She smiled up at him. “It’s all right, Jag, I’m not going to bolt. I get that you don’t know me, but I gave you my word and I always keep my word.” Jagger nodded and turned to leave the room, pulling the door shut as he left. “Um, Jag, can you leave the door open?” He turned to look at her and saw the fear in her eyes.
“Sure,” he said, pushing the door back open. Justice pulled off her shoes and tossed them into the corner. “You know you’re safe here, Justice, right?” He hated the fact that she was afraid tobe in his home. He had a state-of-the-art security system that he installed himself. If someone wanted to get to them, he’d know it before they got within three miles of his cabin. Justice shrugged, trying to act cool, but he could still see her fear.
“Whatever you say, Jag. But you should know that my father doesn’t back down. He’ll find us, and there will be no place for us to hide.”
“I won’t let that happen, Justice,” he promised.
“Don’t make me guarantees, Jag. It’s only a matter of time before dear old Dad finds me, and hopefully, you’ll have your sister back before that happens. He won’t stop until I give him what he wants. It’s time that I face up to that and figure out if I want to run for the rest of my life looking over my shoulder or if I want to stand up to him and fight for my freedom.” Jagger turned to leave her room, not knowing what to say to Justice.
A part of him felt terrible that he dragged her back into this mess. From what Justice told him, she broke free from her father and made a nice life for herself in Harvest Ridge. He was mad at himself and his sister for getting themselves both into this bind. If Jules had just listened to him when he warned her against working for someone as high-profile as Hobbs, they wouldn’t all be in this mess. He would have never met Justice, and she would be safely tucked away in the haven that she built for herself.
He crossed the hallway into his bedroom and wasn’t sure if he should close his door or not. A part of him wanted to keep his eyes and ears open for Justice, and the other part of him felt like a peeping Tom, wanting to watch her as she slept. He knew it had been some time since he was with a woman, but Justice Hobbs made his body hum to life and ache with need—two things that didn’t happen in quite some time. Watching her sleep just across the hall wasn’t going to be pleasant for him, but he guessed he deserved every unpleasant second for dragging her into this mess. Jagger showered and pulled on a pair ofpajama bottoms to sleep. He usually slept nude, but he was sure that if he and Justice ran into each other in the middle of the night, that might make things even more awkward between the two of them. He could see the confusion in her eyes every time he touched her, as if she felt the same damn sparks between them as he had. Hell, he was just as confused by the unwanted feelings. He crawled into his bed and groaned at the bliss of stretching out on his mattress. He hadn’t slept in his bed in so long, he forgot how good it felt. Jagger peeked through the doorway across the hall to where Justice was lying in her bed. He realized she was watching him, and once again, he worried she was waiting for him to fall to sleep to make her escape. Jagger sat up in bed, worried that if he got too comfortable, he’d be asleep in minutes.
Justice sat up in her bed, flicked on her light, and smiled at him. “You know, I’m starting to think you aren’t a very trusting guy, Jag.” She winked at him, causing him to laugh. She was right, he didn’t trust many people, but he was a product of his military training. He had a very small circle of people he could trust—Jules and Dean. He knew that made him seem pathetic, but he wouldn’t apologize for who he was.
“I guess I haven’t earned your trust either, Justice,” Jagger said. It felt odd having the conversation with her across the hallway, but he worried that if he got up and went into her room, he wouldn’t want to leave.
“No, you haven’t. How about we cut each other a break and call a truce for the night? I’m tired, after a long day of being kidnapped and dragged here, and you have to be exhausted after driving all day.” She smiled at him across the hallway, and he couldn’t help but smile back. She was trouble and sass and fire—all the things he loved in a woman. Justice Hobbs was going to be a challenge, and he needed to remember that and keep his fucking hands to himself.
“What kind of truce?” he hesitantly asked.
“How about we call a cease-fire and both get some sleep? In the morning, we can pick up arms again and try to figure out if the other is being truthful or not.” Justice watched him, waiting him out. He wanted to say yes because she was right; he was dead tired from everything that had happened. Jagger knew he wouldn’t be able to stay awake to keep an eye on her, even if he wanted to. He had no choice but to agree to her armistice.
