

Was he? Gabe was sure he had more to say, but Jasper was waiting for them. And he’d pretty much covered everything that needed to be said. “I’m done.”

“Good. Now, I’d like to answer your questions, but I cannot until I’m sure of your feelings for my son.”

“Why does that matter so damn much?” Gabe shouted, apparently not having been done with the yelling.

“Detective. Please calm yourself and answer my question.”

“Oh, my god. Would you give it a fucking rest already?”

Looking at him as if he were getting on her last nerve, which was ironic because she had definitely gotten on his, Mariella took a deep breath. Then drawing on a pool of patience that was obviously much greater than what Gabe had, she calmly said, “What you would have me tell you is a closely held secret that is not and has never been shared beyond the members of the Belmont family. If your feelings for Jasper are true, you will soon be one of us and can be brought into our confidence.” She gave him a steely look. “But if you will not open your heart and acknowledge what we both know you feel, then you are an outsider and will not be granted access to the knowledge you seek.” Holding his gaze, she finished. “Or to my son.”

Had she just threatened him? Gabe clenched his jaw and stared at her, seeing the truth of it in her eyes. Motherfucker. How dare she threaten to stop him from seeing Jasper if he didn’t bow down and kiss her ass. What made her think she could make him do anything he didn’t want to? Gabe opened his mouth to set her straight, then realized it didn’t matter. They both knew how he felt. Why was he wasting time fighting with her, refusing to tell her what she wanted to know when her knowing didn’t change anything? Not for him and certainly not for how he felt about Jasper.

But if it would get them on their way, Gabe would tell her what she wanted to know. But he wasn’t going to give in easily. That had never been his way. Crossing his arms again, Gabe scowled down at her. “You can’t stop me from seeing him.”

“I most certainly can, Detective. And I will if it becomes necessary.”

“You will not,” Gabe said, dropping his arms and moving in closer, crowding her, using his greater size to try to intimidate her—which had absolutely no effect—ignoring Emerson when he yelled at him to back off. “Jasper’s mine and I’m keeping him, no matter what you say about it.”

“And why is that, Detective?”

“Because I fucking love him, you old harpy.”

“I know you do.”

“That’s right. And you’d better not fucking get in my way.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. And now that you’ve acknowledged how you feel, maybe one day you’ll be brave enough to tell my son,” Mariella said, her whole body relaxing as she took hold of his hand.

Wait. What?

She smiled up at him. “I could not have asked for a better man for Jasper.”

Gabe gaped at her. “Was that…were you fucking testing me?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Perhaps.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Welcome to the family, Detective.”

“Son of a mother fucking bitch,” Gabe said again as he stared at her, realizing he’d been played by a master.

Mariella laughed, then hooked her arm through his and started leading him to the car. “Now that we’re finished playing, it’s time to go get our boy.”

His head spinning from what had just happened, Gabe couldn’t muster up any resistance and just went where she led him. “You still haven’t told me how we’re supposed to find him.”

“We’re going to use my blood connection to the shard. It will lead us to Jasper.”

Okay. He had some resistance left after all. Gabe stopped, forcing Mariella to as well. “What do you mean by blood connection?”

“Just what it sounds like. At birth, a small drop of the baby’s blood is dripped onto the shard and absorbed by it, forming an unbreakable bond. Everyone in my line is connected through our blood to the shard and to each other through our connection with the stone. And for our loyalty, the shard offers its protection to us all.”

What the fuck? Gabe’s stomach twisted at the thought of a baby being bonded to a piece of the meteorite. Especially knowing it had alien sentience. “That’s…that’s—”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is fortunate,” Mariella said, a look of warning flaring in her eyes. “It is fortunate that I have a connection with Jasper through the shard so we can find him. That is what you were going to say, was it not, Detective?”

Instinctively knowing this was one fire he didn’t want to ignite, Gabe nodded. “Yes. That’s what I was going to say.”

“I thought as much.”

Then they were at the black sedan. After helping her into her seat, he and Emerson got into their car and followed Mariella and Shaw as she led them to Jasper.

Through her blood connection with a sentient rock from outer space.

A sentient rock that Gabe had allowed himself to be bonded to.

Fucking fuck.