Chapter TEN
It was seven fifty-nine when he pulled into her driveway. She peered out of the window as she heard the engine die down. He had brought his motorcycle. She knew he was the president of a motorcycle gang, but hadn’t actually pictured him riding one—in high school he was still a prospect and hadn't had enough clout with the gang to buy one yet. She always thought they were impractical and dangerous, but the moment she saw him step off of his bike, the words ‘impractical’ and ‘dangerous’ were such a turn on.
She had prepared for him. She was wearing a tight black dress with a slit that crept impossibly too far up her right thigh. She'd never worn the dress, having only bought it as a present to herself for becoming an agent, but she never actually found the time to go out to celebrate. She had dreams of wearing it undercover, perhaps at a cocktail party where she would be secretly sneaking information out of a Russian spy, but a rendezvous with a former and current lover in the comfort of her own home would have to do.
She opened the door before he had a chance to knock.
“You’re punctual.”
“I would never keep you waiting.” He teased.
Except when I was passed out on the side of the road, she wanted to say, but decided to hold close to her resentment for the evening.
“I’ll remember that.” She chose instead.
He took a second to take her in. He still couldn’t get over how breathtaking she was. He could stare at her all day long and never tire, but tonight, he wanted to show her something.
“You look… wow.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She was flirting with him but she clearly hadn’t done this in so long. Jagger normally would've been suspicious but how could he not trust that face? It was the face of an angel. His angel. His Britton. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to know about her. He wanted to be caught up on all ten years of her life that he had missed out on. They sat, staring at each other.
“So college, what was that like?”
“Interesting.”
“That’s all you’re going to give an old high school drop-out?”
“Um, well, I had a few friends, went to a few parties, but for the most part, I studied.”
“What did you study?”
She had a double major in political science and criminal justice. She decided to leave the criminal justice degree out of the conversation.”
“Political science. That’s why I went to Washington.”
“Did you want to be a senator or something?”
“No, I just was interested in how our government works.” She laughed.
He cringed when he heard the word ‘government.’ He tried not to get involved with anything that could out him as a criminal. His suspicions rose again, but he suppressed them.
“You were the smartest person I knew. I really thought when you got out that you would stay out.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. And I really wanted to, but this stupid town drew me back.”
It felt good to talk to him. She never talked to anyone these days. The few friends she made in college she'd lost touch with when she joined the Bureau. Still, no one knew her like he did. They shared so much of their childhood, she found it difficult not to confess everything to him—he already knew everything there was to know about her.
“I’m happy this town sucked you back in.”
She smiled, but under that smile thought of how betrayed he would feel once she arrested him. “My freshman year, my roommate was a crazy partier, and she dragged me to this frat party during finals week…”
She continued to rattle on about the beer pong games and alcohol, and the sheer number of people that could fit into that house. She told him about getting lost on her way back to her dorm and thinking that she was being followed by the stop sign. They laughed so hard she forgot that she was undercover. She felt as though she was with her best friend in the whole world, the only person who knew all her secrets.
Jagger loved her stories. He found himself wishing that he could have been there. He wanted to watch her grow into the woman who was sitting in front of him. He wanted to stop that stop sign from chasing her. He pictured himself in all her stories: where he would be, what he’d be doing. He imagined them both living on the east coast, away from everything, away from the families they had left behind. But he knew deep down that he never could've lived in that world.
“… And then I punched him, clear across the face. He had a black eye and a broken nose, but he wouldn’t admit to anyone that I had done it. I don’t even remember the story he told people, but he never came near me again.”
Jagger laughed so hard that tears formed in his eyes. She was enticing and exotic, and now he knew that she could take care of herself. Maybe he could let her in? Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if she met his new family.
He cupped her cheek with his hand and took a breath. Her phone began to ring. It was eight thirty.
“I’m sorry, it’s David. I need to answer this.”
Jagger stood up. For a brief moment he had forgotten about David. He forgot that this obstacle now stood in the way of his long lost love. He would have to take care of David. He would have to get rid of him once and for all. Britton would understand.
