Chapter 20: Veiled Vows: Chapter 20

“When you asked me out on a date, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” Climbing out of my car, I close the door and smile warmly at Jasmine who stands in the parking spot across from me.

Both her hands brace back against the hood she’s leaning against, and her high heel booties cross over each other at the ankle. “Is that a complaint I hear?” Jasmine’s small smile grows into a sly smirk. “Is this too much suspense for an old man?”

“Ouch!” My hand touches my heart. “Forty-one isn’t that old.”

“Mm-hmm, sure. Well, let me know if it all gets too much for you.” She leans up as I approach, but I’m in front of her before she can stand.

With one hand cupping her hip, I lean into her and bring my lips close. “You speak as if I can’t keep up with you.”

“Mmm.” She leans close until there’s a hair’s breadth between our lips. “I guess we’ll find out later.”

“I guess we will.” Resisting the urge to kiss her is like pulling out my own soul, but I manage for now. She called me earlier with a simple invitation for a date, and after not seeing her for two days, there’s no way I could say no. “So your ideal date is a”—I lean away and glance past her to the run-down building with several cars and trucks parked outside—“a mechanic?”

Jasmine places one hand on my chest and lightly eases me backward as she leans up. “First, tell me about Alto.”

A curl of disgust immediately warms my gut. “I didn’t confront him directly, but I’ve been keeping a close eye on him. A couple of my loyal guards are also tailing him. From what digging I could do, he’s done a good job covering his tracks. Proving he’s behind your assassination will be tricky.”

“But is it doable?”

I shrug. “Maybe. It would be the perfect thing to kick him down in my father’s eyes, especially after we’re married. Should give me a straight shot to the throne.”

“Hm. Asshole.” Jasmine shakes her head, one hand lifting to play with the end of her brown plait that rests over one shoulder. “Well, I can’t help with that yet, but you can help me with this.”

“Our date?”

She nods and her dazzling eyes lock onto mine, as stunning as the stars up above. “Want to help me kill someone?”

“Color me intrigued.” Resting beside her against the hood of her car, my attention drifts to the building across the street. “Did you get stiffed on your insurance or something?”

“No. You remember the asshole who ran me over? My friend’s ex?”

Just the thought of him is enough to ignite heat across my shoulders. “Yes.” He’d be dead if I had my way, but there were too many witnesses, including the cops. I’ve been waiting for the heat to die, but it seems Jasmine now has her own ideas.

“I moved my friend Catherine to a safe place. That’s actually where I was a couple of days ago before the crash. Anyway, I spent so long assuring her she was safe, and I had men tailing her. But Seth, the asshole, gave my guards the slip because my father pulled all available eyes to look for me while we were …”

“Fucking?” I offer with a smirk.

She nudges me with her shoulder. “Yes. So it’s my fault he found her and hurt her again. Luckily, she called me when he was still breaking down the door, and he fled when he realized I was coming.”

“Is she okay?”

Jasmine nods. “I got there in time to scare the fucker away but this is the last straw. She won’t be safe until he’s dead, and my good graces only give one chance. She might hate me for doing this, but I’m pissed off about him and Alto and my family so …” Jasmine sucks on her upper teeth, briefly flashing her tongue. “I want him dead. So, date night?”

“How can I refuse?” We could be doing something mundane like bowling, but murder for a first date? I’m so here for it.

“You’re good though?” Jasmine pointedly glances at my waist. “Your wounds …”

“Are fine,” I assure her, glancing at the bruise on her forehead concealed by makeup. “I’d say we’re each as fine as the other.”

She doesn’t look like she entirely believes me, but it’s good enough for the moment.

Jasmine takes the lead as we cross the street and head into the mechanics. The place is mostly shrouded in darkness except for a light on in the small office tucked away at the back of the building, almost completely hidden by a pickup truck. Jasmine’s head is held high as she strides in and pulls her handgun from her belt.

“We’re closed!” calls a voice from inside, seemingly alerted by the clack of Jasmine’s heels on the stone floor.

She doesn’t respond and walks closer. Then she kicks down the door with one swift move. As it swings open with a crash, the man inside lurches up from his seat in fright, sending an array of papers scattering down to the floor. His wide eyes narrow upon seeing Jasmine, and there’s an air of arrogance despite facing the gun.

“Oh what a surprise, the bitch sent her attack dog.”

