Jagger: The Hottest Guys You'll Love to Love (Best of the Bad Boys Book 3)

by Jessie Cooke

  “Nick…”

  “I have to go see Poppy.” He stepped over Tony and pulled the door back open.

  “Are you coming back?” He gave me an “Are you kidding?” kind of look, but, even as angry as he had to be, he was still too sweet to say it. Instead, he just held the look for several seconds and he left me standing there, feeling like the whore Tony had said that I was.

  “Margo, you’re not listening to me.”

  I looked up from my drink and across the table at Michael. I was sick of listening to him. “Just give him whatever he wants.”

  “What? Are you insane? He wants your home. He wants your business. He wants five million dollars…”

  “He came to my house last week while you were out of town.”

  “What? What did he want?”

  “One night of sex with me…and two million dollars.”

  “Well, I’m glad you said no…”

  “I didn’t.”

  “What?” Michael had a similar look on his face that Nick had had that day, but his didn’t hurt as much.

  “I agreed to do it. But then Nick walked in.”

  “Nick? Oh, Jesus, Margo! The kid?”

  “Yes, the kid. He was upstairs and I was planning on having sex with him. Then I promised Tony I would have sex with him. Nick punched Tony in the mouth for calling me a whore. Now I have no one…and Tony is going to take me to the cleaners. The irony of it all is, that little maggot was right. I am a whore.” Michael looked distressed. He didn’t know what to say. Michael and I have been friends since high school. He’s rarely at a loss for words. Finally, he said,

  “I’m sorry, Margo. You’re not a whore. Stop calling yourself that. Nick punched this little son of a bitch in the mouth because he obviously doesn’t believe it either.”

  “Then why did he walk out? Why hasn’t he called me in a week, not even to quit his job? He quit in a text message. He needs this job, Michael. I screwed that poor kid’s life all up…all because I am, in fact, a whore.”

  Michael put his hand to his forehead. I was apparently giving him a headache. Sucking in a breath, he asked softly, “Margo, did you tell Nick about your history?”

  “No! Absolutely not!”

  “Maybe he would understand more about why…”

  “About why I’m a gold-digging whore? Telling him about my history won’t change his opinion of me, at least not for the better. I’m not going to Nick with a bunch of excuses. I told Tony I would sleep with him and, as sick as that made me, I meant to do it. So, whatever Nick thinks of me right now is warranted.” Michael started packing his things into his briefcase.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To talk to Tony’s attorney.”

  “To tell him he can have it…all of it?”

  “No. To tell him that if he sets foot on your property or harasses you in any way again, I’ll have him arrested. I’m also going to tell him he needs to drop this suit or I will expose him for the dirt bag that he is. Any judge who hears what he wanted from you will throw this out.”

  “His word against mine.”

  “You said Nick heard him say it. Where can I find him?”

  “No, Michael, leave Nick out of this.”

  “All I’m going to do is ask him to sign an affidavit. If he doesn’t want to, he can say no. Are you really prepared to lose everything you have, Margo? People can say you used Carlos and he’s the only reason you have any of this, but I know different. I know the motivated girl who saved every penny she ever made in tips while she was working as a cocktail waitress to…”

  “It’s okay, Michael, I don’t need a pep talk. You can check the Vegas UFC gym on Paradise for Nick. If he’s not there, I don’t want you bothering him at home.”

  “We’re going to fix this, Margo.”

  I nodded. I didn’t have the energy to care about any of it. All I wanted was the one thing I couldn’t have...Nick.

  14

  Nick

  The blood was pumping through me so hard I could hear it in my ears. Jacob’s voice rang in the background, but I was becoming so accustomed to it that I had to really concentrate on what he was saying to hear him at all. I’d been doing so well this past week that he’d arranged a little exhibition fight between me and this guy Braxton from Texas. He’s someone that Cain has been training and I’ve been sparring with him all week. He’s really good…but I’m better. I’m better because I’m pissed and I’m unemployed. Poppy was still in the hospital, but he was doing better. I went by there in the morning and then I went to school and I spent the rest of my day at the gym. I’ve never seen Jacob so happy.

