“Jagger can’t speak, baby,” Dex says quietly from beside me. My wide eyes meet Jagger’s, seeing pain and embarrassment there.
I throw my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “I don’t need you to say a word,” I whisper, so only he will hear. “I just needyou.” His arms wrap around my back, and hesqueezes me tight, his face pressing into the crook of my neck as we hold each other.
“We’re heading back to the motel. Wren? Did you have anything there to pick up?” Sly asks, interrupting our moment.
Jagger helps me awkwardly turn, under the seatbelt, until I’m facing the front.
I reach down to my side and gasp when I feel nothing there. “My bag!”
“It’s right here,” Dex says, lifting it off the ground by our feet to show me.
“Oh, thank goodness!” I let out a deep breath of relief. I’d hate to lose their letters, they’re irreplaceable. “I don’t need to go to the motel, I have everything I need in there.”
“Alright, then let’s head East for now. I don’t feel safe sleeping anywhere near this town. Those bikers are likely to hold a grudge,” Sly says, and I couldn’t agree more.
“What were you doing in a biker bar anyway?” Pete asks, tilting the review mirror so he can see me.
“I was trying to get a fake ID. Someone said to go there and ask for Tony.”
“And he kidnapped you?” Dex asks, but I shake my head.
“Not at first. I… Uh… He told me that his equipment was at his office.”
“You went with him willingly?” Pete asks in disbelief.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I look out the side window and shrug. “I guess.”
“Thank fuck we found you when we did. It’s surprising you lasted this long without getting hurt,” he says, exasperated.
The car is silent for a minute before Sly asks, “Nothing happened before tonight, did it? Nobody touched you?”
I shake my head, my eyes still on the darkness outside the window. “No, nothing like that happened… before tonight.”
I feel a tear roll down my cheek and turn my body to face the window, curling up sideways in Jagger’s lap as he wraps his arms around me. I feel him kiss the top of my head and close my eyes, thankful for his silent strength.
Through all the excitement, I almost forgot what happened with Tony. He groped me and tried to… to do more than that.Much more.
My cheek stings from where he hit me, and I wonder if I can ever forget that part of tonight. If the guys hadn’t arrived when they did, I’m not sure what would have happened, but I know it wouldn’t have been good.
Tilting my face toward the rest of the guys, I tell them, “Thank you for coming for me.”
“I promise, we’ll always come for you,” Dex says, his large hand rubbing comfortingly down my back.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whisper, thinking about how many times I wished they weren’t in prison.
“If a maximum security prison can’t keep us from you, nothing can,” Pete says with a grin aimed my way.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Sly agrees.
There are so many things I want to say to them, to ask, but the steady beat of Jagger’s heart, combined with the surrounding darkness, has my eyelids drooping.
“Sleep, Wren. We’ll still be here when you wake up,” Sly says softly.
I let my eyes close and drop my head against Jagger as I whisper, “Promise?”
In the comforting, warm embrace of Jagger, surrounded by men I trust, I don’t hear a response as I quickly fall asleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
