Oleander, page 9
Diane sighed as she stood, gathered her things, and stuck everything in her satchel. “Call me if she thinks of any more details, no matter how small they may seem.”
Jagger pushed from the table, squared off with his boss, and crossed his arms. They didn’t normally find themselves at odds. He’d worked for her for ten years. She was damn good at her job and wouldn’t sleep until she solved a case.
He was well aware of what was different about this case and how it was affecting his behavior. He had feelings for the victim. He knew it. Diane knew it. It was unprofessional and totally against all policy.
Insinuating he couldn’t do his job was over the top, though. “Diane, I’m a great agent. I’m capable of knowing when to call you.”
She nodded. “I know you are.” She glanced at Kally. “But…”
He shook his head. “Nope. There is no but here. My perspective about the case isn’t clouded. You know me. You know I would never jeopardize a case.” He motioned toward the front door, not wanting to argue with Diane in front of Kally any longer. The last thing he needed was for Kally to think she was causing a problem with his boss. It would add to her stress.
“Thank you for being so thorough, Kalinda,” Diane said to her with a forced smile. “You have my direct number if you think of anything else or need anything.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kally responded.
“I’ll be right back,” Jagger told her. He looked at her for longer than a pause, trying to ascertain if she could handle him leaving the room for a few minutes.
She nodded and didn’t move.
When he reached the front door, he glanced back toward the kitchen to make sure Kally hadn’t followed them before facing Diane.
“Look, Jagger…”
He shook his head, getting in her face. “No. You look. You sound like you don’t even believe her story half the time, Diane. It’s insane.”
“That’s not true. I believe her.”
“Then you might want to work harder to make that obvious. It’s not her fucking fault that those men were thorough when they abducted her. Did you miss the part where Russo dumped her belongings on the basement floor and stomped on them? Her computer. Her phone. Her purse. Her identification. Even most of her fucking clothes?”
Jagger was trying not to shout, but it was hard. He was so angry he could punch a hole in his own wall.
“I heard her.” Diane put her hands on her hips.
“She was basically a runaway, Diane. She didn’t have close friends. Those girls she lived with thought she was a freak. They probably took one look at her room and assumed she’d moved without notice. Skipped town. Whoever those two men were who took her knew that. They were smart. Why the fuck would those other girls have called the cops? And told them what? ‘Yeah, uh, our weird virginal roommate didn’t come home for two days. She took all her stuff and just left.’”
Diane nodded. “I hear you.”
“Do you? Those other girls in the house were selling their bodies for the rent money in Clark County, Nevada. Prostitution isn’t legal in Clark County. Not to mention they were probably underage. I’m sure they cleaned out that room and found another girl to rent it before the dust settled.”
“You’re right.”
“On top of that, Kally was an underage dancer in a dive club off the strip. Do you think her boss called to say she was missing when she didn’t show up for work? Jesus, Diane. The fuckers who stalked and abducted her knew exactly what they were doing. They made a clean sweep. They got away with it, too.”
Diane held up a finger. “So far. I was listening, Whitley. I heard every word, and I’m going to have people scouring every dive bar in Vegas within the hour. It’s not Kalinda I’m frustrated with, and you know it.”
Jagger gasped. “Are you telling me that because you’re angry with me, you think it’s okay to treat the victim like she might be lying?”
“No. I’m telling you I’m beyond concerned about your involvement with her and your feelings for her. She’s young. She’s impressionable. She’s been through hell. She needs help.”
“And I will get her all the help she needs, Diane,” he muttered through gritted teeth. He knew he wasn’t being rational either, but he couldn’t help it. “Do you have anything else you need to say to me?”
Diane blew out a breath and stared at him. “You’re serious about helping her, aren’t you?”
“Jesus, Diane, yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t fucking know, okay. But I’m going to do whatever it takes. There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to leave her with someone else. A man who paid one million dollars for her got stiffed last night, and the man who collected that money was watching me get her out of that house. She is not safe.”
“I know that, Jagger. Everyone knows that.” Diane glanced toward the kitchen.
Jagger jerked his gaze in that direction, too. Luckily, Kally hadn’t emerged yet.
“You’re going to see this through, aren’t you?” Diane stated in defeat.
“Yes. All the way through to the end.”
“If it takes months?”
“If it takes years,” he assured her.
“I can’t hold your job forever.”
He nodded. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep me on staff for as long as possible. I’m more helpful if I’m in the loop.”
Diane sighed. “You act like you’re going to quit.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I have one priority.”
Diane nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll do my best. You’re no longer on this case, but I won’t stop anyone from sharing information with you and touching base. You’re officially on paid leave.” She lifted a finger. “For now. Don’t make me regret it.”
“Thank you.” Jagger took a deep breath and opened the front door. He watched as Diane got in her car and headed for the gate. A guard was stationed at the gate, and one constantly circled the property. There was still a man positioned in the street, too.
None of that was keeping Jagger from feeling antsy. He thought they might need to consider leaving and going somewhere else soon, but he wasn’t sure how Kally was going to react to that, so he would keep it to himself for now.
