I’m just about to make a run for a line of shipping containers, when a hand goes around my mouth from behind. I kick and struggle, but I can’t get out of the vice like grip. A voice fills my ears, and I shudder. It’s Manchez. “Thought you could outsmart me? Stupid girl.”
He crushes my mouth with his hand and drags me towards the group of cars. My Father meets my gaze and his eyes widen. I kick and squirm, but a fist drives into my ribs, and then I’m on the ground, screaming in pain. A foot hits my side and I roll, gripping my ribs and whimpering.
“Manchez, you said you wouldn’t hurt her!” My Father yells, dropping to his knees.
“She fuckin’ betrayed me! Now get up Kane, or I’ll blow your fuckin’ brains out.”
My Father stands, his eyes meet mine and he looks sorry. Hot tears slide down my cheeks and I struggle to keep calm and not give Manchez any further reason to hurt me. When I hear a car coming into the lot, my tears start again. Jagger. When I see his car come into view, I become desperate for a way to stop Manchez hurting him. Manchez raises his gun with a sick grin on his face.
“Enjoy this Willow, he’s about to be splattered all over his own car.”
“I copied the information!” I cry. “He has it!”
Manchez lowers the gun and spins around, gripping me by the hair and pulling me closer to his face. “What did you say?”
“I copied it! The rest of Jagger’s gang has a copy at his house.”
He spins me around and wraps an arm around my throat and presses the gun to my temple. Jagger gets out of the car with Ace and Angel. His eyes fall on me, and he looks beside himself.
“Ah Jagger, just in time to see the show,”
“Let her go Manchez, I’m what you want.”
“She just broke the news to me.”
“What?”
Jagger’s eyes fall on me, and I close mine.
“She said you have a copy of the information, now why would you play those kinds of games with me?”
“I don’t know what you’re fuckin’ talking about.”
Manchez laughs and the air around us is thick and still.
“Now, you know I’m smarter than that.”
“Obviously not, because I have nothin’,”
“Jagger, why do you insist on pissing me off? Now I’m going to have to hurt her.”
“DON’T!” Jagger roars, stepping forward.
Manchez tightens his arm around my throat and I struggle to breathe.
“One more step Jagger, and she’s dead.”
“I don’t have your fuckin’ information!”
“She said she copied it!”
“Well I don’t have it!”
Manchez squeezes again, and I feel my eyes beginning to haze over.
“Stop Manchez, this wasn’t part of the deal!” My Father snarls.
“Back down Kane, or you’ll die too!”
Just as my vision goes blurry, I hear the sound of a gun being fired. Suddenly I’m on the floor and Manchez is beside me, half his face blown off. I retch and struggle to breathe as gun shots ring out all around me. I cover my eyes, desperate to escape from this hell zone. I just wait to feel the sting of a bullet imbedding into my body but it never comes. Guns and gurgled sounds play out for what seems like forever, and then suddenly everything is silent.
“Jagger?”
I hear Angel’s voice, and I lift my head. I see Jagger on the floor, his stomach bleeding. I get to my knees and drag myself over, dropping down beside him.
“Jagger!”
His eyes are closed and there’s so much blood.
“Oh God, Jagger!” I scream.
Angel checks his pulse. “He’s still alive; we have to get him to a hospital, now.”
“Jagger,” I croak, shaking him. “Please wake up, please baby, wake up.”
“Willow we have to go, the cops will be here any minute.”
I turn and stare at the dead bodies lying around on the floor. Then I see my Father, he’s lying about two meters away, right near Manchez’s dead body. I force myself to my knees again and crawl over. He’s bleeding from the mouth and his body is jerking. I lift his head into my hands and my tears drop onto his face.
“Daddy, oh God, please!”
“Willow,” he croaks. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok; you’re going to be ok.”
“I thought…you’d get away when I left those ropes loose. I gave you nothing in your life, but I wanted to give you that freedom. I wanted to give you something…I wanted you to be safe. I shot Manchez, but I don’t regret it. I did it for you, I never did anything for you but I wanted you to have something…”
His voice his hoarse and he’s gurgling. Hot tears slide down my cheeks.
“Daddy, please…you’ll be ok.”
“Willow, we have to leave.” Ace shouts.
“I can’t leave him!” I scream.
My Father reaches up weakly. “I’m proud of you; I hope…I hope that you can forgive me.”
“I do,” I whimper. “I forgive you.”
“I love you Willow, I always did,” he croaks, his voice barely above a whisper.
He strokes my cheek and then his head drops back and he stops breathing. My screams echo across the water as Ace lifts me into his arms and carries me to the car.
“We can’t leave him here,” I scream.
“He’s gone Willow, we have to leave.”
“Please!”
“I’m sorry.”
He slides me in the backseat and they lies Jagger down beside me. I stroke his face, my tears drip over his pale cheeks.
“Please, don’t you leave me too. Jagger, please.”
CHAPTER 19
Jagger is whisked away as soon as we get into emergency. I’m taken to a room and put into a bed. I have four broken ribs, and they want to run some scans to make sure I haven’t punctured anything. I lay in the bed, numb and staring out the window. I think of my Father, and how he sacrificed everything for me in the end. He left those ropes loose, and he shot Manchez. Risking his own life, he saved mine.
