Jasper’s POV
The grip on my jacket came fast, too fast for me to react without losing Scarlett’s balance. My body went rigid, instinct pulling every muscle into fight mode. I twisted half around, ready to elbow whoever had me, when a voice I knew better than most cut through the noise.
“Jasper, for God’s sake, stop moving!”
Miriam.
It took me a full second to register it was her. She was crouched low, hair half out of its bun, wearing the thick, dark coat I’d last seen hanging in the back hall of the villa. The shock of seeing her here, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of this, slammed through me almost harder than the sound of boots crashing through the brush behind us.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed.
“You didn’t come back. You didn’t answer. I tracked you,” s
