by Jenika Snow
“But I know what you’ve been through, know that right here.” He placed his hand on her chest, right over her heart, and a small sound from the weight of his palm and the heat from it spearing right through her, left her mouth. “You are hurting right here in your heart, and no matter how hard you try to be strong there is no way to hide it.” Jagger kept his hand on her chest. “I can feel your little heart beating so hard and fast, because even if you feel this chemistry between us, this electricity every time we touch, and this bone deep need, your pulse is racing because you know what I say is true.”
Sonya swallowed, trying to get moisture in her suddenly dry throat. Yes, she knew exactly what he was saying, and felt it so strongly.
“But I’m not Trick, would never do the things he did to you, and will find him and kill him.” He said the last part on a growl. “A male of any kind of worth wouldn’t treat a female the way he treated you.” She didn’t miss when he started moving the very tip of his big fingers along her collarbone. “But even though I wouldn’t treat you that way, I am in no way a good male. I live for blood, rage, and the violence that moves through my veins. The MC life isn’t good for a female that has been abused.” Sonya wished she could respond, but his words touched her more than anything anyone had ever said to her. “Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
She nodded because speech was not possible right now. With the heavy weight of his hand on her chest, the smell of his dark, spicy scent, and at the sight of such an imposing and intimidating man saying such heart-wrenching things to her, all of her comprehension vanished. At this moment she could imagine herself in a very different world, one that hadn’t been ripped from her when she was so young. But all she had wanted was to escape the MC life. Then this male came along and had her second guessing herself because she wanted to explore why Jagger made her feel this way. “No one has made me feel this way.”
He closed his eyes again, and he inhaled deeply. It seemed like forever before he took a step away from her and opened his eyes to look at her. There was a sudden chill that surrounded her.
“We better get to the bike shop, and then we’ll get you some clothes. That way you’ll feel more comfortable when we go eat breakfast.” He averted his eyes and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
She hated that he wouldn’t look at her, especially since she felt like they had connected on more than just a physical level right then. The words he had said reached out and had taken hold of a part of her. When she nodded he turned and left her alone in his room. She looked down at the shirt she held. Even without bringing it to her nose she smelled the dark scent that made up Jagger. This certainly was a turn of events she hadn’t seen coming.
Chapter Nine
“You’ve put this club through a lot of shit, and you have the balls to come on my territory and ask us to help you take down the Grizzly MC—one that I’ll remind you we have a mutual understanding with—because they took the female you kidnapped?”
Trick stared at Rex, the Cougar MC President of the Utah charter.
“Man, you really are fucked in the head.” Rex leaned forward and stared at Trick with his beady black fucking eyes. “You’re lucky we don’t gut you right here.”
Trick smirked. No way would they touch him, not unless they wanted to really see how crazy his ass was. Trick looked around the small coffee shop. He might be labeled a loose cannon, but he wasn’t a dumb fucker either. He had gone to the Cougars in hopes that they could give him the manpower he needed to get his female back that those fucking Grizzly assholes had taken. Her scent and the stench of her blood had saturated his property when he had returned from the woods. But it wasn’t until three days ago when he was scouting out Jagger’s clubhouse on the outskirts of Steel Corner that he had seen Sonya with that motherfucker Jagger. For three hours he had watched them go from a bike shop, to a clothing store, and finally stop to get something to eat before heading back to the Grizzly MC. There had been two other Grizzly members with them the whole time, or Trick would have gone after her right then. He didn’t give two shits about an audience, or getting down and gritty with a fucking bear, but he also had to be safe about this. He didn’t want to start shit and one of the other bear shifters take her away and he had to start the whole process over again in finding her. Even thinking about her wearing that bear’s clothes had his blood boiling and this homicidal rage churning inside of him. When he did get her back he’d make sure she bled for the trouble she caused him.
