Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Page 10

  “You know I’ll stick, right? You’re having my baby, and I’m not going to pretend we didn’t create a life.”

  He wasn’t his father.

  “I’m afraid.”

  He got that.

  “I’ll protect you, Roxy. Even in the end if you hate me, I’ll still get you through this. I’ll see our child born. Then, if you still hate me, I accept it.”

  She let his words sink in. Jagger wasn’t trying to force her into anything. He was allowing her free will, and that was the best gift anyone could give her. With her past, Roxy needed that.

  And she needed him.

  “Do you hate me?”

  He thought about it.

  He thought about his sister. She was a runner too. Jaxon had been notorious for picking up and taking off. She’d seen countless horrors in her career, and it broke her.

  He suspected the same of the woman in the room. There had to be something there. If there was, then he couldn’t blame Roxy. They were all a product of their environments.

  Something made her like this. Something molded her into this person with that response to situations. It wasn’t about changing or stopping her. It was about accepting it.

  “I don’t hate you. I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I was hurt. I was angry. We all have baggage. I took mine out on you. If you didn’t want to be with me, I can’t force you.”

  “I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”

  “Yeah, you keep saying that, but you won’t tell me why.”

  “Jagger.”

  She wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him about her past, the way she’d been hurt, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, she gave him what she could.

  “I thought about you each and every day. You were the first person I thought about, and the last one each night.”

  “I thought about you too.”

  Yeah, as he loathed and hated her.

  “I never looked at anyone the way I looked at you, Jagger. I fell for you. I couldn’t be with anyone else. You don’t have to wonder if the baby is yours. I’ll take a paternity test. You’re the only man I’ve been with since we met.”

  He didn’t need her to do that.

  He also couldn’t say the same thing to her. In the last two months, he’d slept with over fifty women trying to forget. He’d stuck his dick in so much pussy that he’d lost count of the names, faces, and places.

  It was all a blur.

  He’d been a huge asshole.

  It wounded him that he couldn’t give her the same words. He looked down at his arm and the claw marks from some other woman’s nails.

  Shit.

  He hated that he’d done it.

  Had he known…?

  He was officially the world’s biggest dick.

  That wasn’t going to go over well, and he knew it. Telling ANY woman you’d slept around with countless women to forget was a bad idea.

  Telling a pregnant woman?

  It was a death sentence.

  Yeah, he wasn’t even able to open his mouth.

  He didn’t like the silence between them. A quiet woman was a thinking woman, and that was NEVER good for a man. He’d seen Maura go silent, and it usually meant someone’s ass was getting kicked…mainly Luke’s.

  He needed to keep her distracted.

  “How’s your cereal?” he asked.

  “Soggy.”

  “Want me to dump it out and get you new cereal? I don’t mind.”

  “No, the baby likes it like that.”

  He was about to talk about their little one, when he heard tires on gravel. It looked like they had company. All he could hope it was going to be someone friendly.

  “Stay here, lock the door, and don’t come outside.”

  He handed her a gun.

  “Jagger.”

  “Do you know how to shoot a gun, honey?” he asked, staring into her eyes.

  “Yes.”

  Perfect.

  “I need you to shoot anyone you don’t know. I’ll be back inside for you as soon as I clear our company.”

  He saw the look on her face.

  She was terrified.

  “It’s going to be fine. It’s likely the team, but I like to make sure all of my bases are covered. I always go with worst case scenario.”

  She relaxed a little. “Okay, Jagger.”

  He took a chance and touched her cheek. Her skin felt just as silky as he remembered. It was amazing.

  “I’ll be back.”

  Then he was gone.

  Roxy locked the door and did what he said. After last night, she didn’t know what to think.

  Psychics.

  Babies.

  Killers.

  It was all chaos.

  She was a freaking coroner. What the hell kind of mess had she gotten herself into this time?

  Would she get out?

  Doctor Roxanne Faust was scared.

  Outside, he stood on the porch. He saw Maura and Avalon getting out of the vehicle. As soon as she was clear of the unfamiliar ride, something in Jagger snapped.

  He stormed toward her, oblivious to anything going on around him. He was furious.

  She knew.

  Maura knew.

  He was going to get to the bottom of this, and fast.

  When he reached her, he grabbed Avalon by the arm. She gasped in pain as he had her in a tight grip.

  “You knew! You fucking knew it was her, and that she was having my child, and you didn’t tell me!”

  “Jagger, let her go,” Maura said, moving closer. She didn’t know what he was talking about when it came to a child, but she did know Jagger was dangerously close to breaking some major rules. While Avalon didn’t look scared, she was.

  Her team was imploding in front of her.

  Jagger ignored Maura and her warning.

  “You asked me to trust you. You asked me to believe in you, and you betrayed me.”

  He was furious.

  “I said, let her go,” Maura repeated as calmly as she could muster. There was a very fine line, and the Marine was currently standing right on top of it.

  One step over, and she would neutralize the situation.

