by Sophia Gray
Abby’s entire body shook and trembled as she readjusted herself in the trunk, preparing to kick again. Every muscle was begging her to stop, to rest, to let go. but she couldn’t. Not when Jagger was right there, practically within arm’s reach. She bent her leg back, breathing deeply to prepare herself again, before pushing it forward with all her might, every last drop of her energy pooled into her leg as it collided with the side of the trunk. For a second, she thought she’d failed, that her last-ditch effort had been a bust. She didn’t hear any cracking noises, any signal that she’d successfully kicked out the other light and given a sign to Jagger that she was still alive. But then a small line of light flashed across Abby’s eyes, thin and long. It was coming from outside the trunk. The trunk had popped itself open with the force of Abby’s kick.
Abby stumbled forward on her hands and knees and flung the top of the trunk all the way open, air whooshing in as she exposed herself to the open road. She stuck her head out of the trunk and began waving her arms back and forth, her eyes blinded by the sudden influx of light from the sun in comparison to the darkness of the trunk. “Help! Help me! Please!” Her arms, still weak from the sedative that she’d been given, dropped to her sides after a few seconds, but she stayed upright, even as she wavered back and forth with the movement of the truck. “Please! Help me! Save me, please!” she screamed, her voice rising above the sound of the wheels and the puffing of the truck’s engine even though her throat was hoarse and worn-out.
“Abby!” she heard Jagger scream. She still couldn’t see, barely able to keep her eyes open after exerting herself so hard, but she could tell by the sound of his voice that he was close, probably in the car directly behind Jacob’s truck. “Abby, I’m coming! I’m coming for you, just stay still, okay! Don’t move!”
She was about to ask why, but then she heard the gunshots, popping right next to her ear, banging loudly as they collided with the surface of the truck behind her. A second later, Abby’s body jerked upward in the air and slid off to one side of the trunk. One of the gunshots must have hit a wheel, popping it right away, and now the car slid to the side of the road even as Jacob kept trying to speed up and ride away.
Abby was blinking furiously, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the bright light so she could see what was going on. Even without her vision, she could tell that the truck was slowing down, sputtering a little before coming to a complete stop. She heard male voices shouting frantically and guns going off again, pop pop pop pop, all in a row, until she felt strong, familiar arms grab her by the shoulders.
“Abby, Abby, are you okay? Are you all right? What did he do to you?” Jagger asked her. Abby blinked a few more times, his beautiful face finally coming into view, framed by the sun. He looked like an angel, like he was sent from Heaven to protect her. Maybe he was.
“I’m… fine,” she said slowly, her mouth not working as well as it usually did when she wasn’t sedated. “He gave me something, though. Slowed me down.”
“Motherfucker,” Jagger grunted out, wrapping one hand around the back of Abby’s head and pulling her into his chest, crushing her against him. “Tony, you make sure he doesn’t move a goddamn inch until I get to him.”
“The cops,” Abby murmured, her mouth working of its own volition, without her brain’s contribution. Her thoughts had slowed to a stop, all tired out for the day, but she still had important things to say.
“What’s that, honey? What are you saying?” Jagger said, pulling back a little to stare down into her eyes.
“The cops. You have to turn him in… to the cops,” Abby mumbled, rubbing the side of her face against Jagger’s warm, solid chest.
Jagger was silent a moment, and Abby knew him well enough to see that he was conflicted. She knew he wanted to beat the living shit out of Jacob, not only for targeting and terrorizing Satan’s Blazes for so many months, but also for hurting Abby. Right now, she just needed the violence to stop. She needed to rest, and for that to happen, Jagger had to rest with her. It was the only way she could trust herself to relax if she knew he wasn’t going to get hurt when she closed her eyes.
He must have sensed all that because for once he didn’t put up a fight. “Okay,” he said after a minute, rubbing the back of Abby’s hair soothingly. “Okay, we’ll take him to the police. For you.”
Abby nuzzled her face against his chest, pulling at the fabric of his shirt to get him even closer. She was acting like a baby, she knew, like a bonafide toddler, but she didn’t care.
At a different time, in a different place, she would have pushed Jagger away. She would have told him not to baby, or coddle her, or do anything else that might make her feel weak. That was the scariest thing, feeling like she wasn’t tough. But for right now, she couldn’t tear herself away from Jagger’s touch. She wanted more of it. She wanted all of it, all that he had to give her. She needed to be touched sweetly and softly. She needed to be comforted. For once in her life, she wasn’t ashamed of it. She needed help, and that didn’t make her any weaker, not in the slightest. It was liberating, letting herself be taken care of.
Maybe that was what being strong was all about.