I hear voices an hour later, and Jenny rushes in closely followed by Ava. I don’t meet their gazes, I just stare blankly. They both crawl onto my bed, neither of them saying anything. They just hold me as I silently sob and shudder, releasing all my emotions. When I finally fall into an exhausted sleep, they remain beside me. I know they’ll always be beside me.
I don’t wake until the next morning, and when I move my body aches and throbs. I open my eyes and instantly, my mind goes to Jagger. I sit up, groaning in pain and look around the room. Jenny is sitting on a chair beside the bed. My eyes meet hers and she stands, rushing over. She strokes a piece of hair from my face and smiles weakly.
“Jagger?”
“He’s ok.”
My body slumps down and I shudder in relief.
“Do you want to see him?”
“Yes, please.”
She helps me out of bed, and then informs a passing nurse that we’re going to visit Jagger. She nods and mutters something, then keeps working. We get into an elevator and Jenny squeezes my hand.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m ok, sore, but ok.”
“I’m sorry about what happened out there yesterday.”
I nod and chew on my bottom lip to keep the emotions from breaking out.
“He sacrificed for me in the end, it’s the kindest thing he could have ever done for me.”
“I’m sorry you lost him.”
I nod, and we stand in silence until we reach the ICU ward. When we get out, Jenny leads me towards some rooms. We step into one and I see Jagger in the third bed. I make a strangled sound and he turns his head, meeting my gaze. Jenny leads me over to him, and I reach out and take his hand.
“Hey beautiful,” he croaks.
“I’ll leave you two to it.”
Jenny slides a chair over and I sit on it, then she kisses my cheek and walks out. Jagger looks awful, his f
ace is pale and he’s got tubes everywhere.
“You’re ok…” I whisper.
“I’m ok.”
“Jagger…I’m so sorry.”
He cups my cheek in his hand. “My beautiful little girl, you didn’t do anything wrong. You were so brave.”
“It’s my fault this happened; I shouldn’t have run that night and…”
“Hey, shhh, we can’t go over that now.”
“My Father’s dead, you nearly died…”
“Your Father sacrificed himself, you should be proud of him. He gave up his life for you.”
I choke on a sob and Jagger grips my head, pulling me closer. “We’re goin’ to be ok baby.”
“If I had lost you…”
“You didn’t.”
“Jagger…I love you.”
His eyes widen and he swallows. “You do?”
I nod, “I do, with everything I have. When I thought I lost you…”
“Hey, I’m ok.”
A nurse comes in, cutting our conversation short. She checks Jagger’s obs, smiling and flushing when he answers her questions. Seriously? He’s in a hospital bed for Christ sakes.
“Do you need to use the bathroom, Mr. Black?”
“Yeah,”
“I’ll help you.”
My eyes widen. “Oh no you won’t, I’ll take him.”
The nurse raises her brows, and her pretty blue eyes narrow. Yeah lady, I know exactly what you’re doing. Jagger gives a weak grin and takes my hand.
“Fine, but I’m waiting by the door.”
She helps me get him out of bed and we take him into the bathroom. She gives me a look before shutting the door. I stand beside Jagger and he leans on me as he struggles to pee.
“I guess this is revenge for the period thing?”
I smile weakly. “I guess so.”
When he’s done, I help him straighten up his clothes. Before we step out the door, he takes my face in his hands and brings his lips down over mine. I gently place my arms around him, careful not to hurt him.
“When I saw you out there, and he was choking you…Willow, my life changed. Suddenly, you were all I cared about. I didn’t care what else happened in that moment, as long as I could see your smile again.”
I look up and meet his gaze, and he runs a finger over my lips.
“You’ve become my everything Willow, and my life will never be the same without you.”
And I know my life will never be the same without him, so in that, we’re even.
~*~*~*~
Jagger is released six days later, and I take him home to my place. I’ve spent the days that he’s been in hospital, organizing my Father’s funeral. My Mother has obtained a day pass to come and attend. It’s tomorrow and I feel sick in the stomach knowing I have to say goodbye.
I’ve had a lot of emotions about my Father over the past week. I’ve been angry, sad and confused. I’m angry that he did this to himself and to me in the first place. I’m sad because I lost him, just when he finally redeemed himself and confused that I feel so many different emotions. I’ll never ever forget what my Father did for me that day. He saved my life and quite possibly Jagger’s.
I walk into the bedroom where Jenny has set up a bed for Jagger. Angel is in with him, and they’re discussing something. Jagger is looking much better, and his gunshot wound is healing well. It just adds to the scar I gave him with the knife. Poor Jagger. He smiles when he sees me, and Angel stands quickly.
“I’ll leave you two be, yell out if you need anything Jagger.”
“Thanks bud.”
Angel smiles at me, and then leaves the room. I curl up on Jagger’s lap, leaning back far enough to ensure I don’t hurt him.
“How you feelin’ about tomorrow?”
I shrug, “I hate that I have to say goodbye to him.”
“I know.”
