Jasper broke down the last carton and put it on top of the cardboard stacked in the corner for recycling, then stretched his back, groaning when it cracked. Turning back to his shop, he let out a pleased sound when he saw how much he’d accomplished that day.

The wall shelves he’d installed yesterday all held clear-sided bins, a quarter of which had been filled with raw crystals, which was only a fraction of the inventory he would carry but was enough for him to visualize what it would look like when his shelves were overflowing with the crystals and specialty stones that had yet to arrive.

Next, his gaze moved over the middle section of the room where the freestanding racks and cabinets he’d put together to display his handcrafted jewelry were waiting to be filled, and grinned, easily seeing how it would all work together. Then, so thrilled at being this close to realizing his dream, he did a little happy dance. Another week or two to get the rest of his stock in and organized, then he could hang some pictures on the walls, set up his sales desk and information racks, and he’d be ready to open.

But now, as a reward for getting so much done, he was going to do what he loved the most; creating one-of-a-kind magic-infused crystal jewelry. Brushing off his hands, Jasper headed for his workroom at the back of his store where he kept his jewelry-making supplies, eager to get to work on a special pendant for one of his mother’s friends.

Jasper hummed along with the music playing in the background as he put the finishing touches on the pendant. Wrapping the silver wire around the crystal for a final time, he ended at the top loop, or bail, then fed the wires through the loop and twisted them around the base, pulling them tight, before grabbing his cutters and snipping them. After making sure there were no edges to catch on fabric, or more importantly, skin, he set his cutters to the side. Holding the silver-wrapped aquamarine pendant in his palm, Jasper covered it with his other hand, then released a small burst of power into the gemstone to awaken it and boost its inherent properties. When he took his hand away, the crystal glowed with the bit of magic he’d given it.

Jasper examined the pendant critically, turning it this way and that, using his pliers in a couple of places to bend and tighten the wire, then chuckled when excited pulses of energy started coming from the crystal, the small gemstone apparently ready to get on with the task Jasper had told it about as he’d wrapped it in silver. Smiling, he ran his fingers over the blue-green surface to calm it.

“Shh. Not yet, little one.”

The aquamarine stone glowed brighter instead of settling.

Laughing, Jasper said, “I know you’re excited, but it’s not time yet. Rest and save your energy.”

There was a flurry of little pulses before the light streaming from the crystal subsided into a gentle glow. Jasper sent a touch more of his magic into it, then studied it again. Perfect. The pendant was now ready to give to Samara and would help her heart heal from the pain of losing her husband, as well as assist her with finding her inner strength again.

Plus, the blue-green silver-wrapped crystal would look fantastic against her dusky skin, something that pleased his artistic soul no end.

Jasper carefully wrapped the pendant in tissue and put it in a royal-blue velvet bag, and set it to the side to deliver to Samara later.

Then he grabbed the book he wrote his commissions in and opened it to the first page. Closing his eyes, he slowly ran his finger down the list, turning the page when he reached the bottom and starting at the top of the next one as he let his power guide him to what he needed to work on next. When he felt a slight tingle, he stopped. Opening his eyes, Jasper smiled when he saw the name he’d chosen. Jessica, who was going after a huge promotion at work.

Sticking with the silver wire, he selected a few carnelian and citrine crystal beads from the small bins in front of him, then started fashioning a bracelet that would augment her already confident nature and help her get what she was looking for…though Jasper suspected it wouldn’t be the high-level job she thought she wanted, but rather, the attention of the company’s owner, Hudson. Whispering to the crystals as he worked, Jasper couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his magic helping Jessica get exactly what, or rather who, she needed.

He rather hoped Jessica and Hudson invited him to the wedding. He loved seeing the magic that was created when two perfectly matched souls were bound together. And in Starfall Grove, binding went deeper than just the signing of a legal document.

And one day, if he was lucky, it would happen to him.

