She looked back when her name dropped softly from his lips. His face held neither censure nor derision. Disappointment, maybe. Curiosity, certainly. And possibly … understanding? “Once I lay down the law, you’ll be as safe with the brothers as you are with me, but until that happens, it’s better if you stay here and I go.”
A sliver of guilt speared through her chest. “I don’t want to kick you out of your room.”
“And I never meant for things to go as far as they have.” Seemingly unabashed, he pushed himself off the bed in one lithe, easy movement. “I promised you would be safe with me. I said you could trust me, but—”
Arianne’s heart sank as he grabbed his shirt and tugged it on. For the price of a kiss, she could have spent the night in his arms. But the risk was simply too high.
“I couldn’t resist,” he continued. “You threaten my control like no one else.”
“All other reasons aside, Viper would kill you,” she said. “Without hesitation.”
“You’re afraid for me?” Incredulity flickered across his face.
“And me.” She twisted her mother’s ring around her finger. “You don’t understand. He has no limits. There is nothing he won’t do, no one who is untouchable—women, children, innocent citizens—”
“You?”
Her hand flew to her cheek, tracing the old scar, and then she wrapped her arms around herself. “Yes, me.”
He tilted his head to the side, considering. “And yet you came here.”
“You make me feel safe.” Her voice quavered. “I’ve never felt safe before. Even when my mother was alive, we were never safe. But when I’m with you … I’m not constantly looking over my shoulder. It’s an intoxicating feeling.”
“You are safe.” He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. “You’ll always be safe with me.”
Stunned that he would comfort and reassure her only moments after she had rejected him, awed by his strength, she accepted the gift of his understanding, leaning into his warmth with a shuddered sigh.
“After my mother died, the Jacks moved to a new clubhouse with a house attached to it. Our place had a separate entrance and separate yard, but invariably we would wind up at the clubhouse. Jeff and I watched out for each other, and I learned pretty fast how to take care of myself, but sometimes there’s only so much a kid can do. Even now…”
Jagger’s body tensed, his muscles quivering as if he were about to punch someone. “Never again.”
Drawing back, she stroked a finger along his rigid jaw, soothing, connecting. “I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not your fight. And really, Jeff had it worse than me. He inherited our mother’s genes, so he’s thin and slight, sensitive, and artistically inclined. Not the rough-and-tumble son Viper wanted. Jeff was desperate for Viper’s approval, but Viper never thought he was good enough. I think that’s why Jeff turned to drugs. It’s part of the reason I wanted to leave. I thought I could get him into rehab once we were away from Viper and Jeff could be the artist he’s meant to be.”
“Might not be that easy,” Jagger warned. “We’ve had brothers hooked on speed, and they couldn’t shake it, even when we threatened to kick them out of the club. Drugs change people, change their priorities.…”
Arianne felt a tug at her heart. Maybe she was talking too much, revealing too much. But the cozy intimacy of the bedroom, his warmth and understanding, and his fierce protective instinct had lowered her defenses. “I have to try. When he’s not using, he’s the kindest, sweetest, most caring person I know. He sat with me through flus and breakups; he helped me decorate my apartment; he was there every time I had to go to the hospital, and the pictures he draws … he has real talent. I worked and saved for two years to get fake Canadian passports so we could get away and start a new life in Canada. Jeff picked them up the day … of the fire, and we were supposed to leave that night.”
“What happened?”
She looked away, not wanting to lie and yet not able to tell him the whole truth. “Viper caught him trying to sneak out. Sent him out on a job. Offered him something he wanted more than freedom—full-patch status, and Viper’s approval.” She skipped over the events at the clubhouse: Seeing Jeff loading weapons into the truck; the gun in his hand; her heart sinking with the knowledge she had finally lost him to Viper.
Jagger covered her hand with his own, trapping her palm against his warm cheek. “So, you’re just going to give up your life in Conundrum?”
“I want a better life. A life where I don’t live in fear. Where I’m not pulled out of bed in the middle of the night and forced to be a drug mule, or where I’m not chased down and beaten for disobeying the rules. I want a life where I’m not property. I’m going to be happy. And free. I’m going to find someone who cares whether I live or die; someone Viper can’t touch. I’ll do what it takes to make that happen.”
“So fierce.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “So determined. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with as much passion.”
She blushed. “Desperation. Not passion.”