“Possibly,” she said with a grimace. “Whether he does or not, he’s still not going to be playing a guitar for a few months at the least.”
“Ladies.” Kratt pulled their attention to him. “If we might discuss what led us to this particular situation. Depending on what occurred, I may be able to get young Mr. Armstrong here off with community service.”
Aunt Dallas told him everything Shaw had told her, and it was only then that I realized she hadn’t been with Shaw at the photo shoot.
“She went alone?” I gritted out. “I thought you were there.”
“If I’d been there, do you think that little prick would have gotten two steps out of that studio?” she tossed back at me. “I had a gyno appointment. I thought you were going with her until she called me crying.”
“Cannon said there were other naked girls on the camera,” Ma told Kratt. “Couldn’t Eric be charged for something if those girls hadn’t given him permission?”
“You said the boy destroyed the camera,” Kratt reminded her.
“Yes, but not the memory card.” She pulled it from her pocket.
He took it from her, placed it in an envelope he pulled from his briefcase, and labeled it. “I’ll have to look through the pictures and try to identify the other possible victims. If they wish to file charges against this guy, he could end up doing serious time.” Kratt’s gaze shot to me. “And if I do my job right, you won’t. You’ll do your community service and be free to go on your summer tour.”
“Fuck the tour,” I snapped. “Just make sure that no one sees those pictures of my girl.”
Chapter 41
Shaw
It was midnight before I heard the front door opening. I jumped up from the couch where Dad had been watching movies with me all evening on Netflix. We’d gorged on junk food and takeout. Sometime during the afternoon, Dad had taken my phone and told me just to relax. Mom was taking care of everything, and he didn’t want me to worry.
I’d been worried about Jagger trying to call me, but he assured me Jagger was with Mom.
That hadn’t helped me relax. If he was with Mom, that meant he knew what happened, and I wasn’t sure what the hell he would do.
At the door, I came to a stumbling stop with Dad right behind me when I saw Mom in a pair of scrubs that I couldn’t remember her ever wearing before and Jagger beside her. He had his hand in a full cast, his face was pale, and there was what looked like blood on his shirt.
Seeing me, he narrowed his glazed eyes. “You are taking a fucking bodyguard with you from now on. Do you hear me?”
“What happened?” I whispered, my eyes going back to his hand.
“Shaw,” he growled my name. “Do. You. Hear. Me?”
“Yes,” I said with an adamant nod. “I’ll take a guard. I promise. Now, tell me what happened to your hand!”
“It’s broken. In three places,” Mom informed us with a roll of her eyes. “That tends to happen when you punch a bulletproof window and then break some idiot’s teeth out and fracture both of his eye sockets.”
I covered my mouth with my hands, and tears filled my eyes. “Oh God. How much trouble are you in?”
“My bail was set at fifty thousand,” he said with a shrug. “After I was done at the hospital, I was arraigned, and Ma got me out.”
I began to sway, and Dad caught me around the waist before I could fall. “Y-you were arrested?”
Suddenly, Jagger was right in front of me. Dad released me as Jagger pulled me in with his good arm and kissed the top of my head. “It was worth it, baby. That fucker deserved everything he got. Not only were those pictures of you still on his camera, but he had pictures of other girls on there too. Ma notified your client about what was going on, and they are pressing their own charges against him. But she also got Barrick and Mieke to help my lawyer look for some of the other victims to press charges against the fucker, and it turns out at least two of them are underage. Eric is going away for a long, long time.”
“I don’t care about Eric!” I cried. “I care about you fucking up your life.”
“Don’t worry about the boy,” Mom said. “His lawyer is a barracuda. Jagger isn’t going to do any time. Trust me.”
“Have you two eaten?” Dad asked. When I glanced at him, his face was set in hard lines, but he gave me a tight smile. “I’ll make you some dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” Jagger muttered. “Actually, the world is a little spinny right now. Those pain pills they wrote me a prescription for are finally kicking in, and I’m about to crash.”
“Shaw, take the boy up to your room,” Dad instructed. “You two need a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk about all of this in the morning when everyone is more clearheaded.”
The goofy grin that spread across Jagger’s lips told me he was high as a kite. “Hey, Dimples. I finally get to sleep in your bed. Think Cannon will try to kick my ass?”
Fighting tears, I shook my head at him. “Come on, criminal. You need to sleep it off.”
With my arm around him, I guided him to the stairs. But when I started to climb them, he grabbed the banister and refused to take another step. I looked up at him, but his face was oddly clear now. “Jags?”
He thrust his uninjured hand into his pants pocket, but whatever he pulled out was in his fist, hidden from my eyes. “I’ve been carrying this damn thing around in my pocket for months,” he muttered. “Those idiots at the police station took it when they processed me and laughed when they gave it back to me. Asked me why the fuck I had a rock this size in my pocket. It’s crazy, because I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this right. But something keeps stopping me. First, Luca beat the hell out of Cannon at the Christmas Eve party, and then Remington died while we were in freaking Paris.”
I didn’t understand what he was saying, and I was worried about him. “Jags, come to bed. That pain medication is making you talk nonsense.”
“Tonight, I realized it doesn’t matter. They all said it wouldn’t matter in the first place, but I didn’t believe them. I fucking should have, Dimples. Then my ring would have been on your finger, and that motherfucker Eric might not have pulled this shit.” He dropped to his knees in front of me and I gasped, but when I started to bend to help him up, he thrust his fisted hand at me and slowly unfolded his fingers, revealing the biggest diamond solitaire ring I’d ever set eyes on.
Tears spilled down my face at the sight of the ring. “Wait. Are you saying you’ve had this ring since…Christmas?”
