Page 24 of Jagger
That meant they were practically flying down the road, and I worried someone was going to get hurt. And what if I was wrong and it wasn’t blood? But what else could it be?
I typed out a message to Cheyenne.
Me:Should I be worried?
A minute later, the phone rang, and I picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hey. If you’re secure in your house, I don’t think worrying will help,” Cheyenne said.
“What if I’m wrong and it’s a jar of jelly that busted? They’re going to drive all the way up here for nothing,” I reasoned.
“Your instincts aren’t wrong. You said something was off about it, and if you think it was blood, then it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I’m sorry to drag Trent away from you.”
“Trent’s here with me. Jagger is on the way, and I think Animal is coming down from his friends house in North Dakota, so he may get there faster than Jagger.”
“Why . . . I don’t understand why he’s coming alone.”
“I think he wants to be able to apologize and make sure you’re okay. If someone sent you a bleeding box, then you’re not safe up there until they can figure out who and why. So, if he says you need to come back here to Rapid, please don’t fight him.” She choked up as she added, “I wouldn’t survive if something happened to you.”
Being independent is all I’ve ever known, but if Jagger thought I was in danger, then I’d follow whatever he suggested. After Cheyenne was kidnapped last year, I saw how much it affected her life and I became more cautious too.
The sound of a motorcycle echoed into the kitchen, and I stood from my seat and walked to the front window. A blacked-out bike was parked behind my car, and I recognized Animal.
“Animal’s here, so I guess we’ll know soon enough,” I remarked. “I’ll have them call you after . . .”
“Be safe, Jackie.”
“I’ll try,” I returned and disconnected the call as I walked toward the front door.
A knock sounded into the living room, and I asked, “Who is it?”
“Jackie, it’s Animal. Jagger asked me to wait with you until he gets here.”
I opened the door, and he looked down at the box sitting to the side. There was a small line of red outlining it, and as he stepped into the house, he closed and locked the door behind him.
I guessed we were waiting for Jagger to arrive before inspecting the box. And the more minutes that ticked by while Animal and I had coffee in the kitchen, the more nervous I became. A part of me knew that once I saw him and he began his apologies, I was going to fold like a cheap suit and forgive him.
And that terrified me more than the bloody box outside taunting me.
Chapter 13
Jagger
Iwas driving way faster than I should, but I needed to get to my woman. If she was still my woman, but we’d cross that bridge after I figured out who mailed something bloody to her. Cheyenne and I had spoken at length over the last two weeks, and I’d divulged some of my issues, starting with my proclivity to destroy everything good in my life and ending with the horrible statements I made to Jackie the morning I left her.
She said time, honesty, and groveling may work, so I was just waiting for an opening. Now, I was kicking the fucking door open. Someone was sending subtle threats to Jackie, and I feared it was Blur and his merry band of assholes who were helping him. The Callahans had suggested that the men Cheyenne killed and injured last year during her escape were just part of Blur’s network.
It took more than a few people to take, hide, transport, and otherwise help dispose of women who they’d taken, so there had to be more out there. And if Blur and his men were able to get any information out of Nitro when they attacked him, then Jackie may have been on their radar. I didn’t believe Nitro would say anything, even if it meant saving his own life, but after the phone call from Jackie, all bets were off.
I was going to act first and investigate second when it came to her safety. Hearing her say she wasn’t a club lady was like a knife to my heart, and Cheyenne patted me on the shoulder, trying to ease my discomfort. Jackie wasn’t aware I was listening whenshe said that, but I feared she may believe the nonsense she was saying.
I’d fucked up, but she was it for me. Every day, I went out and tried to feed her horse, hoping to get the big animal to warm up to me, but she refused to take anything from me. I could leave it in her bucket, and she may or may not have eaten it after I left, then she huffed, stomped her foot, and lifted her tail into the air as she turned and trotted away from me. But I kept trying.
My phone chimed into the earpiece I’d shoved into my ear before I left, and when I pressed the speech text on my phone, the computer voice spoke the message into my ear.
