Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“Why would she be? Why would she want to intentionally hurt you?”
“Because I could stop what they’re running over there, and if she’s involved in any way, she’s makin’ a fuck ton of money out of it. I could be the end to her payday. What better way to take me out then to send my own wife back? Explains why she lost her fuckin’ shit so bad when we ended things.”
“It still doesn’t make sense,” I murmur.
“We’ll find out more tomorrow. You’re here now, you’re safe. Go to sleep.”
“Jagger?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“Are we good?”
He leans forward. “Give it time. It’ll get better.”
That wasn’t a yes or a no.
And it only leaves me with more questions.
Have I fucked everything up?
Can we come back from this?
THE NIGHT IS LONG, and I’m restless.
When I wake in the morning, Jagger isn’t in the bed with me any longer.
As the conversation from the night before flashes in my mind, my chest tightens. Pushing to my feet, and wanting more answers than he was willing to give the day before, I head out of the room in search of him. I find him sitting in the living room with Ace, Angel, Bull, and Rusty, the four of them deep in conversation. When they notice me, the conversation very quickly stops as Jagger’s gaze slides over me.
“Are you going to fill me in?” I ask, my voice still husky from sleep. “Because last night was the worst sleep I’ve had, and I’m a little more than worried about what is going on.”
“I was just filling them in,” Jagger murmurs. “Sit down, we’ll talk.”
I go over and, flashing the guys a small smile, sit down and wait for him to explain what the hell Sharleen is up to and how I’m going to get out of it, because I don’t think I can handle another round of hell.
“As I was explaining,” Jagger begins, “we got a message from Sharleen last night, threatening Willow. She used the world slave, which don’t sit well with me at fucking all.”
“Fuck,” Angel mutters. “I had a feeling that woman was up to no good.”
“You think she’s working for the traffickers?” Ace questions, narrowing his eyes.
Jagger’s gaze grows hard. “I think she could be working for whoever Manchez was working for. I thought he was the top dog, but I’m startin’ to think he was just the surface level of what’s goin’ on here.”
I’m trying to process this in my mind. Manchez wasn’t the highest? Who is then? Who the hell is running this show and what do they want with me? Or is this simply about Jagger and I’m just in the way?
“What do they want with Willow?” Bull asks, mirroring my thoughts.
“I think Sharleen is threatening Willow because she’s in the way, she ruined whatever it is she was planning, and whatever it is she was planning has to do with me,” Jagger explains. “They want something from me.”
“Do you think they know I have copies of the information my father had?” I ask, an uneasy feeling settling in my chest.
Jagger shakes his head. “I doubt it. As far as we know they have no idea you copied it.”
“What do we do?” Rusty asks, crossing his arms. “If they want her, there has to be a reason why, surely it isn’t just because she’s in the way of their plans with you. Seems like it goes a little deeper than that.”
That’s my fear, and it has a lump forming in my throat at the possibility that I’m still in danger.
Jagger runs a hand down his face, exhaling. “I’m workin’ on findin’ out a reason.”
“And until then, she ain’t safe,” Angel points out. “Can’t trust that they won’t get their hands on her.”
“No, she’s not,” Jagger confirms. “One of us needs to be with her at all times.”
God dammit.
I don’t want to go down this road again.
I finally felt like I was taking a step forward, and now I’m going five steps back in a matter of hours.
“How do you suppose Sharleen fits into all of this?” Bull questions.
“I don’t know,” Jagger mutters, and it’s clear in his expression that the idea of her working with them bothers him.
Of course it does, he thought she came back for genuine reasons and now he’s seeing that it all might have been an act to get something from him. Or worse, something from me.
“Fuckin’ bitch,” Angel mutters. “I swear if she fuckin’ does something to hurt anyone here ...”
“I’ll sort it,” Jagger cuts him off. His phone rings and he looks down. “I gotta take this.”
He walks out of the room, and Angel turns to me, eyes scanning my face.
“You good?”
“I’m alright, I’ll be fine.”
“You know how to attract them, don’t you?”
I force a hoarse laugh. “It would appear so.”
“Don’t worry, kid. Nobody is touching you,” Ace assures me, face tight.