“Get inside.”
He shoves me and I begin walking, still sobbing madly. When we step into the light of the house, he reaches over to a nearby table and takes a set of handcuffs. He pulls my hands behind my back and I scream.
“Please Jagger, cuff me at the front.”
He looks confused, but he cuffs my hands at the front and shoves me against a wall so my face is pressed against it. Then, he lifts my shirt and snarls viciously.
“Who the fuck did this?”
“I…”
“Tell me who the fuck did this Willow, NOW!” He roars and I shudder at the booming sound of his voice.
“Snake,”
He slams a fist into the wall and it goes straight through. It’s only inches from my face. I close my eyes and more tears slide down my face.
“Tonight?” he says, in a gravelly voice.
“Yes.”
He drops my shirt and spins me around. I get a good look at him and gasp. He’s covered in blood and he’s pale. I suddenly feel guilty, what if he dies? I’ll be left with Snake at the rest of the group, and that’s not a good outcome. How could I be so stupid? What is wrong with me? My plan was thought out all wrong and now I could very likely pay in the worst way.
“Let me call for help,” I whisper, staring at the blood soaking his shirt.
“Not fuckin’ likely.”
“You could die, Jagger.”
“If I die,” he rasps, “So do you; should have thought of that.”
I swallow and stare into his pale blue eyes. “Please, let me help you.”
He looks like he might pass out, but he’s still looking at me suspiciously.
“And try to kill me again? I don’t think so.”
“Jagger, I didn’t want to kill you. I didn’t mean to…please, let me help. I can stitch…let me stitch it at least. It’s that or you’ll bleed out and die…”
He glares at me, and drags me into the kitchen. He ruffles through the drawers and pulls out a gun and a first aid kit. He un-cuffs my hands and lays down on the couch. I stand in confusion for a moment, but slowly I reach forward and take the first aid kit in my hands. He aims the gun at me and I flinch.
“You try one thing, I’ll shoot you.”
I stare at him, hurt. Ok, I know that’s stupid because I deserve that gun being pointed at me, but it still hurts. I nod and tear his shirt. When his stomach is exposed, I wince. It’s pretty bad, and I feel terrible. A deep wound is seeping dark, red blood in slow, thick rivulets. I use his shirt to put some pressure on it, while I clean the skin around it. He doesn’t make a sound.
“I’m sorry, this will hurt…”
He doesn’t speak to me; he just points the gun at my head and watches me work. I clean around the wound with some antiseptic, and then I remove the shirt. God, it’s a mess. I dig through the kit to find a needle and thread. I sterilize and tie the thread, and then I stare at him, waiting for him to give me the go ahead. He nods and leans back, closing his eyes but he doesn’t lower that gun.
The first pull of the needle through his skin, has me crying again. He winces and tenses, and I can see his jaw clenching. By the time I’m finished, I’m sobbing heavily and he’s staring at me with a hurt expression. I’ve seen a lot of expressions from Jagger, but never a hurt expression. He sits up with a wince and takes my face in his hands, shocking me.
“Your turn,”
I swipe my tears. “I’m sorry…”
He huffs weakly. “You tried to kill me, run off and now you feel bad because you had to stitch me up?”
I put my head down, my soul is weakened and I have nothing left.
“I’ve never hurt a soul in my life Jagger, not one. I can’t even kill an ant without feeling bad. I didn’t mean to…I thought it was the only way I could be free. I don’t want to live like this forever.”
“You won’t,” he whispers hoarsely. “But even if you get out of here, and away from me, you’re not safe. Manchez will find you, didn’t you think of that?”
“I was going to run…take my Sister and run.”
“He’d find you.”
“I’ll never be freed of this,” I whisper.
“You will, I promise you will. It won’t be like this forever.”
“Yes it will!” I cry. “My Father made enemies; I’ll never sleep peacefully again. I’ll always be looking over my shoulder wondering who else he pissed off and when they’ll decide to use me as revenge.”
