“No,” she shouted. “I won’t do anything that you tell me to do. You want me on the fucking bed? You can put me there yourself,” she yelled. Every movement, every sound that came from her body racked it with pain. She wanted to fight him, but she just didn’t have it in her.
“Okay, sweetheart.” He threw the rope onto the bed and crossed the room to where she sat on the sofa. She braced herself for what he planned to do, knowing she wasn’t strong enough to stop him. He grabbed a handful of her long brown hair and dragged her up his body, seeming to take pleasure in her agonizing screams.
“Keep making all the noise you want, honey. No one is coming for you. Your husband is dead; I saw to that myself. You have no one coming to your rescue now.”
“What did you do?” she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. “Jagger can’t be dead.” Jordan laughed at her confusion. Her thoughts were scattered and cloudy. She tried to remember how she got to her father’s house, but she didn’t have a clue. The last thing she remembered was getting into the SUV to head out to dinner with Jagger. He mentioned that he forgot his wallet and told her he would be right back. She watched Jagger walk back into their little cabin, and that was the last thing she remembered.
“What happened to Jagger?” She begged him to tell her. “Please, I need to know.” Jordan seemed to enjoy her begging. He threw her onto her bed and started to tie her ankle to the bedpost.
“You looked so lovely for your little dinner date tonight. But you see, Justice, you were with the wrong man. I just made sure that you got back on track. It was just dumb luck that Jagger forgot his wallet. I was planning on waiting until you returned that evening from your dinner, but he saved me some time. Once he went back into the house, I slipped into the back seat ofyour SUV and drugged you. That would explain your headache and the pain in your neck where I stuck the needle in. I then proceeded with my little plan since I already had the explosives in place.” Justice couldn’t help her gasp, remembering the sound of the cabin exploding just before her world went dark.
“You blew up the cabin with Jagger in it?” She wasn’t asking a question. She already knew that answer, but it was almost like she was remembering a dream, not something that happened to her. Jordan nodded and smiled as if fondly remembering the whole ordeal.
“It was almost too easy, but I’m just a lucky man, I guess. I took care of our little problem, you know—the one that was keeping us from being together. He was just in the way, Darling, and I cleared the path for us. You can’t tell me that you would rather be with that caveman over me, can you?” Justice felt mean—she wanted to get out of that bed and kill Jordan for what he did to Jagger. He was gone, and she was alone, but she couldn’t let that consume her. First, she needed to get away from Wolf; then she could find her way out of there for the sake of her baby. Jagger would have wanted them both to be safe.
“I would never want you over him. You are a disgusting worm, and he is—was,” she sobbed, “everything.” Jordan made a sound of disapproval as he moved to tie up her other ankle. She knew she needed to start putting up a fight; otherwise, she might not get another chance. Justice started to kick and thrash around, making it harder for Jordan to get his hand around her ankle to hold her down on the bed.
“Hold still, Justice,” he barked, and she laughed. She could hear the frustration in his voice, and she knew she struck a nerve. Poor Jordan wasn’t used to women fighting back. She shook off his hand and kicked him in the gut as hard as she could.
“Fine, have it your way,” he growled, throwing the rope down onto the bed. “Let’s just see how you like another shot. The drugs helped to make you so much more manageable, honey. You barely made a peep the entire trip here.” The thought of being unconscious and alone with Jordan made her panic. She couldn’t let that thought distract her, though. He left the room with the door open, and she saw her chance. She worked the rope around her ankle, loosening it enough to get her foot free, and stood feeling a little wobbly still. Justice knew she didn’t have a weapon, but taking the time to search in Jordan’s duffel bag for something she could use wasn’t an option. She knew Wolf could be back any minute, and this time she wouldn’t be so lucky to escape.
Jagger knew that Justice was somewhere inside of Hobbs’ house, and it took all his willpower not to run in there and find his wife. He worried about what Wolf had already done to her, but none of that mattered. All he wanted was to find her alive; they could work the rest out. He didn’t think he could live in a world where Justice didn’t exist—the thought terrified him. He also had the advantage of Wolf thinking he was dead, working in his favor. When he went back into the cabin to get his wallet, he got a two-word text from Dean, simply saying, “Get out!”. He didn’t hesitate, running out the back door of the little cabin, and was thrown clear by the force of the blast. By the time he came to, the house burned almost to the ground, and Justice was gone.
He had a few cuts and bruises and couldn’t hear worth a damn, but he was alive thanks to his best friend. He called Dean, who sent a team out to find him after he didn’t hear from him.Honestly, he didn’t think he would have been able to make it back to Goose Creek without Dean’s help. His guys showed up and helped Jagger pull himself together, patching up a few of the deep cuts on his upper body and sending him on his way. He would have been stranded at that cabin, and Wolf would have had a huge head start if it weren’t for Dean’s quick thinking.
According to Dean, Wolf had a private plane waiting for himself and Justice, and from his intel, she was knocked out. It looked like she was drugged, and Jagger didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. If she were awake, his girl would have fought like hell to get away from Wolf, and that would have possibly gotten her killed. But he hated that she was helpless to whatever Wolf wanted to do to her. If he laid one finger on Justice, Jagger was going to kill him. Dean had a plane ready for Jagger, and this time, he was going to head straight back to Goose Creek to find Justice. Her grandmother, Norma Jeane, gave him clearance to land on her property at the ranch. From there, Dean was waiting for him, and the two of them drove to Hobbs’ house while Dean filled him in on everything that had happened.
