Being with Justice made Jagger feel contentment that he was sure would be short-lived. He knew good things rarely happened to him, and when they did, he usually watched helplessly as they slipped away. It had been two weeks of secluded honeymoon bliss for him and Justice, and he had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t last.
They spent most of the past two weeks in bed, and that was just fine with him. When they weren’t making love, they talked about their pasts and got to know each other. They even started talking about a future—together. That had him both excited and scared shitless; he just wasn’t sure which suited him better. Justice seemed to open up to him a little more each day, and he felt like he was starting to know the real her, the woman he was falling in love with, and God, that thought terrified him. She said that she cared for him, was falling for him too—whatever that meant but she never mentioned love.
Jagger decided they needed a little trip out of the cabin, although Dean would probably argue otherwise. They started to run out of the provisions that Dean stocked for them. He wanted to take Justice out for some fun and then do a little shopping. She was such a good sport about not having much to wear around the cabin, and hell, he liked keeping her naked and in hisbed. But he promised her they would venture out and pick her up some necessities when he got the all-clear that it was safe. He knew Dean would never give him the green light—Hobbs’ men were searching day and night for him and Justice. He felt a pang of guilt for not sharing that information with her, but honestly, it would do them no good to have them both worrying and looking over their shoulder. He wanted Justice to relax and let her hair down. He was selfishly hoping that if she let her guard down around him, she would let him into her world, her life, and eventually, her heart.
Jagger found Justice standing in the small kitchen, wearing just his t-shirt and sipping the coffee he had made for her. He gently wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her into his body. “Hey,” he whispered into her hair as she lay her head back onto his chest.
“Hey, back at you,” she sighed.
“You okay?” He already knew the answer to his question—she wasn’t. She worried constantly about his sister, although the two had never met. He found it endearing that she would even consider his sister’s well-being after all the trouble he and Jules caused her. Justice assured him she was happy to be there with him, but he had his doubts. Jagger couldn’t help but feel that she would have been better off without him butting into her life. The selfish part of him was thrilled with the way things turned out, but he worried that Justice would come to resent him, and when the whole ordeal was over, she would run as fast and far away as possible.
“I guess I just have cabin fever,” she giggled and turned in his arms, setting her coffee onto the counter.
“Pun intended?” he asked, pulling her snugly against his body. Justice laughed, and he nearly forgot to breathe; she was so beautiful.
“Sure,” she agreed.
“Well, I have something that might help with that,” he said. She eyed him suspiciously, and he chuckled. “How about we get out of here and do a little shopping?” Jagger loved the way her eyes lit up at the mention of shopping. Justice bounced up and down in his arms, and his cock started to protest the idea of letting her put clothes on and then going out.
“I’d love a day away,” she squealed.
“Well, I was thinking more like a few nights away. There is a little ski resort about an hour from here, and I thought we could go there and do some skiing and shopping.” Justice started peppering his face with butterfly kisses, and he was guessing that meant yes. She pulled away from his hold and spun around.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she chanted. He couldn’t help his laugh; she was excited enough for both of them, and her enthusiasm was contagious. She stopped mid-spin to face him. “Is it safe to leave?” He wanted to go back to her laughing and spinning with happiness, but she was right to worry. He didn’t have a clear-cut answer. They were still in Colorado, and although hours from her father by plane, they were within reach. Dean told him that Wolf was pooling his resources with Hobbs, and between the two of them, they had quite the network. He worried that there was no safe place to hide, no matter how far they ran.
He hesitantly nodded. “I won’t lie to you, baby, I don’t think we will ever be one hundred percent in the clear as long as your father and Wolf are still out there looking for us.” Justice frowned, and he wished there was some way to turn back time to just a few seconds prior, when she was smiling and happy. He refused to lie to her, though— a promise he made to her their first night together as husband and wife. She wanted to be kept in the loop, and honesty was the only way to do that. Jagger wished their lives together could have started on a happier note, but then he would have never met Justice, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“Listen,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “We just need to be careful, and if something comes up, you’ll need to do as I say,” Justice smirked up at him, and he bent to give her a quick kiss. “We both know how much you love to follow orders, baby,” he teased. “If you can promise me that you will try to follow my directions, then I see no reason for us not to have a little fun and pick you up some new things in the process.” Justice’s smile was back in place, and he knew she was trying to decide if obeying him was worth a trip out for some fun. He almost wanted to laugh at the way her wheels were turning; he could read her every facial expression.
