“Fucking Alex,” Sloane mutters under her breath as she glares at the screen, arms crossed over her chest.
Jagger is right in front of me, his eyes locked on mine as if he wants to take away all my pain. “We can fix this.”
I stare back up at him. “Kill me.”
His eyes go wide. “What the fuck?”
“Y-you said you know people,” I stutter out, trying to get my mouth to catch up with my racing thoughts. “Like your brother Mal. Get him to make it look like I’m dead. Like this accident killed me.” I glance over at Sloane. She looks less confused than her brother, and it gives me the strength to go on. “Fake my death and then get me the hell out of this place. Please, Jagger, if you care about me at all, you will do this for me.” My words tremble out, but not with fear anymore; it’s determination and sheer anger. The terrible pain I’ve had lodged in my chest for days has now morphed into bitter hatred for my family. They failed me, and I’m not sitting idly by waiting for them to drag me back home. It’s time to be smarter than they are. My papa’s words from that damn recording come back to me. He thinks I’m just a stupid girl. Well, he’s wrong! I know I’m more than that. I outsmarted them and got away in the first place, and I can keep this up.
“Fuck.” Jagger runs a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends.
“She’s right, you know. She needs to disappear off the face of the earth,” Sloane agrees with me. There’s a wicked gleam now in her eyes as well.
“I know she’s fucking right. You think I haven’t thought over every possible scenario to keep her safe from these motherfuckers? But it’s not that simple.” His attention turns to me, his eyes narrowing. “You really want to give up who you are, who you grew up as? Don’t you want to fight them and fucking win?” I see how serious he is, the deep lines of stress in his forehead.
“I’m too weak to fight right now, Jagger.” I reach for him, my hand brushing his forearm. He flinches away almost on instinct. Then, as if catching himself, he looks me over, a sadness coming over him. He reaches for me, his hand intertwining with mine. “I trust you, Cruz, and Asher to keep me safe. Please, just get me out of here and make it look like I’m dead so there is no one for my family to keep searching for.”
He brushes my hair over my shoulder then bends to kiss me on the forehead. It’s a sweet gesture from him, out of character but everything I need right now to know he has my back. “Right. If we do this, we do it my way.” His eyes lock with mine as he takes my hands in his. “You follow my rules. No fighting and no fucking running. Do you understand?”
I nod. This is the Jagger I know, and I’m not even surprised by his bossy tone. “Thank you,” I whisper, knowing he’ll look after me. I might not fully trust him, but I do know he wants to keep me safe, and for now, that’s all I have.
He releases my hands. “I hope you know what you’re signing up for Daisy. There’s no backing out of this.” He marches out the door, phone in his hand and a look of determination on his gorgeous face.
His words leave a strange flutter going through me. I know there’s no backing out of this, it’s kind of the idea. But the way hesaid it makes me feel like I’m going to owe him something, and that’s scary.
Sloane grins at me. “You know he wouldn’t do shit like this for just anyone.”
I sigh heavily, trying not to let my thoughts derail. He’s helping me, that’s all that matters. “I know it’s a lot to ask, especially when things are so strained between us, but what else can I do? I’m not going back to Italy. His cop friend wants to question me about Valentine and then ship me off back home. My brother is trying to manipulate me and pretend he’s on my side when he’s clearly working for my papa. Also, what did you mean fucking Alex?”
She rolls her eyes. “Alex might be my best friend’s hubby, but the man is infuriating in so many ways. He runs Moretti Media in the States and would have approved that story.”
I raise an eyebrow. “He would have been doing what he was told by my papa, I’m sure. He has a lot of pull in the media world. I’m surprised they didn’t try a stunt like this earlier. I know I must seem like a coward to you, wanting to hide away from the world. But I need time to heal, time to work out my next move. I’m not letting my family rule my life anymore. When I’m strong, I will come back fighting like Jagger wants me to.”
“I don’t think you’re a coward. Your idea is brilliant and will buy you the time you need.”
“I’m sorry I can’t work. I feel like I’m letting you down.”
She looks at me, her brow furrowing, then a smile twists onto her lips. “You’re not letting anyone down. You want some work?”
“Umm, I can’t do anything other than dance, and right now I’m too dizzy to walk straight.” I point to the bandage on my head.
She smirks, her eyes lighting up. “I’m so behind on getting the new club up and running. Romeo and I had it sorted before, well, before shit went down, and we haven’t quite recovered yet.I have some jobs you can do from a remote location. Stuff you can help me with so we can set an opening night and finally launch our new business. You up for it?”
The first genuine smile in days curls onto my lips. “Anything you need.”
She grins back at me. “Perfect. You’re going to need a project to work on while you’re locked up with my brothers anyway. This will keep you sane.” She laughs light-heartedly.
“I’m not going to be locked up with your brothers.” But even as I say it, I know that’s exactly what is about to happen.
“You just asked Jagger to save you. Something about trusting him, Cruz, and Asher. I’m pretty sure if I know my brother like I think I do, he heard safe house with the four of you locked up there together for the foreseeable future.”
“Ha.” I laugh but then realize she’s right. I literally just gave Jagger permission to do what the three of them have wanted all along. Lock me up so they can have me to themselves. Oh shit! Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought, because living in close proximity with them is only going to cause more problems.
Chapter 5
Listen to Your Heart
Inthedeadofnight, Jagger wheeled me out of the clinic on a stretcher, the frosty night air hitting my face as we were loaded into a waiting patient transfer vehicle. He and the boys have dressed up for the occasion in paramedic uniforms to look the part. I guess this is his big plan to sneak me out of the clinic. Creative.
