“I know this all sounds crazy, Sunny. But I love him and I’m not sure if I should trust my heart and tell him or keep my guard up.” Justice felt raw from the unshed tears she refused to release.
“You should tell him,” Jagger whispered from the doorway behind her, causing her to jump.
“Shit, Sunny, I have to go. I love you and will try to get you messages as I can.” She hung up the phone before allowing Sunny to ask more questions. She knew her friend would try to keep her on the phone and make her give answers that she wasn’t sure she had. She turned to face Jagger, her stubborn mask in place.
“I won’t apologize for calling my friend,” she said. She didn’t like the way Jagger looked her up and down, almost as if he was trying to decide if she was worth all the trouble that she was giving him. “I had to talk to someone, Jagger,” she needlessly protested. “You get to talk to Dean, and I should be able to talk to my best friend, too.” Justice crossed her arms over her chest, and Jagger did the same, widening his stance as if in challenge.
“Tell me that you love me, Justice,” he ordered. She felt herself blink at him, confused by his request. She was bracing herself for his wrath, his anger at disobeying his order not to contact her friends or family, and here he just wanted her to say that she was in love with him. The thought of telling him how she felt seemed scarier than facing his anger. She shook her head and stared him down. Jagger smiled back at her.
“Okay, I see that we are at a stalemate. You put us both in danger by placing that call, honey. You also put your friends in danger, and now I’m going to have to call Dean and have him put some guys on watch in Harvest Ridge. There is no way to keep everyone safe when you continue to disobey me.” Jagger didn’t move, and the look of disappointment on his face nearly did her in. Justice couldn’t control the tears that now freely fell down her face, which pissed her off. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him again.
“Fuck,” she swore, hastily wiping at her face. “I know that I fucked up, but I can’t live like this. You, this—” She waved her arms about like a lunatic, “it’s all so new to me. I just needed someone to talk to.” She looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the disapproval in his eyes. Jagger took a few steps closer and stopped.
“Talk to me,” he whispered. “You can tell me anything, baby,” he promised.
She chanced a look at him and saw the pleading in his eyes, nearly undoing her defenses. “How do I talk to you about you?”she cried. “I have no fucking idea what I’m doing with you, Jagger. And these feelings, being in love with you, they just confuse the hell out of me,” she admitted.
“So, you do love me?” He smiled at her, and she groaned, knowing there would be no getting out of admitting the truth now.
“Yes,” she whispered. Jagger crossed the distance that separated the two of them and pulled her into his arms, not giving her any time or room for protest.
“Thank fuck,” he growled and sealed his mouth over hers.
Jagger felt like he was the luckiest man alive, hearing that Justice loved him. He was sure that she was more than he deserved, but he’d spend the rest of his life proving his worth to her. “I have a surprise for you. That’s why I came back so soon.” Justice looked up at him shyly, and he wanted to forget the whole fucking dinner that he had planned, followed by a private shopping experience at the hotel's boutique. He knew they had to lie low and stay out of the public eye, so he had Dean call in a few favors.
“I’ve set up a private dining room for just the two of us for dinner, followed by some shopping. It’s all safe and very private.” Jagger pulled her in for another kiss.
“I feel awful now. Here I snuck and called home, breaking one of the only rules you’ve given me, and you went and did something wonderful,” she gushed.
“Yep,” he rocked back on his heels, seemingly pleased with himself. “You can repay me later.” He winked at her, making her giggle and slap at his arm. He pulled her snugly against his body.
“How about you get dressed and meet me in the lobby. I’ll call Dean and fill him in about everything. Can you be ready in thirty minutes?” Justice nodded, and he released her.
“I have nothing to wear,” she whispered.
“I don’t care what you wear, honey. We will be all alone except wait staff and a personal shopper at the boutique.” She gifted him with her smile and turned to go into the bathroom. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and headed down to the lobby.
“Hey, what’s going on, man?” Dean answered.
“Any word on Jules?” Jagger asked. He almost didn’t want to know, but sooner or later, his sister was going to resurface. It was a part of the game. Hobbs would dangle her in front of him like a carrot in front of a mule until he caught them both. Jagger couldn’t let that happen, though.
“One of my contacts thinks he knows which safe house they have her stashed in. He won’t report back to me for another four hours, though. I’ll know more then.” Jagger grunted his acknowledgment, not sure how to admit this next part. It was his fault that Justice called Sunny; he shouldn’t have left her alone, but he also understood why she did it. He ripped her away from everyone she knew and loved, leaving her no choice but to reach out to tell them she was all right. “Is that the only reason you called, Jag?” Dean asked. He knew he couldn’t hide anything from Dean; they were too close.
“No,” he growled. “Justice called her friend Sunny, back in Harvest Ridge,” he admitted.
“Fuck,” Dean barked. “How the fuck could you let that happen, Jag?” Jagger shrugged, not having an answer to Dean’s question.
“I ran down to set up dinner and shopping, and by the time I got back, she was spilling her guts to her friend about me.” Dean groaned into the phone, and he knew that he fucked up.
“What exactly did she tell her friend, Jagger?” Dean’s tone told him just how pissed off he was. “Well,” Jagger cleared his throat. “She told her friend that she is in love with me.” Dean was completely silent on the other end of the line. For a minute, Jagger thought that he had lost the call until Dean’s laughter filled the line.
“Shut the fuck up, man. Justice is in love with you?” Dean said in between gasps and fits of laughter.
“Yes,” Jagger said, feeling a little hurt. Was it so hard to believe that someone could fall in love with him?
“Well, I hope you set her straight and told her that it’s too soon for that, right?” Dean stopped laughing long enough for Jagger to answer, and when he didn’t, his best friend’s aggravated sigh was all he heard. “Jag, you can’t be serious about a girl you just met a few weeks ago. Have you forgotten that you fucking kidnapped her?” Jagger wanted to tell him that he was completely wrong about their relationship, that the two of them were just meant to be together. He wanted to tell Dean that every time he touched Justice, he felt sparks and his entire world felt right for the first time in years. But he couldn’t find the words, or at least not ones Dean would believe. His friend thought that he was crazy for falling in love with the woman he kidnapped, and nothing he could say would convince him otherwise. Maybe he was a fool for falling for Justice, but he didn’t care.
“I don’t expect you to understand, Dean. But don’t tell me how I should feel about Justice. I know what I did, and I also know that I am one lucky son of a bitch that she is giving me a second chance. I’m not giving her up, so let’s move on.” Dean didn’t respond, and Jagger knew his friend was holding back, not saying all the things he wanted to, but he didn’t need to hear them right now. He had enough shit going on in his life.