Jasper set the partially finished bracelet to the side, and leaned back, stretching his arms over his head with a groan. Letting them fall, he rotated his shoulders a couple of times, then tilted his head to the left, then to the right, his neck cracking slightly on each side. He was reaching for the bracelet again when his phone vibrated with an incoming call. Checking the screen, he saw it was from an unknown number so he ignored it and attached the next citrine bead to the bracelet.

A couple of minutes later his phone vibrated again.

After making sure it wasn’t from someone he knew, Jasper continued working. His damned phone had been ringing non-stop for most of the day. The first couple of calls had been from reporters wanting to interview him about the newscast the previous night. He’d politely declined and hung up, but they’d been persistent enough that he’d turned off his ringer and started screening his calls. Which had proven to be a good thing or he wouldn’t have gotten any work done since pretty much everyone he knew had reached out.

There’d been calls from people he hadn’t heard from in months asking him why he’d been on the news and what was wrong with his face. Some thought he was in a new reality show and wanted to know what it was about. Others thought he’d been in an accident and were checking to see if he was still alive. And then there was the call from Spencer who laughingly wished him good luck with his after-dinner sex-face session with his father.

Spencer could be a real ass sometimes.

Sighing when his phone vibrated again, he glanced at it, then snatched it up when he saw it was a text from his mother.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Are you on your way yet?”

He sent back a reply letting her know he was just cleaning up and would be there soon, then got up from his workbench and quickly put away his supplies. Once everything was in order, he freshened up in the small bathroom in the back, then let himself out the rear exit door. After giving the handle an extra tug to make sure it locked properly, he jogged over to his car parked in the small communal lot behind his shop.

Keys in hand, Jasper skidded to a stop when he saw his flat tire. Ah, shit. That’s the last thing he needed. Quickly going to the trunk to get his jack, he saw that the back tire was flat too. What the hell? One nail he might have run over, but two? Going to the other side of his car, he saw both of those tires were flat as well. Crouching next to one, he ran his fingertips over it, easily finding the slit in the rubber.

Son of a bitch. Some asshole had slashed all four of his tires.

Standing, he pulled out his phone and called his parents’ house.

“Hey, Mom. I’m…no, I’m not calling to cancel. Yes, I know promised to work on my sex-face with Dad.” Jasper rolled his eyes as he listened to her tell him again why it was necessary. “I know, Mom. I’ll be there. I promise. I just called to say I was going to be a bit late. I have a flat tire to deal with.”

After assuring her he’d be there as quickly as he could, Jasper ended the call and rang up Cliff’s Garage and made arrangements to have his vehicle towed to the garage the following morning. Once that was done, Jasper pulled up his Uber app and ordered a ride, thinking if it came quickly enough, he might just make it to his parent’s house before dinner was over.

Which would make his mother happy, because heaven forbid he miss the all-so-important after dinner orgasm-face training session with his father. Sheesh.

While Jasper was waiting for his driver to pick him up, he decided to take a quick walk around the parking lot to check if anyone else’s tires had been damaged, and more importantly, to see if he could find anything to identify the person who’d vandalized his car.

Gravel crunched under his feet as he inspected the other three vehicles in the lot, which took about two minutes. But crossing back and forth over the small area, his eyes in constant motion as he searched for clues, took about ten. All he’d discovered when he was done was that one, only his car’s tires had been slashed, and two, he had no idea what he was looking for.

Pulling out his phone to see what the internet had to say about searching for clues, he was in the middle of an article about how to track your quarry in a forest—not helpful but quite interesting—when his app notified him that his driver would be there shortly.

Putting his phone away, Jasper headed toward the front to wait for his ride. Partway there he stopped and looked back, frowning when he realized he couldn’t just leave his car unprotected overnight. Turning, he walked back to it, pulling off his black tourmaline ring when he reached it. Holding the crystal ring in his fist, Jasper called up his magic and pushed it into the crystal, along with instructions for what he wanted it to do. When the crystal warmed in his hand, he unlocked the driver’s side door and tucked the ring under the floor mat before locking his car up again. Seconds later, a field of protection settled around his car. Which should be enough to keep it safe.