“It won’t be like that…”
“You don’t know that,” I whisper.
“Come on, just turn around and let me help you.”
“Why would you bother?” I whisper, defeated.
He grips my face. “No woman deserves to endure what Snake did to you tonight. I won’t leave you again. I’m sorry. Now turn around and let me help…please?”
I turn weakly and he gently peels my shirt off and winces again, and I close my eyes and clench my teeth.
“Fuck…”
I say nothing, his statement about covers it.
“I’ll fucking gut him.”
That would be nice.
“Lie down on your stomach, and don’t move.”
I turn to face him and his eyes fall to my stomach. They narrow and his hand slides out to trace the jagged scars on my belly. I know how awful they are, I live with them every day. “Willow?” he whispers.
“Don’t ask…please Jagger.”
He nods and I lie down on my stomach. I hear him shuffling around. He comes back a moment later and I hear the sound of water. He places a warm cloth on my back and I wail, clawing at the couch.
“I’m sorry…it’s gonna fuckin’ hurt but if I don’t do this…you’ll get an infection.”
I grit my teeth and only whimper as he cleans my wounds and then coats them with a cool cream. He makes me remain on the couch until the cream sinks in, and I find myself falling into a restless sleep. I’m so exhausted. I am jerked back to consciousness when I hear Jagger snarling down the phone.
“You tell him he better be there in the morning, and if he’s not I’ll fuckin’ cut his tongue out and shove it up his ass. If any of you EVER touch her again, I’ll put a bullet in your brains!”
He slams the phone down and I’m too frightened to move. Jagger’s in a mood now, and I don’t want to push him any further. I get to my feet silently and begin walking towards my room.
“Where you goin’?”
I freeze and slowly turn, “To my room.”
“Why?”
I’m confused. He starts a strained walk towards me; his chest shines under the faint light in the room. My heart thumps.
“So I can sleep…”
“Sleep on the couch.”
“No, I’d rather sleep in there.”
“Fine, go sleep in there,” he snaps.
I stare at him, completely confused. “Ok…”
“Wait!”
I stop again and stare at him once more. He walks out of the room and comes back a moment later with two bags. He thrusts them at me and gruffly mutters, “I got these for you today.”
I stare down at the bags and then back up at him. “What is it?”
“Clothes; can’t have you smellin’ like a fuckin’ dog any longer.”
Ouch, mean Jagger is back. I turn and walk away, furious with the man that captured me. I’m quite over him and his mental personalities.
“Thanks would be nice!” He yells after me.
I flip him the bird over my shoulder, and close my door to the sound of his booming laughter. I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Jagger laugh, and worse, it’s a beautiful sound that has my heart clenching in ways it never has before.
CHAPTER 6
Another week passes, and my back is healing slowly, but I still struggle to sleep. Jagger beat the crap out of Snake right in front of me. I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life. He nearly killed him, and it made me realize just how dangerous Jagger can be. I haven’t
seen Snake again since that day, but all the other men have been oddly nice to me. Gee, I can’t guess why?
One afternoon, I’m in the kitchen preparing dinner in the crock pot, when Jagger walks in. He’s half naked again, as always, but this time he has a woman on his arm. I’m quite shocked, why would he bring a woman into his home when I’m around? Isn’t he worried I’ll beg her to call the cops or tell her what he’s done? He stares at me and his gaze narrows. God, he’s so fucking beautiful. I hate that I see him as beautiful, because this situation is anything but.
“Meet me in my room,” he murmurs to the woman.
She grins and runs her hand over his chest, then turns and walks into his room. I stare at the painful red gash on his stomach and shudder. He’ll have a scar for life because of me, but then, so will I. Jagger walks over and stops beside me, but I continue preparing dinner for the evening.
“I’ll be busy for a few hours.”
“Good for you.” I say, simply.
“You know what happens if you run.”
I sigh; he goes over this with me every day since my escape. I know what he’ll do, and I know I can’t run. “You’ll find my Sister and ensure I stay because I can’t get away from you, bla bla bla.”
