Irrefutable (Tortured Love Book 2)

by Ravenna Tate

  “That’s it.”

  “I mean before that day.”

  A wave of dizziness washed over Jagger as he watched Carolyn. For a few seconds, he was certain he’d lose consciousness. Those meds they’d given him were strong. The look on Carolyn’s face was so filled with regret that he became sad again. Neither one of them would ever outrun their past.

  “How far back would you like me to go?”

  The only sound in the room was from the AC. Jagger couldn’t even hear the traffic down below.

  “Let’s concentrate on the space between when he faked his death, and when you were sent to prison two years ago.”

  “Look, I’m betting it’s no secret to anyone in this room that Uncle Tony had me pull jobs for him. But I’ve stayed clean since my release seven months ago. My PO can verify that. The truth is that I didn’t need anyone telling me or asking me to do those jobs, including my uncle. I shoplifted because I wanted to, okay? But that part of my life is over. Forever.”

  The look Lea gave her was nothing short of ironic, and that pissed Jagger off. FBI or no FBI, he and Carolyn weren’t the criminals here. “She served her time. So did I. Here’s the deal with what happened.” He leaned forward. “You already know why she went to the cops.”

  “We’re asking the questions here,” said Norman.

  “Yeah? Looks more to me like you’re enjoying yanking our chains. So I’ll tell you how this is going to play out. Let me tell the whole story so we can go to the ER and get some proper medical care, or arrest us.”

  It was a calculated risk, but Jagger knew they had nothing on which to hold them. If they did, they wouldn’t be wasting their time rehashing things they already knew. There were holes they needed to fill in. Nothing more was going on here.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The pride that welled up inside Carolyn gave her renewed energy. Jagger never would have called their bluff if he didn’t realize, as she already had, that they weren’t in trouble here. The FBI were merely trying to fill in the gaps. But she was tired and in pain, and she knew Jagger had to feel far worse than she did.

  A soft knock on the door interrupted them. McKay answered it, and Tim walked inside. “Finish telling your story, Jagger. Afterward, I’m taking you and Carolyn to the ER.”

  “Finally.” Jagger sat back in his chair, a relieved look on his face.

  Tim took a seat next to Carolyn, and she smiled at him. He had saved them, and when this was over, she’d be sure to thank him.

  “Okay. So I got the call from Nate, and when I looked at the pic with the tat, I knew it wouldn’t take any of you long to put two and two together.”

  “One question,” said McKay, holding up his hand. “Did you know Tony Vaccaro was still alive?”

  “When I got the call? No. I told Nate to fuck off, and then I decided to be proactive and go to the cops to tell them about the call.” McKay began to speak again, but Jagger cut him off. “I never got the chance to tell them he called. Carolyn was already there, insisting I was the guy in the photo. The detective got ahead of himself. Thought he’d found the perp. That’s when I called Tim.”

  “How did you two end up in this together?” asked Lea.

  Shit. Carolyn knew she’d better speak up and quickly. “Jagger found me that evening, walking in the park. When we realized what this robbery might mean for both of us, we decided to get to the truth. I’m still on parole, which of course you know, and Jagger has the same tat the rest of them do. The men he’d done time with already believed he had ratted them out.” She glanced toward him.

  Judging from the set of Jagger’s jaw, Carolyn guessed he was still in pain despite the meds, and only wanted to end this so they could leave. “I eventually told Jagger that Uncle Tony was still alive, but that was only after I realized my uncle had either lied to me about the man in the photo being Jagger, or had been given bad information.”

  “You said you’ve kept in touch with him.”

  Carolyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mocking tone in Lea’s voice.

  “Look, I know I betrayed my uncle’s secret by telling Jagger he’s alive, but I only did it after Jagger convinced me that Uncle Tony had lied to me, or was lied to himself in the first place. Right now, I need to know if he set me up.”