  Whether she loved him or not didn’t matter to Maura. She had a job to do, and protecting Oracle was paramount.

  “I can’t believe you did this, Avalon!”

  Neither were able to say a word.

  Another vehicle pulled up. Nate and Luke jumped out and headed their way.

  “Oh, shit,” muttered Luke. “She’s going to hurt him,” he warned, right before it happened.

  Jagger moved even closer into Avalon’s personal space, and her personal guard dog went into action.

  “Okay, fine,” Maura stated.

  Then, with one shot, she leveled him.

  Jagger Armstrong, a badass Marine, went down.

  Hard.

  And for the count.

  Chapter Five

  No one spoke.

  They were all stunned.

  Then again, who didn’t see this one coming?

  It was the aftermath of months of frustration from all of them. Jagger hadn’t been the only one suffering over Roxanne Faust leaving.

  Avalon felt horrible she had to do this to a man she called brother.

  Maura hated that she had to put her hands on someone she genuinely loved and trusted with hers and Avalon’s life.

  Nate knew the pain he was feeling. He’d lived it once when he thought Avalon was gone.

  Luke got it too. Women issues could jack a person up. He’d spent a year pining away over his wife before she rolled back into his life.

  Now they were going to have to rebuild the trust and their team, from the rubble, much like the phoenix.

  There was no choice.

  The team that was created to help people now had to help their own. They had to save the foundation.

  They had to help themselves.

  “I’m sorry, Nate, but I had to do that.”

/>   He knew deep down that Jagger would never hurt Avalon, and he knew that violence wasn’t the answer, but still…he appreciated that Maura would protect her.

  “Wow! You guys know how to throw a party,” Bishop said, staring at the downed man. “Now I’m glad I didn’t push you on the last case. You really could kick my ass.”

  “I told you so,” Maura stated. “My primary job is to protect Avalon. I’ll kill to protect her.”

  Luke stared at her.

  She saw the slight lift of his eyebrow, and she knew what he was waiting for now.

  She corrected her statement.

  “I mean, I don’t like hitting people,” she said, rolling her eye to please her husband.

  “Good girl,” Luke said, trying not to laugh.

  It wasn’t easy.

  “Are you okay, Avi?” Nate asked.

  “I’m good, but now I have to fix Jagger. Can you head inside with Bishop and Lucian? Maura and I have to have an intervention.”

  “We should stay,” Nate said.

  “Actually, Jagger needs to be mothered, and that’s out of your spectrum. This calls for a gentle hand, and that’s not either of you. He’ll feel humiliated in front of the boys. Let me do what I have to do.”

  They both pointed at Maura.

  She was technically one of the boys. Well, she was closer to that than a mother.

  She apparently knew what they were thinking.

  “What? Like neither of your mommas kicked your asses when you crossed the line. That’s the epitome of mom.”

  Nate kissed Avalon softly on the lips.

  “Okay, Avi. If you need me, just yell.”

  She would be fine. Maura was there.

  Luke patted his wife on the cheek. “Be safe. Slugger, don’t do that again,” he stated. “The man needs to keep some of his ego.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Again, she got the look from her husband.

  “I won’t hit him again, okay? Shit! This marriage thing is tough.”

  They all laughed as they headed into the cabin. When they were gone, Maura and Avalon got serious, and fast.

  “How do you want to play this?” Maura asked. “He needs a serious wakeup call.”

  It was intervention time.

  There was only one way.

  She’d taken his free will the first time, and now she had to give something back.

  “Wake him.”

  Maura poked the downed Marine with the toe of her boot. “Up and at ‘em, soldier. There’s no sleeping on the job.”

  It had the desired effect.

  Jagger’s eyes began fluttering. Then he looked up at them standing above him.

  “Really, Maura?” he asked, rubbing his jaw. “You didn’t pull that punch at all.”

  Oh, she was aware.

  “Yeah, really, Jagger. That’s for the shitty womanizing behavior I’ve had to watch the last two months, for trying to hurt Avalon, and for being a huge dick in general. You had that shit coming, my friend. Just be glad it was me and not Avi’s fiancé. You put your hands on her.”

  Yeah, he was aware.

  Jagger knew he was in a bad place if he’d slipped up and done that twice in two days. His life was going to hell in a hand basket, and it was all because he was in love. Jagger had avoided this one emotion for the longest time for this reason.

  It sucked.

  “Can we talk?” Avalon asked, kneeling beside the downed man.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Actually, you do. It’s listen to me, or Maura would love to kick your ass around the yard.”

  Maura cracked her knuckles as if to emphasize that exact point. This was his last shot. She wasn’t messing around.

  “Then talk.”

  “You’re right. I let you walk into this blindly, but I had to do it. If I told you Roxy was here, would you have come?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Jagger, would you have come?”

  “No.”

  His stubbornness would have gotten in the way.

  “Had you not come, what would have happened?” she asked, allowing the man to work through it on his own. This was his battle, and she had to support him. He didn’t understand how much this weighed on her or how much sleep she’d lost over the last two months worrying if he’d still love her in the end.

