Chapter 2
Fighter
Jagger carries me through the apartment and throws me down on my bed with the wickedest smirk on his lips.
Cruz is already in bed, and his powerful arms wrap around me from behind as he pulls me in close, kissing my hair.
Ash grins at me, all dimples, his bare chest glistening as if he’s just gotten out of the shower.
He stands in the doorway of my bathroom and looks good enough to eat.
I beckon him closer, and he doesn’t waste a second dropping his towel as he joins us in bed.
Jagger watches, assessing the three of us together as the boys take turns in placing delicate kisses down my neck and shoulders.
Asher claims my mouth, a fresh wave of arousal flooding my already soaked panties.
Mmm, I groan and then roll over to reach for Jagger to come join us.
Oh, dear God, that kills. A dull throb pulses through the side of my face, breaking me out of my dream.
If you can even call it that. That was a wicked fantasy I shouldn’t be having about three brothers.
All of them together. Man, it was hot. I almost wish I could go back there and finish it, especially now that my head hurts so damn much.
“What are you doing here?” Jagger’s angry voice drifts to me. Is he talking to me?
I wince, forcing my eyes open to see him, wondering what I’ve done now to annoy him so much.
It’s then I realize I don’t even know where the hell I am.
I make out a blurry shape not too far from me, dark and imposing.
I think it’s him, but there’s another person as well, much smaller, maybe a female.
The room is bright and sterile-looking, with fluorescent lights and white walls.
His face carries a scowl, but that’s nothing unusual for him.
The second person is a woman in a navy pantsuit.
That’s all my eyes can handle. I shut them back up tight, pain throbbing through my head, that starts behind my eyes and moves all the way down the side of my face and into my neck.
“I came to check on you after your sister said you’d been shot. Wouldn’t have bothered if I knew the reception I would get,” she says, sounding bitchy as hell.
I wish I could open my eyes to see who she is, but they’re too tired. I’m so weak and out of it. The last thing I remember was Cruz holding me close and Ricky trying to save Jagger. Then I have nothing.
“Come on, Olivia, we both know you don’t give a shit whether I live or die. If you’re here, it’s because you want something from me,” Jagger growls out, most definitely alive. That thought gives me a little more strength.
“Did our time together really mean that little to you?” the woman hisses back, and I know exactly who she is. His cop “friend,” the one he used to help Sloane.
“What do you want?” His voice is cold and emotionless.
“I guess I wanted to see her. See the girl you left me for.”
An icy shiver runs down my skin. Oh, shit. I feel the heat of her gaze on me, and I try to lie as still as possible. Now would be a terrible time to tell them I’m awake.
“She’s young. Innocent. Not your type. I don’t know what you see in her.” She tsks, sounding mighty unimpressed by the sight of me.
I don’t know why, but her words cut deep and get under my skin. Maybe because I know they’re true. I’m not Jagger’s type at all. But what she doesn’t know is I’m only here with him because he’s using me, just like he did her.
“She is none of your business.” I hear movement, like a bed squeaking, then feet shuffling. “Stay the fuck away from her, Olivia, I will only warn you once.”
“Hope that wasn’t a threat, boss, because you know that’s where you’re wrong.
When Daisy ran away from home and her parents lodged a missing person report, she became my business.
She is also wanted for questioning in relation to her husband’s unsolved murder.
No one has been able to find her until now. ”
“We both know she had nothing to do with her husband’s death.
And as you can see, she is hardly a missing person.
She’s just having a vacation, came to the States to see a good friend of hers.
She’s an adult, so I don’t think she needs to run that shit past her overprotective parents.
Maybe you should check with your niece about this matter. I’m sure she can clarify.”
“She’s a friend of Sloane’s, is that how you met?
” She laughs. It’s bitter and makes me feel uncomfortable when I know her eyes are still on me.
