Chapter Eleven
They spent most of the next day in bed, and by the time they hit the slopes, it was late afternoon.
It felt good to be standing on the side of the mountain, breathing in the crisp, clean air.
They spent so many days cooped up in the little cabin Dean had found for them that being outside felt like heaven.
“How about we go down the mountain one time and then head back to bed?” Jagger smiled at Justice, who was adjusting her ski goggles.
He admitted that he hadn’t been skiing in years, but Justice thought he seemed confident that he could handle the small slope they were about to go down.
She, on the other hand, skied all the time, but she wasn’t about to tell her husband that.
Jagger seemed to be just as competitive as she was, and keeping her skiing abilities to herself gave her the upper hand to be the first down the mountain.
She decided to have a little fun with him.
“You seem to be a little nervous about this whole thing, Jag. Are you afraid of a little competition, or are you worried that your new wife is going to beat you down the mountain? How about we make a little wager? You beat me down the hill, and we go back to the hotel and get back into bed.” She smirked, and Jagger eyed her suspiciously.
“And if you win?” he questioned. “What do you want as your prize, princess?” Justice pretended to think about what she wanted, but she already knew what she was going to ask for. She worried that she was asking too much, but she couldn’t help herself.
“I want to call Granny Norma and let her know I’m all right.
I know that she has to be worried about me.
It would mean the world to her to hear I’m safe and happy.
I need to tell her that I got married; she should have heard it from me in the first place.
” She waited Jagger out, holding her breath that he would agree.
“I don’t know, Justice.” He seemed torn, and she regretted asking him for something he might not be able to give her. “It’s just not safe for us or your grandmother.”
“You said you have men watching her, keeping her safe, and I have you to keep an eye on me. Please, Jag,” she begged. She knew she was asking a lot, but she also felt that she had to talk to her grandmother.
“Fine. You beat me down the mountain, and I’ll let you talk to your grandmother for five minutes.” Justice squealed and clapped her gloved hands together.
“Thanks, Jag,” she gushed. “Shall we?” She turned and got ready for their little race, waiting for Jagger to get into place. “On your mark,” she said. “Get set.” She smiled over at Jagger, feeling confident in her chances of winning the race.
“Go,” he shouted and started down the hill.
She should have known that Jagger wasn’t going to play fair, but then again, neither was she.
She omitted the fact that she was on the ski team for her high school or that she skied some of the top slopes in Europe.
She grew up with certain privileges that she learned to love, even if it meant dealing with the monster her father had become.
She took off down the mountain after him and easily caught up, but let him stay in front for most of the race.
On the very last leg, she took the lead and easily beat him down to the finish.
Justice cheered and pumped her fists into the air as if she had just won a real race.
Jagger finished up and met her at the bottom of the hill with a murderous expression on his face.
Was he that mad about losing a race to her?
He removed his skis and walked right past her.
“Stay here, Justice,” he barked. She watched as he stomped his way up to a group of men who were standing by the ski lift, about to go up the mountain, seeming to single out a guy in a gray ski jacket.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Wolf?” he growled.
Justice felt panicked at the mention of Jordan Wolf’s name.
Was he really there? She turned to find him watching her, smiling at her, and Jagger moved into his line of view, trying to block Justice from him.
“You don’t get to fucking look at my wife, asshole,” Jagger shouted.
He was madder than she had ever seen him.
A part of her wanted to run and hide. Her father or Wolf finding them was her biggest nightmare, and here one of them stood surrounded by guys she assumed to be his bodyguards.
They were in danger and needed to get the hell out of there, but Jagger seemed to have other ideas.
“Why are you here? How did you find us?” Justice could tell that Jagger was using every ounce of his restraint not to lay his hands on Jordan.
She knew he told her to stay put, but she couldn’t let him face down her demons for her.
Justice was never one to back down, and if Wolf was there for her, she would fight like hell to keep Jagger safe.
Justice took off her skis and crossed the distance to stand next to Jagger.
