“What do you mean?”
“The Feds are going round and round about what needs to be done. Bottom line is we’ve got to get her out. In five minutes, I’m gonna turn my back, you’re gonna take my gun, and you’re gonna do whatever the fuck you’ve got to do to end this. Do you understand me?” he asked, looking at Liam.
“Are you sure?” Liam asked, not sure he was hearing the other man correctly.
“They aren’t doing anything. We have children in there; we have a woman being held. This isn’t why I joined the sheriff’s department. I joined to make a difference, not to sit around with my thumb up my ass when someone needs my help.”
Layne joined them then. “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. Let’s just hope that Bianca’s ready.”
Bianca flexed and unflexed her wrists, just like Jagger had instructed. Since the time they’d gotten off the phone together, she had made pretty good progress. Now, she could almost remove one hand from the binding, and that’s all she needed. The pain gave her something else to concentrate on too. She could feel it cut into her skin as she continued to try to work it off.
“I’m only waiting a few more minutes, Bianca. If they don’t answer my demands, you’re going to be my sacrifice,” he told her. “It’ll kill me, but I will do what I have to. I hope you understand, it’s nothing personal against you.”
She did understand. She understood that this man was a sick fuck. “You have to do what you have to do,” she told him. “Just like I have to do what I have to do.”
“Just in case I have to kill you, do you think it’s possible I get one taste of your mouth?” he asked.
He had to be kidding, but it would get him close to her. A smile kicked up the side of her mouth, and she tilted her head to the side. That look had gotten her many tips in her time at Wet Wanda’s. “I think that could be worked out.”
Sauntering over to her, he put the gun down next to her and pushed her legs apart again. Leaning in, he brushed his lips against her cheek and brought his face around so that he could capture her lips with his. She let him play, and right when he really got into it, slipping his tongue in her mouth, she wrapped her legs around his calf muscles.
“Yeah, Bianca,” he breathed, bringing his hands up to her neck.
She moaned, just like he probably expected her to do, before she dug her heels into those same muscles. He screamed loudly, pulling his lips from hers. Not thinking, she used her head to butt his and then kicked him backwards when he stumbled.
Her head swam as she fought to get her bearings and get her arms out from behind her back.
“You bitch,” he snarled, stumbling around, just like her.
The head butt hadn’t been the smartest thing, she realized as she got off the stool and fought to gain the ground beneath her. The two of them noticed the gun still sitting where he had laid it, and they both lunged at the same time.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The two of them went down with a loud thud, both of them grunting as they hit the side of the metal table. Bianca could feel the coldness of the gun in her fingers, but her shoulder ached something awful from where she had hit it on the way down. Blood dripped from her forehead, remnants of where she head butted him moments before. It stung as it ran into her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to reach her fingers up and wipe at them. That, however, would require her letting go of the gun.
“Give me the gun, Bianca,” he told her.
She wasn’t sure if he expected his gruff voice to scare her into giving it back or what, but she wasn’t about to fall for any game he wanted to play. Rolling them over, he landed so that he lay on top of her. Money Bags was heavy compared to her, and she fought to drag breaths into her lungs.
“No!” She struggled, bringing her knee up, catching him between the legs.
That gave her just enough time to right herself and stand up, pointing the gun at him. Her hands shook, even though she tried with all her might to keep them still. Now was a good time to remind herself that she had wanted Jagger to teach her how to shoot. With everything in her, she prayed that she wouldn’t accidentally kill herself as she tried to save herself.
“You’re gonna hurt yourself.” He motioned to her with his hand. “Give me the gun.”
“If you think I’m fallin’ for that bullshit, you have got another thing coming.”
She watched him with keen eyes as she reached over to where her phone sat and pressed the button for Jagger. She dialed it, never taking her eyes off of Money Bags. He watched her hands so closely that she put it on speaker and set the phone between them so that she could grip the gun with both hands. It felt awkward, but she widened her stance the way she had witnessed in the movies. She figured it would help give her stability should she have to fire.
“B?” he answered.
“It’s me, I’ve got his gun. I need help,” she yelled into the phone.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, keep that gun on him,” Jagger told her. She could tell by the rhythm of his voice that he was running. Reaching over to shut the phone off, she took her eyes off of Money Bags for a split second. That was long enough for him to lunge at her and knock the gun out of her hand. Bianca screamed, using the heel of her shoe and shoving it into his foot.
“You bitch,” he growled at her, grabbing her by the hair.
Her head hurt from the earlier head butt, and his pulling on her hair pissed her off. She wanted this over, so with everything in her, she let out a scream. It bounced and echoed off the walls as it went on for long minutes. When finally she had nothing left in her, she yelled at him. “Let me go!”
Her voice was hoarse and she knew she sounded weak. From a distance away, she could hear the thumps of boots, and she knew that Heaven Hill was coming to save her. She just had to make it a few more minutes.
“Think again,” he told her, pulling her arms around her back.
