Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

Chapter 2220

Jasper's jaw was clenched tight as he sprinted forward, the sharp branches of the path leaving angry scratches on his face. The pain barely registered as he pushed on. His legs were numb from the relentless pace, but he continued, sustained only by his determination to rescue Alyssa.

His legs trembled under him when he finally reached the manor, and he stumbled slightly against the biting cold wind.

Had it been someone else, they would have crumbled and been unable to stand up again.

No one was keeping watch outside the manor. It was eerily quiet.

Jasper took a steadying breath, his grip tightening on his gun. Each step on the white rock tiles felt heavy as he approached the door. With a calm yet wary demeanor, he pushed it open and entered.

The luxurious living room was empty. Even so, Jasper's heart raced, sensing an unseen danger. He was as focused and tense as a volcano poised to erupt.

His intuition, honed by experience and training, told him something was amiss. A glint caught his eye-a telescopic sight.

Before the hidden assassin could fire, Jasper acted swiftly, firing a single shot that dropped the attacker from the second-floor railing-he had to save his ammunition.

Just then, two more shots rang out, and Jasper dove for cover, narrowly avoiding the bullets that hit near his feet. Using the table, walls, and furniture for protection, he moved swiftly, taking out the remaining assassins lying in wait. Within moments, the once-empty space was littered with over ten bodies.

Drenched in sweat, Jasper reloaded his gun in two seconds. Suddenly, Alyssa's voice pierced the silence, filled with desperation.

'Jasper! Help me!'

"Lyse!" Jasper's heart sank, his eyes widening with alarm. A cold wave of fear swept through him.

*Jasper... Save me... You have to save me!"

Each of Alyssa's broken, sorrowful cries stabbed at his heart, slicing through him and ripping at his very being. Jasper's chest heaved heavily as the crushing heartache and anxiety caused a sharp headache and made his vision go fuzzy.

Jasper's mind was thrown into disarray by that voice. At that precise moment, a shot rang out, piercing his left shoulder.

Blood flowed freely from the wound, and the intense pain made his face go pale. He almost stumbled.

He had a severe old injury on his left shoulder from rescuing Alyssa on Shelland Island, and this shot hit him exactly where he was already wounded, intensifying the agony.

But Jasper had no time to dwell on the pain. Instead, he fired three quick shots in the direction of the attacker.

The final hidden assassin was struck down on the spot.

In the quiet, Alyssa's cries vanished, giving way to Jameson's recognizable, malevolent laughter. It was unrestrained and frenzied. "Just as I suspected, Lyse is your weak spot.

"She's the only one who can make you hesitate and falter. I should have used this tactic long ago. If I had, my followers wouldn't have died at your hands."

The voice Jasper had heard earlier was not Alyssa's but a synthetic imitation created by Jameson to lead him into making a critical error.

As anticipated, he fell for it.

*Jameson, why are you so evasive, as if you've done something wrong? What are you hiding for?"

Despite the severe injury to his left shoulder, blood seeping from the wound, Jasper stood tall. With a resolute expression, he added, "You've spent your whole life in the shadows. Are you going to keep stumbling in the dark even now? Come on out! Let's find out who lives or dies!

"I was with Lyse earlier, so I didn't have time to deal with you," Jameson's voice taunted again, dripping with malevolence. "But I sent my people to welcome you. Did you enjoy it?"

Jasper's heart twisted at the mention of being with Alyssa. His anger flared, veins throbbing in his temples as he roared, 'Jameson, return Lyse to me!"