“Jag, let’s go, please,” she pleaded. Jagger shook off her hand and stared down at Jordan. Wolf chuckled, and Justice thought Jagger was going to haul off and punch him.
“You are a hothead, James. Sooner or later, my Justice will see you for who you are—a nothing, muscle-headed loser.” Justice laid her hand on Jagger’s arm, hoping that he would heed her silent warning.
“She isn’t your Justice, Wolf. She never was.” Jagger spat.
“Please, Jag. Can’t we just go?” Justice pleaded again.
“Yeah, Jag, you should go. My family owns an estate close by, as well as half the town. I like to mix a little pleasure with my business. Keeps things interesting. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a vacation to get back to and business to take care of.” Wolf turned his back on Jagger, and Justice worried that wasn’t going to be the end of the conversation.
“You mean your business dealings of selling women into slavery?” Jagger took a step towards Wolf, and one of his big goons stepped between them, effectively blocking Jagger. Jordan turned to face down Jagger’s accusation.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” he growled.
“You are just a small fish trying to play with sharks. You should watch yourself, James.” Jordan turned to get onto the lift, tossing one last smile over his shoulder.
“I’ll see you real soon, Justice. And Jagger, I’ll be sure to say hello to your sister the next time I see her.
” Jagger started towards the lift, only stopping when Justice threw her arms around his waist.
“Please don’t, Jag. We need to get out of here before that choice is taken away from us.
Call Dean and tell him we’ve been discovered and need to move.
Tell him that if Jordan has business out here, he most likely has Jules stashed close by.
This might be our only chance, while he thinks he has the upper hand.
” Justice tried to turn Jagger to face her, but it was useless.
He watched as Wolf made his way up the mountain on the ski lift, his anger making his whole body shake.
“I told you to fucking stay where you were,” Jagger shouted. Justice cringed at his angry tone, knowing that she hadn’t done as he asked, but if she had, things might have ended much differently.
“I won’t just let you set me off to the side while you handle my problems for me, Jagger. You need to accept that when things concern me, I will be involved, whether you like it or not.” Justice turned to leave, and Jagger caught her arm.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. It was just seeing him—the way that he watched you, I couldn’t take it. I immediately went into full-on protection mode, wanting to keep you safe.” Jagger pulled her into his arms, glancing back one last time at Wolf.
“We’re going to need to get out of here,” Justice whispered as Jagger pulled her in for a quick kiss.
“Yes, we are. I’ll make arrangements with Dean while you quickly pack.
We have maybe fifteen minutes before we need to head out.
” Justice nodded, knowing they probably had less time than that before Wolf sent his goons after them.
“So much for our fun day,” she grumbled.
“There will be plenty more days for fun, honey. Right now, I need to get you out of here and keep you safe. I’m betting Dean will be here before nightfall once I tell him Jules might be up here.
He won’t let any stone go unturned when it comes to her.
” Jagger grabbed Justice’s hand and led her back to the hotel.
They needed to get a move on before Wolf sent his men after them.
If they were lucky, they would be long gone before Jordan’s men even got to their room, and Justice knew they could use a little luck about now.
Jagger called Dean to fill him in on their afternoon run-in with Wolf.
He knew he was lucky to get Justice out of there; in fact, he felt he might be a little too lucky.
If he were a betting man, he would think that Wolf would let them go to lead him right back to where they had been hiding out.
That was fine with him. He’d gladly lead Wolf on a wild goose chase and have some fun doing it.
Dean was going to catch a flight up to them and set up a place to meet and go over a plan to find Jules.
Jagger was sure that Wolf had Jules stashed close by, and this might be their only chance to get to her.
If Wolf moved her again—or worse, sold her off, he might lose her forever.
He promised to take care of her, and he had completely fucked that up.
Jagger watched as his best friend got out of the car, and Justice stifled her giggle.
“He has a thing for black SUVs,” she whispered, and Jagger shot her a smile.
He knew that she and Dean didn’t know each other very well, but he liked that his girl was comfortable enough to harass his friend as much as he did.