Justice shrugged, “I was only fifteen, and losing my mother understandably upset me. For the first few weeks after she died, I mourned like any child would. I cried and spent a lot of time alone in my room. The police started sniffing around, and my father left town for a few weeks. When he came back, everything quieted down, and everyone seemed to forget about my mother except for me. I started asking questions, and that was when my father had me committed. He told everyone that I wasn’t getting over my mother’s death, as if that was something I could control.” “No, I don’t think you ever get over losing a parent that you loved,” Jagger offered.
“I think my father was worried that I was snooping around his office and asking questions. As soon as he returned, he found out that I was nosing around and sent me away.” Justice remembered that day as if it were just yesterday. Her father had his head of security drive her over to the hospital, claiming he was taking her to visit her grandmother. He made up a story about her granny being in the hospital after suffering a bad fall. She was so worried that she didn’t think twice about his true motives. When she realized what was going on, it was too late. They gave her a sedative and kept her in a vegetative state for weeks. When her father finally came to claim her, he explained that she needed to be a good girl and keep her nose out of hisbusiness, or he would just leave her there. She was anxious to get out of that hellhole and agreed to his demands, even promising to let a guard accompany her wherever she went to watch her every move. That lasted until she was eighteen and learned how to ditch her guard and go off on her own, often finding her way over to hide at her grandmother’s ranch.
After a while, her father seemed to give up trying to control her, and she moved her stuff over to a little cabin that Granny Norma let her stay in. She loved it there; it felt more like home than her father’s big house ever had.
“How did your mom die?” Jagger seemed reluctant to ask.
“No one knows. She wasn’t home alone. My father says he was in his office, and the staff was working. She fell from the second-floor staircase down to the main floor. The maid was the first to find her, and she called 911. My mother was already gone by the time the police got there. They questioned everyone on the staff and my father, but no one knew how or why she fell. She was so young and in good health. The coroner’s report came back inconclusive, and when they finally closed the case months later, it was ruled a suicide.” Justice felt fresh anger overcome her, even all these years later. “I know my father had something to do with her death, but it was just never proven. The staff would never go against him; they wouldn’t risk his anger.”
“You think that your father would kill your mother? Why would he do something like that?”
Justice barked out her laugh. Jagger still wasn’t getting it—maybe he never would.
“Why would my father throw his daughter into a mental institute? Why would he sell me to a business associate to further his political career? Why would he frame your sister in his dirty dealings? My father does what the hell he wants, to whomever he wants. It’s just who he is, who he’s always been.” Justice pulled her hand free from Jagger’s and felt the loss of hiswarmth. It got colder since they left Harvest Ridge, and night was settling in around them. She reached over the back seat to where she kept her winter jacket and pulled it around herself. “So, where are we going to crash for the night? I’m tired,” she said around a yawn. “I’m going to need my rest if I’m supposed to face my father.” She cringed at her own words, knowing that was one family reunion she would like to skip.
“You have some time before that happens. He said himself that he wanted us to lie low for a while. Who knows when he’ll want you delivered?” Jagger looked over to her and smiled. She felt less enthusiastic about the whole situation than he seemed to.
“Yes, but at some point, he’s going to want you to bring me to him. He’s going to let Jordan have his way with me, and I’m as good as dead because there is no way I’ll let him touch me without a fight. The last time I fought Jordan, he almost—” Justice couldn’t finish her sentence. Saying the words would only make her future seem all the more real. Sooner or later, she was going to have to face Jordan Wolf again, and this time, he’d take what he wanted from her, and there would be no way of stopping him. He would easily overpower her, and the thought of him taking her virginity made her sick.
When she was younger, her father forbade her to date, and bringing home a boy to introduce to him had been out of the question. She snuck a few dates here and there, but after her father stuck a guard on her twenty-four seven, most boys steered clear. Plus, no one wanted to date the crazy girl who spent her sophomore summer in a mental hospital. She was branded and learned that her friends or people she thought of as friends were hard to come by once she returned to high school in her junior year. She dated a farmhand at her grandmother’s ranch after she moved there, but that didn’t last long. The other workersgave him crap about dating the boss’s granddaughter, and he broke it off after a few weeks.
When Justice moved to Harvest Ridge, she hoped to change her dating luck, but taking a job at a bakery didn’t fit in with her plans. If she was lucky enough to be asked out, the timing never seemed to work for her. She was in bed most nights by eight, and Justice was afraid she was doomed to be a spinster, and that sucked. Seeing her friends fall in love and marry the men of their dreams made her feel lonely. Sunny even threatened to put her on a dating site, and Justice actually considered it, but in the end, she just chickened out.
Still, she dreamed of someday meeting someone who would whisk her away, and they would live happily ever after. She needed to give up her stupid, childish fantasies because the guy who showed up to whisk her away was dumping her off to the devil himself. So much for her fairy-tale ending.
Jagger knew he was going to have to find a place for them to stay, and he wasn’t sure if he could trust Justice not to run. The closer they stayed to Goose Creek, the easier it would be for her to get to her grandmother’s ranch. Hell, she was right— if her friends and grandmother were looking for her and found her, he’d go away for a very long time. There would be no way of proving that he was blackmailed into doing this for Mayor Hobbs to free Jules.
