“It’s nothing. I probably just have a little cabin fever, and I’m just grumpy. I’m sorry I seem to be taking it out on you; that’s not my intent.” Justice turned in his arms, and he pulled her snug against his body. “I understand that we can’t venture out, but can we at least go into town? We need groceries, and I think an hour out of this cabin is just what we both need.” Justice looked up at him with so much hope on her face that he couldn’t tell her no.
He nodded, “All right,” he conceded. “But we go to the grocery store and that’s it. We get what we need and head right back here.” Justice squealed and bounced up and down in his arms, causing him to chuckle. Her excitement was contagious, but a part of him worried he had just made a big mistake, agreeing to take her into town.
“Thank you, Jag.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips, and he didn’t miss the worry that was still in her eyes.
“No problem, baby. And, when we get back here, you can fill me in on what’s bothering you. I won’t let you hide from me, Justice. I love you, and the sooner you let me in, the better we will work as a team.” Shock registered on her face, and he chuckled and kissed her pouty mouth. Justice disappeared into their bedroom to get ready or possibly to avoid talking to him. Either way, he would give her a little extra time. He had some research to do for Dean, and with any luck, he would be able to hack Hobbs’ files and find a way to link him to Wolf’s business dealings. Jules was able to download all her original files onto a hard drive, incriminating Hobbs in an assortment ofbad business deals. Dean wasn’t able to connect Hobbs to Wolf yet—that would seal Hobbs’ fate. He would go away for the rest of his life if they could link him to Wolf. Jagger sifted through the thumb drive files his sister had been smart enough to save, trying to find the needle in the haystack that would give them some small glimmer of hope. He opened a file that didn’t have a name attached. He wondered how his sister missed naming the file—she was so meticulous about organizing everything. Every other file was named and placed in the correct category. The unnamed file stuck out like a sore thumb. He clicked on it and realized he was holding his breath as he watched the pictures pop up of Wolf and Hobbs. They seemed to be standing in a warehouse having a heated discussion. He blew up the picture trying to see more of the background and realized that one side of the warehouse was lined with what looked like jail cells. He gasped at the sight of the women who were sitting behind those bars, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. “Fuck,” he cursed. He didn’t know who took the picture, but he was guessing that it was Jules, and the thought of her being that close to danger pissed him off. He never realized just how much danger Jules was in working for Hobbs, and he would never forgive himself for not paying closer attention to her.
He knew she left because of Dean, but he didn’t want to pry. Jagger was afraid of what he would find out about his best friend and his sister. Instead, he shut her out of his world and made work a priority, letting her sort out her problems. He dropped the ball, and now his little sister was paying the price. He called Dean, knowing that this newest evidence might be enough for him to be able to finally arrest Hobbs. The thought of going home again fueled him with new hope. He knew that the news of returning home would make Justice just as happy. She seemed to miss her friends and grandmother, and she would be able to see them in time for the holidays.
“Jag—tell me you have some news for me because I’m coming up empty at every turn.” Jagger smiled at the way his friend always seemed to want to get right down to business.
“Oh, I’ve got something all right. I’m sending it over to you now. Take a look at the file without a name.” Jagger waited for Dean to catch up, listening for the catch in his breath, and knew the exact moment when he realized just what was going on in the picture. “This puts Tony Hobbs in Wolf’s direct path. At the very least, we can put him away for knowing about Wolf’s business deals. I have a feeling that bastard would turn in his mother to save his ass. He’ll turn evidence on Wolf, and then we will have them both,” Jagger explained.
Dean heaved out his breath as if in relief. “This is fantastic, Jag.” But Jagger’s elation didn’t last long. He knew that getting either man to bring them in was going to be a challenge.
“Yeah, now all you have to do is catch them both.” Jagger felt his mood instantly turn sour.
“Leave that to me. I’ll get a warrant for Hobbs before the day’s end. You and Justice will be home in no time.” Dean’s promise met with Jagger’s skepticism, and he couldn’t help his sarcastic laugh sarcastically. “I know you two have been through a lot, Jag. But just have a little faith.” Jagger felt bad that his mood was making him seem ungrateful. Honestly, he owed Dean his and Justice’s lives. He would forever be thankful that his friend had both of their backs.
“I know, man. I’m just having a shit day, and Justice is trying to push me away. I can’t seem to figure this whole marriage thing out.” Dean barked out his laugh. “I think you need to give it a minute, Jag. You two didn’t get married because you were madly in love or anything. You did it to keep Justice safe. Are you telling me things have changed?” Jagger didn’t want to get into this over the phone, but he wouldn’t hide his feelings from his oldest friend. Trying to tell Dean about his feelings forJustice a few weeks ago didn’t go so well. His friend dismissed the possibility that Justice and he could fall in love so quickly. But Jagger was tired of tiptoeing around the subject. It was time to just spell it out for his friend and get it over with.
“Yes, things have changed, Dean. I’m in love with her,” Jagger admitted. “Wow.” Dean let out a long whistle, and Jagger knew his friend was weighing his words carefully.