  The looks on their faces gave nothing away. Carolyn was so damn frustrated that she wanted to scream. “Did he or didn’t he? Because what he did could have landed me back in jail. He knew I was on parole. Once I told Jagger the truth, I avoided Uncle Tony’s calls for over a week. When I did speak with him again, he got upset because I questioned him about where he’d received his information.”

  “The police have her phone,” said Jagger. “Tim was with us when we told them Tony is still alive. We gave them the phone in case it contained information they could use.”

  “When you last spoke with your uncle,” said Norman, “did he remind you that he still believed Jagger had given their names to us?”

  “Yes, but that has nothing to do with this.”

  The agents exchanged glances that sent a nasty shiver down Carolyn’s spine. What weren’t they telling them?

  “Do you have any information you’re going to give my clients?” asked Tim. “Because they’ve told you everything they know. Also, if the police are done with Carolyn’s phone, she’d like it back. I believe Jagger’s phone was recovered from the van, so once you’re done with that, we expect it back as well.”

  “What about the tapes from my building?” asked Jagger, glancing around Carolyn to address Tim.

  Tim nodded toward the agents. “They’ve already reviewed them. They know you didn’t commit the robbery. They also know the van that picked you up today, as well as the second white van, are registered to Joey Amato and Maury DeLaine, respectively. Both men have been living in the Chicago area for the past year or so.”

  “What?” A muscle in Jagger’s jaw twitched. “They’ve been that close?”

  “Yes,” said Norman. “After Tony Vaccaro spoke with Carolyn the last time, he called Nate, who also knew Tony was still alive.”

  That couldn’t be true. Carolyn shook her head as the SAIC gave her a sympathetic look. “Nate knew he was still alive. Once your uncle spoke with you, he became convinced that you had betrayed him and were in league with Jagger.”

  “But I asked him who told him the man in the photo was Jagger, and he wouldn’t tell me!”

  “That’s because it was Nate who convinced him it was. Your uncle didn’t want you to know that someone else knew he was alive. He kept in touch with Nate because while they were in prison for the robbery that sent all of them away, he and Nate grew close. They both became convinced that Jagger made a secret deal, even though he received the same sentence as the rest of them, and that’s why he was released early.”

  “How do you know all this?” asked Jagger, narrowing his eyes at the agents.

  They gave each other those damn furtive glances again before Norman answered Jagger. “Nate and Maury are talking up a storm.”

  “You mean they’re ratting out the others.” Jagger snorted. “There’s irony for you.” He shook his head. “When did the others get here?”

  “When Tony called Nate after speaking with Carolyn, Nate came back to Chicago.”

  “What about Kurt?” asked Jagger.

  “A few days ago. It was Joey and Maury in the white vans, watching you and Carolyn. At first, they wanted to see if you would figure out they pulled the second job. Once they spotted Carolyn, they got curious and let Nate know.”

  “So they didn’t plan to frame Jagger?”

  “No. Only Nate tried to do that. He thought he could use you and Tony to throw the trail off him and the others.”

  Carolyn let out the breath she’d been holding. “But that means my uncle had nothing to do with the robbery.”

  “That’s correct. He did not. Once your uncle called Nate, after speaking with you, those two thought they had all the pieces figured o
ut. Nate had Tony convinced it was Jagger in the picture, and then had him convinced Carolyn had betrayed him and was working with you.”

  “How long have you been watching all of them?” asked Jagger.

  “Since the second robbery. We’ve been watching you, too. All but one of you.”

  “Brandon Foster. Where is he?”

  “He died two years after his release. Drug overdose.”

  “Why did they kidnap us?” asked Carolyn. “Because they believe we betrayed my uncle?”

  “No. You weren’t supposed to be taken. Only Jagger. And that was Tony’s idea. For obvious reasons, he stayed away today, but we know where he is. Other agents are picking him up now.”

  “Is he still in Ohio?”

  “Yes.”

  “So if I was the target,” said Jagger, “what went wrong?”

  Norman shrugged. “They got sloppy. The plan was to leave Carolyn and take off with Jagger, but Kurt screwed up and then they were stuck with you both.”