When the gate was closed, he shut the front door and turned around. Kally was standing in the middle of the living room, arms wrapped around herself as she often did. Not closed off exactly. More like cold and shut down.
“How much did you hear?” he asked as he approached her.
“Most of it,” she admitted. “I’ve gotten good at eavesdropping in the past year. I kept hoping if I accidentally heard the right information, I might be able to escape.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Diane is good at her job.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to defend her.
“I’m sure she is. I get it. She’s worried about you.” She tipped her head back and set her chin on his chest. “You wouldn’t really quit your job over me, would you?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Her eyes went wide. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Some things are more important than a job.”
“But you don’t know me.”
“I know enough. I know that no matter what happens between you and me, it changes nothing. I won’t turn you over to someone else for protection. I can’t. No matter what, I will be with you until you either tell me to take a hike or I’m certain you’re completely safe. That means a lot of people have to be arrested and convicted before I’m going to walk away.”
She swallowed. “And then you’ll walk away?” Her voice was soft.
He shook his head. “Nope. You’ll still have to tell me to go.”
She sighed. “What if I’m lying? Diane has her doubts.”
“No, she doesn’t. She knows you’re not lying. She’s frustrated because I’m being stubborn and breaking all the rules. She’s taking it out on you, and she shouldn’t.”
“She’s right, though. No one even called in a missing person’s report.”
Jagger grabbed Kally’s hand, turned, and marched toward the stairs. He was glad she followed. He certainly didn’t want her to feel forced.
He tugged her all the way into his bedroom, shoved the bag of borrowed clothes off the armchair, sat, and pulled her into his lap. Finally, he spoke. “Those men knew what they were doing. They stalked you until they overheard a key piece of information that meant the jackpot, and then they took you in the middle of the night and left a trail of evidence that you had skipped town. I’m sure the front door wasn’t even locked on that house.”
Kally chewed on her bottom lip while she listened.
“On top of that, Gemma knows you. She was there when you were brought in. Another slave. And you have that fucking tattoo on your inner thigh. No one thinks for a minute you’re lying. Got it?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good. Now, you must be exhausted. I chased Diane out of the house as soon as I realized you were close to a full panic attack.”
She played absently with the front of his shirt. “The windows make me nervous.”
“I know they do.” He pulled her against his chest and held her close, breathing in her scent. It was a bit masked by his own damn shampoo and soap. “We’re going to nap, and then we’re going to eat a late lunch, and then we’re going to order you some shampoo.”
She giggled. “Shampoo? How is that a priority? Sleep, food, shampoo? Yours is fine.”
“Mine is making you smell like me. I want to know what you smell like when you use something sweet and floral and girly.”
She sobered, her smile falling as if she realized she shouldn’t be smiling. “Having real shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and hot water is a luxury. Hell, it was a luxury before I got abducted. Now, it’s like heaven. Don’t spoil me. I can’t stay with you forever. When I leave, I won’t have nice things. I don’t want to get used to them.”
Jagger stopped breathing. He blinked several times. “I prefer to think maybe you’ll grow to like me and not leave.”
She stared at him. “You can’t mean that. I’m not from your world. I’m just a girl who was living and working on the wrong side of the tracks, and it caught up with her because no one cared about her. I’m nobody. I get that you feel sorry for me. You probably even feel responsible for me because you’re a good guy. You made me a promise when I was at the end of my rope, and you’re too nice to take it back. But—”
Jagger shook his head. He gave her a bit of a shake, too. “No, Kalinda.” He couldn’t explain why he felt so strongly about her, but he did. He’d known other guys who’d met their soulmates and had known it on the spot. He’d always rolled his eyes and thought they were loony toons. But they’d been right, and all of them were the happiest fuckers he knew.
That’s what had happened here. He knew it in his heart, in his head, and in his gut. Kally was his. She was going to be the light in his world for the rest of his life if she’d have him. She’d run him over like a freight train. Knocked him on his ass. He would not be walking away from her unless she wanted him to. Ever.
He licked his lips. “Look at me.”
She’d ducked her head to watch her fingers as she fiddled with the front of his shirt again.
When she lifted her eyes, he met them. “Call me crazy, but I have no intention of ever willingly letting you go. You’ve brought me to my knees. I want to hold you, protect you, listen to you, and help you get through this, but I also want to make sure you have everything you ever wanted in life. I want to help you get whole again. I want to help you finish your education if that’s what you want. I want every part of you you’re willing to give me. I’m a patient man. I won’t pressure you to return my affection. I know you have a lot to deal with before you can even consider what I’m proposing. But I’ll be right here while you figure it out. And, if you look up one day and realize you don’t feel the same way about me that I feel about you, I will not only help you move on, but I’ll make sure you have a bank account that ensures you never want for anything.”
Her eyes went wide. “A bank account? Did you miss the part where I’m not a hooker?”
He cringed. “Kally, that’s not what I meant.”
“It sounded like it was what you meant.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m just saying I won’t let you go back to the way things were before. I’ll help you get on your feet and make sure you stay that way. There are no strings attached to my offer. You never have to sleep with me or touch me in any way.”
