Dark Passion (The Dark Brother Series Book One)

by Botefuhr, Bec

  Jagger drags me down the hall and into the bathroom, and the other men follow. They shove us in and let go of our mouths. Jagger pulls all the towels from the racks and shoves them onto the floor, jamming the gap under the door. I gasp and grip the sink, steadying myself. “What’s happening?”

  “Gas bomb, someone just threw one through the window. We gotta get out, now. If that gas gets into your lungs, you’ll pass out.”

  “What?” I cry, confused. “Who would do that?”

  “Manchez – my guess is he’s trying to knock us out and get hold of you. If we had breathed in that gas, we’d all be on the floor and he would be able to come in and take you with ease.”

  “Oh God, I don’t feel so…” Jenny begins, then her eyes roll back and she passes out. Ace catches her in his arms.

  “One down boss, what do we do?”

  “They’ll be waiting. Angel, go and get our guns. Cover your mouth.”

  Angel nods and puts a towel over his mouth, then rushes out. I turn to Jagger, who is now staring out the window.

  “Where does this go, Willow?”

  “Out back, there’s a gate that leads out onto the street.”

  “We need to get you girls out. If that gas gets down here, we’re all gone.”

  “But….”

  “There’s no other choice.”

  When Angel returns with the guns, Jagger pulls his into position and peers out the window.

  “I think they’re around front, chances are in about ten minutes they’ll try to barge in.”

  “Do we get them now boss?” Angel asks.

  “No, it’s too risky. It’s a public street. We just need to get the girls out of here. Take them to a random hotel, pay with cash.”

  Angel nods and pulls the window open, he gets out first and I wait anxiously to hear if gun shots while fire off. I’m so nervous I feel sick; they could be waiting outside for us. I take Ava’s hand and squeeze, she’s white as a ghost. Ace picks up Jenny and climbs out next and then Ava follows. I look at Jagger and he gives me a nod.

  “Are you coming?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Jagger, I need…my handbag.” I say quickly, suddenly remembering the information in there.

  “What for?”

  “It’s…serious information about my Mother. If they get hold of it…”

  “Where is it?”

  “On the kitchen bench,”

  “Fine, I’ll get it. Just get outta here…”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be fine, go.”

  He shoves me out the window before I can say another word. Angel grips me around the waist and pulls me quickly through the dark. My heart is racing and my mind keeps returning to Jagger. What if he doesn’t get out? What if they kill him?

  “Angel, will he be ok?”

  “He can handle himself. Don’t speak again Willow; it’s crucial we get out of here alive.”

  I don’t say another word as Angel drags us behind some bushes and then peers out. He scans the streets around us, and his eyes fall on the car parked over the road from the apartment.

  “They’re watching; we can’t get out this way. Are there any other exits?”

  I nod and point to the other side of the yard when a small fence joins our place to the neighbors. “If we climb into their yard, and over the other side there’s a big open field. We can get out that way.”

  Angel nods and we begin walking that way. After a huge struggle to get over the fence with a passed out Jenny, we finally manage to get into the field. We hurry across it until we find a taxi. When we get in, Angel watches behind us to make sure we aren’t being followed, then he texts Jagger which hotel he’s going to. It’s less risky than ringing him, incase someone’s tracking the phone calls.

  We arrive at a secluded little hotel about an hour away. Jenny is still out and I’m beginning to feel nervous about Jagger. What if something happened to him? What if he thought we went out the other side of the yard and got shot? What if I never see him again? I feel warm tears cascade down my cheeks and Ace surprises me by taking my hand and squeezing.

  “He’ll be fine.”

  “What if they got him?”

  “Jagger’s clever, he’ll be fine.”

  We sit for another two hours, in that time Jenny wakes up groggily and we encourage her to drink lots of water and rest. We have two rooms, and Jenny is curled up on the bed with Ava. I’m sitting in a chair, just staring into the darkness. When we hear the pounding on the door, I leap to my feet but Angel grips my arm.

  “Wait here.”