With strength she wasn’t aware he had, he lifted her onto the stool and crowded her again. Again she fought against him, using her feet and legs to pound at his body. “You’re not doing this to me,” she told him, reaching around with her mouth and sinking her teeth into his neck.
He howled, using his hands to push her back. “I was trying to be nice to you,” he told her, his eyes crazier than she had ever seen them. It appeared that she had finally broken him. He used his hands to close around her neck and shoved her against a wall, effectively cutting off her air supply.
She gasped, trying desperately to draw a breath in, kicking with her feet.
“You’re not breathing again,” he promised her.
It started to get dark as she fought against him, trying to suck in a tiny bit of the air that allowed her to live. Just when she felt her body shutting down, she was able to get a breath. She slipped to the floor as Money Bags was thrown to the side.
She wasn’t sure what was going on, only knew that she heard a lot of cussing, grunting, and promises of killing. Bianca’s throat was on fire as she coughed and heaved. Her hands ran along the floor, trying to find the wall to pull herself up, but her vision was still blurry.
“C’mon, it’s gonna be fine.” She recognized the voice as that of Tyler.
“Where’s Jagger?” she asked, her heart beating wildly. She needed him right now more than she had ever needed anyone in her life. Her body ached to have his arms around her. Above anything, she wanted to bury her head in his clean scent. The scent that told her she was safe.
“He’s takin’ care of some business. If you would come with me.”
Bianca stiffened her body, refusing to budge. “I want Jagger.”
“You need a damn doctor. Can you even see?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “It’s coming back,” she rasped, her throat burning as she tried to push words out.
“I promise you, Jagger will be along in just a few minutes. He’s not in any kind of trouble.”
It was obvious by the look on her face that she didn’t believe him,
but something about his tone made her believe that he told the truth. “Okay, I’m trusting you.”
Jagger sat in the school’s kitchen, his head between his knees, his hands on his neck. He had to get his shit under control before he saw her. The sight of her against the wall, Raymond Tucker choking the life out of her, would forever be ingrained in his memory. He literally wanted to kill this fucker with his bare hands, but they had worked out a plan with Rooster—one that would get them everything they wanted.
“We’re here to take him.” He heard the voice of the Vojnik president, Dino, coming up behind them.
“I’m giving this asshole to you on your word that he won’t be doing this kinda shit to anybody else,” Liam told the other man.
“I know, and I’m willing to accept that and the truce we’re calling for right now. I can’t let the feds get their hands on that money. They can’t know that he was laundering that bank robbery money with that of the school board. This is one of those ‘he goes away forever’ deals,” Dino told the other leader.
The two presidents faced each other—both very wary of what they were working on together here. “We’ll make sure that Bianca has her story straight, you make sure you get him out of here without being seen. Rooster’s gonna go along with what we tell him. So your job is to make sure he’s never found. Got it?”
“I think I can manage that.”
When Raymond realized that Heaven Hill was turning him over to Dino, he started to beg. “Please, just send me to jail.”
“I’d like to kill you,” Jagger ground between his teeth. “You deserve to die a horrible, painful death for what you’ve done to the woman that I love. If I can’t give it to you, I know that he can. He’s European, they know a thing or two about torture. I hope you rot in hell you son of a bitch.”
“You gotta go. Now,” Liam told the two of them. “Rooster’s about to let his men in here.”
Jagger watched as the group went out the back door, taking Raymond Tucker with them.
“You okay?” Liam asked as he saw the look in the younger man’s eye.
“Not even close. I’m jealous that Dino gets a crack at him,” he admitted.
“It’s just how it has to be, Jagger. We can’t get our hands dirty in this. Anything that happens is gonna come back to them. With the feds here, that’s what we need. You understand, right?”
“I do.” He rolled his neck on his shoulders. “Right now though, I would really like to see Bianca.”
“Tyler’s with her, and he’s explaining the situation to her. That we did come and get her, but before we got here, Raymond Tucker went out the back door.”
“I just don’t know how they’re going to believe that, but whatever you want to say.”
Liam grinned. The scope of the club never failed to impress Jagger. “Rooster made sure they didn’t have an agent covering the back for the amount of time it took Dino and his boys to get in here. Whatever else they had on this door…Steele’s at a remote site wiping the video clean. It’s just what we do sometimes.”
Tyler came back into the room. “They’ve transported Bianca to the hospital. Meredith and Denise are meeting her over there. Whenever you get your shit straight, you can go too.”
“I need to go now.”
He felt hands on his shoulders and saw that Layne had joined them. “You can’t go in there looking like you’re scared to death. That’s not what she needs right now.”
“I was! He had her up against a wall with his hands around her throat, and she was gasping for air that she couldn’t get. There’s nothing scarier than that!”
“But she made it,” Layne reminded his friend. “You need to celebrate that, not dwell on the fact that she got herself into this situation—even though you told her not to. I know you, and those will be the first words outta your damn mouth. Get your shit straight,” he advised again.