“Are you sure?” Jagger wanted to growl that he was fucking sure, but Dean had no way to gauge how important Justice became to him. He only spent a small amount of time with Justice, and he was consumed with Jules’ rescue.
“I’m sure, Dean. I can’t explain it, so I won’t even try. She has become my world, and I won’t pretend otherwise. This all might have started as a mission to free Jules and protect Justice, but somewhere in the middle of this clusterfuck, I’ve fallen in love with her.” It felt good to admit it to his friend. He hadn’t said those words out loud to anyone besides Justice, and admitting it to Dean made it feel real.
“Does she feel the same way about you?” Dean asked. Jagger didn’t want to answer for Justice, and honestly, he wasn’t sure where he stood with her at the moment. She was back to pushing him away, and that was confusing the hell out of him.
“She said she does, but I don’t know, man. I want to believe her when she tells me she loves me, but what if that all changes when she is free from the threats of her father and Wolf?” Jagger paced the small kitchen, watching the door for any sign of Justice. The last thing he needed was for her to catch him gossiping on the phone with his best friend, like a teen girl.
“From what I know of your girl, if she says something, she means it. When you first told me about Justice having feelings for you, I worried she was using you to stay safe. But she doesn’t seem like a woman who minces words, and she doesn’t seem like a person who would use your feelings to get what she wants. Ifshe says she loves you, then I’m sure it’s the truth.” Hearing Dean’s affirmations made Jagger feel a little more at ease, but something was just off with her. He needed to get to the bottom of her worry, and then he’d be able to fix everything for her—for them.
“Listen, Dean, we’re going to the local grocery store. I will watch my six, but we need some provisions, and Justice needs to get out of this fucking cabin. We are going crazy here, so let me know when you arrest Hobbs. It will bring us one step closer to coming home, and we could use a little good news about now.” Dean agreed and made Jagger promise to be safe in town. He barely had time to collect his thoughts before Justice appeared in the kitchen, her coat and boots on as if announcing that she was ready to leave. He chuckled and kissed her cheek.
“Give me one minute, honey. I’ll be ready in a jiffy.” Justice nodded and stood by the front door, worry still etched on her beautiful face. Her sadness nearly broke him.
Justice stood by the doorway and worried about how she was going to sneak a pregnancy test with their grocery items. He was sure to see, and that meant Jagger would be asking her questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. Questions like why she didn’t bother with protection or demand that he use it? The answer even eluded her— she had no good reasons why she didn’t. Honestly, it slipped her mind, but that sounded ridiculous even to her. She never planned on being kidnapped and getting married only to have sex for the first time and fall madly in love with her new husband, but she did. She never really needed to use any form of birth control. When she didn’t speak up, Jagger probably assumed she was on the pill since shedidn’t insist that he use a condom. She was inexperienced and a damn fool, and now she was late for the first time in her life. The thought of being pregnant both scared the shit out of her and made her crave something she wasn’t sure either of them was ready for.
Now wasn’t the time to introduce a baby into their lives. Hell, they were on the run from her father and Wolf—this was the absolute worst time for her to find out she might be pregnant. But somehow she needed to buy a test because not knowing was driving her crazy. Justice pulled out her cell phone and called the number for the grocery store pharmacy that she had found earlier, and hoped they answered before Jagger returned. She followed the prompts to get to a live person and almost wanted to laugh at the way her heart was racing.
“Hello, pharmacy,” a woman barked into the phone.
“Hello,” Justice whispered.
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” the pharmacy tech barked back. Justice spoke a little louder. “Sorry, I need you to hold a pregnancy test for me. I will be in soon to pick it up.” The tech sighed into the phone, sounding a bit disgruntled.
“You know you can just pick it up yourself, right? They are in aisle twelve on the shelf right under the condoms.” The pharmacy tech laughed, and Justice knew that she was making a joke at her expense. She already felt foolish enough; she didn’t need a stranger making jokes at her cost.
“Yes, I’m quite aware of the fact that I can pick one up myself, but I’m in kind of a jam here. Can you please help me out and just have one waiting for me behind the counter?” Justice watched the hallway for any sign of Jagger.
“Which brand?” the tech asked. Justice had no clue. Did the brand matter? All she knew was that she needed a test that told her if she was just overreacting or if she wasn’t going to have to tell her new husband that she flaked out on birth control.
“I don’t care what brand you select. I just need a test to tell me if I’m pregnant or not.” Justice wasn’t as quiet as she wanted to be, and she closed her eyes, hoping Jagger was out of earshot. “Fine. Name?” the woman asked.
“Justice Hobbs. No, Justice James,” she corrected. She still wasn’t used to her new last name, although she loved it. She loved Jagger, and taking his name legally just seemed right. Justice just hoped like hell that he’d still want her if she turned up pregnant.
“It will be at the pharmacy counter,” the girl said and hung up before Justice could whisper her thanks. She ended the call and waited a few more minutes before Jagger appeared at the front entrance, offering his hand to her. She would make some excuse to sneak off to the pharmacy and then hopefully find a bathroom to take the test. That way, she could leave all evidence at the store and not have to face either reality until she was ready to.