# # #
Jagger
Jagger paced back and forth in front of the hospital room, waiting for the doctors to finish up their check-up of Abby. He was only out here because they told him in no uncertain terms that they needed privacy to check on her. Jagger wanted to argue with them, but it was such a long day, he didn’t have any steam left in him. All he had was anger, anger at the doctors for being so strict, anger at Jacob for hurting Abby, anger at the universe for allowing all of this to happen.
Thankfully, it was over. Finally, finally, it was over. It was almost a little scary to think about. The investigation of the arsons had been his life for so long. It was the reason his last girlfriend had left him; it was the reason he’d grown distant from his coworkers and his MC brothers alike. It had shaped his life, however, given Jagger purpose, given him a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Now that it was over, what would he do with himself? What would he focus on?
As the doctors walked back out of Abby’s room and signaled to him that it was okay to go in, he suddenly knew the answer to his questions. Abby. Abby would become his life now; that is, if she was interested in letting him stick around. When he sat down next to her bed, he noticed that she’d fallen asleep, finally. Good. That was good. She deserved it.
If he were honest with himself, he knew that he had to sleep at some point, but he couldn’t get his brain to quiet down. All he kept thinking about was Abby trapped in that trunk, Abby trapped in Jacob’s house. He hoped to God that nothing truly bad had happened to her, or it wouldn’t matter what Abby said about the police. He’d tear Jacob apart with his own two hands if he found out that he’d disturbed even one hair on Abby’s head.
That was how Jagger spent the night, staring out into the darkness, listening to Abby’s breathing while inwardly his thoughts tossed and turned, obsessing about what he was going to do to Jacob. Hours passed that way until the morning light streaked into the hospital room through the open window, casting a radiant glow on Abby until she twitched herself awake.
“Mm, morning,” she mumbled as she opened her eyes, slowly sitting up in bed.
“Good morning,” Jagger said, and he surprised himself with how cheery and chipper he sounded, in comparison to Abby’s sleepy, grumpy tone. She rubbed her eyes and looked at him, staring at him for a long moment before saying anything else.
“Did you stay here all night again?” Abby asked after her long pause.
Jagger just nodded.
Abby bit down on her lip, her brow furrowing, and Jagger wondered what he did wrong to make her worry. He hated seeing that. He knew she’d felt enough worry to last a lifetime, maybe even two lifetimes. She didn’t deserve to feel that way anymore. She’d paid her dues. He just wanted her to rest and relax and recover.
“What’s wrong?” he finally asked, watching her
chew furiously on her bottom lip and fidget around with her fingers, scratching at her nails.
“Um, nothing, nothing,” she said quickly, but it was not a genuine answer. She stared down at her lap for a long moment, looking as her nails attacked each other viciously. Jagger was tempted to reach over and pull her hands apart to prevent her from hurting herself, but he figured she’d had enough men telling her what to do lately. She needed to feel like she was in control of her own body.
Jagger just waited, allowing her to gather her thoughts. He didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready to share her worries with him. God knew he’d already pushed her too much during the time they’d known one another. It was a miracle that she was willing to put up with him at all.
After a long minute of silence, Abby finally cleared her throat to speak. “Nobody’s ever done that for me before, you know.”
“What do you mean?” Jagger asked, confused.
“Staying all night in the hospital,” Abby explained, still not looking directly at him. Her fingers picked up speed, scratching at each other harder like it was killing her to admit this out loud. “All that time when I was in the hospital as a teenager, nobody… ever stayed the night.”
“Jesus,” Jagger whispered, more to himself than to Abby, but it still got her to smile sadly and turn to look at him for a second before her eyes flicked back down to her lap.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t do anybody any good, does it?” Abby said softly, pushing the blanket down her body, exposing her bare legs to the air. She moved her hands down to her knees and began scratching the skin there.
Jagger finally pulled his chair forward and took one of her hands, stopping her from inflicting any more damage to herself. He held her small hand within his large one, tracing his fingers over her knuckles until she shivered. “It makes a difference, I think,” Jagger whispered. “You slept well, right?”
“I did,” Abby admitted. “I slept really well.”
“I think it helps to have someone in the room,” Jagger said, even though he didn’t know what he was talking about. “You deserved… You deserved better. As a teenager, when you were in the hospital. Your family should’ve stayed with you.”
Abby was quiet again for a moment, and Jagger half-expected her to start arguing with him. Instead she just whispered, “Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Jagger said reflexively, gripping her hand a little tighter.
“You must want to go home to take a shower,” Abby said a moment later, smiling widely at him for just a second before the façade fell from her face. He saw the worry in her expression, lingering there like a persistent shadow.
“I’m good,” Jagger said quietly. “I think I’m gonna stay here for a while if that’s okay with you.”
Abby shrugged a little, but Jagger could detect the relief that she felt, her shoulders dropping as the tension left her muscles. He smiled a little to himself, proud that he’d helped her relax even the tiniest bit.