“David, hey…yeah, I’m fine, I had a nice day off. Right…no, I’m just going to stay in tonight…you don’t need to come over…”
Jagger began to pace. This man wanted to come over and be with Britton the way that he had been with Britton earlier that day, the way he was planning on being with Britton again that night. This was not acceptable. It took everything he had not to grab the phone out of her hand and threaten him.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”
Britton hung up the phone. He was glaring at her.
“What?”
“You will not see him tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?”
“I will not allow you to.”
“Jagger, he’s my boyfriend. Are you forgetting this?”
“Then you break up with him.”
“No.”
“But…”
He was stunned. He still didn’t understand anyone saying ‘no’ to him. She stood up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She needed an excuse to keep David around, so that if she were caught with him, she wouldn’t look suspicious.
“Hey, look at me. Twenty-four hours ago, you didn’t even know I was living in this city. A lot has happened, and I think we both need time to comprehend it. I’m not going to break up with my boyfriend of four years just yet. I’m not saying I won’t eventually, but you need to give me some time.”
She was surprised at how calm and believable she was. She hated lying to him, but it felt good to know that she could.
“Okay, but you can’t sleep with him.”
“Jagger…”
His heart sank. Why was she arguing with him about this? He knew from her reactions to his touch that there was no way her boyfriend was able to satisfy her the way he could.
“Britton, this is not a request, this is a demand.” He had to put his foot down; he would not have it any other way.
“Okay,” she agreed, “I can do that.”
He smiled at her, but his heart still felt heavy. He held her close in his embrace.
“I want to take you somewhere. Will you go with me?”
Was this it? Was he taking her to meet his gang? Would she be let into his secrets this quickly? Maybe she was underestimating herself. Apparently she was a very talented undercover agent.
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She smiled at him. “Okay.”
“And although I love this dress, I’m going to suggest that you change into something a little more comfortable.”
That was intriguing. Why did Jagger want her to change out of her LBD stunner? Maybe he didn’t want anyone else seeing her in such a revealing dress? He didn’t hide his jealousy well, after all.
Britton escaped into her bedroom and found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She threw her hair back into a messy bun and slipped into a pair of sneakers. She had already hooked him with the dress. Now it was time to test out the ‘dressed down’ look. She entered back into the living room.
“Even like this, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
Even if it was a line, it made her giddy with delight. She missed being looked at the way he looked at her. She missed feeling wanted. She felt like a teenager with butterflies in her stomach. She moved into him and happily kissed him to thank him for the compliment. He clung to her and refused to break from her lips. He wanted her. He wanted all of her. He grabbed her thighs and pulled her in as he deepened the kiss. She accepted gratefully and pushed him toward the couch. They toppled down together and began to chuckle.
“Did you think I was kidding? I actually do want to take you somewhere.”
“Now?”
“Well, now I want to do this first.” He seized her hips and pulled her closer.
She leaned in to kiss him and stalled. She needed him to take her to his gang. She needed to know his secrets. Why was she the one instigating this embrace? She had to get control over her emotions. Britton let out a small breath and planted a simple kiss on his lips.
“Okay, we can go, but we should return to this exact spot later.”
“Deal.” He loved this side of her. It reminded him of the time…he stopped. He'd tried so hard to get that night out of his head. It was the worst night of his life. Why had she not brought it up? Why was he the only one harping on it?
He led her to the doorway.
“Ever been on a motorcycle? Or would you rather take your car?”
Her head started spinning. She forgot that she would need to get in a car with him. The last time she was in a car with him, she ended up alone in the hospital. She wasn’t ready for that to happen again. Jagger saw the color leave her face.
“Britton, are you okay?”
She took two deep breaths and looked directly in his eyes. He saw the child in her. He saw the five year old who had just lost her brother. He saw the eight year old who had to steal food to feed her siblings, because her parents hadn’t come home for a week. He saw the twelve year old who had run to him because her parent’s drunken friend had tried to take advantage of her. And he saw the sixteen year old, who he'd left on the street, wet and bleeding and alone. In that moment he hated himself. He hated the person he was, and he hated the person he had become.
Her eyes rolled back and her knees gave out. She collapsed into his outstretched arms. She wasn’t ready for this.