  He takes his gun and walks over, peering through the hole. A moment later he swings the door open and Jagger steps in. He’s bloody and pale. I leap to my feet and rush over.

  “Jagger, oh my God!”

  “It’s just a graze,” he snaps, shoving past me into the room. Did I do something wrong?

  “Jagger, bud, are you ok?”

  “Get the first aid kit outta the car and I’ll patch it up.”

  “Manchez?”

  “He shot at me.”

  “Are you ok?” I ask, concerned.

  “Fine,” he grunts.

  Jagger sits on a chair while Angel rushes out to the car. I stare at him, but he doesn’t look at my eyes. Something is up? What did I do wrong now?

  “I’m going to shower and sleep,” I say, but Jagger doesn’t even acknowledge me.

  Fine, asshole, I’m going to bed alone. I walk into the adjoining room and shut the door. I wonder what I did to make him so angry towards me. I get into the shower and let my long, thick hair out from the hair clip holding it up. It tumbles down my back and I strip out of my clothes, stepping into the shower. I moan when the water cascades over my tired skin.

  I stand in the shower for about twenty minutes, taking the time to wash my hair, shave my legs and enjoy life’s little luxuries. When I get out, I pull on one of Jagger’s shirts and a pair of underwear, and then I sit on the end of the bed. Jagger comes in just as I’m about to turn and crawl into the sheets. He glares at me, his shoulder is patched up and his jeans are a little bloody.

  “What?” I say in a harsh tone.

  “Nothin’,”

  “Oh really? You’re just shitty at me for no good reason?”

  He’s holding my bag in his hand and he tosses it onto the floor before storming over and gripping my face, he brings his lips down over mine hard and fast. I groan when he shoves me back on the bed, flattening me with his hard body. One free hand slides up my thighs and finds my panties, where he pulls them off with one quick movement. I groan as he bites my neck and slides his fingers into my sex.

  “Jagger…” I whimper.

  He doesn’t say anything, and I notice his body is tense and wound up. Maybe he just had a bad night, maybe he needs this. I choose not to say anything and just go with the flow. I need him; I want to feel every part of him over me right now. His lips are hot and soft, and they move against mine with desperation while he struggles with his sore hand to free his jeans.

  I reach down and push his hand out of the way, and I undo his button before shoving his jeans down his hips. I can feel his cock, hard and hot against my hand as it springs out. He discards his jeans and goes back to kissing and tormenting me, his fingers grazing over my nipples and his lips teasing mine. He edges my legs apart, and probes my entrance, before sliding inside me.

  I groan and arch as he fills me slowly. He makes a ragged grunting sound and uses his one free arm to prop himself up as he begins rocking his hips in and out. I whimper and my eyes fall closed as his cock slides in and out, stroking the sensitive flesh that’s wound so tightly inside me. When I open my eyes, he’s watching me, his blue gaze cold as ice. Ok, something is definitely not right.

  “Are you mine, Willow?” he growls.

  “What?” I whimper as he slowly slides his length out and gently pushes it back in, inch by inch.

  “You heard me, are you mine?”

&
nbsp; “You know I am!” I cry.

  “Are you honest with me, Willow?” The way he just said my name has goose bumps rising on my skin.

  He jerks his hips, bringing me closer to the edge. I cry out and bite my lip, desperate to feel my release. It’s so close, so dammed close.

  “Answer me!” he growls, jerking his hips faster.

  “Oh God,” I cry, feeling my release begin.

  “Don’t you come,” he roars. “This isn’t for you.”

  He reefs his cock out of me and his body leaves mine so quickly it takes me a moment to realize something is off. I feel my release die just as quickly as it began, and I’m panting with desperation. I watch him as he falls back onto the bed, and takes his throbbing cock in his hand, jerking it hard and fast. His eyes are on mine, and right now I have no idea what is happening. He grunts and semen shoots from his length and lands on his heaving stomach.

  “Liar…” he whispers as his body shakes and rattles.

