“What do you want?” His voice is cold and emotionless.
“I guess I wanted to see her. See the girl you left me for.”
An icy shiver runs down my skin. Oh, shit. I feel the heat of her gaze on me, and I try to lie as still as possible. Now would be a terrible time to tell them I’m awake.
“She’s young. Innocent. Not your type. I don’t know what you see in her.” She tsks, sounding mighty unimpressed by the sight of me.
I don’t know why, but her words cut deep and get under my skin. Maybe because I know they’re true. I’m not Jagger’s type at all. But what she doesn’t know is I’m only here with him because he’s using me, just like he did her.
“She is none of your business.” I hear movement, like a bed squeaking, then feet shuffling. “Stay the fuck away from her, Olivia, I will only warn you once.”
“Hope that wasn’t a threat, boss, because you know that’s where you’re wrong. When Daisy ran away from home and her parents lodged a missing person report, she became my business. She is also wanted for questioning in relation to her husband’s unsolved murder. No one has been able to find her until now.”
“We both know she had nothing to do with her husband’s death. And as you can see, she is hardly a missing person. She’s just having a vacation, came to the States to see a good friend ofhers. She’s an adult, so I don’t think she needs to run that shit past her overprotective parents. Maybe you should check with your niece about this matter. I’m sure she can clarify.”
“She’s a friend of Sloane’s, is that how you met?” She laughs. It’s bitter and makes me feel uncomfortable when I know her eyes are still on me. “Yeah, timing works out. Fuck you, Jagger, I knew your excuses were bullshit. You weren’t too busy to see me at The Precinct anymore; you found something new to play with.”
Shit, she’s furious with him. And part of me feels bad for her. He said they were using each other, but it sounds like she wasn’t as ready to walk away from the arrangement as he was.
“Bitter regret doesn’t look good on you, Olivia.” His icy words even make me shiver.
“I have no regrets. You’ll be back when you realize this lost little rabbit can’t satisfy a man like you. You need a real woman.”
I feel her brush past my bed, and I hope she’s leaving because I can’t keep up the silence much longer. After that last comment, I no longer feel sorry for her. Instead, anger pulses through me like I have never felt before, and if I were strong enough, I would take this bitch on. She doesn’t know me.
“What I need is for you to get your hands off me,” he growls.
She laughs, but I can hear the tension. “She’s the reason you got shot, isn’t she? It’s not like you to get in the way of a bullet.”
“Maybe you should focus on the actual crime here—like who’s shooting up this town? And leave us alone.”
I pop my eyes open to see him staring her down. He looks furious. She has a hand on his chest, looking way too comfortable in his company. Seeing them together is jarring because I can imagine it—what they would have looked like as a couple. Her all-powerful and him loving having her at his mercy. What we have could never be like what the two of them must have shared. I’m not that girl.
She takes a step closer to him, running a hand down his T-shirt before she scrunches the fabric in her fingers. “It’s so fun messing with you when you’re all weak and defenseless. Gives you a little taste of your own medicine,” she spits back. “We both know you’re involved in more than you’re saying. I mean, how did this sweet little missing girl come to be in your possession, anyway? There is foul play at work, and as soon as she wakes up, I will personally get to the bottom of it all. Enjoy your time watching her sleep, boss, because as soon as she’s awake, I’m going to make sure her parents get their little girl back.”
He removes her hand, a look of disgust on his face. “It’s time for you to leave, Commissioner.” He shoves her away.
She flicks a cruel smile in his direction and strides toward the door, her heels clicking on the linoleum as she goes. “I trust you’ll call as soon as Daisy wakes up. Don’t want to be charged for harboring a runaway, do we now?”
As he turns back toward me, I squeeze my eyes shut. I want to wince away, not wanting his hands on me, but I lie perfectly still, not wanting him to know I’m awake either. I’m not ready to deal with him or the other two Strykers. Not while I feel so vulnerable. I also don’t want to deal with the cops, and her promise has me trembling. “Sweet dreams, flower,” Jagger whispers, as he places a light kiss on my cheek, then the warmth of his touch is gone.
I don’t know why, but his words send goosebumps over my skin. I was so worried about him before I blacked out. There was so much blood, and he looked so terrible. But he’s okay, he’s walking around even, with that same scowl on his face. Jagger is alive, and that conversation leaves me with more questions than answers.
“Who the fuck just let a cop into our room?” Jagger’s voice cuts through the silence. “Yeah, well, I need you down here now to unhook her. We’re leaving.”
My heart kicks up a beat. What the hell does he mean we’re leaving? I peek to see what he’s doing. I find him shoving clothes in a bag that’s resting on the end of the other bed. He stalks to some drawers and pulls stuff out of them and then shoves it in a bag.
“What are you doing dressed? You should be resting. It’s only been four days since I operated on you,” comes Ricky’s voice, and I have to assume he was the person Jagger called so angrily just a few minutes ago.
Four days? I lost four whole days out of it in this bed, hooked up to a monitor and God knows what else.
“Can’t stay here. I’ve got to get Daisy someplace safe. The fucking cops are after her now as well,” Jagger growls. He sounds erratic and not like him at all.
Ricky’s hand comes to his shoulder. “You can’t move her, not until she wakes up. Even then it’s risky, and we both know you don’t want to do anything to worsen her condition. She has fought so hard to make it this far.”
He turns back to Ricky. The anger vanished, replaced by deep frown lines in his forehead. “Why isn’t she awake yet? You said she would wake up not long after her operation.”
“She’s been through a huge amount of trauma with the subdural hematoma. This was never going to be a quick recovery, Jagger. She’s making progress and showing signs of regaining consciousness, even breathing on her own again. That’s why we removed the ventilator tube this morning. I’m pleased with the signs of movement she’s showing. But even after she wakes, she will need to be monitored for a few weeks, and even then, she could have memory issues and slower processing for a few months. Most people regain independence gradually within three to six months, but the emotional side could take longer. I know you’re beating yourself up over this, but you did what you could to protect her.”