Hobbs was still detained at headquarters, and he was singing like a canary. He was blaming Wolf for the whole mess, naming him as the head of the trafficking ring. He even gave up the names of other higher-ups in their organization and the locations where they were holding women. It was enough to bring down most of the human trafficking ring that Hobbs was a part of. Wolf and his men were the wild cards, and he had Justice. Jagger wasn’t willing to take any chances when it came to his wife, and Dean agreed. They both knew that if Wolf was able to walk out of there with Justice in tow, he would never see her again. They would just need to make sure that didn’t happen.
“She’s in there with Wolf. I’m going in,” Jagger growled. Dean grabbed his arm as if trying to stop him, but they both knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“At least wait for backup, Jag,” Dean pleaded. But Jagger wasn’t willing to wait another minute. Wolf had Justice for almost twenty-four hours and had done God only knew what to her. The last thing Jagger wanted to do was wait to go in and get his girl.
“Would you wait for backup if it were Jules in there?” Jagger asked. Dean looked hesitant to answer. Jagger was pretty sure his best friend would have already been in that house if Jules were still inside. Dean sighed and released Jagger’s arm.
“No, I wouldn’t wait. After we get your girl back, you and I are going to need to sit down and have a little talk about Jules.” Jagger didn’t want to think about that now. He wanted to get his wife back and make sure that Wolf never saw another night outside of a jail cell. He didn’t want to think about his best friend and his little sister, but he would have to deal with the two of them at some point. He doubted that whatever they had going on was just going to disappear. One thing that falling in love with Justice taught him was that you can’t control who you fall in love with.
“If you go in, I’m going with you.” Jagger pulled his gun free from his shoulder holster and nodded at Dean.
“I appreciate that, man. I wouldn’t want anyone else to have my back.” Dean grabbed his gun from the cab of his truck, and they made their way over to the side entrance. Dean still had a guy on the inside, and he was sending updates as to where Justice was being held.
Jagger knew that he might be walking into a complete shitshow, but he needed to get to Justice before Wolf had another chance to move her again. Next time, they might not get lucky in finding her so quickly. Dean motioned to him to split upand headed around to the back door and into the kitchen. Jagger went in through the side door and into the family room, where Hobbs entertained most of his guests. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end; it was too quiet, and he worried that Justice was still drugged. That would make moving her more of a challenge, but it wouldn’t stop him from getting her out of that house. He turned the corner and headed up the grand staircase to Justice’s childhood bedroom. Dean’s inside connections’ last update said that she was being held in there. He worried he was about to walk in on something that he didn’t want to witness, but if Justice needed him, he would do whatever it took to get to her. He slowly made his way down the hallway and found that the door to her room was wide open, which wouldn’t make sense if she was being held in there. Jagger entered the spacious room and found it empty. He searched her closet and the adjoining bathroom and worried they were too late. There was no sign of Justice, Wolf, or any of his men, just some rope coiled up on the rumpled bed. The thought of Wolf tying up his wife made him ill.
“Now, let’s try this again,” Wolf said, entering the room with a syringe in one hand and some duct tape in the other. A quiet rage filled Jagger at the sight of Wolf, and guessing what he wanted to do to Justice made him want to kill the asshole.
“Gee, is that for me? You shouldn’t have.” Jagger raised his gun and pointed it at Wolf’s chest. He wanted to take the shot more than he wanted his next breath, but killing an unarmed man would only lead to more paperwork that he wasn’t ready to do. Wolf’s pale expression told him all he needed to know. He was surprised to see him, and that was a very good thing. Jagger knew that using the element of surprise was always a good defense.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Wolf screamed at him, looking around the room. “Where is she?” Wolf took a step towardsJagger, and he fired a warning shot into the ceiling, plaster falling around them from the impact.
“You mean my wife? Well, she’s not here, so you’ll have to deal with me. Take another step and I won’t give you another warning.” Wolf’s smirk made Jagger want to end him on the spot, but he needed to find Justice first. His eyes quickly darted around the room, searching one last time for Justice.
“You don’t have her either, do you, Jagger?” Wolf chuckled, and Jagger tried to tamp down his anger. Wolf was trying to get him to lose focus, and he couldn’t allow that. “She’s a slippery little minx, isn’t she? You thought you were so smart marrying her from under me, but I’ll have the last laugh. She’ll be the one to pay for your indiscretions. After I get done using her, I plan on selling her off to the highest bidder. She’s used, and I don’t buy used goods.” Jagger growled and took a step towards Wolf, noting the way his eyes flared almost with glee. He was playing right into Wolf’s hands, and he needed to keep his cool. Justice was missing, and he wanted to wrap up this little conversation with Wolf and find her. She might be hurt or worse, and he wouldn’t forgive himself if he played into Wolf’s hands instead of getting to her.
“How about you drop the fucking tape and needle, Wolf.” Jagger trained his gun on him again, but he didn’t seem to want to follow directions. “I’ll only give you one warning. It doesn’t matter to me if you live or die—it’s totally up to you.” Jagger saw the indecision cross Wolf’s face. He could see the truth register in Wolf’s eyes when he finally saw that he had no way out and dropped the syringe and tape to the floor.
“Get on the fucking bed,” Jagger growled. He imagined the fear that Justice must have felt being tied to the bed by the monster that now stood before him.
“We barely know each other, Jagger,” Wolf crooned, still trying to distract him. “You could at least buy me dinner first.”He laughed at his own joke, and Jagger set to work tying him up to the bedpost. He made sure the ropes were nice and tight, not taking any chances. “You’ll never win, you know. Take me in and I’ll be out within twenty-four hours. I have too many important friends who owe me favors. You’ll never be free, always looking over your shoulder. How will you keep them both safe, Justice, and your sister?” Jagger couldn’t help his surge of anger, and he punched Wolf in the jaw. Blood trickled down from Wolf’s mouth, and he smiled at Jagger as if he found the whole scene funny.