  I nodded at whatever Jacob was telling me. Brock was in Braxton’s corner, talking to him. The crowd was small, but they were loud, and all I heard of any of it was a buzzing in my ears. I hadn’t been able to get Margo off my mind…and that creepy guy that I knocked out. I wanted to kill him and I am so…disillusioned, I guess is the word, with her that I can’t even bring myself to call and tell her I won’t be at work. Now that it’s been over a week, I’m sure that she’s fired me anyway. I’m kind of hoping she’ll mail me my last check. I really need it, but I can’t bring myself to go in the club and ask for it.

  “Okay, Nick, here you go. Remember what I said; pretend this is your title fight. Don’t hold back.” I nodded again. I felt him slap my shoulder and then he stuffed my mouth guard in. The bell rang and I met Braxton and the ref in the center. Braxton is almost exactly my size, but he doesn’t look like a fighter when he’s in his clothes. He looks like one of those big corn-fed Okie boys you see on the front of those cowboy romance novels. He has dark blonde hair and this really weird shade of blue-green eyes…they’re kind of unnerving. The ref said his piece and we tapped gloves and it was on. I drew up all the pent- up sexual frustration inside of me, the guilt that Poppy was still re-learning how to walk, the agony of knowing I won’t be able to pay my tuition next month, and the hurt I felt over what happened with Margo…and I was ready to unleash it all.

  Braxton and I circled each other with our fists up. His eyes looked predatory, but I didn’t feel a ripple of fear. I wanted him to bring it. I threw out my right and connected with his midriff, but I didn’t stop there. I threw out one right after the other, three in a row before Braxton threw one back. His connected with the side of my head and only fueled the new- found fire in my gut.

  I threw one that landed in the center of his stomach and caused him to double over. While he was bent in half, I threw a left hook out that caused him to go down. He sprawled on his back on the canvas floor. I pounced, but he rolled out of the way and I just caught him by his arm. We wrestled on the floor for a while. By the time the buzzer rang, neither of us had gotten the upper hand.

  “He’s a grappler, Nick. What are you doing, taking the fight to the floor?” Jacob asked when I got back to my corner.

  “I was trying to knock him out.” Jacob laughed and slapped my back.

  The buzzer rang and I jogged back out to the center. Braxton was waiting for me, and I hadn’t even seen his fist before it landed against my chin and my head snapped back hard enough to give me whiplash. I came back with a right jab and while he was recovering from that, I attacked his ribs. I landed two punches before he spun away. I was ready for that, though, and I caught him with a roundhouse kick. He went down again, on his back and harder than before. I jumped on top of him and, as I tried to pin him, he brought his legs up and got me in a scissor hold. He flipped me off him and, before I could recover, he was back on his feet and ready with one hell of a right cross as soon as I was back on mine. I shrugged it off and came right back at him with a punch, a jab, and a cross, and then I repeated it all as he backed up into the ropes. The buzzer rang before he went down, but he wasn’t far from kissing the mat.

  The third round, I was ready to finish this. I dodged his first punch and came back with a right hook that landed hard on his side. He grunted, but he didn’t go down. He threw another hook at me an
d I snapped back with a jab that landed dead in the center of his face. I ignored the spray of blood that flew across the mat and the sounds of everyone in the gym as I immediately followed with an uppercut. That one took him down, and I watched him roll over and try to use his arms to push himself up. I jumped on his back and wrapped my arm around his neck. He struggled for a few seconds, and each time he did, I tightened my grip. Just before the buzzer rang, he tapped out.

  I stood up off him and the referee held up my arm. The small crowd was going crazy. I looked down at Braxton. Brock was kneeling next to him and he was rolling back and forth with his eyes closed. I took my arm from the ref and knelt next to him. “Hey, man, are you okay?”

