And only when he’d suffered enough would I then end his life for good.
But he was as good as dead now.
I would make sure of it.
I curled around Sophia and pressed my nose into her hair before inhaling her scent.
She smelled like everything I ever wanted.
And soon, it would forever be mine.
CHAPTER 27
I got a dig bick.
-You read that wrong.
HAGGARD
“Can’t believe we’re here again.” Shine shook his head. “And with Sophia no less.”
I flipped him off, but Rook and Easton laughed.
I flipped the leather cut over that said ‘Property of Thief’ on the back and grinned. “You’ll take this out with you? I want to give it to her after I give her the ring.”
Rook nodded, tucking the leather vest underneath his arm before he said, “I’m out. Gotta make sure the caterers know what they’re doing. That was my one job, according to Sophia.”
Snorting, I turned to watch him go, only to see him sidestep a man that was walking toward us.
Rook didn’t give him a second glance as he rushed from the end of the hallway we’d been stuck in.
But something about that lone figure had me staring.
Noticing and not sure what to think.
The lone figure shuffled our way.
I had no fuckin’ clue who he was.
Even worse, I didn’t want to deal with some random fuckin’ weirdo on my wedding day.
I had enough shit to worry about.
Like the fact that I was getting married to a woman that was pregnant with my baby and refused to acknowledge it.
But that figure just kept coming, and I knew whether I wanted to or not, I was about to have to talk to him.
“Can I help you?” I asked him, hoping he would get the clue.
He didn’t.
He didn’t stop until he was only a half a foot away from me.
I looked at the man that was standing in front of me, and I felt sick to my stomach.
Because, had Madden survived, this would be exactly what he would’ve looked like.
Fucked up.
Bad fucked up.
The skin on his face was obviously badly burned, and there was a single part next to his nose that looked like it was still healing.
But it was the eyes that had me taking a step back.
Because I knew those eyes.
Those eyes were rare.
Almost as rare as the woman that I was about to marry, who had the exact same eyes.
My fuckin’ heart seized in my chest.
“W-what?” I asked.
He put his finger over the piece of plastic in his throat and said, “It’s really me.”
Jasper.
Broken. Fucked up. Burned and unrecognizable.
Jasper.
I lurched forward and started to throw him into the mother of all bear hugs when I froze.
“Can I hug you?”
He nodded.
I hugged him softly.
I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him in tight.
“God,” I breathed. “What the absolute hell is going on right now?”
I felt something inside of my chest burst free.
Hope.
Sophia wasn’t alone any longer.
Holy shit.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Jasper was alive.
Whole and alive.
“I think I can help answer that,” a woman said, startling me with her sudden appearance.
I looked over to find a cute little thing standing there looking at me.
I held out my hand to her after letting Jasper go and introduced myself.
“Haggard Crow,” I said.
She smiled. “I know. I’m Harlow DeGraw.”
“Nice to meet you,” I croaked.
Goddamn. Jasper was alive.
“Haggard, do you think we could tell this only once?” she asked. “Talk to her with you? It’s hard for him to speak just yet. But he’s getting better every day.”
I looked at her for a long time before saying, “No offense, but I’m going to have to cushion this blow. You’re gonna have to tell me, because she’s going to have fucking questions.”
Jasper smiled, and I felt my heart pinch.
Jasper looked…bad.
There was no other word for it.
His face was unrecognizable.
His hair was there, but barely.
His hands, though there, looked painfully broken.
Shit. The only thing on him that looked like him was his eyes.
They were still the same beautiful eyes as they’d always been since he was a baby.
Reaching over, Jasper took Harlow’s hand and squeezed it.
Obviously, they still worked.
Thank God.
“Okay, so I’ll give you the very condensed version since I know you’re about to get married.” She paused. “Something in which Jasper said he’s going to kick your ass for when he’s one hundred percent.”
I looked at Jasper, and that sweet boy was no longer in his eyes. In its place was determination and a promise.
“Jasper and I met at the hospital that I volunteer at. For the last however many months, I’ve been with him as he recovered from the bombing.”
I nodded and she continued.
“When he was hurt, his vocal cords were damaged, his lungs were damaged, and his brain swelled. At first, he didn’t have any memories. Then, when he got them back, he couldn’t tell anyone who he was because his hands nor his vocal cords worked.” She whispered. “It was only after months of this that we found out. When his vocal cords recovered enough for him to speak. That was only last week. He’s been in the hospital all this time, and this is the first time that he was able to get out for any amount of time.”