But just in case…

Jasper pulled a piece of magnetite out of his pocket, understanding now what had prompted him to grab it before he’d left his shop. Setting it on the roof of his car, he covered it with his hand and released a small burst of power into the stone. The matte black paint under the crystal began to shimmer, spreading slowly outward over the roof, picking up speed until his entire car shone brightly with magic. He sent another burst of power into the crystal. Light flashed, illuminating his car before slowly fading, but leaving the black paint gleaming with a luster it hadn’t had before. Jasper lifted the magnetite off the roof and stepped back, nodding in satisfaction as he took in his gently glowing vehicle. 

If anyone tried tampering with his car again, they’d be in for one hell of a shock.

——

Jasper thanked his Uber driver when she dropped him off at home. Wishing her a good night, he got out of the car and jogged up the narrow path to his front door. Picking up the box sitting in front of it, he unlocked the door and slipped inside, leaning against it to close it, relieved the long night was finally over. As much as he loved spending time with his parents, sometimes their interest in his life could be a bit much.

Setting the box on the side table, Jasper kicked off his shoes, then rubbing his cheeks which still ached from all the contortions his father had talked him through to fix his sex-face, with his mother shouting encouragement from the kitchen the whole time—god, how could this even be his life—he shuffled to the kitchen. Running the cold water, he filled a glass, then held it to his sore face, his mind going back to what his mother had said to him as he was leaving.

“You need to think about who might want to hurt you, dear.”

And he had, all the way home. The thing was, he didn’t really have any enemies. Sure, he’d annoyed a few people over the years—who hadn’t—but not to the point they’d want to get back at him. And they were few and far between since he always tried to be kind to others and went out of his way to help the people in his community.

After looking at it from every angle, he could only think of one person who might have it in for him.

Setting his glass down, Jasper pulled out his phone and dialed his ex-boyfriend, going on the attack the moment Lucas answered, in hopes of startling a confession out of him.

“Why did you put my sex face on the news last night?”

“Oh, my god. That was awesome. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.”

“What it was, asshole, was a violation of privacy.” And probably illegal as hell. He’d have to check with his mother’s lawyer. “Why would you do something like that?”

“Wait. You think I did it?” Lucas snorted. “I wish.”

“You’re the only one who could have taken that photo of me.” Jasper squinted as he tried to think of when. “I just don’t remember you doing it.”

“That’s because I didn’t.”

But he must have. The photo on the news showed Jasper with a second ear piercing. Something he’d had done when he’d still been with Lucas. And since he hadn’t been intimate with anyone else since they’d broken up…

“Lucas, you don’t need to lie. I know you took it.”

“I’m telling you I didn’t. But even if I had, I couldn’t have hacked the news to put it up.” He snickered. “Though I wish I could because that was epic.”

Jasper frowned. “Don’t you work for a tech company now?”

“In administration, yeah. Not as part of the geek squad.” Someone said something in the background. Lucas replied, too low for Jasper to hear. Then he was back. “Is my job at SG Tech why you thought it was me?”

“Well, that and the photo,” Jasper said as he picked up his glass of water and headed toward his living room.

“Which I said I didn’t take,”

But Jasper knew he had. “I also couldn’t think of anyone else who’d want to embarrass me.”

Lucas’ laugh had an edge to it. “I can. You’re not nearly as well-liked as you think you are.”

Jasper blinked at the sudden animosity in his tone. “What are you—”

“Now, if that’s all you wanted, I’ve got better things to do with my time than talk to you.”

“Wait,” Jasper shouted, trying to stop him before he could hang up.

“What?”

“I need your help.”

“After what you did?” Lucas sneered. “Why the hell would I want to help you?”

Seriously. What was with the attitude? Blowing out a breath, Jasper tried to reason with the man he’d been in a one-year relationship with. “Look. I get that things didn’t work out between us and there might be some unresolved feelings—”

“Nope. I’m pretty resolved in my hatred of you.”

