Rory doesn’t look at me, hardly moves at all, staring at the phone with ice-cold rage. Rory will torture this man if I let him, maybe even if I don’t. We’ll do this, together, just like he said.
“You’re not in control here, kid. I am. You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” Jagger snarls, but there’s something else in his tone. He didn’t expect Rory. He’s wondering who he is and what kind of power he has.
“You’re boring me. Where’s Kat?” Rory asks.
There’s awhoosh, and she cries out again, a phantom ache searing through my gut. “Stop fucking hurting her!” I shout.
“You were always such a mama’s boy. You would do anything for her even though she’s never put you first. She’s a slut and an addict who doesn’t deserve your devotion, butthen, maybe you’re not so devoted anymore. I’ve had her for two days and you didn’t know.”
His words are like a kick in the chest, stealing the air from my lungs.
“Don’t listen to him, Shai! It’s not your fault,” Mom calls out, but all it does is get her hit again.
“I don’t play nice when someone takes what’s mine,” Jagger says. “Now, this is what we’re going to do. Your mom and I need some more time to get reacquainted. I missed her so much. Keep your phone on you,son, and when Mom and Dad are ready for you, I’ll call you. You’ll come to us, and we’re going back home, together. One big happy fucking family.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I seethe.
“Then your mom will die, and we know you don’t want that. Now, be a good boy, Shai. Get rid of your little boyfriend. You don’t want him to get hurt. Then do everything I say, or I’ll kill youandyour mother.”
“Don’t you ever fucking threaten him, do you hear me? I’ll fucking kill you. I’ll rip your goddamned heart out with my bare hands!” Rory shouts into the phone, but the line is already dead. Jagger is gone.
“Motherfucker!” I slam my fists against the dashboard, over and over. “I’m so fucking stupid! I never should have left her! It’s my job to take care of her!” I shove out of the car and slam the door, the cold air biting into me. My hands fist, my feet unable to stay still as I pace and rage inside.
Rory joins me, walking around to my side of the car and leaning against it. “Do you need to hit someone?”
“What?” Who the hell am I supposed to hit?
“Hit me. Hit the car. Do what you have to do, and then we’ll go get your mom back.” His face is serious, eyes set, mouth in a firm line.
“I’m not hitting you.”
“I would let you if you needed to.”
“Jesus, Rory. I’m not hitting you.” How could he even think that? But he would let me if I wanted to, there’s no doubt in my mind. “I love you,” I remind him.
“I love you too, pet. Do you think I would have made that offer if I didn’t?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want you hurt for me, and I definitely don’t want to be the one to hurt you.”
“Good. Then here’s the plan: I’ll call one of my contacts and get some guns—without having to go home. We’ll go to one of our local safe houses and wait until Jagger calls.”
Without Cillian and the others…that’s what he’s saying. I nod, trusting him the way I’ve never trusted anyone else, but as we get back in the car, something is off. Ollie’s and Cillian’s words come back to me, things they’ve both said about Rory.
“If you’re going to be with him, you need to be able to give him his freedom while being the anchor he sometimes needs so he doesn’t drift away.”
“It means indulging him when the time is right, but reeling him in when it isn’t, and the ability to figure out when that is.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Rory
Shai is quietin the passenger seat as a million thoughts run through my head. How the fuck do I fix this for him? Because I have to. I know Shai. He can’t live without his mom. He’ll blame himself. He already does, though none of this is his fault. He blames himself because he was with me, and I’m never ever going to let him feel guilty about being where he belongs.
He’s shifting around in the seat—anxious? Scared? Angry at me? Regretting me? All these questions and more twist and turn in my head, making it hard to concentrate on any of them.
I’m going to kill Jagger.
Will I lose Shai?
