He was stable, had a job, and most importantly, he loved her and their child. Jagger already wanted this baby more than anything in his life.
Why did everyone think he’d be such a shitty father and husband?
She heard the hurt in his voice.
It was also in his eyes. She didn’t want to break him, and he’d made her promise no games.
“Because when I get married, I want the man to propose, not have my grandfather force him to marry me. This isn’t some backwoods redneck town where people are set up in marriages or traded for livestock. This is a huge deal, Jagger. I don’t want a string of failed marriages. I want to do it right.”
Jagger got it, but there was one simple truth. “I'm not afraid of your grandfather, Roxy. He doesn’t scare me. Trust me when I say he can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do.”
He hoped she got the point. If he didn’t want to marry her, he wouldn’t. If he didn’t want to be found, or responsible for this child, he wouldn’t be.
No one forced Jagger to do anything he didn’t want to do.
Okay, that was a lie. Maura could probably force him, but that was the job.
“Son, you need to mind your manners before I come over there. You will respect me.”
Jagger had a newsflash for the man.
He knew what would shut him up.
“Michael O’Banion.”
Jagger saw when the name registered on the older man’s face. He knew it would. Everyone knew that bastard’s name—especially if they fancied themselves mob.
“And?” Silas asked. “He’s dead. If you think threatening me with a dead man is going to scare me…”
“He was my father. My real name is Jagger O’Banion. Armstrong is my mother’s maiden name. I took it out of respect for her when she was killed.”
Yeah, and to forget where he’d come from.
Ironically, it had come full circle.
The name did the job. Silas closed his mouth. That last name terrified him.
There was no way he was going to mess with O’Banion’s kid. Dead or not, everyone knew what the Irish Boston mob boss had been like.
If this was his son…
Oh, shit!
What had he done?
Jagger turned to face Roxy. Then he did something so unexpected that she actually gasped. He went to one knee.
“Take off your gloves, Roxy,” he ordered.
She did what he said.
When she was free of the mess, he took her slim fingers in his hand and stared into her eyes from his position on the floor.
“Roxanne Marie Faust, will you marry me? I won’t marry you because I’m being forced, but I will marry you because I love you and our child.”
She stared at him.
The look on her face said it all.
Jagger warned her. “If you run from me, I am going to chase you. I will find you, and when I do, I’m going to put you over my knee and give you a spanking. Silas isn’t the only one who can toss that out there.”
Roxy sputtered.
She didn’t want to admit it, but the visual sent her blood pressure through the roof. She could feel the flush rushing up her body.
“Don’t do it, Roxanne. I was wrong,” Silas stated. “You were right. No one has to get married because of a baby. Let’s go home and talk about this.”
He felt sick.
Silas hadn’t known his granddaughter had gotten involved with Michael O’Banion’s kid. That was a bad idea. Now he had to stop this from happening at all costs.
Jagger wasn’t done.
“Roxy? I love you. I want that dream. You’re the only way I’ll ever have it. You’re my one and only shot at happiness in this life. I didn’t ask you to marry me because you’re having our child. That’s not a reason to get married. A reason to get married is you can’t live without someone. That’s the ONLY reason I’d ever get married.”
She stared at him.
“Go with your gut and make your decision.”
So, she did.
Chapter Thirteen
Joann Rice’s
Home
Friday Mid-Morning
When he pulled up, he was pissed.
There was no doubt about that. They could see it on his face, but it was more than that. He looked rattled.
Nate stood there, arms crossed, and legs braced as he prepared for the man to try and get past him. Bishop and Luke were by his side, and they weren’t going to let the man into the house until he did some explaining.
As he approached, his tone said it all. He was a man on the edge.
“Where is she?”
Nate jerked his head to the side. “Inside, but you’re not going in there.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Oh, I don’t know. She’s dead, you told us to check out ‘Lucky’s’, she works there, and…oh, your text was the last one she received before she passed away.”
He stared at them. It was a mix of anger and confusion. Finally, he pulled his thoughts together.
“What the hell is going on here? Why are there women randomly dying all over town? I know there’s something here that you’re not telling me.”
Oh, he had no idea.
“Were you involved with Joann Rice?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t even hesitate.
“How?”
“We were casually dating. I texted her last night around nine when she got off work to see if she wanted to meet up for drinks. She doesn’t carry her phone on the job. I wanted to see her tomorrow after she got off shift. I was going to meet her at ‘Lucky’s’.”
So far, he hadn’t lied.
“How close were you?”
“We were friendly, but that’s about it. I’ve only started getting to know her. We only had one other date, and it was at ‘Lucky’s’ too. We just started dating. Can I see her? Is she really dead?”