  Liar? Liar? What is he talking about? I stare at him, hurt and confused. I turn and shift, so I’m sitting on the bed facing away from him. I put my head in my hands and stare down at the floor. That’s when I see my bag lying on the floor. The manila envelope is open and the note has been taken out. My blood runs cold. Jagger knows.

  “It’s not what you think,” I whisper.

  “Bullshit.”

  I stand and pull on my clothes angrily, how dare he treat me like this. How fucking dare he!

  “It’s not. My Mother only gave it to me today. I didn’t know what it was!”

  “Bullshit,” he roars. “You know exactly what it fucking is and you lied to me.”

  “I didn’t lie!” I cry, spinning around to face him.

  “You didn’t come out and tell me, do you know what could have happened to you tonight if Manchez had gotten hold of you?”

  “I know!” I scream.

  “Know you don’t fuckin’ know. I could have avoided all that if you had told me about that fuckin’ note.”

  “It was addressed to me, and it was only a note.”

  “You don’t fuckin’ trust me. I have wasted my time and effort trying to make you see I’m not the bad guy in all this. What information do you have, that he’s talking about!”

  “NONE!” I scream.

  “Don’t you lie to me!”

  I grip my bag and hurl it over my shoulder. How dare he. His eyes are like fire, and he’s glaring at me with such anger it hurts me to meet his gaze.

  “You stole me Jagger,” I scream. “You fucking stole me and upended my life. None of this was on me and I wanted NONE of it!”

  He stands and storms over, and I take three steps back.

  “You still don’t trust me, you’re still holdin’ onto the fact that I took you. Ever thought that I did you a fuckin’ favor? I could have let Manchez get hold of you, but I took you instead.”

  “Because you wanted the information, don’t you pretend it had anything to do with me!”

  “It didn’t, but it came to be the only thing that mattered.” He roars.

  “I don’t fucking matter to you!”

  “We are still doing this; you just can’t let it go can you? You just refuse to believe I care; you refuse to believe this is real. You lied to me, you kept information and you betrayed me!”

  “I did no such thing; I was just thinking about what I was going to do with it!” I yell so loudly my throat hurts.

  “BULLSHIT!”

  “I’m done with this; I can’t fucking deal with it anymore.”

  Angel busts into the room then, and doesn’t seem to notice or care that Jagger is butt naked.

  “You two need to stop; we can hear you a mile away!”

  “We’re stopping,” I hiss, storming out.

  “Get back here!” Jagger yells.

  I have a moment to get out the front door and run before he gets his jeans on. I need to get out of here; I can’t deal with this right now. I bolt down the stairs and out the front door, and flag down a taxi. Thankfully, one stops right away. I leap in and tell him to take me as far away from this hotel as possible. He drives away just as Jagger gets out the front door. My phone begins ringing almost instantly. I ignore it. Screw him. How can he think I would ever betray him? My phone rings and rings until the taxi driver eyes me through the rearview mirror.

  “Is everything ok, miss?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “If you need any assistance…”

  “I’m fine, thanks.”

  I turn my phone on silent, and spot the messages flashing on the screen.

  J: Get the fuck back here. It’s dangerous. Do you have any idea the danger you just put urself in?

  A: Honey! Where r u? Please come back. Jagger is beside himself, he is going crazy. He said Manchez could get hold of u. Swallow ur pride and come back, please? Ava x

  J: Turn around Willow, ur life is in serious danger! Get back here! Fuck, just answer the phone.

  I swallow, and switch the phone off. I need to find a payphone. I want answers and I want them now. I’m sick of living under this constant shadow of fear. It’s not fair. I tell the taxi driver to take me to a pay phone and he stops about twenty minutes down the road and I get out, throwing him a twenty. He gives me change and I rush towards the phone, pulling out my Father’s note from the bag. I dial the number.

  “Hello, Willow?”

  How does he know it’s me?

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “You’re the only person I gave this number to,” he says, and his familiar voice puts a pang of pain into my chest.

  “What do you want?”

  “We need to talk. Where can we meet?”

  “Sorry if I don’t trust that dad!”

  “I’m not out to hurt you!”