“Seth, I presume?” I enter a moment later, and the confidence on Seth’s face melts away as he looks up at me. I’m a full head and shoulders taller than this scrawny fucker, but that doesn’t make him any less of a threat.

“Who the fuck are you?”

I glance at Jasmine. “I’m her attack dog.”

Seth doesn’t stand a chance against me. He fights like a little rodent when I grab him by the scruff of the neck and force him down against his creaking desk. He kicks out at me, even throws an elbow, but I put an end to that by grabbing his wrist and wrenching his arm so hard up his back that something audibly pop. His swearing turns into yells of pain.

“Not here,” Jasmine decides, sliding her gun back into her holster. “He’s not scared enough.”

“Alright, where to?”

She shrugs. “I’m undecided.”

“Listen,” Seth wheezes out around the pressure of my weight pinning him down. “Let’s talk about this!”

“No,” Jasmine says casually. “I’m done fucking talking.”

Our eyes meet and she jerks her head outside. Hauling Seth upward, he kicks out his legs in fright, so I throw him against the filing cabinets and punch him several times in the face until blood pours down from a broken nose and he’s gasping for air. He’s much more docile as I drag him from his office and across the street.

“Put him in the trunk,” Jasmine instructs, unlocking her car when we arrive.

“No, please! I’m sorry! Listen, I made some bad choices, I’m sorry! You can’t do this to me man, what the hell? What the hell!”

“Shut up,” I snap, tossing him into the trunk of her car like he’s just a sack of potatoes. His begging and cries become muffled when I slam the trunk shut and lean against it. “So what’s next?”

Jasmine rocks back onto her heels and taps her finger against her lower lip. “I want him scared. I want him so scared he shits himself because he terrified her, and a swift death is too good.”

I run through a couple of options; reckless driving, loud noises, even the threat of fire are all good options, but it’s not enough. Judging by how worried Jasmine is about her friend, we need something more.

She stops pacing and when our eyes meet, I smile.

“Do you like theme parks?”

“Do you come here often?” Jasmine chuckles, standing on the edge of a rotten wood pier and staring out at the slimy, trash-filled body of water that stretches out almost as far as the eye can see. The graveyard of the water park.

Behind us, the run-down remains of a theme park stretch across the night sky. This place hasn’t seen foot traffic or love in at least ten years. Closed down by the state after one too many accidents and a decapitation, this old theme park became a hunting ground for anyone looking to get rid of something.

And since the Mafia is always on the lookout for places that no one will ever go to, we’re also the reason this place hasn’t been bulldozed and rebuilt.

“What?” I pant from behind her car. “Not a fan of theme parks?”

“I’ve never been,” Jasmine admits.

“What?” I halt my straining immediately. “You’ve never been to a theme park?”

“Nope.”

“Been on a roller coaster?”

“Nope.”

“Have you even lived?”

“Alright Mr. Adrenaline Junkie,” Jasmine laughs. “What are you, some theme park fiend?”

“Something like that. I’ll tell you about it if I can just get … this … going!” Another hard shove and Jasmine’s car, complete with Seth pounding on the trunk, begins rolling toward the lake. I watch it closely as it picks up speed and then crashes into the water sending a cascade of waves out to the deeper parts of the lake. Her car keeps rolling forward and starts to float, but with all the windows we left open, it’s not long until it starts to take on water.

“You sure about this?” I ask as I climb up onto the wooden pier beside her. “That’s a nice car.”

“Eh. I can get another car easily enough,” Jasmine replies, folding her arms just under her bust. “If the price is listening to this then it’s so worth it.”

Seth’s panicked cries carry in the night air and quickly turn into terrified screams when the car takes on enough water for him to work out what’s happening. Few things terrify people more than drowning in the dark.

Slowly.

“So.” Jasmine turns to me. “You like roller coasters?”

Nodding, I nudge her gently with my shoulder. “When I was younger, we didn’t have anything in the way of money, but my mom always found work at a theme park. Not this one specifically, but a few different ones. Summer was always amazing because she’d be working and I’d get to wander the parks. I had no money, but sometimes I could sneak onto rides by acting like I was part of someone’s family.”

“That’s cute and sad at the same time,” Jasmine says softly. “Your mom sounds like she worked really hard.”

