Chapter SEVENTEEN
Britton asked to be alone for a short time. She needed to process, and she couldn’t do that with everything happening around her. Jagger accepted this and led her outside. He knew she wouldn’t be able to run if left alone. She had no idea how long she was out during their drive to the warehouse. He also knew she had never been to this part of Nevada.
The door opened up to a small patch of grass and looked upon a river. The sound of the water was calming, and she instantly felt relaxed.
“Thank you. I’ll come back in when I’m ready.”
Jagger smiled at her, hoping that her thoughts wouldn’t lead her in the wrong direction. He wanted her to love the family that he had formed. He wanted her to be part of it all. He wanted her to see all the good thing his life style could bring.
Britton jumped as she heard the door slam behind her. Where was she? She didn’t recognize her surroundings at all. She walked forward, closing in on the river ahead of her. She sat down on the bank and took off her shoes. She allowed her feet to dangle, her toes touching the top of the water each time it rushed forward. She wondered if every undercover operation moved along this quickly. Were other agents just better at handling the immediate influx of information? Why was she struggling so much to remain put together? Her body was tired, and she felt the desire to cry again.
She hadn’t cried since her third day alone at the chimney. She believed that she had cried all her tears for a lifetime. Nothing would ever be that important to her again. Now, she could do nothing but cry. The emotions that had been attacking her for the last forty-eight hours were relentless. They'd been built up over the last ten years and were making up for lost time. Or maybe it was just Jagger? His presence made her tears flow freely. It was difficult to hate and love a single person so much at the same time.
Then there was Dominic. If she ordered a raid on the warehouse, he would certainly be caught in the crosshairs. She could try to warn him ahead of time, but she was sure his allegiance was to Jagger. Dominic would risk his own life to save the man who'd saved his. So would everyone else in that family. There was no way around it.
If she ordered the arrest on Jagger, Dominic would almost certainly be going to jail too, or worse. Could she let that happen? His affiliation with the Harbingers of Sorrow was completely her doing. Had she not left her family and gone away to college, she could have continued to support them, and then maybe Dominic would have ended up at a college thousands of miles away. He would have a real job, and a real family and he wouldn’t be risking his life every day as a gangster. Yes, his situation was entirely her fault.
But could she call it all off? David would never agree to that. He would take every bit of information that he could find, and put it together. He would finish the operation on his own. No. She would have to keep control of it. That way she could pull the strings and regulate the outcome. She needed to get a hold of David, but wasn’t sure how. If she called him, he’d be able to triangulate her signal and find the exact hiding spot of the motorcycle gang. She couldn’t let that happen. The location would be revealed in time, but not just yet.
Britton needed to find a way to convince Jagger to let her alone for a short while. That way, she could sneak away to the FBI and catch them up to speed on her case. Her thoughts collected and sorted, she decided to venture back inside.
She pulled the door open, heaving at the weight. Everyone hushed to silence as they stared in her direction.
“Britton, come here. I want you to meet someone.” Jagger called her over, gesturing to his side.
Britton made her way toward him, wondering who else was left to meet. “Hi, I’m Jagger’s girlfriend, Britton.” She didn’t plan on saying ‘girlfriend’, but it slipped out. Jagger clutched her tighter, obviously thrilled with her choice of words.
“I’m Harry.” The balding, hefty man extended his hand to hers with the introduction.
“Harry is helping us retrieve some property that was stolen from us.”
What did that mean? Was there a rival motorcycle gang? What could they have stolen?
“I’m sure you know we all appreciate your help.” She played the doting, na?ve girlfriend well.
“I just wanted to meet Harry in person, as I don’t care to work with someone who I haven’t seen face to face.”
“And it’s such an honor to be part of your team. I only hope I live up to your expectations.”
“I only hope that as well, or else…”
Tension spread over the room, and Britton could tell that Harry had stopped breathing.
Jagger jumped back in with a thundered laugh. “I’m just kidding. You come highly recommended, and I know you’ll live up to your reputation. Let’s just take care of this now.”
While his threat had been cut off with a joke, Britton wasn’t sure what his own reputation had occasioned. Harry had clearly been taken aback. Had he heard of previous incidents where Jagger had dealt with issues in an undesirable fashion? How many deaths was he responsible for? Had Dominic carried any of them out? She couldn’t let her brother continue with this line of work. She would need to get him out. Would he be open to testifying in exchange for immunity?
Jagger could see that Britton was lost in thought. He moved his hand into hers and squeezed.
“How are you doing?” he whispered.
“I’m okay.” She whispered back. And looking into his eyes, she was. How was she thinking of ruining this empire that Jagger had built? How was she considering spoiling the man he had become? The man, who built her a home, saved her family: the man who loved her.
And yet, he was still a criminal, and her career was focused on taking criminals down. Why was she actually considering throwing away everything she had worked toward, and allowing him to continue to hurt people? She squeezed his hand back. Every minute that she spent with him, she felt her pain and hate toward him transform into comfort and love. What was she going to do?