Blue Colla Make Ya Holla (86 page)

As they got closer to the residence they needed to be for this night, Jagger turned off the headlights on the tow truck and hoped like hell they were going to be able to get out of this situation with the hair on their heads and the skin on their back still intact. This neighborhood didn’t take to outsiders well, and even though they wore patches on their backs, that sometimes made for an even bigger target.

‡

“Y
ou got it?”
Liam whispered to Jagger as they pulled the Hummer up on the back of the tow truck. He considered them lucky that they’d gotten this far without being detected, but he didn’t want to hang around anymore than he had to.

“Yup, just gotta secure it,” Jagger told him as he went about hooking up the vehicle so that it wouldn’t come off the back. He was hooking up the very last part when the door to the house opened and a man came out.

“Liam Walker, don’t even think you’re takin’ my ride.”

Liam cursed, glancing back at Jagger, mouthing for him to continue hooking up the vehicle. “Now, Dice, you and I know that I gotta do what the bank tells me to do.” He’d known the other man since high school, and while he knew that he was sometimes dangerous, he did tend to have a level head on his shoulders most of the time.

“You can drop it right there,” Dice told him, pointing his finger in a downward motion. “I don’t want to have to hurt you or the pretty boy.”

Jagger was tired, really fucking tired, and under no circumstances did he want to mess around. He wanted this car, he wanted it now, and he wanted to go home. Liam was all about being this dude’s friend, and Jagger was all about getting the hell out of Dodge. Reaching behind his cut, he grabbed his gun out of his waistband, pointing it at the other man. “Bro, I’ve got no beef with you, but I’m tellin’ you this right fucking now. We are takin’ your ride, and you’re more than welcome to come to the shop tomorrow and see if it’s still there or if the bank has taken it. I’m in a real bad mood, and you’re about to be on the wrong end of it.”

Liam watched the younger man with wide eyes. It took a lot of Jagger to lose his shit. In fact he’d only seen it a couple of times. Jagger wasn’t ice cold, the way Layne could be, but he was nice to have around when things got messy. He usually had a good head for solving problems and for getting them out of jams, not getting into them.

“Hey, hey.” Dice held up his hands, backing away, his eyes wide. “No reason to pull out the heat. I got a daughter inside, man. I understand you gotta do what you gotta do, but put that shit away.”

“I’m not in the mood. Get your ass back inside.” Jagger palmed the gun and pointed towards the front door. “Your beef ain’t with us, it’s with the bank. Take it up with them.”

*

Within minutes they
were back in the tow truck, headed back towards Walker’s Wheels. It was quiet in the cab of the truck, and Jagger rolled his tense neck around on his shoulders. He hadn’t meant for that to happen, but sometimes things escalated, and for him, they had this night.

“You’ve never lost your cool that quick,” Liam commented as they pulled back onto Louisville road. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate you taking care of things when you need to, but I don’t want you flying off the handle just because you have a lot on your mind. Do you need to take some time off?”

“No, it’s been a rough couple of days, and like I told him, I wasn’t in the mood. I just wanna drop this thing off and head to bed. I need to decompress.”

“Is that bed gonna be at the apartment or at the clubhouse?” Liam asked gently. With the way Jagger was speaking, and the fact that Bianca had to follow him to figure out where he was going, things were even worse than he had assumed they were.

They stopped at a red light, and Jagger pushed his head back against the seat. “Probably the clubhouse. I need a little time to figure out what I’m gonna do, and to be honest, the time that B and I spent together earlier today wasn’t the best. We weren’t exactly nice to one another.” It didn’t make him proud to know that they’d used sex to mask their problems, but he knew they were human and sometimes things happened.

Liam nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “Don’t let misunderstandings come between you. It’s easy to do, and in the end, and it’s not worth it. Those misunderstandings build on each other, and then you have no trust. You and Bianca have a kick-ass relationship. Right now you’re going through a rough patch. We all do it; it’s how you come out on the other side that matters.”

