His Destructive, Toxic Love (Jasper and Eliza)

Dillon sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the cold air sting his lungs. Casper's heart pounded, his blood racing to his head. Struggling to steady his erratic breathing, he asked, "Which shopping mall will he go to?" "I... I don't know."

Falconridge had plenty of shopping malls, and Aaron hadn't mentioned the details to Nova. Casper dialed Eliza's number, but there was no answer. Panic started to creep in.

"Dillon, round up more people. I want every shopping mall searched now!"

"On it, Mr. Casper."

Casper snatched his coat and hurried out of the office, Dillon right behind him.

Meanwhile, in a modest-sized shopping mall in Falconridge, Eliza was in the toy section, helping Brock pick out his favorite toy car.

"Do you like this one?" she asked.

Brock clutched one car in each hand, torn between the two. "I want both."

"You can only pick one," Eliza gently reminded him.

Brock looked from one to the other, clearly torn. Finally, with a reluctant sigh, he let go of one. "I'll take this one."

choice," she said,

iced tea, handing one to Eliza and the other to Brock. "Let's take

enjoy

had invited her out for the day and specifically asked her to bring Brock along. She hadn't wanted to come but was curious about Aaron's intentions, especially after the recent string of incidents-from near-drownings to kidnappings that made her wary of him. "Aaron, why do you

was as gentle

a while now. You're living at Welton

Honestly, I've missed you and

she said

be hard living with him," Aaron said, reaching

pulled away, leaving him looking a bit

know you're still upset with me," he said, a touch of

are she

en

"Let's not dwell on that. There's an amusement park ahead. Let's take

up Brock, but the little boy nestled closer to

is tired, and it's almost his nap time. Maybe it's best

we'll head