“Now that we know everything is good and that Rooster is ‘taking our statements’, I’m gonna go get my kids. They gotta be freaking out,” Liam told the group. “Y’all need anything, let me know. Especially you.” He pointed to Jagger. “If it turns out they’re keeping Bianca or that something is really wrong with her, call me first thing.”
“Will do.”
Tyler clapped his hands together. “Let’s get the hell outta dodge. All these police personnel are makin’ my damn neck itch, and as far as I know—there’s not even nothin’ out for me. Let’s head to the hospital.”
“I’m all for that. I’m gonna take B’s car. Could someone make sure that my bike gets back to the clubhouse?” Jagger asked.
“Sure thing. By the way,” Tyler grinned, “you did a good job. You didn’t freak out, you kept it together until you saw her. That was a hard thing to do and you did it.”
“I’m still shaky,” he admitted with a small laugh.
“You will be for a while. Nothing scares you more than knowing someone could potentially hurt the woman that you love. You made me proud today, though. You’re coming along young whippersnapper.”
There was the comic relief, the full belly laugh that Jagger needed. He laughed so hard tears came to the corners of his eyes. “Thanks, man.”
“Not a problem,” he grinned before getting serious again. “Before I forget, the secretary said she has Bianca’s personal stuff for you, purse, keys, coat. They’ve been inventoried so you can go ahead and take off.”
Nobody had to tell him twice. He was more than ready to see the person who made his world spin around—no matter in what shape she was in—she would be a sight for sore eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jagger did his best to enter the hospital room quietly and not bother Bianca. As he pushed the door open, he spotted Meredith sitting in a chair at her bedside.
“You don’t have to be quiet,” she told him. “They had to give her a mild sedative about twenty minutes ago. So she’ll be out for a few hours.”
“What happened?” he asked as he sat her stuff down before walking over to kiss her forehead. As his lips touched the skin, she stirred slightly before relaxing into sleep. He could tell she was more relaxed because he didn’t see her eyes moving behind the lids.
“She had a little bit of a freakout. Nothing major,” Meredith assured him. “She was in shock and I think everything just crowded in on her. She really wanted you, and the on-call doctor told her that you hadn’t arrived yet. Her blood pressure bottomed out, she started shaking, and her teeth started chattering. So they gave her something to calm her down. Nothing really heavy duty. Just something to make her relax.”
He nodded as he had a seat in the chair opposite the other woman. “I was worried about her freaking out. I wasn’t able to talk to her before Tyler took her to get looked at.”
“He called me and told me how upset she was,” Meredith grinned. “Apparently she cussed my big, bad husband.”
A chuckled erupted from his mouth as the ends of his lips quirked up in a smile. “I don’t doubt that.” It went unsaid that Meredith had just referred to Tyler as her husband. He was putting that back for a future question-and-answer session. “She’s tough,” he whispered as he reached onto the hospital bed and took her hand in his.
“That she is…She told me a little bit about what he did to her.”
Jagger wanted to know, but at the same time he didn’t want to know. Seeing her hanging in the air by Raymond’s hand at her neck was enough. If Raymond had done other things, he figured he might be better off not knowing. He cleared his throat, not making a comment either way.
“Be patient with her,” Meredith pleaded.
The look in her eyes made him wonder if Raymond hadn’t raped this woman that he loved. He had to know. “Did he rape her?” he choked out, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Meredith shook her head. “No. They did a rape kit on her when she first came in, just to be sure. She even told the doctor that he didn’t, but I think he touched her in ways that were inappropriate—or at least threatene
d to. You have to remember she was in that kitchen with him alone for all that time. Nobody knows what he said or did.”
“I know,” he ground out, his teeth clenched. “That’s what is bothering me more than anything right now. The fact that I don’t know.”
The two of them sat in silence for long minutes. Meredith with a faraway look on her face, Jagger with his eyes glued to Bianca, looking for a sign that she was still in there, that she wasn’t going to give up after they had come this far. Around her neck, bruises marred her otherwise white skin—purple and black, they stood out—making him angrier by the minute.
“Don’t do that,” Meredith cautioned him. “Don’t get angry about what you weren’t able to prevent. If you want to be angry, then get angry at the man that did this, not at the situation. You’ll never be able to change it and you’ll never get closure. Especially since you turned Raymond over to Dino, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. You’ve got to get your head on straight to help her move past this.”
“Is that what Tyler did?” he asked, his tone low.
She thought for a long time about what she wanted to tell Jagger about her life with the man she loved. They were usually private people, but she had come to think of Bianca as a younger sister and Jagger a younger brother in all the time they had hung out together recently. She really liked this couple and she wanted them to make it, but she didn’t know how they would react to this. At some point in her own recovery she had made the decision that if she could help just one person with what she had been through then maybe it was worth it. Telling him what she and Tyler had gone through now served that purpose rather than keeping a secret. What she and Bianca had been through was not shameful, and there was no reason to treat it that way.
“Tyler decided to seek therapy with me,” she told him plainly, her voice clear. There was no hesitation in her words. She was as honest with him as she would be with herself.
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