“Fine,” he barked. “A truce,” he agreed. He watched as Justice nodded her agreement, turned off her light, and lay back down in her bed. He did the same and closed his eyes. His body felt as though he had been run over by a bulldozer. Sleep found him quickly, and the last thought he had as he drifted off was how beautiful Justice looked while she slept next to him in her truck. Yeah, keeping his hands to himself might be a good idea, but it was going to be near fucking impossible.
Justice tossed and turned most of the night and finally gave up and went to the kitchen to find some coffee. The sun still wasn’t up, and with the fire dying down from the night before, the cabin was cold. She pulled the sweater that Jagger lent her last night around her body and went over to put some more logs on the fire. She stoked the flames and threw the last two logs on. Justice curled up on the couch and drank her coffee, still not able to get warm. If she had more clothes with her, she would just pull on layers, but she had the clothes on her back. Justice decided to search for some more clothes, quietly tiptoeing into Jagger’s bedroom, trying not to make any extra noise and wake him. Jagger had to be exhausted from all the driving they did yesterday. His cute friend, Dean, wasn’t comingover for a few hours, and she was hoping to get herself together before having to sit down with the two of them and discuss her father.
Justice snuck into Jagger’s walk-in closet and turned on the light, gasping when she saw how neat and organized the big closet was. Jagger was a secret neat freak, and she envied his organized, color-coded shelves. She found his sweatpants and chose a pair that had a drawstring, hoping to be able to keep them around her waist. She slipped them on and found a hooded sweatshirt to pull over her head.
She looked over to where Jagger slept, sprawled out on his king-sized bed. His big body made the bed look small, and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. He had a full sleeve of tattoos up one arm that also covered his chest and side. She wanted to get a closer look at his ink, but she knew that would be a mistake. Justice had a few tattoos of her own, including a full side of roses that reminded her of her mom, since they were her favorite flowers. Justice couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Jagger’s naked torso, even letting her eyes dip lower to take in his scantily covered lower half. She was dying to take a peek under the sheet that barely covered his body to see if he had anything on underneath, but she knew that would only lead to trouble. She needed to remember that he kidnapped her just yesterday, ripping her away from her friends, and dragging her off to God only knew where. She still didn’t know where she was, just that she was in the town that Jagger and his sister grew up in, and she was guessing they were still in Colorado. She went back to her room and pulled on her boots and jacket, deciding she needed to get some fresh air.
She loved the early mornings. Justice used her time at the bakery not only to prepare the sugary concoctions they sold daily but to dream about what she wanted for her future. She was never able to come up with a clear picture of what she hopedfor, but knew that she wanted a family of her own someday—a husband and kids. She also knew that as long as she had to look over her shoulder, she couldn’t bring kids into her unsafe world. Hell, she could barely take care of herself—throwing a kid in the mix would be disastrous. Plus, she was pretty sure that to have those kids, she would have to have sex with a man. And, since that never happened for her, kids were only a distant dream.
Justice stepped out into the cold mountain air and looked up into the darkness of the morning, snow falling all around her. She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful start to her day. She loved the cold, loved snow, and loved living in Colorado. She watched countless friends move away, opting for warmer climates and less snow. Justice would never tire of the crazy temperature changes that occurred this time of year. In just a single day, they could start the morning wearing shorts and a t-shirt and by the afternoon need a winter coat and mittens. Justice wouldn’t ever tire of the extremes and the beauty she saw every day in her home state.
Since it was still before dawn, Justice decided not to roam too far from the cabin—especially given the fact that she had no clue where they were and had no cell phone—in case she got lost. She left the porch light on so she would be able to find her way back to the cabin and started down the path that was paved by Dean the day before. She imagined that there was a gravel path somewhere underneath all that snow. If she stayed on the path, she shouldn’t have too much trouble navigating her way back.
Justice took a deep breath and liked the way the cold air burned her lungs, reminding her that she was alive and, for the moment—safe. The question was, how long would she stay that way? When Jagger told her that he wouldn’t turn her over, she believed him. Maybe that made her a fool, but his promise was all she had at the moment, and she had no choice but to trust him. Still, Justice needed to keep her head straight and herpriorities in place. Her goal was to get back to Harvest Ridge in one piece, and if she could help Jagger get his sister back in the process, they could both walk away winners.
