Chapter Five #2
“Just give this a chance, Justice,” he said, taking her hand into his.
“I’m not saying you have to be tied to me for the rest of your life.
We can get an annulment in a few months after you and Jules are both safe.
You can get on with your life, and I’ll get on with mine.
It could be win-win for all of us.” Jagger wasn’t helping his case.
The whole proposal was starting to sound more like a business proposition and less like anything she ever hoped for.
Justice pulled her hand free from his and threw down the towel she was using to dry dishes.
“No,” she barked and turned to run down the hallway to her room, slamming her door behind her like an angry teenager.
She didn’t care. There was no way that she was going to throw away her dreams of marrying her knight in shining armor just to save her skin.
There had to be another way to get Jules back and walk away from her father and Jordan—hopefully with her heart still intact.
“What the fuck was that all about, man?” Dean asked. Honestly, Jagger had no clue.
“Beats me. Remember, I met Justice yesterday, and we didn’t get off to the best start.
Maybe she already has a boyfriend or fiancé.
Hell, for all I know, she already has a husband and kids waiting for her back in Harvest Ridge,” Jagger said.
He pulled two beers from the refrigerator.
He knew it was still before noon, but he didn’t give a fuck.
The idea of marrying Justice, or any woman for that matter, scared the shit out of him.
But the more he thought about it, the more Dean’s plan made sense.
He’d marry her, and that would keep her out of Wolf’s bed, which sounded like a fucking fantastic plan.
And if she happened to end up in his bed—even better.
“What happens if Justice decides this is all too much and bolts? Where does that leave you and Jules?” Dean asked. Jagger wasn’t sure how to answer that question, but it was all he was able to think about since handing Justice’s keys over to her.
“I have no idea, man. I won’t hold her against her will.
I tried that and it felt wrong,” Jagger admitted.
When he set out to do Hobbs’ bidding and kidnap his daughter, he was under the impression that Justice was troubled, even mentally unstable.
He thought he was doing something that would eventually help instead of hurting another person.
He would do anything to save Jules, but he wouldn’t ruin someone else’s life in the process.
“I knew Hobbs was a son-of-a-bitch, but I never thought he would hurt his flesh and blood. He sold me a sad story about his daughter needing his protection, that she wasn’t in her right mind.
I believed him. I guess I had to wrap my head around kidnapping her; otherwise, what kind of monster did that make me?
” Jagger knew he fucked up with Justice, but he was hoping she would at least give him a chance now that he had given her the keys to her truck.
She was free to leave at any time; she held all the power, and that scared the shit out of him.
This mess with Jules wasn’t Justice’s fault.
She escaped her father once, and he shouldn’t have dragged her back into his problems.
“The Jagger I know would go out of his way to help just about anyone he could. I know you wouldn’t hurt Justice, but we have to get Jules back.
” Jagger cocked an eyebrow at his best friend.
“We?” he challenged. “What the fuck do you mean by us, Dean?” He waited and watched as Dean squirmed, trying to find a way out of the hole he had dug for himself.
Jagger wasn’t a fool; he knew Dean had feelings for his little sister.
He also saw how Jules melted into a puddle every time Dean walked into the same room as her.
It was one of the reasons he invoked the “hands-off” rule when it came to his best friend even thinking about touching his sister.
But if the two of them wanted to get together, there was nothing he could do to stop either of them.
Jagger trusted Dean with his life, and if push came to shove, he’d trust his sister’s life in Dean’s hands, also.
“Come on, Jag. You know that Jules and I—well, we—” Jagger held up his hand, effectively stopping Dean from spilling his guts about anything that happened between Jules and him.
If something already happened, he didn’t want to know.
But, if he were a betting man, he would lay money on the fact that Jules ran out of town pretty darn fast a little over a year ago because of something that happened with his best friend.
That was also about the same time Dean moved back to town.
If he had to guess, he would say his little sister didn’t like the fact that Dean was back and dating his way through town.
Jules called Jagger and told him that she was closing the cabin and taking a job in Goose Creek shortly thereafter.
He tried to talk her out of taking Hobbs’ job, but she was determined to leave Dove Creek and make a fresh start.
Jagger wondered if Dean played more of a role in her decision to leave, and watching his friend stammer on about Jules left him with no room for doubt.
“We’re done discussing you and my sister, man.
I don’t want to know a thing.” Jagger took a long drink of his beer and let the silence settle over him.
This morning turned into a fiasco. Well, except for that scorching kiss with Justice.
That was worth every ounce of trouble she gave him, including the knee to the balls stunt she pulled yesterday.
Kissing Justice felt oddly like coming home, and being here at his cabin felt right.
For the first time in years, he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be, and that confused the hell out of him.
Jagger spent most of his adult life serving his country and being told where to go and when to be there.
He followed orders, and he loved the idea of doing something for a cause.
He never regretted his time serving, but when he got out, he was ready to try something new.
His dream was to go into personal security.
Kind of like what he was doing for Hobbs, but something on the right side of the law.
He could fly planes and was damn good with computers.
He was also tactically trained for any combat situation.
Someday, he hoped to start his own security company and hopefully recruit Dean to go in on it as a partner.
Dean was a Navy SEAL, honorably discharged.
Jagger knew better than to ask Dean about his time in the military.
His friend was sent on very hush-hush missions, and when Dean left the military, he was immediately recruited by a top-secret branch of the CIA.
They never really spoke about Dean’s job or his military career, and Jagger was fine with that.
His friend would disappear for weeks at a time, only to show up on a Sunday afternoon to watch a game as if nothing new had happened.
They had a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship, and Jagger was fine with that.
But now, Jagger was hoping his friend would be able to help him out and pull some strings to get his sister out from under Hobbs.
Jagger sighed, “Listen, man, I hate to ask, but can you do anything on your end to help Jules?” Dean’s expression told him everything he needed to know. His friend would fight like hell to get Jules back.
“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I think you need to convince Justice to walk down the aisle with you.
It’s a good way to keep her from having to marry Wolf.
And, from the looks of it, you two have some kind of chemistry going on.
” Jagger smiled at Dean. Yeah, they had chemistry all right.
Justice was like a flame that he was drawn to.
The only problem was that he was sure he would get burned if he got too close to her.
“Yeah, I feel it too. I’m just not sure if she does,” Jagger said, drinking down the last of his beer.
“Well, from the way she let you kiss her, I’d say that she’s on board for just about anything.
Talk to her, Jag. It might be the only way to keep her safe.
I’ll work on a way to help Jules. I have a few favors I can call in.
Let me do some research on Hobbs and Wolf, and I’ll see what I can do. ”
Jagger nodded, “Thanks, man. I appreciate your help.” Jagger pulled Dean in for a quick hug and walked him out.
“I’ll be in touch in a day or so. Work on your girl, Jag.
” Jagger wasn’t sure how he felt about Dean calling Justice his girl, but he wasn’t going to correct him.
If he had his way, she would be. He just needed to be careful with the way he played his hand.
Justice didn’t trust him, and from the way she responded to the idea of having to marry him, she was going to give him trouble at every turn.
But he was always up for a good challenge.