“So hard.” Jasmine’s car sinks further, and Seth’s pounding fists are almost musical in his panic. “She did everything to put food on the table and worked herself so hard. Looking back, though, I can see that she was just really sad. I think the noise and chaos of places like this were a great distraction. And when I got older, I started making money. She worked less, her health got worse, and she … she ended things on her own terms.”

“I’m sorry,” Jasmine says, reaching for my hand. Her fingertips brush over my knuckles, and when I thread our fingers together, she tightens her grip. My heart lurches faintly in my chest, and I can’t take my eyes off her.

“I don’t hold it against her, and it was a long time ago,” I murmur. “I can’t believe you’ve never been.”

“Overprotective parents,” Jasmine replies. “And y’know, my mother is kind of all over the place and my father is a workaholic. Fun isn’t a thing in our home.”

“I bet you make the cutest faces when you’re terrified.”

Her smile turns sultry. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe.” I lean close until my nose brushes her cheek. “Is it working?”

“Maybe.” She turns her head into mine and nudges our noses together just as the thumping of Seth’s fists starts to slow. “I think that’s been enough time.”

“The things I do for a date.” Sighing dramatically, I quickly shed my clothes down to my boxers and then hop off the pier into the water. “Fuck!”

“Are you okay?!” Jasmine drops to her knees immediately, panic lacing her tone.

“It’s cold,” I gasp, to which she then splashes water at me with her hand.

“I thought you were hurt!”

“I might die if any of this gross water gets into my stab wound.”

“Suck it up,” she laughs. “I thought you Gattis were built differently.”

“We are. Sort of.” Amusement aside, I wade closer to her car just as it sinks fully beneath the waterline, then I pop the trunk. Seth lunges upward with a gasp and a splutter, coughing up his lungs as he drags in desperate breath after breath.

“You maniac!” he chokes, clawing at me as I drag him out of the water and toward the shore where Jasmine waits for us. “I could have died!” He can barely speak around all the coughing, and by the time I drop him at Jasmine’s feet, he’s mostly breathing. Landing in a shivering, trembling heap, Seth manages to get onto his hands and knees. “Okay, okay! You’ve made your point now let me go! Please, I won’t tell anyone. Please, please!”

“Did you listen to Catherine when she was on her knees begging you to stop?” Jasmine asks in a cold voice. “Did you believe her when she told you she understood whatever shit you were punishing her for? No. You didn’t.”

“It’s not what you think,” Seth gasps. “She’s a liar!”

What an unwise thing to say to her furious best friend. I remain nearby dripping wet as Jasmine removes her gun from her hip, pulls back the safety, and shoots Seth right in his kneecap. As he bursts to life screaming and flailing in pain, she knees him hard in the face and then dives onto him, dragging his twisting body back to the water.

“Call her a liar again!” Jasmine yells. “I fucking dare you! Call her a liar, you worthless prick! Go on! Do it!”

Seth can’t answer her as Jasmine kneels on his chest and holds his head under the water. His arms and legs flail, blood pours from his shattered kneecap, and water violently sloshes as he fights for his life.

But Jasmine is stronger. Angrier.

It’s surprisingly erotic watching her hold him down, knee to his sternum while yelling at him to beg and call Catherine a liar once more. She holds him down, and within forty seconds, Seth is no longer moving. By the time she stands up, even the blood flow from his shattered knee is sluggish. She delivers a hard kick to his ribs, which makes him flop over and float face down as the rolling water lifts and catches his drifting body.

“Twisted motherfucker,” Jasmine spits, shaking the water from her hands. Then she looks at me and the most adorable smile spreads across her face. “What?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re staring.”

“I’m admiring,” I correct. “There’s a difference.”

“Oh.” She attempts to adjust her soaked clothes and sighs. “Why don’t I feel better yet?”

I walk closer and nudge her chin with my knuckle. “You will.”

I’m completely dry by the time we drag Seth out of the water and bury him deep in the soft dirt under the trees surrounding one of the run-down roller coasters.

I re-dress and take Jasmine’s hand in mine. We wander the theme park and take turns guessing the names of the fallen, faded roller coasters. She gets fully into character at the abandoned food court, and we role-play buying hot dogs and popcorn. Then we play the ring toss until I win a prize.

Which is a kiss.

Our wandering stops when we reach the old Ferris wheel, and Jasmine tips her head all the way back as she stares upward. “Wow. What the view must be like from up there.”

“Let’s take a look.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Unless that’s too scary for you.”