All Justice had to do was ignore the way Jagger James made her body feel like it came to life for the first time. She needed to ignore the way she felt little sparks every time his skin brushed hers or the way he held her hand in her pickup truck the night before, offering her comfort. Because, if she let herself think about the ways he made her want things she had never wanted before, she would forget what her main objective was—staying safe and getting back to Harvest Ridge. She would forget her father was a monster, and she would forget he planned on marrying her off to a man who was possibly even worse. The only thing that changed from last night when she wanted to run until right this moment was that an innocent woman’s life was in danger, and she couldn’t help but blame herself. Her father was using Jules to get to her, and she would never forgive herself for walking away and not helping Jagger get his sister back.
Jagger woke to the harsh sunlight pouring in through the open curtains he had forgotten to shut the night before. After he showed Justice to her room last night, he lay in his bed and listened for any movement coming from her room. He worried that she was going to bolt, leaving him with no hope of getting his sister back. Jagger could tell she had a restless night's sleep, and he didn’t have much better. Twice in the night, he had to stop himself from getting up out of his bed to go to her. He knew Justice wouldn’t allow him to comfort her, especially since she didn’t trust him. He could see her fear and unease every time he looked into her eyes. He didn’t miss the way herheartbeat picked up speed every time he got closer to her or how her breath hitched when he was lucky enough to touch her. Hell, he felt it too—the little sparks, the way she made his gut churn with need every time she gifted him with her sexy tone or shy smile. Everything about her fiery spirit and the way she gave him shit at every turn made him hot. But she wasn’t for him—no one was. When he got out of the Air Force, he toyed with the idea of meeting someone and settling down. He wanted the house, the yard, and the kids playing in it, but he quickly learned that wasn’t going to be his life. He returned to Dove Creek and asked out his high school sweetheart, Sarah. He thought she was the woman for him and fell in love, and planned his forever with her. But then, she walked away and tore his heart in two. Sarah told him that she just didn’t see herself staying in Dove Creek, handing him back his ring and not giving him a second look.
Last he heard, she was living in California with some doctor and was planning her perfect spring wedding. It was a little over a year since Sarah walked away from him, and he still hadn’t moved on—he honestly didn’t know if he ever would.
Jagger showered and threw on a fresh shirt and jeans, knowing that Dean would be there soon. He needed to wake Justice and make them some breakfast before his best friend arrived. The three of them had a lot to discuss, and they needed to come up with one fucking great plan to get his sister out from under Hobbs’ thumb. He also owed it to Justice to keep his promise and help her find a way free from her father’s crazy plan of marrying her off to Wolf. The thought of that asshole laying one finger on her made him half crazy. Jagger found Justice’s room empty, and her boots and jacket were missing. Panic welled up inside of him as he tore through the small cabin, searching for her. He pulled on his boots and coat and breathed a small sigh of relief when he found her pickup truck still in hisdriveway. She couldn’t have gotten far on foot, and he started down his gravel road following her footsteps.
Jagger was worried that he had given her too much trust and went off to find someone to help her, but why would she leave her truck? He got about a half a mile down the path when he spotted her trudging back through the snow towards him. Jagger didn’t like the way his traitorous heart skipped a beat when he saw her, but it did. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold air, and she looked so beautiful he longed to touch her, but he held back. She smiled and gave him a small wave, and Jagger couldn’t help his smile in return.
“I thought you had a change of heart,” he said, knowing his honesty might make her angry. She gave him her word, and he didn’t believe she would honor it.
Justice’s smile faded. “I told you I wouldn’t run, and I keep my word.” She shrugged. “It’s all right, Jag. You don’t know me, so I’ll let it slide—this time.”
Jagger nodded, “I’m sorry, Justice, for everything. I dragged you into something that you don’t belong in the middle of. I ruined your life to try to make mine and my sister’s better. That was wrong of me.” Justice crossed the distance to stand so close to him that he could feel her warm breath on his skin. He couldn’t help himself—he reached out and touched her cold cheek, rubbing her skin with his thumb.
“No, Jagger. You both were brought into the middle of my shit storm. My father is using you and your sister to get to me. I’m the one who should be sorry.” Jagger couldn’t help himself; he laughed out loud listening to Justice tell him she was the one at fault.
“I think you’re forgetting that I kidnapped you yesterday, princess.” She smiled back at him, not missing the irony of the whole situation.