“Is it… If I hang around for a while, not just today but, like, till you get out of the hospital, is that okay?” Jagger asked, his voice coming out a little higher and more nervously than he would have liked. He wished he was as good at pretending not to care as Abby was.
“Yeah, yeah, I’d… I’d appreciate that,” she said in response, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.
Jagger wondered if he should just stop there rather than pushing the issue, but he had to know. He had to know, goddammit. He couldn’t live in uncertainty. He’d done that for months and months during the investigation, and he was sick of it. He needed to know where he stood. “And if I hang around after you come out of the hospital, is that okay too? With you? Would you like that, too?” He hoped Abby would understand what he was trying to ask her. Can I be with you? Can I really, really be with you, all the time, whenever possible? Can we be together?
Abby bit her lip again, but she turned to face him head-on, staring deeply into his eyes, her eyes full of an emotion that Jagger recognized but couldn’t name. It scared him a little, but he looked back at her rather than ducking his head or tearing his eyes away.
“I’m going to need some time, Jagger,” Abby said softly. “To get used to the whole… You being around thing. I’m not used to men sticking around for very long, you know.”
“I know,” Jagger said, finally dropping his gaze to the ground. It was a little disappointing, realizing that Abby wasn’t ready to be his 24/7 girlfriend right away, but it made sense. She’d been through so much. “I can give you time,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.
“That’s all I need,” Abby said softly, so soft that Jagger looked up from the floor, concerned about what he might find written across Abby’s face.
Her eyes were shining with tears, and for a second Jagger’s heart fell deep into his stomach, horrified that he’d said or done the wrong thing to hurt her. She’d been through enough, after all. He didn’t need to torture her emotionally on top of everything else. As tears fell from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks slowly, a smile spread across her face. A real one, this time. Sad, but genuinely happy at the same time. “Thank you,” she murmured, her voice full of emotion.
Jagger didn’t think. He just acted.
He leaned forward, still holding onto her hand, and pressed their lips together gently. Abby deepened the kiss, grabbing the back of Jagger’s head to encourage him on. “Thank you,” she mumbled in between deep kisses, her lips tracing their way across his cheeks and jawline. “Thank you so much.”
“No, no, it’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Jagger murmured back, stroking the side of Abby’s face as tenderly as possible. “You deserve so much more.”
“I deserve to make my own choices, Jagger,” Abby said, a little sternly now, and Jagger knew she was referring to all the control-freak bullshit he’d pulled.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” he replied.
“It’s okay. You were just trying to protect me. I’m—I’m not used to that,” Abby said, her face raw and vulnerable when Jagger pulled back to look her in the eyes. “But I’m willing to try.”
“You are?” Jagger asked, unable to keep the wondrous hope he felt out of his voice.
“Very willing. I’m ready… I’m ready to be… Soft, with you,” Abby whispered, leaning forward again to press her mouth against Jagger’s.
“Can I… get up there with you?” Jagger asked, gesturing to the hospital bed. Abby grinned and nodded, shuffling to the side to make room for him as he lifted himself up onto the bed.
Jagger wrapped his arms around Abby’s body, clinging to her as tightly as he could. He’d almost lost her, in more ways than one. In the process, he’d almost lost everything, but she was there. She was real, and she was willing to fight for him. More than that, she was ready to fight herself for him, to allow him to take care of her, to allow him to protect her. And that was more than enough.
“You saved me, you know,” Abby murmured into his chest, rubbing her hand against his shoulder, still trying to look after him even now. Ever the nurse, ever the caretaker.
“No,” Jagger said to her, kissing the top of her head. “You saved me.”
For now, they could agree to disagree, focusing instead on the glorious warmth of each other’s bodies, the beautiful curves, and edges and rough spots that they were finally able to show one another. Deep inside there was one simple truth that both of them knew. The life they were now going to share was going to be full of thick, dark smoke, as scary and threatening as the real kind they’d already escaped, but they knew they could handle it. Together, they were strong. Together, they could face the flames.
THE END
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Diablo: Hellriders MC
By Sophia Gray
SHE’S IN BED WITH THE DEVIL NOW.
She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now, she’s stuck under my roof.
Tending to my men’s injuries by day.
And tending to my needs by night.
She should run away – from me, my enemies, my dark and bloody past.
But one taste of her, and I know I’m never gonna let her go.
This girl belongs to me.
Chapter One
Jamie
The night was brutal. The long hours are always bad, but tonight was especially… horrific. There was a twelve car pile-up over on the interstate between Richmond and Allerton. The whole area had to be closed off with traffic redirected, and from what I heard right before I left, they still hadn’t cleared up the backed-up traffic. But none of that was why it was awful for me. The traffic wasn’t important, though I was grateful for the heads up. That was why I was driving on the backroads towards home, even though under normal circumstances it would be twice as long as my normal route.