“Yeah, timing works out. Fuck you, Jagger, I knew your excuses were bullshit. You weren’t too busy to see me at The Precinct anymore; you found something new to play with. ”
Shit, she’s furious with him. And part of me feels bad for her. He said they were using each other, but it sounds like she wasn’t as ready to walk away from the arrangement as he was.
“Bitter regret doesn’t look good on you, Olivia.” His icy words even make me shiver.
“I have no regrets. You’ll be back when you realize this lost little rabbit can’t satisfy a man like you. You need a real woman.”
I feel her brush past my bed, and I hope she’s leaving because I can’t keep up the silence much longer.
After that last comment, I no longer feel sorry for her.
Instead, anger pulses through me like I have never felt before, and if I were strong enough, I would take this bitch on. She doesn’t know me.
“What I need is for you to get your hands off me,” he growls.
She laughs, but I can hear the tension. “She’s the reason you got shot, isn’t she? It’s not like you to get in the way of a bullet.”
“Maybe you should focus on the actual crime here—like who’s shooting up this town? And leave us alone.”
I pop my eyes open to see him staring her down.
He looks furious. She has a hand on his chest, looking way too comfortable in his company.
Seeing them together is jarring because I can imagine it—what they would have looked like as a couple.
Her all-powerful and him loving having her at his mercy.
What we have could never be like what the two of them must have shared. I’m not that girl.
She takes a step closer to him, running a hand down his T-shirt before she scrunches the fabric in her fingers.
“It’s so fun messing with you when you’re all weak and defenseless.
Gives you a little taste of your own medicine,” she spits back.
“We both know you’re involved in more than you’re saying.
I mean, how did this sweet little missing girl come to be in your possession, anyway?
There is foul play at work, and as soon as she wakes up, I will personally get to the bottom of it all.
Enjoy your time watching her sleep, boss, because as soon as she’s awake, I’m going to make sure her parents get their little girl back. ”
He removes her hand, a look of disgust on his face. “It’s time for you to leave, Commissioner.” He shoves her away.
She flicks a cruel smile in his direction and strides toward the door, her heels clicking on the linoleum as she goes. “I trust you’ll call as soon as Daisy wakes up. Don’t want to be charged for harboring a runaway, do we now?”
As he turns back toward me, I squeeze my eyes shut.
I want to wince away, not wanting his hands on me, but I lie perfectly still, not wanting him to know I’m awake either.
I’m not ready to deal with him or the other two Strykers.
Not while I feel so vulnerable. I also don’t want to deal with the cops, and her promise has me trembling.
“Sweet dreams, flower,” Jagger whispers, as he places a light kiss on my cheek, then the warmth of his touch is gone.
I don’t know why, but his words send goosebumps over my skin.
I was so worried about him before I blacked out.
There was so much blood, and he looked so terrible.
But he’s okay, he’s walking around even, with that same scowl on his face.
Jagger is alive, and that conversation leaves me with more questions than answers.
“Who the fuck just let a cop into our room?” Jagger’s voice cuts through the silence. “Yeah, well, I need you down here now to unhook her. We’re leaving.”
My heart kicks up a beat. What the hell does he mean we’re leaving? I peek to see what he’s doing. I find him shoving clothes in a bag that’s resting on the end of the other bed. He stalks to some drawers and pulls stuff out of them and then shoves it in a bag.
“What are you doing dressed? You should be resting. It’s only been four days since I operated on you,” comes Ricky’s voice, and I have to assume he was the person Jagger called so angrily just a few minutes ago.
Four days? I lost four whole days out of it in this bed, hooked up to a monitor and God knows what else.
“Can’t stay here. I’ve got to get Daisy someplace safe. The fucking cops are after her now as well,” Jagger growls. He sounds erratic and not like him at all.
Ricky’s hand comes to his shoulder. “You can’t move her, not until she wakes up. Even then it’s risky, and we both know you don’t want to do anything to worsen her condition. She has fought so hard to make it this far.”
He turns back to Ricky. The anger vanished, replaced by deep frown lines in his forehead. “Why isn’t she awake yet? You said she would wake up not long after her operation.”