  A horrible feeling of betrayal and confusion washed over Carolyn. “I want to talk to my uncle. I want to explain that I didn’t betray him, and that Jagger never ratted them out.”

  “We’ll do our best.”

  “Your best isn’t good enough,” said Jagger. “She needs that. You don’t understand.”

  They didn’t answer him, and Carolyn knew Jagger was reaching his limits. He needed a doctor. “What happens now?” she asked.

  The SAIC stood, followed by the other two agents. “You and Mr. Tyrell should go to the ER. We’ll call your attorney if we need anything further.”

  As Jagger tried to stand, he stumbled a bit, and fear shot through Carolyn. She hoped it was only the pain meds making him like this. Jagger was her rock now. She needed him. She wanted to be with him always. She helped him stand, and Tim moved to his other side.

  “So who did the robbery?” asked Jagger. “The rest of them, other than Tony?”

  “We’ll tell you the whole story once we can,” said Norman.

  “Let’s go,” said Tim, placing a hand on Jagger’s shoulder. The tone of his voice gave no doubt he wanted to get them both out of there.

  ****

  The next morning, Carolyn woke with a sore right side and a tender spot on the left side of her face that was bruised and purple. She’d carry the mark for a while. She and Jagger had been sent home from the ER after eight hours. Jagger had two fractured ribs but no other injuries. He’d be sore for longer than she would.

  Their physical injuries would heal. They both knew that. What Carolyn wondered was whether they’d survive this from an emotional standpoint. If she felt this confused and betrayed, Jagger had to feel as if he’d lived the incident of the first robbery all over again. Maybe he even wished he’d never gone to the park that night to find her?

  As she made breakfast and coffee for them, she resolved to tell him that she loved him. Maybe not this morning. Maybe not even today. But he had to know. It wasn’t right to keep something that monumental locked up inside.

  Sure, he wasn’t a hearts and flowers kind of guy. She knew that. But she hadn’t been wrong about the love she’d seen in his eyes these past couple of weeks. And she sure as shit wasn’t wrong about the way he’d tried to protect her, and had vowed revenge for what those men had done to her.

  If that wasn’t true love—not the fairytale shit where the hero writes sonnets and serenades the heroine while playing a mandolin—but real love, the kind that endures through good times and bad times, then Carolyn had no clue what the fuck was.

  Making the decision helped set her mind at ease a bit. It gave her something to focus on, and kept her from wanting to sit in the corner and cry until the pain went away. When Jagger came downstairs, she gave him a big smile and helped him take a seat at the counter. In spite of the pain pills, it was obvious he was hurting.

  During breakfast, he was very quiet. Too quiet. The nagging doubts and fears she’d been wrestling with all night came back, and she knew she had to try to draw him out or it would make her crazy. “What are you thinking about?”

  The look he gave her chilled her to the bone. It was a combination of sympathy and regret. Had something else happened while she’d been down here cooking?

  “Carolyn … Carolyn, I’ve been thinking.”

  Oh … no. His tone of voice sent her mind into a downward spiral of terror that threatened to engulf her, so she said the only word that came to mind. “Don’t.”

  A frown creased his handsome face. “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t say whatever it is you’re about to say. You’re scaring me, Jagger.” That was an understatement.

  Tears spilled over her lids before she could stop them. He sighed and cupped her face, his beautiful blue eyes filled with longing and sadness. “Carolyn, I’m no good for you. You deserve a chance at happiness. Real happiness, and I can never give it to you.”

  The world tilted on its axis. Carolyn would have fallen if not for the vise grip on her face. Considering how many pain pills he’d taken since last evening, his strength surprised her. She tried to move away from him, but the discomfort in her side caused her to wince so she stood still.

  “You see what I mean? You’re hurt because of me.”

  “No, I’m hurt because the men who pulled that job with you are idiots.”

  “And if I’d never forced you to come with me from the park that night, this wouldn’t have happened to you.”

  “You’re right about that. Instead I might be back in jail for giving false information to the police, and I’d be no closer to the truth than I am now.”