  This was hard.

  “She would have died, and my child would have died too,” he admitted.

  Okay, he got it.

  There was his lightbulb moment.

  Avalon had to get him there, and this was, indeed, the only way to get it done.

  He was an asshole.

  Again.

  “I saw this coming,” she admitted. “I knew you’d hate me but what choice did I have, Jagger? If I told you, then you would have had to decide and that would have weighed on your shoulders. I did it to make your life easier.”

  “And your life harder.”

  “When you love someone, you do things like that. How many times did you sit outside in the wet, cold, damp, and miserable conditions to make sure no one got to me? How many times did you stop that shooter from taking me out? I was simply doing what you’ve done the last few years, Jagger. I was taking care of what was mine.”

  He touched her cheek. “I know I said this yesterday, but I’m sorry for putting my hands on you.”

  “WHAT?” Maura stated.

  “Don’t hit him,” Avalon said, pointing at her bodyguard’s aura. “He’s learned his lesson.”

  “He put his hands on you? I knew I should have hit him harder. I knew I should have…”

  He sighed.

  He was so off his game, and this was the proof. He outed himself to Maura. He was an idiot.

  Clearly.

  “I need to speak to Jagger alone.”

  “Yeah, no. That is certainly not going to happen in his lifetime now that I know he’s a serial manhandler.”

  “Maura, I really need to have a private conversation with him, and you need to leave. He’s not going to hurt me. Watch him from the window, but go.”

  She didn’t like it.

  Avalon was staring at her with the misty pale eyes, and there was no mistaking that she was dead serious about her giving them space.

  “If you touch her, I’ll make you disappear. No one will find the bits and pieces. Got it, Marine?”

  He did.

  “I won’t hurt her. I love Avalon. She’s my sister.”

  The tone of his voice must have convinced her because Maura left. They both knew she’d be watching from inside, and that was fine.

  “This needed to be done in private.”

  “What are you going to tell me?” he asked. “Is it going to suck even more than last night’s ambush?”

  It just might, but maybe not for him. For Roxanne Faust?

  Yeah, it all sucked.

  “I kept some things from you, and now I’m going to give you the information you need to heal. You deserve it.”

  He didn’t understand.

  “What are you talking about, Avi? What could possibly heal me?”

  It was time.

  Fate would allow it.

  “She ran because of her past. She didn’t run because of you. I wanted to tell you two months ago, Jagger, but had I, this wouldn’t end the same way. If I told you then, the outcome would be off.”

  He listened.

  “I’ll give you the missing pieces, and you’ll have to decide what to do with them. She’s the mother of your child. Your daughter will grow up and be happy.”

  “I’m having a daughter?” he asked.

  She wished she could see his face. Avalon could hear it in his voice, and there was love already there for the child who would come—if they kept the mother alive.

  “Yes, you are.”

  Jagger knew that Avalon was rarely wrong. He did believe in her, and the gift she’d been given.

  He was ready.

  “Okay, tell me.”

  “
This goes back many years ago. Children are either loved or hurt when they are being raised. We both know this first hand, Jagger.”

  Oh, he was well aware. His childhood sucked. Yeah, he had everything he wanted but his father’s love.

  “I’m sorry you weren’t cared for and cherished,” he stated.

  “I know you are, but it made me who I am today. That’s why you need to know why Roxy ran. It wasn’t you, Jagger. This goes back to her father.”

  “Was he abusive?” he asked. Jagger thought back to the way she kept the door between them. It was a way to keep herself safe. That had to be the reason.

  “He committed the worst kind of abuse. It began when she was only a child. It began when she was ten. At night, when his wife was asleep, he began sneaking into her room to rape her.”

  His stomach rolled with revulsion.

  He wanted to hurt the man.

  “It continued for quite a few years. She tolerated it, she tried to forget it, until one day, when she was fifteen and couldn’t handle it anymore. She went to her mother to tell her everything.”

  “Good for her. I hope they neutered that scumbag.”

  Avalon only wished.

  She also wished parents had to have a license to have a kid. You needed one with a dog, but children…you could hurt and it didn’t seem to matter.

  She knew.

  She’d been less than a dog in her family’s eyes.

  “Her mother was so worried that no one would ever love her again, and that she’d have to deal with the media, that she told her daughter she didn’t believe her.”

  He gasped.

  “What?”

  “Her own mother turned her back on her, ignoring what her husband was doing to her child. She pretty much told Roxanne that her husband’s sick ways mattered more than her own child’s heart.”

  He didn’t know how to process that.

  It was…horrible.

  “The rape continued for another year, and her mother knew the entire time and let it happen. In order to keep her big home, nice life, and fancy things, she sacrificed her child to a pedophile. It was daily. It was sometimes all night long. The man’s depravity was unquenchable.”

  His heart softened.

  Now he got it, and there was no way in hell he could hate her now. All Jagger wanted to do was protect Roxy. He wanted to wrap himself around her and keep her safe.