Chapter Three
Justice knew that Jagger was either stalling or lost. He circled the same block three times as if he was trying to kill time.
He stopped for gas and locked her in the truck, which she couldn’t fault him for.
She planned on running while he was pumping gas, but she also knew that he’d probably be able to catch up with her.
From the looks of him, he worked out and would have no trouble chasing after her.
Lately, her gym routine has involved thinking about driving to the gym and then having a nap and calling it a day.
Her pre-dawn mornings and early bedtime made it nearly impossible for her to have any type of active lifestyle or social life.
Jagger checked his cell phone again and sighed. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“Problem?” She could already guess that there was.
Still, she was enjoying that her father’s plan wasn’t going as he wanted.
“Let me guess—Daddy has had a little snafu and now he doesn’t know where to unload me.
You’re stuck with the spoiled princess, and all you wanted to do was dump me off and rescue your sister.
” Jagger shot her a mean look, and Justice knew she hit a nerve.
She was starting to feel some of that same fight she had earlier, and she was ready to give as good as she got.
She wasn’t about to let her father—or any other man tell her what she was going to do.
Justice wasn’t that same scared, na?ve girl her father locked away two years ago.
“How about you sit back and shut the fuck up, princess. Your friends have figured out you’re missing, and your father wants me to take you to a different location.” Jagger pulled his buzzing cell from his pocket and answered it.
“Yeah,” he barked. “Yes, I have her.” Jagger put the call on speaker and held the phone in her direction, and she reluctantly took it from him. Justice knew she wasn’t going to like who was on the other end.
“Hello, Justice Hobbs speaking. Whom might I have the pleasure of speaking with?” She knew she was poking the bear, but she couldn’t help herself.
It was easy to be brave when she was still miles away from her father.
Seeing him face-to-face and having to deal with his anger was another issue.
“Aw, Justice, still with the smart mouth. We’ll make sure that doesn’t stick.
I’m sure your future husband won’t mind working all of your bad habits out of you.
” Her father’s voice dripped with contention, and Justice didn’t miss the disgust on Jagger’s face as he listened in.
“And whom am I to marry this time, Daddy?” Justice was trying to get as much information as possible before having to face whatever fresh hell her father planned for her.
And a part of her was stalling, knowing that once she gave the phone back to Jagger, her father would give him orders on where to take her, and all hope would be lost.
“Why, your fiancé, honey. We already went over all this the last time we spoke. He’s been patiently waiting for you and can’t wait to be reunited with his future bride.
” Her father laughed into the phone, sending shivers down her spine.
How could the man who used to bring her little treats from his business trips and read her bedtime stories be the same man talking to her now, planning on forcing her into a marriage she didn’t want?
“He said you two were interrupted last time he saw you, but he’ll be waiting for you, and I’ll see to it personally that you two love birds won’t be disturbed this time.
” Justice felt sick thinking about what Jordan planned on doing to her the last time they saw each other.
She couldn’t take any more and handed the phone back to Jagger before her father could hear her cry.
Justice wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“I’m back,” Jagger growled into the phone.
“What, no goodbye for your daddy, princess?” Her father chuckled into the phone, seeming pleased with himself.
Justice wiped at the hot tears that fell down her cheeks, wishing she didn’t have to cry in front of Jagger.
He was handing her over to her father and Jordan on a silver platter.
She hated that he saw her weakness, but there was no hiding from him or any of them.
This time, she would have no one to save her, and she knew she would have to find a way to endure whatever they planned for her.
“I’m going to need you to find a safe place away from Goose Creek to stay for a while.
Her friends from Harvest Ridge stuck their noses where they didn’t belong and called my mother.
She has her men scouring the area for my little princess, and I can’t have her messing things up again.
I’ve got too much on the line and I’m so close to having that Governor’s office in my pocket.
” Jagger sighed, “How long is a while? You told me all I had to do was deliver your daughter to you, and you would let my sister go.” Justice heard the desperation in Jagger’s voice and almost felt bad for him.
“You’re just going to have to be patient, Mr. James.
Your sister is in good hands. I give you my word that no harm will come to her as long as you live up to your end of the bargain.
I’ll be in touch when things die down around here and Jordan and I can get everything in place for a quick, quiet wedding.
” Her father ended the call, and Jagger cursed under his breath.
“So that’s what you were waiting for, driving around in circles?
My father is scared. He knows my grandmother won’t let him hurt me, and he knows I have friends who are looking for me.
I’m not the same timid, lonely little girl he locked away two years ago.
When my friends find me and put you away for kidnapping me, who’ll save your sister then?
” Justice knew she was pushing her luck, but she saw her opening and she took it.
If she could convince Jagger that her father wasn’t going to honor his word, she might be able to get him to let her go.
It was a long shot, but she had to try. Jagger ran his hands through his brown hair, pushing it back from his face.
“I just need some time to think,” he barked.
“Please, Jagger, I know this is hard for you, but my father has no intention of letting you or your sister just walk away. I’m assuming you have special skills that interest my father?” Jagger slowly nodded, and for the first time since they met in the alley behind the bakery, she felt hope.
“I’m a retired Air Force, and I’m a pilot.
Your father likes that I can fly him anywhere he needs to go at a moment’s notice.
Wolf has a few private planes that I have access to, and I can have your father out of Goose Creek as fast as it takes me to file the flight plan.
” Jagger looked worried, and Justice knew she hit a nerve.
Her father only kept men around who were at the top of their game.
Otherwise, they proved to be dead weight, and he disposed of them.
“He told me you needed help, that you weren’t mentally sound,” Jagger growled as if trying to convince himself that all the lies he was fed were true.
“Dear old Dad loved telling people that, and most of the time, people believed him. After my mother died—” Justice paused, realizing she never told anyone this, not even her grandmother.
“He had me locked away in a mental institution for three months,” she whispered.
Her grandmother suspected that her father sent her away, but he told everyone, including Norma Jeane, that he was sending her to camp for the summer.
Except this camp had padded walls, straitjackets, and bed shackles, and they sedated her every time she started asking questions.
“I’m so sorry, Justice. Why would he do that to you?” Jagger reached across the center console and took her hand into his. At first, she wanted to pull her hand free, but she had to admit she liked the comfort of his touch.
Justice shrugged, “I was only fifteen, and losing my mother understandably upset me. For the first few weeks after she died, I mourned like any child would. I cried and spent a lot of time alone in my room. The police started sniffing around, and my father left town for a few weeks. When he came back, everything quieted down, and everyone seemed to forget about my mother except for me. I started asking questions, and that was when my father had me committed. He told everyone that I wasn’t getting over my mother’s death, as if that was something I could control.
” “No, I don’t think you ever get over losing a parent that you loved,” Jagger offered.
“I think my father was worried that I was snooping around his office and asking questions. As soon as he returned, he found out that I was nosing around and sent me away.” Justice remembered that day as if it were just yesterday.
Her father had his head of security drive her over to the hospital, claiming he was taking her to visit her grandmother.
He made up a story about her granny being in the hospital after suffering a bad fall.
She was so worried that she didn’t think twice about his true motives.
When she realized what was going on, it was too late.
They gave her a sedative and kept her in a vegetative state for weeks.
When her father finally came to claim her, he explained that she needed to be a good girl and keep her nose out of his business, or he would just leave her there.
She was anxious to get out of that hellhole and agreed to his demands, even promising to let a guard accompany her wherever she went to watch her every move.
That lasted until she was eighteen and learned how to ditch her guard and go off on her own, often finding her way over to hide at her grandmother’s ranch.