Trick leaned forward and held Rex’s eyes. “You ain’t gonna do shit, because I’ll tell you what.” He looked around before turning his attention back to the cougar. “You might be able to get your posse of pussy cougar shifters down here to help take me out, but I’ll make sure I give each and every one of them a physical reminder of me before I go out.” Of course Trick was on his own now aside from the one crew member—Pipe—that had gotten away with him. Had he taken the pussy way out? Nah, he was biding his motherfuckin’ time. He was enemies with too many MCs, and the ones he was neutral with were far and few between, and didn’t like taking sides. Besides, the Grizzly MC had a notorious reputation, and no one wanted to fuck with them.
Rex didn’t respond, but Trick saw him glance at one of his guys that waited outside. Trick stood and made his was out of the diner without another word, got on his bike, and he and Pipe headed back to Steel Corner. He was sick of waiting and was going to get his fucking female back one way or another. But he had to be smart about this, because he would be on grizzly bear territory. Of course, Trick lived for danger, and the more blood that was spilled, all the better.
****
It had been nearly five days already since Sonya had been at the Grizzly clubhouse. And with each passing hour Jagger’s need for her became even more intense. He sat at the head of the table and watched Dallas shut the door behind him. All of his crew was here to talk about heading up to the property the club owned and getting things organized for the fights that would be held there. After they had voted on it and it was a go, Jace and Sticks had been contacted. They had done another meeting to work out the small details, but everything was a go, and Jagger and his crew were ready to get the cash flow started.
“So you all know why this meeting was called.” There was a collective murmur of agreement. He would also need to discuss the Sonya situation, because until they found Trick and took him out she wasn’t leaving this clubhouse. “There are a couple of things that need to be brought up. First thing is we will be heading up to the property to meet with Jace and Sticks once more and finalize everything. The fights should start sometime next week or two.”
“So soon?” Court asked.
“It would have been sooner than that, but I let them know we have some loose ends to tie up first. Brick, you get a hold of Martion about the coke?”
Brick nodded and said, “Yeah, he’s all for it, and the rate we talked about is a go.”
“Good, there is one thing done. Sticks will give us the coke today, and Brick and Court, I want you to head over to see Martion and get that squared away.”
“You got it,” Court said from across the table.
“Next thing up is, what are the details on Trick and his whereabouts?” He looked at Dallas.
“I have been in contact with the Grizzly Nomads that we put on his trail. The last they spotted him was in Utah, but they don’t know if he caught their trail because they lost him.”
Jagger curled his hand into a fist.
“They ended up catching up to him again when one of the charters spotted him and another Wolverine riding out of Utah. He is somewhere in Colorado again, but he’s laying low.”
“That fucker needs to be dead,” Jagger gritted out, feeling his anger rising to a violent level.
Dallas nodded. “I know, Prez. We know he’s coming after us, and know it’s because of the girl, but you already know that since Rex called you up.”
Yeah. The Cougar MC wasn’t the biggest alliance th
ey had, but they were neutral. It wasn’t a surprise that Rex had informed Jagger that Trick had contacted the Cougars for back-up in taking Jagger’s club down and getting back Sonya. “He’s not getting her back.” He clenched his jaw and made sure to look at each of his men. “And I fucking mean that.”
“We know, Prez.” They all seemed to say in unison. He might not know exactly why he wanted Sonya so bad, but he always went with his instincts and what his bear wanted. And both of those were drawn to the human female like nothing before, and he wasn’t about to question it. He had brought everyone up to speed on the Sonya issue and why Trick wanted her. Although he left out the more personal details because that was something he didn’t want to get into with them, they did need to know that Trick wouldn’t stop until he had Sonya again, and that the fucker needed to die a very slow death. But his club didn’t question him and trusted what he said implicitly.
“I want everyone on lockdown until this asshole is taken care of. He’s crazy enough to start hurting members’ families just to get to what he wants.” He tilted his chin toward Stinger. “Make the call, brother.”
