Chapter Three #3
“You must be exhausted after a full day of driving and kidnapping.” Justice didn’t try to hide her sarcastic tone, and Jagger laughed.
He knew she wasn’t joking, but the whole day was one giant clusterfuck.
Kidnapping Justice was supposed to be an easy job.
He was supposed to pick up the mayor’s snot-nosed princess and deliver her back to daddy—nice and simple.
Then, he and Jules would have been free to go and start over.
Instead, he was bringing a virtual stranger into his personal space and debating with himself whether to trust her or not.
Dean opened the front door of Jagger’s cabin and stood on the small, snow-covered porch.
“Great,” he murmured, mostly to himself. “Just what I need tonight.”
“Wait,” Justice insisted. “Who is he?” Jagger noticed the way she looked Dean up and down and had to admit that he didn’t like it.
He had no reason to feel the pang of jealousy that overcame him, but he did.
He knew women threw themselves at Dean; hell, his little sister had.
But he and his best friend had a pact—Dean wouldn’t touch Jules, and Jagger wouldn’t have to kill him.
It worked for them, but now he wanted to add an amendment that included his friend keeping his hands off sexy little Justice.
“He’s my best friend, Dean. He came over to open my cabin up and clear a path back for us.
” He opened the door and jumped down, his back killing him after such a long ride.
“Let’s go, Justice,” he ordered. She did as he asked and opened her door to jump out of the truck.
She stopped to look around, and for a split second, Jagger was afraid she was going to run.
He held his breath and waited, ready to go after her if needed.
“We’re pretty far away from Goose Creek, aren’t we, Jag?” She turned and smiled at him, taking away his breath for the second time that evening.
“Well, I couldn’t chance you running to Grandma’s now, could I, princess?” She smirked at him and walked to the front of his cabin, holding her hand out to Dean, who smiled and immediately took it into his.
“Hi, I’m Justice Hobbs, the woman that Jag here abducted and is holding hostage.” Justice didn’t give Dean a chance to speak, removing her hand from his and stomping her way into the cabin. Jagger couldn’t help his smile as he watched her disappear into his home.
“What the fuck, man?” Dean took one of the bags from Jagger’s shoulder and helped him into his house. “You kidnapped a woman? Can’t you just date like a regular fucking person?”
Jagger laughed and pulled his friend in for a side hug.
“It’s a long fucking story, man. But I think I’m going to need your help.
” Jagger walked into the cabin and dropped his gear, looking around the place.
He hadn’t been home in over a year, and damn it felt good to be there.
He looked over to where Justice was making herself at home in his small kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator and cabinets for something to eat.
He suddenly realized that he hadn’t stopped for food and felt a pang of regret for letting her go hungry.
“I stocked everything like you asked, and you are set for firewood. As for the help, just name it.” Jagger nodded his thanks, not sure if he wanted to get into everything with Justice listening on.
“It’s Jules. I think she might be in trouble, and I don’t know what to do.
” Jagger looked over to where Justice was making herself a sandwich and knew she was eavesdropping.
She looked up to find him watching her and gave him a saucy smile.
“Oh, please don’t stop on my account, Jag.
I’d love to hear how you explain knocking me out in an alley, shoving my lifeless body into my pickup truck, and dragging me off to God only knows where to your old friend—Dean, was it?
” Dean nodded and smiled at Justice. Jagger knew exactly what his friend was thinking, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Don’t even fucking think about it, man,” Jagger warned. Dean held his hands up in mock surrender.
“I get it, man, hands-off. But you have to admit, she’s quite the spitfire.” Dean eyed her again, and Jagger groaned.
“Yeah, and my balls have the bruises to show from her little outburst in the alley.” Dean laughed at Jagger’s admission.
“You wouldn’t laugh if we were talking about your balls, man.
It’s not funny.” His friend covered his smile, trying to will himself to stop laughing but failing miserably.
“And for the record, honey, I didn’t knock you out.
You kneed me in the balls, and I hit the ground.
You tripped over me, and I grabbed your ankle.
That’s when you fell and hit your head on the pavement.
I’d never hit a woman.” Jagger watched as she took a big bite of her sandwich, and his stomach growled.
“Good to know,” she said around a mouthful of food. “Because I’d totally hit a man.” Dean stood next to him, laughing again, and he suddenly felt the urge to punch his best friend. Jagger turned and opened his front door.
“Out!” he barked. Dean started the door and turned to face Jagger again, his expression serious.
“I’ll be back in the morning, and we can talk about Jules. If she’s in trouble, you know I’ll do whatever I can to help.” Jagger nodded at his friend, knowing he could count on Dean for anything.
“Thanks, man, I appreciate that,” Jagger slapped his friend's shoulder, pulling him in for a quick hug.
“It was nice to meet you, Justice,” Dean said.
Justice held up her sandwich in a mock wave, and he laughed again, disappearing into the darkness that surrounded the cabin.
Jagger could hear the roar of Dean’s snowmobile and watched as his friend spun circles in his front yard and disappeared down the hidden path to his adjoining property.
It was a path Jagger knew well, having traveled back and forth between their two houses as kids, and he smiled at the memory.
He shut the door and turned to find Justice sitting on the sofa that filled the small front room next to the fireplace.
“You have me here, Jag—so now what?” Justice took the last bite of her sandwich and shoved her plate onto the coffee table.
Jagger wasn’t sure how to answer her question.
A part of him was still trying to wrap his head around the crazy day he just had.
He knew that sooner or later, he would need to get some sleep, but leaving Justice unsupervised would only allow her to run.
He was beginning to see how determined she was to get away from her father, and if that meant going through him, she would have no problem doing that.
He couldn’t blame her; heck, he even admired her fighting spirit.
Justice Hobbs was probably the toughest woman he ever met, and that turned him on.
Fuck, everything about her turned him on, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about that.
“Now we find a way to get my sister free from your asshole father,” he growled.
Justice didn’t seem pleased with his answer, pressing her lips together and nodding.
She turned to face the fire, and he wasn’t sure if the next part he was about to say was the smartest or dumbest thing to ever come out of his mouth, but he felt the need to be honest with her.
Jagger sighed, “And we find a way to keep you safe from him and Wolf. I won’t turn you over, Justice.”