Crushing Beauty (Harbingers of Sorrow MC): Vegas Titans Series (15 page)

Jagger didn’t know what to think. David was actually Agent
David Howard. If Hank knew him, just coming from the FBI, that meant that David
was an FBI agent. What did that make Britton? Had she only come back to Vegas
and rekindled their relationship to help out her FBI boyfriend? Was she an
agent as well?

Everything was starting to fall into place, especially that
gut feeling that had been haunting him since he'd first seen her in the high
roller room. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted her. And yet he had. He trusted
her with all of his heart. He even let her into his family. What did that mean
for his family now?

“Agent Howard?” His attention was on Britton. “Does that
make you?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

Britton remained frozen, unable to comprehend what was
happening around her. This was not how she wanted Jagger to find out,
especially after he had completely opened up to her now. She wanted to run to
him, throw her arms around his shoulders, and promise that she would fix
everything. She took a step in Jagger’s direction, but he stepped backwards, away
from her.

“Jagger, listen to me…”

“Are you an FBI agent?”

“Let me explain.”

“Are you an FBI agent?” He didn’t seem angry. He was more pleading,
praying that he was incorrect.

“I am.”

Jagger caught his breath. Everything he had feared was about
to take shape. His family was in danger, and it was all because he let his
guard down.

“Am I under arrest?”

David stepped in. “Are you confessing to anything?” A smile
spread across his face. He was enjoying Jagger’s misery.

Jagger looked at Britton. He had already confessed to
everything. What else did they want from him? Britton jumped in, afraid he was
about to incriminate himself.

“We have no evidence against you, so no, we will not be
making any arrests at this time.”

Jagger stood before them, confused. She had plenty of
evidence, including a confession. She knew everything about him. Why was she
letting him go? What was her plan?

He straightened up, forcing himself to appear as the leader
he was. “Then if that is all, I would appreciate if you all left my property.” He
refused to make eye contact with Britton as she walked by him. He wanted
nothing to do with her. She had betrayed him. She was his enemy now.

Britton wanted to stay, to talk to him. She wanted him to
know she had a plan, even if she didn’t. But would he even listen to her? Would
he ever agree to see her again? Or was this really it? She took one final
glance at his beautiful face. Their eyes met. She had no idea
she
could
ever hurt
him
so badly.

Jagger walked quietly through the woods, being sure not
to break any sticks beneath his feet. He needed to be quiet. He wasn’t supposed
to be seeing her, and he knew the consequences if he were caught. Would she be
there? Would she be at their secret place? It was early in the morning, just
after sunrise. He wondered how long he would have to wait until she arrived, if
she arrived at all.

He made his way closer and closer to the old chimney,
checking over his shoulder to ensure he wasn’t being followed. He rounded the
stone and looked about. When he found out she was being released from the
hospital he'd planted daffodils the night before, hoping she would see that as
a sign and wait for him. Jagger widened his gaze as he approached their secret
spot, and a slight movement caught his eye. There she was, curled up in the
fireplace. He took a closer look at her broken body. What had he done to her? How
did he let his own recklessness risk the life of his love?

He took another step, and she stirred. Jagger stopped. What
was he doing here? He couldn’t ask her to put her life on the line again, just
to be with him. She was so young, her whole life was ahead of her and she could
do so much better than him. He'd gotten himself into some pretty bad stuff. How
could he expect her to follow him into the darkness? No. He would protect her
as best he could, by staying away. Maybe she would get out of this Hell-hole of
a city. Maybe she would be able to put all of her terrible memories behind her
and start a new life somewhere else. That was what she deserved.

“Goodbye Britton, I will always love you.” He whispered
to the wind, and turned to leave her forever.

There was a noise. Who was there? Jagger quickly jumped
around; he was ready to fight. There was nothing. Was he hearing things? He
blamed his imagination and continued on. No one ever traveled through that
patch of woods. Jagger looked up. The sky became black and the ground shook
beneath his feet. He started to run.

Jagger awoke suddenly to the sound of thunder. It didn’t
rain often in the desert; he wasn’t used to its roar. He'd been having that
same dream every night since he found out that Britton was an FBI agent. He was
haunted by his decision to leave her curled up in the fireplace so long ago. If
he had come to her, told her everything, then she wouldn’t be after him now. They
would have left Nevada together and never looked back. He was to blame. Maybe
the person he was running from this whole time was himself.

It had been a month since he'd last seen Britton, but not a
minute had gone by that he hadn’t thought of her. He wanted to see her. He
wanted to wake up next to Britton and find out that the entire past four weeks
had been a nightmare. But every morning he woke up to his own perpetual
nightmare—alone.

