“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 thefinish. 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 whenthings 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 setup 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.
“I heard that,” Dean barked and hugged Justice, kissing her cheek. He pulled Jagger in for a quick hug and led the way into the office building, where he had them all meet. “Thanks for getting here so quickly, guys. Were you followed, man?” Jagger knew enough about watching his ass to make sure that no one had followed them.
“No, I think we’re good,” he said. They followed Dean into the elevator, and Jagger watched as his friend pressed the button for the top floor. “Want to tell me where you are taking us, exactly?” Jagger cocked an eyebrow at Dean and pulled Justice against his body. Since seeing Wolf at the ski lodge, he felt a protective instinct that was almost foreign to him. He wanted Justice next to him, close enough to touch, and he trusted absolutely no one else with her—not even Dean at this point.
“I called in a few favors, and we can use the offices on the top floor.” Dean shrugged. “I have intel that Jules is close by, being held in a safe house that Wolf uses when he comes up here, but doesn’t want his family to know he’s in town. He hasn’t even been to his family’s estate yet, so I’m assuming this is a business trip for him. If my hunch is right, we will find Jules and some other missing girls I’ve been trying to track. I think they are getting ready to move a shipment, and we have no time to waste.” Jagger didn’t miss the way his wife cringed atDean’s word choice. Hearing those poor women referred to as a “shipment” made him feel a little green around the gills. They got off the elevator and stepped into a big office surrounded by glass on every side. Being so high up, it had breathtaking views of the area, and Jagger was sure that he had never seen anything so magnificent. Whoever Dean’s contact was, he must be some big connection to have provided them with this meeting place. Jagger whistled out his breath at the fully stocked wet bar and sat down on the big, blue suede sectional that took up most of the space.
“This is quite a connection that you’ve got, Dean,” Jagger said. His friend smiled at him and nodded.
“Yep, I think I’ll be in debt to my associate for more than I originally agreed, but Jules is worth it. I’m determined to get her back, Jag, and when I do, I won’t let you or anyone else stand in my way. I’m in love with her, man. I have been for as long as I can remember. Losing her just drove that point home.” He watched Jagger as if waiting for him to say something. Jag knew he could play this one of two ways. The first would be to forbid his friend from pursuing his sister, but that might push them both away. The second would be to just embrace Dean’s admission and let the chips fall where they may. It was Jules’ life, and he wasn’t about to stand in the way of her happiness; she already had enough sadness to last a lifetime.
“Fine,” Jagger barked. He watched as Dean dramatically exhaled and almost wanted to laugh. “I won’t stand in your way. As long as you are what Jules wants, I give you my blessing.” Dean stood and crossed the floor, standing in front of Jagger with his hand out.
“Thanks, man,” he said. Jagger stood and took Dean’s hand, pulling him in for a hug.
“If you two are finished with all this mushy crap, can we please get to the part where you come up with a plan to saveJules and those women?” Justice helped herself to a beer, and Jagger couldn’t help his laugh.
“Sure, help yourself, Justice,” Dean laughed.
“Sorry, man, my wife is a handful.” Jagger made his way to her, pulled the beer from her hands, took a swig, and set it on the bar. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, causing Dean to groan.
“Man, you two need a room,” he said, making a sour face. Justice laughed at him. “Well, we had one, but then the bad guys showed up, and here we are,” she sassed. Dean pushed a button, and a screen lowered from the ceiling in the far corner. He dimmed the lights, and Jagger watched as some aerial pictures popped up on the screen.
