Page 22 of Jagger

But it couldn’t and wouldn’t matter.

My goal was set, my mind finally shifting from one big foggy haze to reality. I would do this methodically, the new life something I could be proud of.

Eventually.

I refused to allow Joel to take away all I’d worked for.

Bastard.

All men were bastards.

That was the thought as I put the gear into reverse, attempting yet another getaway. It was funny that I’d held it together when I’d driven out of Baltimore.

This time two tiny tears slipped past my lashes.

CHAPTER 8

Jagger

Women.

What was that thing I heard countless times? You can’t live with them and… you can’t livewiththem. As soon as Bella rolled down the driveway, I let out a deep breath. My teeth hurt from gritting them the entire time she’d confronted me.

The woman was bat shit crazy to think she could make it down the mountain in this weather. There was no doubt my ass would need to save her.

I closed the still open door to the cabin, not bothering putting a single grocery away. Both she and the little tyke would be back here in less than an hour. I predicted it and checked my watch.

Unless she drove off the side of a mountain.

As I tromped down the stairs, my chest tightened. Nope. I wasn’t having a heart attack, but the feeling was just as constricting. Why the hell did I give a shit about Bella’s wellbeing in the firstplace? It was beating the shit out of me. She was opinionated, mouthy, the kind of gal who would kick a man in his balls, and I had a feeling she had a damn good right hook.

I jumped into my vehicle, half laughing from the vision of what I should do to her given her wild and disruptive behavior. Turn her over my knee and give her the spanking of a lifetime. Maybe if she couldn’t sit for a few days, she’d finally realize she was acting like a child. Why? She was obviously highly intelligent; it was clear as much as her beauty. So why risk her life and that of her child to run away?

Was I that terrifying?

I rubbed my shaggy beard as I pulled down the driveway. Yeah, maybe I was. In the months I’d been here, I’d let myself go. No haircut. My face hadn’t seen a razor since I left Maine after our father’s call. Being a hermit meant you didn’t have to conform to what the public wanted.

In other words, I didn’t need to please people. Hunter had told me that several times.

Bella was easy to trail, but I kept my distance. The last thing I wanted to do was to scare her so she’d drive irrationally. The roads were pretty damn bad and I was thankful to see at least she was driving with caution. But with every passing second, the snow was falling even heavier than before.

A sign caught my attention and I gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckle force. The curvy pass coming up in a half a mile took out some of the most experienced drivers in the rain. I should never have let it go this far. If I’d been a decent guy, I would have locked her inside one of the bedrooms somehow, even if it had meant barricading the door.

Yeah, the Neanderthal moniker stuck. At least it was better than the one I’d gotten doing service for my country.

I adjusted the rearview mirror, taking a quick look to ensure no one was on my tail. Fortunately, it seemed even the tourists had taken heed to the warnings, stay off the goddamn roads.

Not the feisty woman with hair the color of spun gold. Damn her. I couldn’t speed up for fear I’d roll down the side of the mountain. I just had to take it slow and easy.

Not my style.

When she drove around the corner, I held my breath and opened my window, straining to hear any sound.

I didn’t like what I was hearing, the noise enough to let me know her tires were starting to skid. Ah, fuck me. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her. Sucking in my breath, I kept my eyes on the road, laying off the brakes as well.

I heard a squeal and a solid thud.

Then nothing.

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