As far as the local authorities were concerned, Hobbs was a cash cow. They would never do anything to stop the flow of money that he constantly poured into their pockets. Jagger knew he had to get as far away from town as he could before stopping for the night. He drove four hours south, knowing exactly wherehe was heading and kicking himself for taking Justice to his hometown.
Dove Creek was a quaint little town that came to life this time of year with tourists and skiers. It was just far enough off the beaten path, but still had a good-sized population, so they could hide in plain sight. He needed someplace to think, and his family’s old ski cabin was just that place. He and Jules grew up in that cabin, and it was the one place he considered home. When his parents passed, he and his sister decided to keep the little cabin mostly for nostalgic reasons but also to have a place that felt like home.
After he joined the Air Force, he spent his leave at the cabin. No one knew about it, and it was a perfect place to hide away while he decided what his next move would be. Jagger worried that the princess was right and he was being played by her father. If he went through all this trouble only to be sucked further into Hobbs' corrupt political world, it would do his sister and him no good. He knew he was probably fighting a losing battle, but what choice did he have? He wasn’t sure if he could trust Justice. She had too much to lose not to try to get away from him anyway she could. Hell, if he were in her position, he’d lie and fight to get free. Still, a part of him believed her and her story. She seemed so sad when she talked about her mother, and he could still see the anger in her eyes when she told him the story about her father sending her off to a mental hospital. He just needed to get them to his cabin and get some sleep, then he could think things through with a clear head.
Justice fell asleep about an hour after her father’s phone call, which was fine with him. He didn’t want to talk anymore, and it gave him time to come up with the plan to head home. She would have no idea where they were, and he liked it that way—less chance that she would try to run. If she did, he had plenty of security measures in place around his property, and he’d beable to find her easily. He pulled off onto the snow-packed gravel road that led up to his place. He called his childhood best friend, Dean Quinn, a couple of hours ago, and had him open the place up and clear the road. He knew he could count on his friend to help out, but he worried about having to answer Dean’s questions about Jules. Before he got off the call, Dean asked how Jules was doing, and Jagger didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was being held hostage by a crooked politician and possibly the next Governor of Colorado. He didn’t know if he even believed the whole crazy story if it wasn’t happening to him.
Still, Jagger wouldn’t trust his little sister’s safety to anyone else. Dean was an ex-Navy SEAL and was scooped up by the CIA as soon as he became a civilian. Jagger wasn’t sure exactly what Dean’s job entailed; his friend never really talked about it. But he did know that if anyone could help him get Jules back, it was Dean Quinn.
Jagger pulled up to the cabin, and Justice woke, stretching to reveal her full side tattoo. He longed to see more of the rose pattern that seemed to stretch completely up to her torso, but that would involve him getting her naked, and that couldn’t happen.
“Where are we?” Justice looked out the window at the complete darkness, fear evident on her face, and he felt the urge to pull her into his lap and tell her she was still safe—but again, that would be a mistake. He needed to get himself under control and get some sleep.
“We’re at my cabin and you’re safe,” Jagger whispered that last part, not sure if Justice even heard him.
She nodded, “For now, at least,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
“You must be exhausted after a full day of driving and kidnapping.” Justice didn’t try to hide her sarcastic tone, and Jagger laughed. He knew she wasn’t joking, but the whole daywas one giant clusterfuck. Kidnapping Justice was supposed to be an easy job. He was supposed to pick up the mayor’s snot-nosed princess and deliver her back to daddy—nice and simple. Then, he and Jules would have been free to go and start over. Instead, he was bringing a virtual stranger into his personal space and debating with himself whether to trust her or not. Dean opened the front door of Jagger’s cabin and stood on the small, snow-covered porch.
“Great,” he murmured, mostly to himself. “Just what I need tonight.”
“Wait,” Justice insisted. “Who is he?” Jagger noticed the way she looked Dean up and down and had to admit that he didn’t like it. He had no reason to feel the pang of jealousy that overcame him, but he did. He knew women threw themselves at Dean; hell, his little sister had. But he and his best friend had a pact—Dean wouldn’t touch Jules, and Jagger wouldn’t have to kill him. It worked for them, but now he wanted to add an amendment that included his friend keeping his hands off sexy little Justice.
“He’s my best friend, Dean. He came over to open my cabin up and clear a path back for us.” He opened the door and jumped down, his back killing him after such a long ride. “Let’s go, Justice,” he ordered. She did as he asked and opened her door to jump out of the truck. She stopped to look around, and for a split second, Jagger was afraid she was going to run. He held his breath and waited, ready to go after her if needed.
“We’re pretty far away from Goose Creek, aren’t we, Jag?” She turned and smiled at him, taking away his breath for the second time that evening.
“Well, I couldn’t chance you running to Grandma’s now, could I, princess?” She smirked at him and walked to the front of his cabin, holding her hand out to Dean, who smiled and immediately took it into his.
“Hi, I’m Justice Hobbs, the woman that Jag here abducted and is holding hostage.” Justice didn’t give Dean a chance to speak, removing her hand from his and stomping her way into the cabin. Jagger couldn’t help his smile as he watched her disappear into his home.