  “Really, that’s why you put me in this position to begin with!”

  “It was a mistake, it all went wrong. You’re in serious danger if you stay with Jagger.”

  “Jagger hasn’t hurt me.”

  “He wills; he’s using you. It’s all going to blow up in your face honey, please, we need to talk.”

  “Don’t call me honey. Why did you give me that note and what information do I supposedly have?”

  “I hid some information in one of your furniture pieces.”

  “Did you not care that my life could be put in danger over that?”

  “I had no choice.”

  “You’re as selfish as you always were.”

  “Please, just listen to me.”

  “I have nothing else to say, you either tell me what the hell is going on or I’m hanging up.”

  “There’s going to be a massive bust,” he says quickly.

  “What sort of bust?”

  “The information I gave you is crucial. You can’t let anyone have it. I need you to set Jagger up with fake information and let him meet Manchez at a location. Both will be taken down there.”

  “No.” I say, simply.

  “What?”

  “I said no, I won’t do it. Jagger isn’t a bad person.”

  “He’s trying to manipulate you! He’s lying Willow,”

  “I’m leaving now.”

  “Willow!”

  I hang up and slide down to my knees, cupping my face in my hands. I sob until my body trembles and shakes. They say everything in life happens for a reason, right now I just can’t see what the reason for this would be.

  CHAPTER 16

  I find a run-down motel and pay for a room with cash. When I get into the old, smelly room, I sigh. This is going to be a long night. I throw my bag down and fall onto the springy bed. I pull out my phone and read the messages. I feel bad for Jenny and Ava, I know how worried they’ll be but I needed to get my bearings. I’ll go back in the morning; right now I need this time.

  J: Baby please, I’m fuckin’ beside myself. Call me.

  Baby? The man has a personality disorder, seriously.

  A: Please, please tell me you�
�re ok? I’m sick with worry. Ava x

  I text Ava back quickly,

  W: I’m ok. Just need some time. Tell Jagger I’m fine.

  She responds right away.

  A: He’s gone out looking for you. He’s so worried honey, please come back.

  W: I can’t right now, please understand. X

  A: Please?

  W: Can’t.

  A: In the morning?

  W: Yeah.

  A: Stay safe, I love you x

  W: You too.

  J: Where r u? We have 2 talk.

  I sigh, feeling awfully overwhelmed right now.

  W: No.

  My phone rings and I angrily open it.

  “What?”

  “Where are you?” Jagger sounds worn and he’s panting.

  “I’m fine. You need to leave me be.”

  “I need to find you, do you have any fuckin’ idea how much danger you’re in?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Willow, fuckin’ hell. You don’t have to talk to me, but you need protection.”

  “So send Angel or Ace over. I don’t want to see you.”

  He’s silent a long moment. “I’m sorry ok?”

  I close my eyes and my lips tremble.

  “Willow?”

  “Just send Angel or Ace over, get one of them to call me and I’ll give them the address.”

  “Fine,” he snaps. “Have it your way.”

  I hang up and a moment later my phone rings again. I answer and hear Angel’s voice come across the line.

  “Where are you?”

  I give him the location.

  “Right, I’ll be there soon.”

  “Ok.”

  “Bye.”

  I hang up the phone and hope to God Jagger doesn’t come with him, or follow him. I value my safety, so I know having Angel around will be a good thing but if he brings Jagger, I won’t deal with it so well. I’m already feeling shaky and so overwhelmed my stomach hurts. I find a seat near the window and sit on it, sighing loudly and trying to control my trembling. When a knock sounds out twenty minutes later, I stand on shaky legs and walk over.

  I open the door and Angel steps in, he’s alone thank God. I couldn’t deal with Jagger right now, I’ll just crumble and I can’t afford to do that. Angel gives me a smile, which I’m truly grateful for. I know he doesn’t have to be here, in fact, it’s probably the last place he wants to be but here he is, doing me a favor when I probably don’t deserve one. I wave my arm towards the seat and he sits down, staring at me with those light blue eyes.