Singer nodded and was up and out of the meeting room. It wouldn’t take long to gather everyone up. Everyone was scattered around Steel Corner, but close enough that they could be at the clubhouse in less than thirty minutes if needed.
“Well, and then this brings up the whole Sonya situation. She’s not leaving here until Trick is dead. I was going to send her to a more secure place until we got shit taken care or, but I can’t send her out there with that fucking lunatic on the loose, no matter how safe we make it.” Jagger wasn’t ready to admit the other biggest reason he wanted her at the club: because he went ballistic even thinking about her being away from him. Shit, what he felt for her was insane, but fucking hell it felt so good and right. Jagger looked at Court. “Her shoulder’s looking good?”
Court nodded. “Yeah, surprisingly she is healing very nicely. She refuses any more narcotics, but she’s tough, I know some of these assholes couldn’t even handle a stubbed toe let alone a bullet flying through their shoulder.” There was a round of good natured curses thrown Court’s way.
“All right, last order of business is that everything is closed and done with the coke mule-ing, so aside from those two kilos that Brick will sell off, we are now in the fighting business.” The guys pounded on the table and smiled, but they couldn’t celebrate this liberation yet. They still had the Trick matter, and for Jagger that was the most important one. Sonya wasn’t going to get hurt. He would make damn fucking sure about that.
****
Sonya turned off the light and stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing a new outfit Jagger had bought for her, and although she felt strange letting him buy her clothes because right now she couldn’t possibly pay him back, his generosity seemed to have no bounds. There were things she noticed about Jagger that she knew he tried to hide. On the outside he was so tough and in control, and he was the leader of his MC. He commanded his men, didn’t take shit from anyone, and the words he spoke were listened to with rapt attention. Yes, he was scary with his impressive build, growly voice, and overall presence, but he talked to the other members not as a man dictating to them, but one that cared about them. This was a family as much as if she was still at home with her mom and dad. And over the last few days she had seen the way they were with each other, the laughs they shared, the good hearted humor, and the overall warmth that each man gave. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that they still weren’t dangerous, but she saw the way they were with each other, and it was nothing like the life she had lived with Trick. He and his men were just vile, disgusting bastards, and there had never been a sense of brotherhood between them.
There was a loud noise coming from the other side of her bedroom door, but she knew they were in a lockdown due to Trick still being out there, and apparently close to Jagger’s clubhouse. And as frightening a thought as that was, inside this clubhouse, with Jagger beside her, Sonya didn’t feel like anything could harm her. She just hoped they caught him before he could hurt anyone else. Trick wasn’t above harming women and children to get his point across. She didn’t know the details of what was happening with that wolverine bastard, but she knew that he had to be stopped at all costs.
She walked over to the small mirror that hung on the back of the door. The outfit she got, courtesy of Jagger, was pretty much a duplicate of the other four sets she had gotten in the boutique. A pair of jeans, a plain shirt, this one darker, and a pair of slip on ballet flats. She had also gotten a couple packs of underwear, a few bras, and some socks. But then she thought of what Jagger would do if she walked into his room wearing some of the lacy undergarments she had seen hanging on some of those rack in that shop. Those were dangerous thoughts since all they did was make her even more aroused. Ever since Jagger had said those things to her in his room, it was as if Sonya felt the pull toward him even more intently. But he made sure to keep this distance between them.
Since returning to the clubhouse after shopping several days before, Jagger had only spoken to her when need be. He made it a point to not look at her unless absolutely necessary, and Sonya admitted that it hurt. She didn’t have to be a shifter to know he wanted her, and even if he hadn’t said those things to her, made that wall she had erected around herself crack and crumble, she had seen the way he looked at her. She wanted him, but it was clear nothing could ever happen between them.
“You need to remember the ultimate goal, Sonya.” She spoke to her reflection and smoothed her hands down her pants. “This isn’t the life you want, remember?” But the words that came from her didn’t match how she felt inside. This was the first place she had truly felt safe at since being taken from her home, and that meant a lot.
