“My father doesn’t take no for an answer,” Justice whispered, drying the clean dishes and stacking them back into the cabinet where she found them. “There would be no refusing to marry Jordan. My father would go after my friends in Harvest Ridge, and whoever he couldn’t get to, Jordan would. They are both powerful men with awful tempers. They don’t get told no, ever.” Justice shivered at the thought of just what they would do to her and her friends.
Jagger set his plate on the counter and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She wasn’t sure what to do with his silently offered comfort, but knew she didn’t want to fight him. Justice leaned back against his body, letting him wrap her in his arms, and for the first time since leaving the bakery yesterday, she felt safe.
Dean eyed them. “So, you are supposed to turn her over to marry Wolf, and Hobbs will just hand you Jules?” Jagger nodded, and Justice almost wanted to laugh.
“Sure, except we both know he won’t give her back to you and let the two of you just walk away,” Justice said. She turned in Jagger’s arms to face him. “You said it yourself, Jag. You have certain skills that my father can’t live without. He won’t let you or Jules go. My father is smart enough to know that if he has her, he has you.” Jagger reached up and cupped her face, gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb, and she couldn’t help butlean into his big body. When he touched her that way, it felt like they were the only two people on the planet. Dean cleared his throat, reminding her that wasn’t the case.
“Why don’t you two get married?” he asked.
Jagger’s body went rigid at Dean’s question, and Justice wanted to laugh at the panic she saw in his eyes. She pulled free from Jagger’s arms and crossed back over to the table to finish clearing the dishes.
“Don’t worry, Jag. I’m pretty sure he was just kidding. You can breathe again,” she teased.
“No, I’m not kidding. Just hear me out.” Dean paced the small kitchen as he thought through his plan. “Your father wants to marry you off to the highest bidder—which is Wolf, to further his political career.” He paused and looked at Justice as if expecting her to answer.
She shrugged, “Okay, yes,” she agreed.
“Well, he can’t marry you off to Wolf if you are already married to someone else. It’s illegal. He’d have to wait for you to be a free woman again, and by then the election will be over. Wolf will probably pull his funding and back another candidate. He’ll have no choice but to leave you alone—you won’t be an asset to him anymore.” Justice nodded her head. On paper, it sounded good, but it still didn’t help Jules. Evoking her father and Wolf’s anger might end badly for Jagger’s sister, and she couldn’t live with herself if that happened.
“He’ll still have Jules,” she whispered.
Jagger nodded. “Hobbs will still have Jules, but maybe this plan could buy us some time.” Justice looked at Jagger as if he had lost his mind. Was he seriously thinking about marrying her just so another man couldn’t?
“Wow, Jag. I’m flattered you want to marry me and all, but I always thought that I’d marry for love,” she teased. Really, she didn’t feel like joking; she felt more like crying. The past twenty-four hours left her on edge, and she was feeling these bizarre feelings for a virtual stranger who, by his admission, originally wanted to cause her harm. When she imagined being proposed to, she never thought it would be like this. Like every young girl, she imagined her knight showing up with flowers and a ring and maybe even getting down on one knee. Jagger was none of those fantasies, and from the terrified look on his face when Dean mentioned marriage, he never would be.
“Just give this a chance, Justice,” he said, taking her hand into his. “I’m not saying you have to be tied to me for the rest of your life. We can get an annulment in a few months after you and Jules are both safe. You can get on with your life, and I’ll get on with mine. It could be win-win for all of us.” Jagger wasn’t helping his case. The whole proposal was starting to sound more like a business proposition and less like anything she ever hoped for. Justice pulled her hand free from his and threw down the towel she was using to dry dishes.
“No,” she barked and turned to run down the hallway to her room, slamming her door behind her like an angry teenager. She didn’t care. There was no way that she was going to throw away her dreams of marrying her knight in shining armor just to save her skin. There had to be another way to get Jules back and walk away from her father and Jordan—hopefully with her heart still intact.
“What the fuck was that all about, man?” Dean asked. Honestly, Jagger had no clue.
“Beats me. Remember, I met Justice yesterday, and we didn’t get off to the best start. Maybe she already has a boyfriend or fiancé. Hell, for all I know, she alreadyhas a husband and kids waiting for her back in Harvest Ridge,” Jagger said. He pulled two beers from the refrigerator. He knew it was still before noon, but he didn’t give a fuck. The idea of marrying Justice, or any woman for that matter, scared the shit out of him. But the more he thought about it, the more Dean’s plan made sense. He’d marry her, and that would keep her out of Wolf’s bed, which sounded like a fucking fantastic plan. And if she happened to end up in his bed—even better.
“What happens if Justice decides this is all too much and bolts? Where does that leave you and Jules?” Dean asked. Jagger wasn’t sure how to answer that question, but it was all he was able to think about since handing Justice’s keys over to her.
“I have no idea, man. I won’t hold her against her will. I tried that and it felt wrong,” Jagger admitted. When he set out to do Hobbs’ bidding and kidnap his daughter, he was under the impression that Justice was troubled, even mentally unstable. He thought he was doing something that would eventually help instead of hurting another person. He would do anything to save Jules, but he wouldn’t ruin someone else’s life in the process.