Jagger knew that the older man was right, and that was exactly why he was going to stay away from the apartment. He knew Bianca had questions she wanted answers to, and he was too tired to give her any. For this night, they would have to be apart. In the end, he hoped they could learn to appreciate each other and what they had built together more.

‡

J
agger woke up
the next morning with a huge sense of relief. He knew that he no longer had to keep any secrets from the woman he loved, and even though the secret had been self-imposed, it still felt good not to deal with it any longer. He’d known for weeks exactly what he wanted to buy her with the money he was stockpiling; that was the reason he had been pushing so hard. Sitting up in the bed, he glanced at the clock, realizing it was early afternoon. Checking his phone, he saw that he had a few text messages, but the one he was most interested in was the one from Bianca.

I’m sorry I doubted where you were at night. I followed you last night, and I’m ashamed of myself for it. Please come home, I miss you.

Even reading it, he felt like he could feel her loneliness. He wanted to tell her he would be there soon, but honestly he didn’t know how long it would take him to complete everything he wanted to get done. He’d taken off the next three days at the shop, and he couldn’t wait to spend those days with her. It had been way too long.

First thing was first; he needed a shower, breakfast, and then he needed to head downtown to complete the second part of his plan.

*

“Have you heard
from Jagger today?”

Bianca shook her head at Meredith. She was volunteering at the CRISIS house to get her mind off of things. “No, not today. I can’t tell if he’s angry about other things or if he’s upset about the way we left each other yesterday. This isn’t something I have a lot of experience with when it comes to him. Usually he and I are on the same page in everything we do. It’s killing me that he seems to be pulling away from me.” She bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her emotions in check.

“Relationships grow and change, they ebb and flow. I’m sure nothing is as bad as what you think it is now. I can’t see Jagger ever giving up on what the two of you have together,” Meredith reassured her.

“I don’t know, I haven’t felt this alone since he and I started dating. I feel like I did after he had his wreck, when he tried to push me away. I hate that I had doubts and pushed him, and now he’s pushing back.”

“I have a feeling that nothing about the situation is as it seems.” Meredith offered her a smile. “I honestly have no idea what’s going on, but call it a gut feeling. I know him, he’s not leaving you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

And Bianca did hope she was right, but in this moment, she had her doubts. There was a large part of her that was worried she would go home and find he’d moved out of the apartment and back into the clubhouse.

*

“Are you sure
this is the one you want?”

This was the one thing Jagger hadn’t second-guessed. He’d known the minute he’d walked into the jewelry store on the square that the art-deco 1920s estate ring was the one he wanted for Bianca. It was everything that she was to him, all rolled into one. Classy, with flash, and a subtle hint of elegance. It was unique. He’d done some research on the internet with the help of Travis, and he’d only found one other ring that looked remotely like it. That made it all the more special to him; a way to prove how special he thought she was.

“I’m sure.” He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Do you have a special lady you’re gonna give this to?” the older woman behind the glass counter asked.

He had to give it to her, she hadn’t shrunk away when he came in wearing his cut, the beard he still hadn’t shaved, and boots that pounded loud against the hardwood floors; she’d treated him just like any other customer.

“I do.” He nodded, for the first time in a while thinking all of this would be okay. As soon as he could give this to B, she would understand. “I have the perfect lady to give this to.”

She smiled a genuine smile at him. “I’m glad, I truly am. This ring should be on the finger of a woman who knows her worth.”

Bianca wasn’t sure of hers right this moment, but Jagger was going to make sure she knew just how much she meant to him, very soon. “She does, and she will for the rest of her life.”

The sales lady nodded. “Now how will you be paying for this?”

“What’s the total?” he asked, wanting to make sure he had enough cash on him.

“Six thousand five hundred, sixty-five dollars and forty-two cents.” She showed him the receipt that included the cleaning package and warranty he’d purchased.