Jagger released her and lifted his hands out to the sides, feeling like an idiot. Did she really think he planned to keep her as some sort of mistress?
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck.”
She still sat on his lap, gripping his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know you didn’t mean it that way. I was just reacting. My head is spinning. I’m struggling to believe I’m really here and not still in that fucking basement.”
When she leaned into him and tucked her head against his neck, he wrapped his arms around her again. They needed sleep. He rose, carried her to the bed, tugged the covers back, and slid her to the middle.
Then he climbed in behind her, pulled the covers mostly over her, and spooned her from behind like he had last night.
She was stiff for a while, breathing heavily. Undoubtedly, her mind was racing as she tried to process everything he’d said.
He smoothed her soft curls from her face and kissed her neck even though he had no right to do so. “I’m sorry. You didn’t need me to drop all that in your lap right now.”
She slid her hand over his and threaded her fingers between his from the back. Clutching his hand, she pulled it against her chest and held on tight. “Did you mean it all?” she asked softly.
“Every word. As far as I’m concerned, you’re mine. To hold and protect. To make laugh. To cry with when life doesn’t go our way. I’m going to get lost in your eyes every time you look at me for the rest of my life. I know it as strongly as I know my name. Naysayers can fuck themselves and stay out of it.”
She pulled his fingers to her lips and kissed them. It was the first time she’d set her lips on him, even though he’d taken that liberty with her several times. “I want to believe all that is possible.”
“I’ll show you.”
“I’m going to crack, Jagger. I’m holding on by a thread. I’m too exhausted to deal with the pain of what I’ve been through. I’m in shock. I’m scared out of my mind about how you make me feel. On top of that, people are outside even now, waiting for the opportunity to snatch me out of your hands. They won’t stop until they have me. I’ll be out of this country so fast you won’t even be able to blink. You’ll never be able to find me.”
He held his breath, hating the panic in her voice. Hating that she was right.
She twisted to look at him. “You can’t look for me, Jagger. Promise me you’ll move on and let me go.”
“Not a chance in hell, honey. Never. If anything happened to you, which it won’t, I would never ever stop looking for you. Damon spent three years looking for Gemma, and he found her. Now, they are the luckiest people on earth. Their love is the kind of thing that makes everyone around vomit,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
He failed, apparently, because Kally sat up next to him and turned to face him. Her expression was fierce. “It wouldn’t be the same, Jagger. I’d be broken beyond repair. I know what Gemma endured. I was there. She was there for three years. It was unimaginable, but she wasn’t raped. Not in the literal sense. And neither was I. If there’s a man out there from a foreign country waiting to collect me… He doesn’t have kind, gentle plans for me. He intends to hurt me in the worst possible way. I know this. It’s why I killed a man last night. I would do anything to avoid going with the man who bought me for a million dollars. Anything, Jagger. Do you hear me? So, don’t look for me. You wouldn’t find me. I wouldn’t exist anymore. All you’d have to bring home would be a body.”
Jagger sat upright next to her, towering over her, grabbing her head so she couldn’t look away. “Don’t talk like that, Kalinda. Ever. And don’t think like that. First of all, no one is going to get their hands on you. But if by some chance they do, you will fucking hold it together until I can get to you. Do you understand?”
She stared at him wide-eyed. “No, Jagger. I’m not strong enough. I won’t let someone fucking hurt me like that. I can’t. I’d rather jump out of the plane as it took off. I’d rather run into traffic while he dragged me down the street. I’d rather jump down onto the subway tracks. Fuck him. Fuck his million dollars. He can fuck himself, but he can’t have me.”
She was so firm. It was amazing how strong her convictions were, considering how long she’d been living in hell. She’d climbed out of that world not even twenty-four hours ago, and already she was the strongest woman he’d ever met.
God, he loved her. More by the minute. Yes, loved. He wouldn’t say that to her right now and make her even more frustrated, but he would never forget the moment he’d known. This moment right here. This one where she was staring him down with her fierceness and determination.
She wasn’t going to win this fight, though. And it was a fight. They’d probably have a million of them in the course of their lives, and he would cherish every second of every argument because they would be seconds he had with her.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. The Dom in him, who’d regularly gone to Roses and Thorns to relieve some stress with a willing submissive, wanted to toss her back on the bed, hover over her, and make himself clear.
But he couldn’t do that with Kally. He likely would never be able to exercise any kind of consensual force with her. It would make her panic. She wasn’t submissive. She would always be his equal in every room of the house.
Instead, he gently stroked her cheek. “I understand your frustration. I can feel your fear and your pain. I hear you. But you need to hear me, too. I will never give up on you. Never. I’m going to stick to you like white on rice until you believe me. You don’t want to shower alone? You got it. I won’t leave you in the bathroom alone anymore. You will not know fear because I will not give you the space to feel it. The only way someone is going to get to you is over my dead body. But on the off chance they do, you will fucking stay strong for me. You do what it takes to survive. You shut your mind down and get out of your body while that fucker touches you. Understood?”