“I knew Hobbs was a son-of-a-bitch, but I never thought he would hurt his flesh and blood. He sold me a sad story about his daughter needing his protection, that she wasn’t in her right mind. I believed him. I guess I had to wrap my head around kidnapping her; otherwise, what kind of monster did that make me?” Jagger knew he fucked up with Justice, but he was hoping she would at least give him a chance now that he had given her the keys to her truck. She was free to leave at any time; she held all the power, and that scared the shit out of him. This mess with Jules wasn’t Justice’s fault. She escaped her father once, and he shouldn’t have dragged her back into his problems.
“The Jagger I know would go out of his way to help just about anyone he could. I know you wouldn’t hurt Justice, but we have to get Jules back.” Jagger cocked an eyebrow at his best friend.“We?” he challenged. “What the fuck do you mean by us, Dean?” He waited and watched as Dean squirmed, trying to find a way out of the hole he had dug for himself. Jagger wasn’t a fool; he knew Dean had feelings for his little sister. He also saw how Jules melted into a puddle every time Dean walked into the same room as her. It was one of the reasons he invoked the “hands-off” rule when it came to his best friend even thinking about touching his sister. But if the two of them wanted to get together, there was nothing he could do to stop either of them. Jagger trusted Dean with his life, and if push came to shove, he’d trust his sister’s life in Dean’s hands, also.
“Come on, Jag. You know that Jules and I—well, we—” Jagger held up his hand, effectively stopping Dean from spilling his guts about anything that happened between Jules and him. If something already happened, he didn’t want to know. But, if he were a betting man, he would lay money on the fact that Jules ran out of town pretty darn fast a little over a year ago because of something that happened with his best friend. That was also about the same time Dean moved back to town. If he had to guess, he would say his little sister didn’t like the fact that Dean was back and dating his way through town. Jules called Jagger and told him that she was closing the cabin and taking a job in Goose Creek shortly thereafter. He tried to talk her out of taking Hobbs’ job, but she was determined to leave Dove Creek and make a fresh start. Jagger wondered if Dean played more of a role in her decision to leave, and watching his friend stammer on about Jules left him with no room for doubt.
“We’re done discussing you and my sister, man. I don’t want to know a thing.” Jagger took a long drink of his beer and let the silence settle over him. This morning turned into a fiasco. Well, except for that scorching kiss with Justice. That was worth every ounce of trouble she gave him, including the knee to the balls stunt she pulled yesterday. Kissing Justice felt oddly likecoming home, and being here at his cabin felt right. For the first time in years, he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be, and that confused the hell out of him. Jagger spent most of his adult life serving his country and being told where to go and when to be there. He followed orders, and he loved the idea of doing something for a cause. He never regretted his time serving, but when he got out, he was ready to try something new. His dream was to go into personal security. Kind of like what he was doing for Hobbs, but something on the right side of the law. He could fly planes and was damn good with computers. He was also tactically trained for any combat situation. Someday, he hoped to start his own security company and hopefully recruit Dean to go in on it as a partner. Dean was a Navy SEAL, honorably discharged. Jagger knew better than to ask Dean about his time in the military. His friend was sent on very hush-hush missions, and when Dean left the military, he was immediately recruited by a top-secret branch of the CIA. They never really spoke about Dean’s job or his military career, and Jagger was fine with that. His friend would disappear for weeks at a time, only to show up on a Sunday afternoon to watch a game as if nothing new had happened. They had a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship, and Jagger was fine with that. But now, Jagger was hoping his friend would be able to help him out and pull some strings to get his sister out from under Hobbs.
Jagger sighed, “Listen, man, I hate to ask, but can you do anything on your end to help Jules?” Dean’s expression told him everything he needed to know. His friend would fight like hell to get Jules back.
“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I think you need to convince Justice to walk down the aisle with you. It’s a good way to keep her from having to marry Wolf. And, from the looks of it, you two have some kind of chemistry going on.” Jagger smiled at Dean. Yeah, they had chemistry all right. Justice was like a flamethat he was drawn to. The only problem was that he was sure he would get burned if he got too close to her.
“Yeah, I feel it too. I’m just not sure if she does,” Jagger said, drinking down the last of his beer. “Well, from the way she let you kiss her, I’d say that she’s on board for just about anything. Talk to her, Jag. It might be the only way to keep her safe. I’ll work on a way to help Jules. I have a few favors I can call in. Let me do some research on Hobbs and Wolf, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Jagger nodded, “Thanks, man. I appreciate your help.” Jagger pulled Dean in for a quick hug and walked him out.
“I’ll be in touch in a day or so. Work on your girl, Jag.” Jagger wasn’t sure how he felt about Dean calling Justice his girl, but he wasn’t going to correct him. If he had his way, she would be. He just needed to be careful with the way he played his hand. Justice didn’t trust him, and from the way she responded to the idea of having to marry him, she was going to give him trouble at every turn. But he was always up for a good challenge.
CHAPTER SIX
Justice heard Dean’s truck drive off and knew it was only a matter of time before she was going to have to face Jagger again, alone. The thought both terrified and thrilled her, but she wasn’t sure which she felt most. The idea of marrying him had the same effect on her. She always dreamed of getting married someday. Watching Sunny and Aaron work things out and build their little family gave her so much hope that she was starting to believe it could all happen for her someday, too.