  The grip on her face released, but it hardly mattered. Her heart was breaking. Carolyn rose from the counter and dumped her dishes in the sink, then poured out her coffee. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. She didn’t dare turn around right now. She was afraid to look at him for fear she’d see that look of cold, hard steel in his eyes, which meant the discussion was at an end. Which meant this was over. Gone. As if it had never even happened.

  “Where am I supposed to go, Jagger? I have no place to live.” She’d have to throw herself on the mercy of her family, which up to this point, she hadn’t had to do.

  “You can stay here until you find a job and can get another place.”

  “Oh, gee. Thanks. That’ll be loads of fun.” Her voice came out sarcastic and bitchy, but she didn’t give a shit.

  “Carolyn, it’s better this way.”

  Now she was pissed off. She knew why he was doing this, and it wasn’t because he didn’t want her. No fucking way. She refused to believe that.

  As she turned to face him, she nearly lost it at the look of despair on his face. She was right. She had to be. And it was worth the risk to put her heart on the line like this. Jagger was the only man she’d ever truly loved. She didn’t want a life without him, and she’d be damned if she’d let his hoodlum friends take that away from her.

  “Tell me the truth, Jagger.” Carolyn wiped the tears from her face. “Look me right in the eye and tell me you don’t care about me.”

  “What? Of course I care about you. That’s why I’m doing this. Because I care so much. Because I don’t—”

  “Oh, just shut up. That is such bullshit!” Breathing was difficult, but she couldn’t stop now. Not while all these words bubbled up.

  “You haven’t had contact with any of those guys in years. Even if I hadn’t been in the police station the day you went to tell them about Nate’s phone call, they would have found you. They would have found me, because I’m the one who lied to the police, and once I realized that, I would have still been all over my uncle asking why that had happened.”

  The expression on his face softened, and her pulse raced. Carolyn advanced toward him, every fiber of her being aching to hold him forever. She was so in love with this man! “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me, Jagger. Yes, I said the ‘L’ word. You love me. I know you do. Tell me you don’t and I’ll leave tonight. I�
�ll throw myself on the mercy of my family.”

  “Carolyn…” His voice came out in a strangled gasp, as if he were fighting not to say it. But the look in his eyes told her what she needed to know. How was it possible to feel so much for another person and still live? She’d have to say it first, but he was worth that.

  “I love you, Jagger.” She wiped more tears as they spilled over her lids. “I love you so damn much. Tell me you don’t feel the same way. That’s the only way I’ll leave. That’s the only thing that will make me let you go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ignoring the pain in his side, Jagger rose and closed the gap between him and Carolyn. His heart hammered so loudly, surely she heard it. Breathing hurt like a motherfucker, though whether that was from the fractured ribs or his heart ripping apart, he wasn’t sure.

  When he reached her, he hardly dared to touch her for fear this was just a dream. But those big green eyes grounded him, and he knew it was real. “Are you sure?” Oh my God, what a lame question.

  A tiny laugh escaped her throat, and she put her hand to her mouth. “Yes. Of course I’m sure. But you still haven’t answered me.”

  Once he said it, he could never take it back. The idea of losing this extraordinary woman was worse than the pain of all his ribs being fractured at once. He couldn’t lose her. He could not let that happen. Everything she’d said was true. Every word of it. This hadn’t happened to them because of who he was, or because of his past. It had happened for the very reasons she’d stated.

  “I love you, too. I love you so much.” Oh, what freedom to finally say that to a woman! Jagger pulled her close, and fresh pain shot up his side as he did, but he didn’t want to let her go. “Carolyn…” He kissed her hair, that horrible bruise on her face, and her neck. “Carolyn, I do love you. I’ve loved you since the second I saw you in the station. I swear think I loved you in the club that night.”

  The only response was her gasping breath as yet more tears trickled down her cheeks. Those, he kissed away as tenderly as possible. Oh, how he wanted to make love to her, but there was no way he could right now. This would have to do until they both healed.