“And I know there was fault on both sides—”

“Mostly yours.”

Like hell. Lucas had only been with him so he’d have an in with Jasper’s mother. But arguing about who was at fault wasn’t going to help, so Jasper kept his tone light and tried again. “And even though a lot of ugly things were said the day we broke up, there’s no reason why we can’t be civil to each other.”

“And no reason why we should be. I’m perfectly fine with the way things are.”

Striving to hold on to his patience, Jasper continued. “But regardless of how things between us turned out, I didn’t deserve to be humiliated on TV. That was a real dick move.”

“But fucking hilarious.”

Clenching his teeth, Jasper bit back the words that wanted to escape. Barely. “It could also damage my professional reputation and I’m trying to start a new business.”

“I heard. Not sure what that has to do with me.”

Neither was Jasper by this point. Luckily, the crystals in his wrist wrap pulsed, reminding him what he wanted to say. “I know you know who hacked the news station.”

Silence. Then, “I hate your fucking crystals.”

That wasn’t news. “Who put up that picture of me?”

“Why don’t you ask your crystals?”

He had and for some reason, they couldn’t tell him. “I’m asking you. Do you know who it was?”

“Maybe.”

Which meant yes. “Who was it?”

“I’m not saying.”

“Lucas—”

“No.”

“Damn it, Lucas,” Jasper said, finally losing his patience. “Don’t you even care that they’re trying to ruin me?”

“Not one fucking bit,” Lucas spat out, his voice hard and uncompromising.

It took a couple of seconds for Jasper to get over his shock. He’d thought Lucas might still be angry over everything that had gone down, but he’d had no idea he could be so cold. Or mean. “Do you honestly hate me that much that you’d let someone destroy me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Now Jasper was pissed. “Why the fuck are you being like this? You’re the one who betrayed me. I never did anything to you.”

Lucas scoffed, “Of course you’d think that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“To you maybe. I see it differently. I guess it depends which side of the Belmont fence you’re standing on.”

“For fucks sake, Lucas. You tried to use me, not the other way around. It’s not fair to blame me because things didn’t work out the way you wanted.”

“Maybe not, but you still fucked up my life. Let’s see how you like it when someone fucks up yours.”

That sounded ominous. “What are you—”

But Lucas had already hung up.

Jasper quickly called him back. His call went straight to voicemail. He dialed again with the same result. The third time he tried, the call didn’t even go through. The fucker had totally blocked him.

Fuming, Jasper shoved his phone into his pocket so he wouldn’t be tempted to throw it at the wall. What an ass. And Lucas blaming him for what had happened was total crap. He’d been the one who’d used Jasper. Their whole relationship had been nothing but a lie, a way for Lucas to get close to Jasper’s mother so he could convince her to use her connections and influence to help his father get elected as mayor. Which had backfired spectacularly once Jasper had found out—he’d overheard Lucas talking about it on the phone with someone—since his mother had used those same connections to ensure Earl Johnson would never get elected in any official capacity in Starfall Grove. But even with all their history and knowing Lucas had never truly loved him, Jasper hadn’t thought he could be so cruel that he’d want to see him humiliated and his reputation destroyed.

Just went to show he hadn’t learned a damned thing when it came to his ex-boyfriend.

He just wished he’d been able to find out who Lucas was protecting. Especially since it was probably the same person who’d slashed his tires. But with Lucas not talking, and his crystals not able to tell him anything—which was a bit puzzling—and Jasper having no way of knowing who’d messed with his car, there was nothing he could do—

Wait a minute. The businesses next to his store had security cameras. Which meant they might have video footage of whoever had vandalized his vehicle. If he asked nicely, Jasper was sure they’d let him have a look. Then he’d have a name to give to the police.

Returning his glass to the kitchen, he went to his bedroom and got ready for bed, falling asleep almost immediately, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow he’d know who was trying to hurt him and could put a stop to it.

Too bad he was wrong. About pretty much everything.