“Yes, princess. We are almost there. We’ve only been in the air for forty minutes.” She smiled at him, knowing he was right. For some reason, being on planes made her fall asleep. Her grandmother used to take her to California with her for a rancher’s convention that she went to every year, and she slept for most of the flight. Granny Norma said it had something to do with the altitude and cabin pressure, but she had no clue.
“Sorry, I passed out on you. Planes make me sleepy,” she said around a yawn.
Jagger chuckled, “So I see. Did you have a nice little nap, wife?” Justice shivered at the way he called her his wife. She could get used to being Justice James, but she didn’t want to gether hopes up. They were both caught up in the moment, and if Jagger wanted to walk away from her when the excitement of keeping her safe was over, she wouldn’t blame him.
“I don’t know where you just went, but from the look on that pretty face of yours, it wasn’t a good place.” Jagger reached over and tried to take her hand into his, but she pulled hers away before he could grab it.
“Shouldn’t you keep both hands on the steering wheel thingy?” she croaked. Jagger laughed, making a show of firmly putting both hands back on the controls.
“It’s called a yoke,” he said. “I guess we should start your flying lessons soon. You’ll have the instrumentation down in no time.” Justice felt a new fear grip her, and this one was no joke. She had never been a fan of flying. Hell, poor Jagger nearly had to knock her out to get her onto the little six-seater plane they were in. She took one look at it and wanted to run the other way. Jagger must have seen her resistance, tightening his arm around her waist and practically carrying her kicking and screaming onto the little plane. He even assured her that he was an excellent pilot, which did nothing to ease her fears. The last thing she wanted to do was learn to pilot a plane.
“I think I’ll leave the flying us places up to you, Jag. Besides, I fall asleep as soon as the wheels leave the ground, and I’m pretty sure that pilots are supposed to stay awake during the flight.” Jagger smiled over at her, and this time when he reached for her hand, she took his.
“You called us an ‘Us,' honey. I like it.” Justice smiled back at him. She had so many things she wanted to say to him, but one nagging question played through her mind, and she couldn’t help but ask it.
“Are we an ‘Us,' Jag?” She released his hand, instantly regretting asking him such a personal question. What if he didn’t think of them that way? Did she want to know that and deal withthe disappointment of hearing him say that their marriage was one of convenience? “You know what, don’t answer that,” she whispered.
Jagger gripped the yoke, and she could feel the plane starting to descend. He called in to air traffic control for clearance to land, and she sat in silence, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid. She knew the reason he married her, but her stupid schoolgirl fantasies were taking over, giving her hope that she was more than just hot shower sex to Jagger. Justice was an adult, and even though her experience levels were lacking, she knew the score. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that just because they had sex and he took her virginity, that they were going to now live happily ever after. But hearing him say out loud that she was being foolish wasn’t something she needed to hear. She used the fact that he was busy landing the plane to get her unruly emotions together. Justice sat quietly while Jagger got them safely on the ground and ran checks to shut everything down. When he finally finished his landing checklist, he unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her across to his lap.
“How would you feel if I said we’re an ‘Us’?” Justice didn’t answer, not sure what to say. She shrugged, and Jagger smiled, gently kissing her lips. “It’s okay, baby. You just think about it and let me know when you’re ready. But, if you truly want to know my answer, then yes, we are most certainly an ‘Us.'” Justice knew she was being a coward, not telling Jagger that she felt the same way. She wanted to jump up and down and yell that she wanted that more than anything, but she was afraid to ask for too much from him. The past day and a half felt like a whirlwind, and she just needed a few minutes to catch her breath and get her head on straight. He opened his door and helped her down from the plane.
“I just have to turn in my flight records, and I’ll grab our bags. Stick close, just in case. We don’t know who we can trust,and I don’t want you out of my sight.” He took her hand, and Justice tried to keep up. Jagger moved like a man on a mission, and she felt like the walking dead. Jagger grabbed their bags, which were mostly his stuff. She had very few of her things, but Jagger promised her that once they got settled, he would make sure she would have everything she needed. Justice slid into the passenger seat of the black SUV that was waiting for them.
“Does Dean have a thing for black SUVs?” she asked.
Jagger laughed, “I’m thinking so. Get comfortable, baby. We have about a four-hour drive until we get to the cabin. This SUV will come in handy since we are going off-grid, so it might get a little rough.” Justice nodded. Jagger kissed her forehead, shut her door, and rounded the front of the vehicle to get into the driver’s seat. Justice wasn’t sure how he never seemed to run out of steam. She also wasn’t sure what she did to deserve him, but she was so thankful she had Jagger on her side. She didn’t know what she would have done without him, and for the first time in over a day, she was thankful that her father had sent Jagger James to kidnap her.
