Page 82 of Jagger

There was no real cure for anyone suffering from the mental turmoil he was going through, but there were support mechanisms, people who could help ease his anxiety. Right now, his first task was acceptance of his deeds and that they didn’t reflect on the man.

He also had to forgive himself.

It was something we both needed to do. Maybe fate had brought us together for a reason.

Healing.

Understanding.

Survival.

CHAPTER 22

Jagger

The afternoon sun had a warming effect, the thick snow slowly fading into a memory. I pulled into the parking lot of Shackles, a favorite local watering hole, the grip on my steering wheel tight.

Two days had passed since I’d lost my shit and Bella had found me. I knew I’d seemed like a madman to her, likely ranting and raving. I remembered only some of what I’d told her. But what I knew was that she’d held my hand for a solid two hours after I’d told her I’d been captured, finally falling asleep on my chest.

The closeness had been the nearest thing to heaven I’d ever experienced.

I’d carried her up to bed, tucking her in and watching her sleep for the rest of the night. As soon as dawn had broken through the gray horizon, I’d heard both Cally’s and Xena’s feet romping through the house. At least the sweet little kid had allowed me to pour her a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She’d chattered away like she did every minute she was awake while I’d fed the pup.

It had tugged at my heartstrings more than any time before.

The reason why had become clear to me. Because everything seemed normal. A normal family. A normal house. A normal morning.

When nothing was truly normal in my world or in Bella’s.

My anger was still fresh, my mind anticipating what I would do to Joel if he stepped foot in Danger Falls.

At least work had taken up the better part of the last two days, which had kept me from going off the deep end. With Bella still on the job waiting tables, and Cally and the hero dog Xena the hit of daycare, I had the early evening to myself. What did I do instead of going home to an empty house?

I asked both brothers to meet me at a goddamn bar. It wasn’t my usual behavior by a long shot, so I knew they’d have questions.

I’d had more trouble sleeping, only able to stay with Bella for a couple of hours. At least I’d waited until she’d fallen asleep before heading downstairs, pulling out my computer and searching for every scrap of information I could find on the Brockford family. She hadn’t been lying about their power.

Joel’s father had come up through the illustrious ranks of being one of the top surgeons in the country to running a highly profitable charity for extreme medical conditions. The money he’d managed to bring in was astounding. He appeared charming in the photographs, always smiling and shaking hands. However, I could read between the lines.

People were afraid of him.

Some notorious criminals had also been included in a couple of the photographs. That gave me an indication there was some type of a relationship with the Brockford family.

Maybe the patriarch had a way of saving the lives of powerful people who would then owe him a favor or two, including eliminating anyone getting in his way. It was just a crazy theory of mine, but one that wouldn’t leave my mind. Joel was shadowing his father’s footsteps, also highly respected and considered the quintessential surgeon on the East Coast.

As with every family, dark secrets lay in wait for the right person to find them. While a significant part of me wanted to resort to my previous convictions on handling a target, I also knew the problems killing Joel could create.

I’d come to terms with the thought of destroying the man instead.

Unfortunately, I would need help in doing so. Something I wasn’t used to either.

After parking the Rover, I climbed out, scanning the parking lot. It was early, but there were already a solid three dozen vehicles, which meant the place was going to be packed. The damn holidays again. Plus, the snow hadn’t dampened anyone’s spirits.

Cally had started talking about what to get the dog for her stocking and I’d been forced to walk out of the room. My attitude had been bad enough that the little girl had taken to calling me Mr. Grumpy. And every time Bella had burst into laughter. Meanwhile, both girls as well as Xena also had added light to the house that hundreds of lamps hadn’t been able to do.

I strolled into the bar, glancing at the bartender who I knew. While I might not frequent the place that often, people paid attention to the Fox boys. The whole town had watched us like hawks for weeks after our arrival. In addition to the sheriff throwing shade given our backgrounds, there’d been real fear we’d sell or shut down the resort. I couldn’t blame them for their concern.

We’d looked pretty rough around the edges when we’d walked into town, our people skills lacking.

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