They ignored his request. Until they got some answers, he wasn’t getting out of this questioning. Either he was behind this, or someone really wanted them all over the sheriff.
Bishop took over. “Who did you tell about ‘Lucky’s’? You sent us there, and then someone else dies who works there.”
This was a tricky line of questioning, and they all knew it. Even mentioning ‘killed’ would blow this to hell and back. The sheriff wasn’t an idiot.
They were running out of time and excuses.
“My whole department knew. I called them and asked the deputies to find some information for you. They talk amongst themselves all the time. People like to gossip in Happy.”
Great.
That wasn’t going to help.
“How many deputies are there?”
“Eight.”
“We’ll need their names,” Luke said. It looked like he was going to be doing a shitload of searches that night.
The town’s coroner van pulled up.
“I’m here for the body?” Dillon Pike stated. “Where is she?” he asked.
“Inside,” Nate offered. “Bag her and get her back to the morgue.”
“Where’s the coroner?” Bishop asked.
“We don’t have her come out for natural causes. Dillon does the preliminary check, and decides if the coroner needs to come out. Are you saying this isn’t natural causes?” the sheriff asked.
He was fishing and they knew it.
“No, we’re just asking.”
He hated that the FBI was being so tightlipped. He was going to start making some calls as soon as he was back at the office, but first, he needed to handle a notify.
“Do you have any issues with me talking to Joann’s family?” he asked. “I don’t want you upsetting them, and the last thing they need is an asshole on their doorstep.”
It was clear who that was directed at.
Someone didn’t like the FBI in his town anymore.
Bishop was busy watching the man. Something was off. When she glanced over at Nate, they shared a look. It said t
he same thing.
He wasn’t that broken up over her death.
“Were you having a sexual relationship with her?” Bishop asked. She was pretty sure it wasn’t going to go over well at all.
“You’ll get that out of me when you tell me what the hell is going on here.”
They were at a standoff.
Fed versus cop.
“We’ll be in touch,” Nate said, as the body was carried out of the house by the two techs.
“Oh, you better believe it.”
He stormed off.
Luke shook his head. “This is going to be bad. I can already feel it.”
Oh, they were aware.
There was a blow up coming.
It was only a matter of time.
“Where to?” Bishop asked. “Who else can we piss off today? I love my new job.”
Yeah, it was the story of their lives.
“We should head to the morgue. We have to see what Roxy found with the coroner, and with this body.”
They knew it would be nothing.
Once more, this killer was in the clear.
Nate was getting more and more worried. How did you fight something you couldn’t see?
Did they have a killer who couldn’t be stopped?
Were they out of their league?
It looked like they were about to find out.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Callen drove.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, glancing over at his wife. She’d been quiet the last hour, and he knew what was bothering her.
“I feel like we’re going to hang them out to dry. I feel like I’m about to turn my back on them, Cal. This sucks.”
He knew this was going to eat away at her. That’s why he’d insisted on going with her. When this was all done, his wife was going to feel like she’d betrayed them when in actuality, she’d saved Avalon from going back to the government to be a pawn.
“We aren’t. We’re buying Nate time. We can only do so much, Lyzee. We set Oracle free, we hid her for this long, and now Nate has to know that there is a time when we couldn’t help anymore.”
She didn’t buy that.
“We have to help them, Callen.”
He loved his wife. “We will, angel. We just have to help them disappear for a little while. In a new city, a new place, and with a new name, they’ll be invisible again. The new president will be too busy to hunt for Oracle.”
She prayed he was right.
“You know how much I hate betrayal. It eats away at me.”
He was aware.
“You aren’t betraying them. If anything, you’re lying your ass off to the most powerful man in the free world for them. We’re risking everything, angel. You’re doing all you can.”
She hoped he was right.
“What do you want to do? What’s our first step in putting this in motion?”
She’d been thinking about it long and hard.
“Avalon is going to know we are coming. As soon as I get close, she’s going to be alerted. You can’t sneak up on her. My only hope is she keeps it quiet. I need to talk to her first. We need to help her, and then talk to the team. I’ll give her the choice.”
He patted her leg. “You already know what she’ll choose, don’t you?”
Yeah, she did.
Still...
It had to be her choice.
“Okay, angel. We’ll do what it takes. Are we going to be able to get past her team of guard dogs?”
Elizabeth laughed. “It’s like everyone thinks it’s my first day on the job.”
He was amused. “She has two Marines guarding her. That’s not going to be easy.”
“I’ll get to her. I just need her location.”
Speaking of which…
“I’m going to call Ethan. He’s working on finding them. We’ll locate Avalon and get her alone.”
They both knew that wasn’t going to be easy. They were counting on the Oracle.