Jagger had been driving for almost four hours, and according to the GPS, they were almost to the safe house that Dean had found for them. His friend wasn’t kidding when he said they were going off-grid. He was pretty sure that no one would ever find them out there in the middle of nowhere. The roads, if he could call them that, were completely covered in snow, and he was thankful for Dean’s choice of vehicles for them.
Justice was quiet most of the trip up, and Jagger knew she was internalizing their earlier discussion about exactly what they were doing together. He knew that she didn’t want to hope,and he couldn’t blame her—he felt the same way. The difference between the two of them was that he was willing to take a leap of faith, and she wasn’t there yet. Jagger knew he just needed to be persistent and show Justice that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Is that it?” Justice pointed to a little log cabin that sat all alone, surrounded by pine trees. He checked the coordinates that Dean programmed into the GPS and nodded.
“Looks like it,” he said. He was so damn happy that they were just about at their destination. He was dog tired, and who could blame him? In just one day, he claimed Justice, married her, whisked her off by plane, and then drove four hours to get them to safety. He felt about ready to sleep for an entire week. His cock was having other ideas, though, springing to life every time he touched Justice or thought about her lying sprawled out naked in his bed. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that she was his.
“It looks so cozy,” she said.
“And isolated,” he added. He bobbed his eyebrows at her. “Perfect for a honeymoon. We won’t be interrupted unless a bear wants to borrow a cup of sugar.” She laughed, and the musical sound lit up his soul.
“Well, I won’t be answering the door for any bears, but it looks perfect. No one will find us here, not even my father.” She shivered, and he wanted to pull her into his arms and remind her that she was safe with him. There was no way he’d ever let anyone get to her. “Any word on your sister? By now, my father must know that we’ve run. Heck, he probably knows that you married me. What’s stopping him from killing Jules?” Her voice broke into a sob that nearly gutted him. Honestly, he didn’t have an answer for her. He was worried about his sister, too, but he trusted Dean. If his best friend said that he’d keep Jules safe, he knew she was in good hands.
“Dean has her, baby. He won’t let anything happen to Jules,” he whispered, trying to soothe Justice.
“How can Dean keep her safe? Wait—are they a thing?” Jagger must have made a face, making Justice laugh. He wasn’t blind, and he knew they both had feelings for each other. Dean had all but spelled it out for him, but he never came right out and said that he and Jules had been together. “I don’t know,” he groaned. “I have a feeling that something has happened between them. Maybe that’s why Jules ran from Dove Creek. All I know is that Dean is damn good at what he does, and if he says Jules is safe with him, I believe him,” Jagger said.
“You said he is in the CIA. What does he do, exactly?” Justice asked.
Jagger shrugged, “Don’t know,” he said. “I know that I don’t have clearance to know his job title. He’s ex-military, and he disappears for days, even weeks at a time. I know what he does is dangerous, and he can’t talk about it, so I don’t push.”
“And he has guys watching my father?” Justice questioned. Jagger nodded. “Yep, two of them, and they have eyes on Jules. We just need to lay low and give Dean some time to do their thing.” Jagger worried that Justice was going to keep asking questions, and he wasn’t ready to answer all of them. He didn’t want to have to tell her that her father was under investigation for human trafficking. She knew her father wasn’t a good person, but the news that he was selling young women off as property would destroy Justice. The thought of her father wanting to do the same thing to her made him sick. Wolf would never get his shipment of goods that Tony Hobbs promised him. Jagger would die keeping her safe if that’s what it took.
Justice sighed, and Jagger felt the red flags go up all around him. She was too quiet, and it worried him that she had already figured out that he wasn’t telling her everything. “Why would the CIA be interested in my father’s run for Governor? I knowhe has some shady business dealings, but would the CIA handle that?” Fuck, this was just what he didn’t want. He thought about omitting some of the details, but that wasn’t the type of relationship he wanted with her. Jagger decided it would be best to just rip the band-aid off and deal with whatever aftermath followed.
“They are investigating him for human trafficking,” he said. He watched as confusion and then anger crossed her features. Justice clenched her hands into fists, and he knew that she fully caught on.
“Like what he wants to do with me, basically selling me to Wolf?” Jagger nodded and pulled in front of the small cabin that they were going to be calling home for the foreseeable future. He undid her seatbelt and then his.
“First, I’m going to get us into the cabin, where we will be safe. Then, we will sit down, and I’ll tell you everything I know about your father’s business. You have a right to know,” Jagger said. Justice nodded, and he worried that not telling her everything from the start was a mistake.