He nodded. “Our moms and Mia helped me design it. I wanted it to be perfect for you. The diamond is just over eighteen carats, and the inside of the band has our names engraved on it.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off that ring. “You tried to ask me to marry you?”
“It was planned. But something kept getting in the way. Not that I’m mad Remington died and stopped me that last time. I’m sorry he’s gone, and I hate that Vi is hurting right now. But baby, I need this ring on your finger before I lose my fucking mind.”
With his casted hand, he took my left hand and lifted my fingers to his mouth. He kissed the fingertip of my ring finger and then slid the engagement ring into place. “Shaw, I love you so damn much. The thought of spending even a day without you sounds like the worst kind of hell.” He frowned, then blinked a few times. “Fuck, what was I going to say? I had it all planned out.”
Swallowing a sob, I bent so we were eye level. “I don’t care what you were going to say. This… This is perfect, Jags. I love you so much. Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.”
“Really?” Tears filled his pale-blue eyes. “You mean that?”
“Absolutely.” I cupped his jaw. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“No Vegas wedding!” Mom and Dad yelled, causing us both to laugh, and I looked over Jagger’s shoulder to find them both crying.
Dad had his arm around Mom, and she was clinging to him. “This is one of the best mom
ents of my life,” she sobbed, turning her face into Dad’s chest. “Ax, our little baby is getting married.”
“Not tonight, she’s not, hotness.” He kissed the top of her head. “Both of you, in bed. Now. Mom and I need a good cry without you watching us.”
Jagger jumped to his feet. “I’d carry you, baby, but I’m scared I’ll drop you right now.”
I laughed and pulled his arm around my shoulders. “I think I can make it to my old room all on my own, babe.”
Epilogue
Shaw
I’d missed getting to hold my little goddaughter the day she was born. I’d missed the first time she tried solid foods. The first time she rolled over and the first time she crawled, I was on a set for a damn commercial. And I wasn’t even going to get into missing her first word, which, not surprisingly, was “Da-da.”
I was not going to miss that precious baby’s first steps. Nope. Not happening.
As soon as Violet mentioned that Love Bug was starting to pull herself up, I grabbed Jagger and told him we were making a trip to Tennessee because I knew in my bones that she was going to be walking any day. Thankfully, he loved me more than life itself and indulged me and my need to be around Violet and Love Bug as much as possible, so we were on the first flight to Nashville.
Instead of going to my parents’ house in West Bridge, we went straight to Violet and Luca’s house a few miles away. It was close to dinnertime, and Vi knew we were coming. The front door was unlocked, and we simply walked in, because that was just how it was with Violet and me.
With her and Luca now officially back together, and it being only a matter of time before Luca popped the question, I knew Vi was a permanent resident of West Bridge, Tennessee. Which meant I wanted to be too. And not at my parents’ house either. This trip wasn’t just for me to get the chance to see one of Love Bug’s firsts.
I wanted to use it as a chance to talk my man into settling down—or at least owning our own property—close to my bestie. We already had a house in Santa Monica. It was in the same neighborhood as my parents. We lived about a mile away from them, closer to Uncle Drake than Mom and Dad, really. But I loved our house.
I just wanted something of our own closer to Violet and my precious goddaughter.
Especially now.
I walked into Violet and Luca’s house with Jagger right behind me just in time to hear Love Bug squeal “Da-da!” and I took off running because I just knew. Violet’s happy scream hit my ears just as I entered the living room and watched as Love Bug took her first steps toward Luca.
“Da-da-da-da-da-da!” she jabbered as she walked stiff-legged toward her favorite person in the universe.
Luca was crouched down, his arms wide open, tears pouring down his face as he beamed at his baby girl. “That’s it, Love. Come to Daddy.”
Violet stood on the other side of him, her phone already recording as her daughter threw herself into Luca’s arms and started baby-talking a mile a minute, as if she were telling him all about her day. He sniffled and kissed her chubby little cheeks, telling her how much he loved her.
“I finally got to see a first,” I whispered, leaning back into Jagger as we stayed where we were so that the little family on the other side of the room could have a moment to celebrate.
“Just think, though, Dimples,” Jagger whispered against my ear. “This time next year, we’ll be celebrating a few firsts of our own.”
I gasped and jerked around to look at him. “You know?” I pouted.
He grinned. “I know everything about you, Shaw. Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you haven’t had a period in two months, or that you gained ten pounds—which I fucking love, by the way. Your tits taste sweeter lately, and that pussy…” He groaned and licked his lips. “I think I want to keep you pregnant just so I can have more of that delicious cream.”
“I wanted to surprise you this weekend.”
“No, you wanted to use the baby announcement to tempt me into going house hunting here.” He caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger so he could tilt my head back. “Which is why I had Ma set up an appointment for tomorrow afternoon with a local real estate agent.”
Happiness exploded in my chest, and I threw my arms around him. “You make me so happy. Do you know that?”
He lowered his head and brushed his lips softly over mine. “I love you, Dimples. My life’s goal is to always make you happy.”
Playlist
“I miss you, I’m sorry” by Gracie Abrams
“We Belong” by Dove Cameron
“Scars That I’m Hiding” (ft. Anders Friden) by From Ashes to New
“I See Red” by Everybody Loves an Outlaw
“Listen to Your Heart” by Through Fire
“White Flag” by Bishop Briggs
“Broken Heart” by Escape the Fate
“Tell Me” by Adelitas Way
“Her Eyes” by Fame on Fire
“Hunting Grounds” (ft. Joe Cotela of Ded) by In This Moment
“What I Get” by From Ashes to New
“Gir” by Maren Morris
“Damn You For Breaking My Heart” by Caitlyn Smith
“Hello” by Fame on Fire
“Crooked Halo” by Stitched Up Heart
Wanting Shaw Page 29