She scrunches her nose and her hand tightens in mine. “There’s no way that’s safe to climb.”

“Not with that attitude,” I chuckle. “But in all seriousness, this isn’t as old as the rest of the park. They started replacing all wooden Ferris wheels with steel to reinforce them with how bad the weather was getting. This thing is the sturdiest thing in the park, but if you’re too chicken to climb the frame, then I guess⁠—”

“Hey!” She shoves against me with a laugh. “I’m not chicken. I just don’t want to die. I’ve seen disaster movies.”

“I’ll catch you,” I say. “Promise.” Her doubt melts away when I hop the railing and start to climb the inside ladder that leads up the center of the Ferris wheel. “Look, it holds me easily. You’re nothing. Trust me.”

And she does. Jasmine hops the rail and climbs up behind me, obediently following me all the way up the ladder and then across the Ferris wheel framework until we’re as high as we can go. From here, it’s easy to pull up into one of the top compartments, and we flop down against the hard seats, panting.

“Wow …” Jasmine immediately leans forward and grasps the metal railing, staring out at the city that stretches out below us like a sea of stars. “It’s so beautiful. And so … quiet.”

Moving up behind her, I press my lips to the back of her neck and murmur softly in the back of my throat. “So how does this stack up as a first date?”

Jasmine presses back against me, then swivels in my arms and loops one hand around my neck. “My highlight was seeing you take all your clothes off to get in the water,” she says softly, her eyes darting around my face. “But I’m still undecided.”

“Oh really?” I don’t know if it’s adrenaline or the excitement of the night or the sheer enjoyment of spending time with Jasmine, but I’ve never felt this good. Every part of me sings high, every nerve is on cloud nine, and I’ve never felt more alive than I do right now. “Is there a way I can adjust your score?”

“I’m open to suggestions.” Then, after a night of fighting and killing, of jokes and games and teasing, Jasmine finally kisses me.

I can’t keep my hands off her after that, and up in the sky, hidden away in a Ferris wheel box with only the moon as my witness, I take her clothes off and fuck her like it’s our last day on earth. She claws at my back, bites into my shoulder, and her pussy clenches around me like a vice each time my thrusts rock the cabin back and forth. I hold the metal pipe and her hips as I repeatedly drive my cock hard into her, pouring all my desire and adrenaline into making sure her legs will be too shaky to climb down.

She leaves trails of fire down my arms, bites my nipple so hard that I almost come on the spot, and screams out her pleasure as I fuck her through not one, but two orgasms. It becomes a game where I hold myself back just so I can keep fucking her, which quickly becomes an erotic rush of insane overstimulation, but it’s thrilling. Metal creaks and groans, skin slaps against slick skin, heat blooms from every point of contact, and soon we’re nose to nose, lips to lips, with mouths open and a mantra of gasps and moans falling from both of us as I fuck her with hard, rapid thrusts. She comes apart beneath me with a third orgasm barely a minute after her second and that’s my final straw.

I come with a roar, slamming hard into her and pulling her hips snugly against my own. My heart pounds, the cold night air does nothing to dampen the heat in my veins, and nothing matters except the open, honest pleasure across Jasmine’s beautiful face.

When I kiss her, it feels like our first and our last, and I never want to part.

Because I like her.

No, it’s more than that. It’s so much deeper than that.

“Holy shit,” Jasmine gasps, resting back against one of the seats as she lies naked in my arms. “Was that so exhilarating because we killed someone? Or because we fucked in this death trap.”

“I don’t know,” I murmur, nuzzling against her hairline. “But I’m up for testing this multiple times until we get answers.”

“Oh I bet you are,” she replies, laughing breathily. “Oh, and I meant to say, my mother wants to have an autumn wedding and wants to know your thoughts.”

Right. The wedding. How easy it is to forget about the actual act. “What do you want?”

“It’s just a business agreement, right?” Jasmine says quickly. “So I’m not concerned about the details.”

Her words cause an unexpected spear of pain through my chest, like I’ve just heard some terrible bad news, but how can I be surprised? She’s right. Putting my crazy feelings aside, the wedding is just an agreement.

Despite that, disappointment weighs down in my chest and the air around me suddenly grows cold. “Yes, it is,” I reply after a moment. “But we can still have fun with it, right?”

How foolish of me to lose myself in this. Jasmine’s right. Sex and fun aside, this is just business.

Nothing else.

So why does it hurt?