She had left her hair down, and the dark wavy strands brushed past her breasts. If she did give herself over to her arousal concerning Jagger, she knew it wouldn’t be anything more than for one night. Sonya wasn’t a club whore, and the very idea of only having sex with Jagger without any kind of other attachment left a bad taste in her mouth. But even if deep down Sonya would have liked to have a meaningful relationship that was made up of mutual respect, and didn’t have all of that hatred attached to it, she wouldn’t find that in the MC life. Right? Maybe an old lady was respected to a point, but the men were the alphas, called the shots, and there were a lot of things that those girlfriends and wives didn’t know about because it was “club business”. Sonya shook her head. “Thinking about having anything with Jagger would mean you are just as deep in this life as before. You want to be on your own, free from all this ugliness.” The words almost seemed empty, because of this force of wanting Jagger. But she was stronger than this, stronger than her baser urges. “But when was the last time you were with a male that made you feel like this? And when was the last time you got pleasure from a touch alone?” The answer was never, of course. Trick had taken her virginity and tried to take everything else from her, too, but she wouldn’t let him, and now she stood taller for it. “And you need to stop talking to your reflection because it looks crazy.” Sonya chuckled and walked over to the door. Jagger had knocked on it ten minutes ago saying everyone was gathering ‘round for dinner, but he had said it through the door instead of looking at her. That stung.
She stepped out into the hallway, and the music, laughter, and conversation intensified the closer she got to the main room. When she rounded the corner it was to see several tables erected and pushed together to form one large banquet style dining area. Members and women were setting chairs up, and people were putting covered dishes of food on the table. There were a handful of kids running around and a few older ones attempting to play pool. Right away she spotted Jagger talking with Diesel, and it was like this string had been pulled taut as soon as she saw him. Even from across the room she saw him straighten and slowly turn her way, as if he felt that tightening as well. She felt her face heat and looked away. Walking over to the bar she want
ed to be of some use. Since arriving she had been helping out as best she could, but it was a little limited with her shoulder out of commission. But she could carrying a dish, pour some drinks, or even help round up the kids. Of course Court had scolded her when he saw her doing anything, saying she needed to rest or she’d end up doing more damage, but Sonya couldn’t just sit around without contributing. Of course DeDe was manning the bar, and when she saw Sonya she gave her a saccharine and totally fake smile.
“Thought maybe you’d just stay in the room since this dinner is for club family.” Sonya didn’t let that little jab get to her. Over the past several days since Jagger had brushed off DeDe’s advances she had been especially nasty in her little comments to Sonya. But she always managed to dish them out with a smile, albeit a fake one.
“Jagger invited me.” She held DeDe’s stare, and the other woman was the first one to look away. Good, one extra point in Sonya’s corner. Compared to Trick, dealing with this bitch was a walk in the park. “Listen, I’ll be out of this place in the next few days, and you can have Jagger all to yourself.”
This had DeDe lifting her perfectly arched brows. “Honey, if you think you’re a threat to me, you are sadly mistaken.” DeDe leaned in and rested her arms on the counter between them, but Sonya refused to back up. “I have been Jagger’s main girl for years, know just how to work my pussy on his cock and have him coming harder than the last time.” She grinned, her red painted lips stretching wide over her teeth. What she didn’t realize was that Sonya didn’t shock very easily, and that was clearly what DeDe was going for. “In fact, I just fucked Jagger last night, clawed up his back nice and hard and had him groaning out my name.”
A sick feeling settled inside of Sonya at those words. Dammit, for the things she wanted that she knew she couldn’t have.
“So honey, believe me when I say that once you’re gone things will go right back to the way they were, and no one will remember your ass.” DeDe turned and grabbed a pitcher of water. “Besides, you’re just this little novelty to Jagger. He’ll tire of you soon enough.” She thrust the pitcher at Sonya. “If you want to help go set this on the table.” DeDe said it on a snarl.