Jagger couldn’t bring himself to go back to the casino. Once
the only place he found solace and distraction, it was now too much of a
reminder of her. He could picture her behind the blackjack table wearing that
slick red dress. He imagined her up against the wall in his suite. He imagined
her tied to the bed. He should've kept her there. He shouldn’t have let their
relationship go past that night. How had he been so blind?

It had been a busy month for the Harbingers of Sorrow. They
had to find another location for their headquarters. His family was uprooted
and scared, because of his foolishness, because he had believed her lies.

Yet, it wasn’t a busy month for him. Jagger hadn’t left his
house but a few times. He couldn’t bring his body to move. He feared he would
run into Britton, and she would witness the devastation all over his face. He
was sure that would break him.

Jagger was shaken from his thoughts by a knock at the door. His
heart rose, thinking it might be Britton. She hadn’t made any attempts at
contacting him, but neither had he. What would he say to her? Would he slam the
door in her face, or let her in? He wrapped himself in his robe and made his
way toward the sound of the continued knock. He held his breath in anticipation
as he opened the door. He turned the knob and swung it open.

“Hey buddy. How you holding up?”

His eyes darted over his buddy's shoulder. “Hey Dom—” He
didn’t want to seem disappointed, but he was. “You know how I'm doing bro.”

“Have you heard from her?” Dom asked, hopeful.

“No.”

“Have you called her?”

“I smashed her phone, remember?”

“Ah, yes, how could I forget?” He teased him.

Jagger tried to force a smile. He was still mourning.

“I just came by to tell you that we’re all moved in, and
everyone misses you.”

“Good.”

“And a few of the guys wanted me to tell you that they can
take her out if you want.”

Jagger became instantly defensive; he could feel his skin
warm with anger. “Who did you tell? No one lays a finger on her. You make sure
they know that.”

“Whoa, whoa, I was kidding. But hey, at least I got a
reaction out of you.”

Jagger grumbled and walked to the couch.

“Jagger, you know how I feel about Brit. I don’t understand
what happened.”

“She betrayed us.”

“Did she?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re still here. No one has been tailing us. She
didn’t tell them anything.”

“She lied to me.”

“And I’m sure you never lied to her about anything.” Dom
knew he was pushing it here.

Jagger sat down, gazing out his window at the rain. “I
didn’t. She knows everything about me. She’s the only one.”

He scratched his head, not sure how to console his mentor,
his friend. “Then go get her back.”

“I can’t.”

“I’ve never heard you say that before.” His voice lilted and
his eyebrow raised.

“She works for the FBI. I…well, I do what I do. Those two
professions don’t blend well.”

Dominic paused, interested in Jagger’s reaction to his next
suggestion. “What if you didn’t do what you do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Face it, you have enough money, you don’t need to do this
anymore.”

“I can’t just leave everyone.”

“Yes you can. They—We will understand. You've done so much
for all of us dude.”

“Is this your way of getting me to step down so you can take
over?” Jagger wasn’t sure how he felt about this. He didn’t want Dominic coming
out from behind the desk. He wouldn’t be able to keep him safe if that were the
case.

“Actually, I was thinking I’d come with you.” He spoke the
words slowly and deliberately. He had been thinking about them for a time, just
needed the right moment for the suggestion.

“What?” The thought never had crossed his mind that Dominic
was ready to move on. He was great at his job. “Since when?”

“You know, I never thought about it, but when Brit was here,
she asked me if I ever worried about the danger we put ourselves in. Then, finding
out that we had let someone from the FBI get so close to us made me realize how
easy it is to slip up. I don’t want Matty to grow up without a father because
I’m in prison, you know? And what kind of a role model am I?” He gestured to
himself, and then dropped his hands to his sides, defeated. “I don’t know.”

Dom sat next to Jagger, sharing his stare. They both leaned
back, contemplating their next steps. The rain beat harder, splashing against
the window. Jagger wished he were in his cabin, cuddled by the fire with
Britton. He pictured her head lying on his chest, and he was combing her hair
with his fingers. There was no crime syndicate, and there was no Bureau. There
was only the two of them.

“You can leave, Dom. I’m not stopping you.” Jagger said.

“I know.”

“You’ve been like a brother to me.”

“And I always will be.”

“So is this it?”

“No. I’m still going to take care of things until you get
back on your feet.” Dom assured him.

It meant a lot to hear him say that. The club would be able
to run without him. Someone would take over. They were a family. They helped
each other out.

“I’m going to go get her.” Jagger declared.

“You are?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Jagger made his way to the foyer, motivated by his
resolution. He threw the door open and paused, as a bolt of lightning shot
through the sky.

“Scared of a little rain?” Dominic teased.

“No.”

“Going to put on some pants first?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He laughed.

Jagger ran to his bedroom, content for the first time in a
month.