  Braxton opened those weird eyes and, through the blood that ran out of his nose and down towards his chin, he smiled. “Hell of an uppercut,” he said, “You’ll have to show me that one.” Just like that, I was drained of my anger and my aggression and I felt like shit for what I had done to this guy. I stood up and put my hand out to him. He took it and I helped him to his feet. The crowd cheered for us both as we walked back to the locker room.

  After Jacob came back and gave us both his congratulations and words of wisdom, I showered and changed, then grabbed my bag to head over to see Poppa. As soon as I stepped out of the locker room, I saw the man Margo was with that day at the restaurant by the airport. He was just standing there at the end of the hall, like he was waiting for me.

  “Nick Abelli?”

  “Who wants to know?”

  “My name is Michael Collier. I’m Margo’s attorney.”

  Attorney, for some reason that made me feel better. I’m not sure why. “What can I do for you?”

  “Can I ask you a few questions about what happened last Thursday?”

  “I really have to go. If I don’t get to the hospital to see my grandfather, I’ll miss visiting hours.”

  “This won’t take long. I’ll walk with you to your car.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Suit yourself. I’m not sure what I can tell you.”

  “Did you hear what Tony said to her?”

  I knew what he was asking, but I didn’t want to talk about it. “Who is Tony?”

  “The man who was there that day when you came down the stairs. He’s Carlos’s son and he is trying to take everything Margo has.”

  I wanted to be an ass and tell him I didn’t care, but that was so far from the truth, I was afraid I couldn’t say it with a straight face. Instead, I said, “I’m not sure what that has to do with me, sir, but I really need to go.”

  “Nick, she cares for you.”

  I stopped and turned around. Now I was pissed all over again. “How the fuck do you know that, because she told you? Guess what? She tells people a lot of things…”

  “I know because I’ve known her for over half her life. Margo’s mother had MS, and by the time she was fifteen, her mother was bedridden and Margo and her father cared for her. When she was eighteen, her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Within three months, he was dead. Margo quit school two months before she graduated to take a job as an exotic dancer. It was the only way she could keep a roof over their heads. When she was twenty-three, she quit dancing and went to work serving alcohol in a club at the Bellagio, where she made outstanding tips. She had to eventually put her mother in a nursing home. She still pays all the bills, and she still visits her several times a week. When she met Carlos, she had already saved over half the money she was going to need to buy that club she owns. She didn’t need him and she didn’t use him. I knew Carlos, and that old man was happy with Margo. He loved her and he cherished the time she spent with him, time his own family denied him. She told Tony she would sleep with him out of a sense of panic. People do desperate things when they’re pushed to their absolute limit, Nick. I hope that you don’t think you’re above doing something you’d find so distasteful, if it ever came to that. Ask yourself, what would I do to protect my family?”

  “Anything,” I said. I didn’t even have to think about it. “What do you need from me?”

  15

  Margo

  I had been sitting in Michael’s conference room for half an hour now and I was just about to get pissed and leave. Just as I stood up, the door opened and Tony’s attorney and the slime ball himself walked in. I sat back down and avoided the smirk on Tony’s face. A few seconds later, Michael finally came in. He sat down next to me.

  “Thanks for showing up.” I whispered in his ear.

  He rolled his eyes at me and then pulled some papers out of his briefcase. He looked at Tony and his attorney, then smiled. “Welcome. Thank you both for coming.”

  “What is this about, Michael? We have court on Monday morning.”

  “We’re here to make one final offer before we go to court.” I looked at him. I had no idea what we were here to offer. After he left the club the other day and went looking for Nick, I hadn’t heard from him again. That was four days ago. I’d been preoccupied because my Mom has been sick with a respiratory infection, so I hadn’t called him, either.

  The attorney looked at Tony. He was staring at my cleavage. He’s so disgusting. “I’d love to hear it,” he said, without taking his eyes off my breasts.

  “We are generously offering Tony one million dollars to sign away all of his rights to everything…now or in the future.”