He grips my face and turns my head harshly. “Don’t fuck with me Willow, if you don’t think I’m serious I can send someone out right now to find your Sister.”
“Leave her out of this!”
“Don’t push me; you won’t like how it ends.”
Even though Jagger goes easy on me most of the time, I have no doubt in my mind that if it came down to it, he would get hold of my Sister to keep me here. I don’t think he would hurt her, but I’d never let her be put in this situation. I feel so trapped some days, like I just can’t get out. If I run, my family pays. If I don’t, I suffer slowly in this hell hole. The problem with me, though, is that I’ll always put my family first. I have to just deal with this situation until my Father comes out of hiding.
“I know how it ends Jagger, you tell me every fucking day. Go and enjoy your slut, I’m busy,” I snap, depression taking over. I’ve had enough of being reminded about my situation.
“Jealous?”
“Get fucked.”
“I plan to.”
He turns and walks off and I flip him the bird, again.
“Saw that.”
“Asshole,” I mutter.
He laughs and slams the door to his room, and I slam the knife down on the bench. Heck, I’d love to test him right now. I truly would. I’m so angry; I just want him to pay. He thinks he’s got me down, that I can’t get free of him. I could though, if I really wanted to. I stare down at the knife and I can’t deny that suicidal feelings have gone through my mind a lot lately. Depression is the understatement for what I’ve felt at times.
Maybe I should test him, maybe I should see how he would react to walk out and find me in a pool of my own blood. The man clearly doesn’t give a fuck about me, and he isn’t about to let me go, so maybe this is my only option. Maybe if I only did it a little, then he would have to take me to a hospital and someone would clue on. The whole idea is twisted, but it seems to make sense in my head and that frightens me.
I grip the knife in my hand and swallow, give him something to truly worry about. Do it Willow, do it or suffer in your own silence. I bring the knife down onto my wrist, just as Jagger’s door opens and he walks out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He freezes when he sees me pressing the knife against my wrist. His eyes widen and his hands slowly come up in front of him.
“Willow…put the knife down.”
“What for Jagger?” I whisper. “So you can continue to keep me prisoner and threaten my Sister? If I’m dead, you have no need to go for her. If I’m dead, I don’t have to keep living like this.”
“I won’t hurt your Sister; just put the fuckin’ knife down.”
His voice is panicked, does Jagger care about me? I press it harder into my skin and cry out as a burning pain shoots up my arm and blood trickles down my hand.
“Fuck it, put the fuckin’ knife down!” He steps forward and I press it harder.
“You come closer, I’ll finish it Jagger. I’m not stupid; you’re just saying what I want to hear. I’ve got nothing left. I’ll never escape this.”
“Willow, you’ll be fine,” he yells, gripping his hair. “I’ll fuckin’ let you go. When we have your Father, I give you my word that I’ll let you go and never bother you or your Sister again. I promise it will be over for you when this is finished with. You won’t need to live your life in fear.”
I look up at him and desperate tears thunder down my cheeks. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
He shakes his head, and takes a hesitant step forward. “I promise, I won’t let you return to a life where you have to look over your shoulder. I’ll give you that much. After everything I’ve done, I’ll give you that. I’ll make this right for you, but you have to trust me.”
“Promise?” I whisper, blinking my tears back.
“I promise…”
I close my eyes, and the burning pain in my wrist seems to give me some sort of comfort, or maybe it’s Jagger’s words. He takes the opportunity to lunge at me, and soon my body is slammed against the cold floor and the knife skitters across the room. I fight him, with everything I have inside. I fight so hard it hurts. He grips my wrists and pins them above my head, and I cry out in pain as his rough hands press against my open flesh.
I struggle beneath him, my face soaked in tears. He lies on top of me, panting and staring into my pain stricken eyes. I mumble incoherent words, over and over. He puts both my hands into one of his, and with his free hand he strokes tear dampened hair away from my face. I am trembling beneath him, and for the first time he actually looks like he cares how he’s making me feel.
