Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I snarl.
A code red in my business is all hands on deck. It means the barbarians are at the fucking gate. And by barbarians, I mean the police. Or worse, the goddamn FBI. It means hide the firearms and anything else implicating in the house, not that I have much here anyways. I’ve taken great pains to make sure there’s a stop-gap between me and my dealings, but that doesn’t mean I want the goddamn feds snooping around my house.
“Who?”
“FBI.”
I swear again.
“Okay, get the—”
“The guys are already on it.”
I nod curtly. “Okay, but make sure—”
“Already done, boss.”
I have to grin, even with the seriousness of the moment. There’s a reason Luka’s one of the best men I know.
“I knew you had, uh, company over last night, so I took care of it all before—”
Luka’s starting to try and peek past me at what he probably assumes is some random chick in my bed. He’s not expecting my hand to dart out, grab him by the throat, and slam him back against the doorframe, out of view of my bed.
“Mind your fucking eyes,” I snarl, my muscles tensing and my blood roaring in my ears.
Luka’s brows go up, amused more than scared of me. He’s a rarity like that.
“Whoa, okay, calm down, Jag.”
“It’s not like that.”
His brown furrows. “Wait, is that…”
I nod, and it’s the only communication we need to have on the subject. Like I said, Luka is one of my oldest, best friends aside from being one of my most trusted men. He’s heard all about my obsession with Tommy Jensen’s daughter, and he’s smart enough to put two and two together. He’s also smart enough to recognize the seriousness in my face.
He smiles, nodding slowly at me as he reaches out and claps me on the shoulder.
“This is big for you, Jagger. I’m proud of you.”
“Save the toast for when I get the fucking feds out of my house,” I mutter. “Stall them, I need a minute.”
Luka nods and heads out as I close the door gently and turn back to the bed. Skylar is up, the covers pulled up around her chin and her big blue eyes wide.
“What’s going on?”
I tense my jaw as I move to her, sitting on the edge of the bed and pushing a lock of her hair out of her face. Fuck, I’ve just gotten her, and of all days, this is the one the feds come knocking. I know I’m trying to turn our organization around and get out of the really bad stuff, but I’ve also done enough terrible shit in my day to go away for a long fucking time if this plays out wrong.
The injustice of it stabs me in the gut. Like I said, I just found her, and losing her so quickly would be the greatest hell on earth.
“What’s going on, Jagger?” she says quietly.
“Stay in here,” I growl. “No matter what you hear, just stay in here, okay?”
She sits up suddenly, her mouth going small and her face going white as she shakes her head.
“No…”
“The FBI is here,” I say gently. Like I said, I won’t lie to her.
Her eyes go wide.
“Are you in trouble?”
My jaw tenses. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You can’t go away,” she says fiercely, throwing her arms around me and burying her face in my bare chest. “I can’t lose you!”
My heart tears inside, my face squeezing up tight as I bury it in her hair.
“You won’t lose me, sweetness,” I growl hoarsely. “Not ever and certainly not today.”
“I can’t,” she whispers into my skin.
“And you won’t, beautiful,” I say quietly. I reach down and tilt her head up with a finger on her chin before I move in and kiss her, slowly.
“Not today, that’s for damn sure.” I kiss her again. “Look, just stay here.”
“No, I’ll be by your side.”
God, I love her for saying that. Beauty, brains, and brawn. And she’d do it too, I know it. For all her youth and innocence, and how new she is to all of this, she’d go out there and stand by my side in front of the damn FBI, and I know it.
But I can’t have that.
“I can’t let you do that, sweetness,” I shake my head. “I need you to stay here because I need to be able to focus.”
“I can’t just say in this room while you go out there!”
“For me, angel,” I growl. “Please. With you out there, my head won’t be in the right place because all I’ll be thinking about is you. It will affect my thoughts and judgement. Understand?”
Slowly, she nods before she hugs me fiercely.
“Trust me,” I whisper into her hair. “There’s no power on heaven, hell, or earth that could pull me away from you.”
11
Jagger
Agent fucking Tanner.
The grey-haired, mustached, pot-bellied FBI agent stands smugly in my living room, glancing around at my vaulted ceilings, at my glass walls with million-dollar views of the Pacific. At my wealth and power.