  Tony laughed. His attorney looked disgusted. “I think we’ve heard enough,” he said.

  “Tony, how is your wife?” Michael asked him. I’d had no idea he was married. I’m sure I looked as shocked as I felt. I was at least glad to know the money we paid the investigator wasn’t for nothing.

  Tony’s face colored slightly. “She’s fine. Come on, Brad.”

  “She’s running for her second term as City Councilwoman, isn’t she?”

  Tony looked angry now. I wanted to laugh. Well played, Michael. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I was just concerned that, if it got out that you tried to force Margo to have sex with you, it might jeopardize either your marriage or your wife’s standing in the community.”

  Tony looked smug as he said, “Like my wife would believe the word of a tramp.”

  “Nick!” Michael called out. I felt like I was watching a show that I wasn’t a part of, as the door opened and my sweet Nick walked in. “Would she believe a young law student with no priors?” Michael said. Nick was glaring at Tony. He didn’t even glance at me.

  Tony looked very nervous. He pulled at his collar like he was having trouble getting enough air. He and his attorney exchanged looks. Trying to sound brave, and failing, he said, “No, she’s not going to believe some college student that the slut is screwing.” Nick took a step towards him, and Tony flinched. “Don’t come near me! I’m still thinking about pressing charges against you for the last assault.”

  “What was it he hit you for, Tony?” Michael asked.

  “No one is going to believe either of you,” Tony said, ignoring Michael.

  “Okay, then, you can go,” Michael said. “I wish you the best of luck when this comes out.” Nick was still staring him down. The day he’d hit Tony, it had all happened so fast. I hadn’t really processed just how hot he was when he asserted himself. God, I wanted him.

  “I’m sorry, Tony, was there something else?” Michael said.

  Tony looked at his attorney again. “Can they do this?”

  His attorney shrugged. “So far, they haven’t suggested anything illegal.”

  Tony looked at me and said, “I hate you.”

  Nick got even more into his space and said, “This is your last warning. I don’t care what you do to me, you watch how you talk to her.”

  Tony acted like he was ignoring Nick, but he was visibly shaking as he looked at Michael and said, “Draw up the papers.” Michael smiled and pushed the packet he was holding across the table.

  “It’s marked where you need to sign.” As Tony angrily signed them, Nick slipped back out the door.
I kissed Michael on the cheek and whispered, “Thank you.” before I followed Nick out.

  “Nick!” I caught him in the parking garage, just as he got to his car. He stopped and waited for me. I was panting…my legs are a lot shorter than his and I had to run to catch up. When I caught my breath at last, I said, “I just wanted to say thank you, and I’m sorry.”

  “You’re welcome, and you don’t have to be sorry. I didn’t know about your mom…”

  “Oh, Jeez! Is that how Michael got you to agree to this? Did he give you a sob story?”

  “He told me your story and he asked me a question.”

  “What was that?”

  “He asked me what I would do to protect my family. My parents died when I was ten years old. My grandparents changed their whole lifestyle to take me in and take care of me. Granny quit dancing, and Poppy quit fighting. I promised myself that no matter what happened in my life, I would take care of them when that time came. I have a scholarship that pays for some of my tuition. A regular job would cover what else I have to pay and my living expenses, but it wouldn’t pay enough for that and for Poppy to have 24-hour nursing care. I dance for him and, if I had to, I’d do more than that. Taking off my clothes three nights a week in front of hundreds of women to take care of my Poppy no more makes me a slut than sleeping with a pig to protect your mother would make you. I’m the one who owes you the apology. On top of everything else, nothing about our relationship gave me the right to be angry about that.” I literally threw myself at him and he caught me in his arms. I was in tears, and he kissed the tears on my cheeks and made his way down to my lips. He pulled me up against his chest and held me off my feet as we kissed. He was getting better at this every time. When we came up for air, he said, “I still want you.”

  I laughed through my tears and said, “I still want you, too.”

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “I have half an hour.”