“I promise,” he whispers, lowering his face. “I promise you.”
Then his lips are on mine. I didn’t see this coming; I would have never seen this one coming. I whimper and part my lips, and he slides his tongue into my mouth. I shouldn’t want this, it’s so wrong and yet I can’t bring myself to push him away. He works me over with his mouth, in a way no one ever has before. His lips are soft, luring me in and taking me over. His free hand tangles through my hair as he raises my head to deepen the kiss.
“Jagger?”
The female voice snaps us back into reality. He jerks his head up, not taking his eyes off my lips. I am panting, my chest rising and falling with want and desperate need. He gets off me, and I can see his clear arousal. He pulls me to my feet and turns to face the pretty blonde woman standing in a bra and panties, staring at us. She looks at my bleeding wrist, then at the knife and her eyes widen.
“I should go…”
Jagger seems to stiffen, as though he realizes what he’s done.
“No, don’t go. You came here to fuck and we’re going to fuck.”
“Jagger,” I whisper, hurt.
He spins around and glares at me. “Get to your fuckin’ room and if you ever try a stunt like that again, I’ll fuckin’ kill you myself.”
I gasp, and stand trembling as he grips the girl and pulls her back towards the room. Something painful and ugly tears through my heart, and I realize I have feelings for Jagger.
CHAPTER 7
I wake up the next day so sick I can’t move. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t even feel a twinge but now I’m sweating even though I feel freezing and my head is spinning. I know I’m running a massive fever, and I know I haven’t felt this sick for a long, long time; if ever. I get out of bed and stumble to the floor, my head spins and I grip anything I can find for balance.
The door opens and Jagger walks in, then stops dead when he sees me lying pitifully on the floor. I haven’t seen him since last night; he didn’t even come in to make sure I didn’t bleed to death. Ok, I didn’t cut myself that badly and a bandaid did the job…but still. After that kiss, I thought….Well it doesn’t matter
what I thought. I was wrong.
“Are you sick?”
I open my mouth to answer him, but everything hurts so badly. My mouth is dry, my head is literally pounding and my stomach is turning horribly. I grip my head and groan, and he drops down in front of me and puts his hand on my forehead.
“Holy shit,” he mutters.
I groan again, and my world begins to swim. Jagger lifts me off the floor and places me down on the bed, and I groan in protest. He puts his hand on my head again and then turns and rushes out. He’s back a moment later with a cool cloth and some pain killers. I swallow them greedily, only to wince in pain when they slide down my raw throat.
“They will help your fever…”
“Something’s wrong Jagger, I need a doctor.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
I roll and begin shivering again. This continues on all day, and I only get worse. I begin hallucinating and talking to myself. My body goes from hot to cold and back again, and I tremble constantly. In the evening the other group members come over and I hear them arguing about what to do.
“If she dies, we could be in more trouble than it’s worth,” Ace says.
“We can’t take her to a hospital.” Snake snaps.
“We can’t let her fucking die either,” Jagger snarls.
“Call your Sister.”
Jagger has a Sister?
“She’ll flip if she knows we’ve been keeping a girl prisoner.”
“It’s the only option, Jagger, the call is yours.” Angel says, and all goes quiet.
~*~*~*~*~
Two hours later, Jagger is kneeling on the bed beside me. He takes my face in his hands and forces me to look at him.
“I’m callin’ a doctor, but you have to promise not to tell her why you’re here. I will keep my end of the deal; I’ll let you go as promised. Tell her you’re my girlfriend, can you do that for me?”
I nod weakly, and he surprises me by leaning down and grazing his lips across my head. Maybe I’m still hallucinating. It wouldn’t surprise me. He changes my clothes, making me look a little more decent before the doctor arrives. A woman enters the room ten minutes later, and walks over to the bed. She stares around the room, and frowns.
Dark Passion (The Dark Brother Series Book One) Page 4