JAGGER
“Where’s Hawke?” I ask.
“No idea,” Ford answers from the back seat while Roman pulls onto the main road leading to The Body Shop.
“You don’t know?” I push.
“You know how Hawke is,” Ford grumbles. “He disappeared right after the fight. Haven’t seen him since, and he isn’t answering his phone.”
Of course, he isn’t.
“Any idea why Gus wants to meet?” Ford asks.
I scrub my hand over my face, wincing when my fingers rake against the damage from Morgan’s fists.
Fuck, that shit hurts.
Giving me the side-eye, Roman says, “You forget you had the shit kicked out of you tonight?”
“I’ve been a little preoccupied,” I mutter.
“You gonna tell us what happened?” Roman pushes.
The idea of keeping the truth from them is more appealing than I’d like to admit, but considering where we’re headed, I have no choice. Reaching for the oh-shit handle, I shift in thepassenger seat and rip the truth off like a Band-Aid. “I told Morgan I’d throw the fight if he’d give Violet her house back.”
Silence.
Nothing. But. Silence.
It’s even worse than if Ford would’ve knocked me upside the head like I deserve. And fuck, would I deserve it.
Unable to stand it, I say, “Look, I know it was a bad idea, but?—”
“No shit.” Ford’s hand connects with my temple, and I wince all over again, seeing stars.
Yeah, I might have a concussion.
“What were you thinking?” Roman demands.
“I was thinking?—”
“With his dick,” Ford interjects. “He was thinking with his dick. What have I told you, Jag? Women are good for one thing?—”
“Finish that sentence,” I growl. “I fucking dare you.”
“Let it go,” Roman snaps. “Both of you.”
Twisting in my seat, I say, “One day, a girl’s gonna knock you on your ass, Ford. And when that day comes, I expect an apology.”
“For what?” he argues. “For saying shit like it is? Because of Vi, you’re willingly throwing our business in the dumpster?—”
“Are you forgetting how tonight ended?” I demand. “Because of Vi, I won. She sacrificed her house for us?—”
“And now we’re on our way to visit Gus,” Roman snaps. “Neither of you are wrong, all right? Ford, Jagger messed up. He knows it. We know it. It is what it is. But Ford?” His tone softens. “Jagger’s in love with Vi. And you might not know what it feels like, hell you might not even agree with it, but if you want Jagger to get his head out of his ass, then you need to start accepting her. If you don’t, he’ll only get better at keeping shit from us, like he did with this ridiculous fight.”
Roman’s right. I don’t want him to be, but it’s true. I never thought I’d risk my brothers for anyone. Not one damn soul. But tonight? I guess we learned there’s one exception, and she means more to me than anything in this world, even if it means we’re fucked in this moment.
My head hangs forward as I try to come up with a game plan, or at the very least, an apology. After all, they’ve earned it. “I know I messed up,” I mumble. “I tried to fix it, and I thought I did, but…”