“Deal.” She held out her hand, and he immediately took it into his and pulled it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles.
“Deal,” he agreed. “Now go get dressed and be ready to head out in an hour.” He watched as she danced away to their bedroom, and then he pulled out the cell phone that Dean had given him. He needed to tell his friend about their little trip and check in to see how things were going in Goose Creek.
Dean set up camp at Justice’s grandmother’s ranch to be closer to Hobbs and ultimately, Jules. He gave Jagger an earful about Norma Jeane Hobbs, mostly involving how pissed off she was that she wasn’t invited to their little makeshift wedding. Norma Jeane even made Dean promise to convince both Jagger and Justice to have a “re-do” wedding at the ranch once this whole mess was over. Jagger smiled, knowing that he was going to get another chance at telling the world just how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Justice. He’d marry her every damn day if that would make her happy.
Dean picked up on the second ring. “Hey man, everything good?” Dean sounded a bit agitated, sending alarms off in Jagger’s mind that something wasn’t quite right.
“Everything here is good. What’s going on with you?” Dean didn’t answer at first, and Jagger worried that he was keepingsomething from him about Jules. “Dean,” Jagger growled, growing more impatient by the second.
Dean sighed into the phone. “My guy on the inside said they’ve moved Jules, and we can’t get any intel on where they are holding her now. Wolf’s men went in yesterday and moved her. I have both of my guys working behind the scenes to find her, and I’m doing everything I can on my end.” Jagger ran his hand through his unruly hair, making it stand on end. He felt completely helpless, trapped in the middle of nowhere with Justice.
“I’m coming back,” he barked. He knew Dean would tell him to stay put, but this was his little sister they were talking about.
“Jag, you can’t do that. I think that Hobbs is betting you will run back here with Justice in tow. You’ll be playing right into his hands.” Dean seemed just as frustrated as Jagger felt.
“If Wolf lays one fucking finger on Jules, I’ll—” Dean’s voice broke mid-sentence, and Jagger could hear all the raw emotions that his best friend had pent up for Jules. Dean wasn’t going to let anyone just take Jules, and Jagger knew that running back to Goose Creek with Justice was a bad idea. He hated being so helpless, but he also trusted Dean with his sister’s life.
“Fine,” Jagger growled. “I will stay up here with Justice, but we are going to get a little air. There is a ski resort about an hour north of here in Wyoming. I’m taking Justice there for a few days. We need some more provisions, and she needs some clothes.” Dean barked a laugh into his end of the phone, and Jagger knew he was going to give him some shit.
“You’re telling me that you want to put clothes on your girl? Dude, I think you are doing the whole honeymoon thing all wrong if you think she needs more clothes,” Dean teased.
Jagger laughed at Dean’s comment. “Very funny, man. But yeah, we need to get out of this cabin. As much as I loved the whole naked in bed thing, we are both ready for a change ofscenery.” Dean was quiet for a moment, and Jagger knew his friend was weighing the pros and cons of the two of them leaving the cabin.
“Just be careful, Jag. Wolf and Hobbs have pooled all their resources to look for the two of you. I can’t lose you. You and Jules are all that I have left.” Jagger could hear the raw emotion in Dean’s voice again, and he wanted to be more helpful to his friend. His keeping Justice safe and staying out of Dean’s way was probably the best way he could help at this point.
“Will do and Dean—go get my sister back and kill that fucker for putting her through this. If he hurts her—” Jag couldn’t finish his sentence, he was too raw from the news about his sister.
“I know, man,” Dean barked into the phone. The idea of anyone hurting Jules gutted him, and he had a feeling Dean felt the same way. “I love her too, Jag. I won’t let anything happen to her.” Jagger nodded, knowing that Dean couldn’t see his response, and ended the call. He turned to find Justice standing in the hallway.