Now she had to do her part.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Courthouse
He was in a panic—not because he was going to get married, but because Roxy was alone with her grandfather. He could only imagine what was being said about him. Jagger wouldn’t be shocked if the man pulled out all the stops to get Roxy to run for her life.
Silas didn’t like him when he found out he’d knocked up his granddaughter, and he really didn’t like that he was from a mob family. That was ironic since Silas was Ravenswood’s mafia.
The pot was calling the kettle black on this one.
Jagger had time to pace, run across the street to the jeweler, and pick up two simple bands before having to get back.
Still no Roxy.
He had to believe in her. After she said she’d marry him, she asked for a little time, but she was going to meet him.
He believed her.
Jagger had to have faith in her. Then again, she ran before, and who knew if Silas had muscle with him. At this point, he didn’t doubt the man might force her into a car and take off.
If that were to happen, it would be war. Jagger knew what he was capable of doing. He’d hunt Silas down and make him pay. This wasn’t a game to him.
This was his future.
For the first time, in a long time, Jagger was scared.
He needed his family.
Pulling out his cell, he called his sister for some moral support. Only that wasn’t going to happen. It went right to voicemail with her cheery voice telling him to leave a message. Jagger did the math in his head, and he realized she was in a class.
Shit.
He hated that he was getting married and she wasn’t going to be there. That was the one part of this he regretted. When all was said and done, he only hoped she didn’t hate him. After all, she’d postponed her wedding to have him there, and he couldn’t do the same.
This was making him nervous.
He had two choices.
Back out or go ahead with it.
Jagger weighed his options. If he backed out, there was no doubt in his mind that Roxy would be hurt. If she didn’t show up, that was a different story.
He’d be pissed.
Okay, he made up his mind. Dialing his phone again, he called Maura. When she answered, he blurted into the phone.
“I need you!”
“What? Are you okay? Is Roxy okay?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.
“I did something.”
“Calm down, Captain, and report.”
Hearing his military title snapped him back into control. He returned to Marine mode. It was his training and Maura’s voice that steadied him.
“What happened?” she asked.
He told her everything.
“So you are freaked out because you don’t want to get married now?”
“No. I want to get married. I just need you guys here. I don’t want to do this alone.”
“Jagger, Avalon is out cold from last night. Lucian is down too. I’m the only one watching over them.”
“I see.”
“We’d be there…”
“It’s okay. I get it. I just needed…” Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he needed. He wasn’t sure why he bothered.
Clearly, it had been a mistake.
“Jagger.”
“I have to go. Never mind, Maura. I’m sorry I bothered you.” He hung up.
It was lame to need anyone, and he knew it. He wanted his family there, but he’d still follow through. It was time to get married, and he was going to own it.
Not because he had to.
No.
This was so much more important because for the first time in his life Jagger Armstrong was ready.
He was ready to be a husband.
As soon as he hung up, Maura felt horrible. When Jagger disconnected the call, she knew he was freaked out. This was huge for him, and he couldn’t do this alone. There was no way in hell she was going to let him get married by hims
elf. While she couldn’t control everything, she could control this.
Making a call, she got Nate on the phone.
“What’s up, Maura? We’re en route to the morgue to meet up with Roxy and Jagger.”
“They aren’t there,” she stated.
“Uh, where are they?”
She told them.
“Are you serious?” he said in disbelief.
“Yeah, I am. I need Bishop to get back here to babysit. I’ll meet you at the courthouse. We don’t have time. Hustle.”
Nate didn’t think twice. Jagger was their brother. If he’d reached out to them in his moment of nerves, they’d have his back through it.
It was the least they could do.
He’d risked his life and saved Avalon from her father by putting his life on the line. This mattered.
When he hung up, he told his partners what was going down.
“I’ll drop you off,” Bishop said.
“Thank you.”
She didn’t mind. While Roxy was her best friend, or supposed to be, these people were now her team, and they had been instrumental in helping her get Lucian back. She’d cover for them even if it stung, and it did.
She wanted to go too, but Roxy didn’t call to tell her. That spoke volumes of where their relationship was at that point.
Did it hurt?
Yes.
Would she show up without warning?
No.
If Roxy had wanted her there, she would have made the call. Bishop couldn’t focus on that. So, she went with something that would cheer her up.
She could see her husband—asleep or not.
Regarding the missing invite, she’d make lemonade with the shitload of lemons her supposed best friend just handed her, and then she’d take it like a man.
No…
A woman.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Courthouse
Roxy didn’t care what he was saying.
Silas was following her around as she tried to find a dress to wear for her impromptu wedding. The whole time, he tried to talk her out of getting married.
Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Page 24
