Secret Words(52)

"I'm going to kill this fucker when I see him," Kane said vehemently as he paced the length of their bedroom, raking his hand through his hair repeatedly. "Are you sure he doesn't have a naked picture of you? Or one lying somewhere that he could have accessed?"

"No one has ever taken a naked picture of me. And I don't know how he could have taken one without my knowledge."

"Perhaps when you were asleep? Did you ever sleep naked with him?" The thought of Jasmine having slept with someone else was enough to make his gut clench. That she might have slept naked next to a deranged man made him feel sick.

"No. We never stayed overnight in each other's places. No wonder he was against it. He was hiding me from his fiancée."

Kane breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're going to the police with this, Jaz. And we're seeing a lawyer, too," he said quietly. "If this guy is as loony as he appears to be, he just might do something really stupid, beyond sending you these disturbing emails. We still don't know for sure if he does or doesn't have a naked picture of you."

"Okay," she agreed after a short silence. "I thought you're the one we're trying to protect, not me," she said teasingly.

"This is serious, Jasmine," he chided.

"Yes, Kane," she said in a chastened voice.

"I just don't want this guy destroying your reputation."

Jasmine smiled. "That's what I've been saying all along about your reputation. Now you know how I feel."

"Well, this time, we're working on this together. Not you taking matters into your own hands and breaking my heart in the process," he said, his tone tinged with hurt from the memory.

"Oh, honey," Jasmine said softly. "Will you ever forgive me for that?"

He exhaled loudly and reached out for her. "Of course. I love you."

He frowned as worry enveloped him. "Maybe you shouldn't stay in the house all by yourself when I'm at work."

"Kane, your house is so secure you don't have to worry."

"Our house. Still, I worry you're by yourself. Maybe you can work in one of our boardrooms in the office."

"I'll be fine here. Honestly, you're the most overprotective person in the world."

He heard the exasperation in her voice and smiled. "It takes one to know one."

Until this blackmailer was stopped, Kane could see himself having hellish days at work, missing her and worrying about her.





CHAPTER TWENTY





Jasmine hummed to herself as she loaded her groceries into the boot of her mother's car. As she pushed the empty trolley to the bay, she turned her mind to the dinner she'd cook at her parents' place tonight.

She loved that Kane had business to attend to in Melbourne today. It was a pleasant surprise to her parents that they were visiting unexpectedly. They were even staying overnight at her mum and dad's before flying back home tomorrow.

"Jasmine?" a voice called out.

She froze. She knew that voice. Her head turned to where the sound came from. There was George, staring at her in amazement.

"Hi! I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you'd moved to Sydney," he said conversationally.

Anger flared within her. Here was the man who had singlehandedly messed with her head and had threatened to ruin her and Kane's future, yet he stood there as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

"How dare you," she hissed, daylight and other people walking about the public car park cloaking her with a sense of safety.

George's jaw dropped, seemingly taken aback by her fierceness.

"What do you mean?" he asked, astonished.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, George. Don't you have a heart? Or a conscience? You are a liar, a thief and a blackmailer." She looked at him straight in the eye, her voice full of venom.

His mouth opened wider, along with his eyes.

"Why did you do it?" She wanted to hear his reason straight from his mouth.

"I can't believe you're still mad at me for …" He paused and sighed. "But I guess I never really explained or apologised. I'm really sorry, Jasmine."

"Why did you do it?" She asked again, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at him.

"Where do I start?" he asked as he looked around, as if searching for guidance.

"From the beginning," she responded coldly.

"Do you want to go sit inside a coffee shop or something?" he asked, gesturing towards the shopping mall.

"No, George. Here. Now."

"Okay," he said resignedly. He inspected the ground before glancing up at her and looking away again. "When I read your sexy story, I assumed you were … adventurous in bed. See, my ex-fiancée has a cousin who used to go out with a girl who wrote stories for porno magazines. I guess that was my frame of reference because she was very adventurous. Although I must say your story was a lot classier than hers. Yours was hot but nice hot, if you know what I mean."