“Hey Jagger, there’s something I didn’t tell you…”
His eyes narrow. “What’s that?”
“I copied that information…”
I see his eyes widen. “What?”
“I have it here.”
“Jesus Willow, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was debating whether to destroy it or not,”
“That information could end the biggest drug lab in the world.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you all about it, but I need you to give it to me.”
“Jagger, I don’t want any more danger.”
“I know, but while that information is around, you’re not safe. I need to get rid of it and make sure no one finds out you have it.”
I nod and bite my lip. “Ok.”
He takes my face into his hands and kisses me with intense force, I groan and cling to him, sliding my tongue into his mouth and toying with his.
“I need to fuck you so badly,”
I grin. “You have a dirty mouth…”
He licks my lower lip. “You love my dirty mouth.”
“Say more…”
He leans into my ear, while his fingers slide into my shorts and find my clit. I whimper as he starts talking and stroking.
“You’re little pussy is so tight, I want to fuck it so hard. I love the feeling of my cock inside you. I want so badly to grip those tiny little hips and drive into you until you can’t breathe. I want you to wrap your lips around my cock and suck until I’m coming so hard…”
I whimper and grip him, his finger moves faster and faster and I’m so close to the edge.
“Say my name baby, say it while you come for me. Say it.”
“Jagger!” I cry, and shudder as an orgasm rips through my body.
“Fuckin’ beautiful,” he murmurs, kissing me again.
“How long until I can have you again?” I whisper.
“Have me now.”
“I’ll hurt you…”
“Not if you ride me real slow.”
The thought has my groin clenching again. I stand and slowly shimmy my shorts off. He watches me with a hungry expression as I remove my top and bra until I’m standing fully naked in front of him.
“Fuck me baby, come over here and slide that beautiful pussy over my cock.”
I smile seductively and reach for his pants, gently lowering them. He slides his hips forward and I straddle him, taking care not to lean on his stomach. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly begin lowering myself onto his throbbing length.
“Fuck,” he hisses as I slowly slide down.
When I’m fully impaled, his eyes roll a little and his breathing quickens. I lift myself up and gently slide back down again, relishing in his cries of pleasure. I continue this pattern, gently rocking my hips until he’s begging me for more. I love to hear him beg, it does crazy things to me.
“Tell me how good I feel?” I purr, in a husky voice.
“So fuckin’ good. So fuckin’ tight. God Willow, you make me want to fuckin’ come so hard.”
“Then come, come for me.”
His jaw is tight and his head is back, his hands are on my hips and his chest muscles are straining.
“Not until you,” he rasps.
“This isn’t for me.”
“Willow,” he roars and I feel him pulsing inside me.
His ragged groans fill my ears and bring me over the edge, I come with him and we both cry out as my body milks him dry. When we come down from our high, I gently slide off him and pull on my clothes. He leans back against the chair, grinning lazily at me.
“Oh wipe that grin off your face, you animal.” I laugh.
“I should get shot more often.”
My face goes serious. “No you shouldn’t.”
“Joking baby,”
He yawns and I smile. “Old man needs a nap after that?”
“Shut up,” he grins.
“You should get some rest…”
He nods weakly and I help him into the bed. When he’s lying down, I lean in and slide my lips across his.
�
�Are you sure you don’t need some help?” he asks, yawning again.
“It’s fine, Jenny and Ava have it all covered. Go to sleep.”
“Alright, night little girl,”
“It’s day time!”
He grins and closes his eyes. I lean in and kiss him again, “Night Jagger.”
CHAPTER 20
The funeral is awful. My Mother sobs loudly and clings to me, and I try hard to keep everything together. It’s hard when she’s so distraught. Once, I believe my dad was her everything. I guess I changed that for them. I hold her hand the entire service, and hold back my emotions. When it’s over, we stand and watch his grave being lowered into the ground.
“Thank you,” I whisper as they begin to cover it with dirt.
Jagger stands beside me the whole time, holding my other hand. I know he’s in pain, and I know it’s hard for him to stand this long but he does it for me. Jenny stands beside me and her hand strokes over Mom’s back and occasionally moves to mine. When it’s time to go back to our house for the wake, my Mother begs Sarah to let her go.
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Please, I want to be with my daughters for a while longer.”
“It’s ok Mom, we’ll come and visit tomorrow.” Jenny says, patting her hand.
“Please?” She pleads again.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Sarah sighs.
“We’ll come see you,” I say, trying to ease the situation. “I promise.”
Her distraught green eyes meet mine. “You forgave him, when will you forgive me?”
“Don’t do this now,” Jenny says gently.
“Not today Mom,” I whisper.
She hangs her head. “Ok, fine.”
“I promise we will be there tomorrow,” I say, feeling bad.
She nods and shuffles off towards the car. When she’s gone, Jenny takes my hand and we all make the journey home for the wake. Only a few old police friends show up, and I make them some small appetizers and serve drinks. As I’m in the kitchen preparing some fish cases, Jagger walks in and wraps his arms around my waist.
“Are you ok?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m ok; thanks for being there for me today Jagger.”
Dark Passion (The Dark Brother Series Book One) Page 14
