Dark Destiny (Dark Brothers Book #4) (17 page)

“Wow,” she breathes. “That just keeps getting better and better.”

“Shouldn’t wave your ass around for hours in front of me, baby.”

She giggles. “No, I suppose I shouldn’t.”

“We better get back.”

“You know they know what we’re doing, right?” she teases.

“I hope they fuckin’ heard too!”

“You’re a rebel, Jagger Black.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why you love me baby.”

“You know it.”

I let her slide off my hips, and we straighten ourselves and head back out to join the party. Things haven’t felt this good in a long time. I’m almost scared to believe it’s for real this time.

But somehow.

I know it is.

~*~*~*~*

WILLOW

“I saw him and Maggie,” Jenny growls, storming through my front door one Saturday morning.

“Oh…” I say, acting shocked.

“I saw her laughing, looking all sexy in those tiny shorts, fuck it. He was happy. He was smiling at her. Then, they got on his bike. Seriously, I thought Maggie was all hoity toity doctor?”

I shrug. “Maggie is still just a young girl, she’s just having fun. They’ve been friends forever.”

“Bullshit, that was not friendship.”

“Honey, you said you wanted a break.”

She slumps down on my couch. “God, I know. It’s my fault. That’s why I’m so mad. What is wrong with me Willow? Seriously?”

“You’re just confused.”

“Who’s confused?”

We both turn to see Ava walking through my front door with cake and coffee. I grin at her, the girl knows how we roll.

“Jenny is confused about Ace,” I offer.

Ava drops down onto the couch and hands us a coffee, then tosses me a small, chocolate, round cake. Jenny takes the next one handed out, and for a moment, we’re all silent as we take a bite.

“Why, what’s goin’ down with Ace?” Ava asks between mouthfuls.

“They aren’t getting along right now.”

Jenny frowns at me and I shrug.

“Oh, why? He not getting you off in the sack?” Ava grins.

“Shut up Ava, just ‘coz you got the sweet one.”

“Oh, honey, Angel is not sweet.”

I giggle, but quickly stop when Jenny gives me a look.

“Ok, so tell momma Ava what went down.”

An hour later, we’ve given Ava a rundown. She’s staring stupidly at us, looking completely confused.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard, Maggie is in the mix now,” Jenny says, frowning.

“I thought…Jennifer…why would you let Ace get away?” Ava gasps.

“Because, I was scared of the life. I still am. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I can’t help that I’m jealous now. I am seriously fucked up in the head about him.”

“Well, you need to unfuck yourself.”

I burst out into a fit of giggles at Ava’s down the line comment. Jenny frowns but soon her lips wobble and she bursts out laughing too.

“Serious as shit, Jennifer. You are throwin’ away a good one!”

“I know!” Jenny groans, taking another bite of her cake.

“Sort it, or let him and Maggie go.”

“How do I compete with her? She’s so freakin’ hot. She’s like the female version of Jagger.”

I continue giggling, and both girls stare at me oddly. I put up my hands, control myself and say, “Don’t look at me, you know I love Maggie, and I love you Jenny, there is no way I’m getting between this.”

“But you and Ace, you’re like BFF’s….has he said anything.”

I pretend to zip my lip. “I’m not betraying his trust Jen, you know I won’t.”

“So he has said something!” she cries.

“Go and talk to him,” I offer.

“You suck Willow!”

I grin. “Yeah, totally.”

We all talk for the next two hours, about men, work, and children. When the girls leave, I slump down into the couch with a sigh. Cody comes out of his room just as I get comfortable. Giving him a smile, I crook my finger and he runs over, leaping onto my lap. I spend the next hour cuddling him and Leila. I’m happy, for the first time in a while, things are going so well. I know this is how things were meant to go for me, even if it took a while to get there.

I also know it’s time to get some planning underway for the project me and the guys have been planning for Jagger in the past few weeks.

I just hope he likes it.

CHAPTER 11

WILLOW

“Baby,” Jagger murmurs as he nuzzles into my hair later that evening.

I smile, gripping his face and pressing my lips to his, he smells amazing like grease and Jagger and everything perfect mixed in one edible package. I've contemplated telling him about today, but I'm not sure how he'll take the news of Maggie and Ace. I know Jagger loves his sister, I know he's protective of her and Ace is his best friend, so I really don't know how that will go down.  I mean, if it was my sister, I suppose I can understand. I know that he’ll be worried she’ll get hurt, but you can’t choose love for someone. Even I know that. It picks who it wants to pick, and it does what it wants to do. If Ace and Maggie are meant to be, it will happen. If Ace and Jenny are meant to be, that will happen too.

I decide to at least ask him how his day is, before dropping that bombshell on him. “How was your day?” I ask, pressing myself against him.

He grips my chin, pressing his lips to mine and running his tongue along my lower lip. My body trembles with the feeling of him being pressed up against me.  Jagger keeps me alive.  He keeps my body alive, heck, he just keeps everything alive. Without him, I honestly don't know how we would have ever gotten through what we have.  That's what love’s about. It’s about good, bad, beautiful, ugly and everything in between. No one ever gets married honestly believing it will all be for the better, hell, there’s a reason the vows add in worse too. Because no one’s life is always on the better side, we all have our fair share of worse.

Jagger searches my face with those dazzling blue eyes, then he murmurs, “Good, it’s strange though, everyone is looking at me like I’m about to bust a valve and explode at them.”

“Well, you were in a bad place last time you were there, now you’ve gone back and magically, you’re better.”

“I know, but fuck, I smile and they all jump like I’m about to pull out a knife and go crazy on their asses.”

I chuckle, rolling my eyes. “Well, you were kind of mean before.”

He grins. I grin back. We understand each other.

He leans close, brushing his lips across mine. “I get that, but, I mean…come on, there's no need to look at me like that.”

“Baby,” I say, chuckling. “Give them time, it will get better.”

He wiggles his brows at me playfully, pulling me close and tangling his fingers into my hair and pulling me down for a kiss so hot my body comes alive.  When he pulls back, I have to grip the counter to steady myself. He winks at me, then digs into his pockets and throws his keys down, followed by his phone, before he walks around the counter to the fridge. Now or never, Willow. He needs to hear about Maggie and Ace, at least that there might be a Maggie and Ace, I don’t want him to be kept out of it, it won’t do him any good. Honesty. It’s the best policy, right?

“So,” I say, stretching out the word. “Jenny came by today.”

“Yeah?” he says, pulling a beer from the fridge. 

“Yes,” I say, not sure how to approach this. “Her and Ace are having problems.”

“Oh yeah, what sort of problems?”

I wave my hand. “Oh you know, the usual girl meets boy, boy meets girl, girl is not sure she wants boy, boy wants girl, girl starts playing games…”

Jagger turns and raises his brows at me, “Say again?  I didn't get any of that.”

“Well, here's the thing, Ace may or may not be seeing someone else.”

Jagger stops drinking his beer, lowering it to give me a confused look. “Since when?”

I shrug and feel color rise into my cheeks. “Well, since, maybe, I don't know, yesterday.”

Jagger raises his brows. “Yesterday?”

I shift uncomfortably and stare at my hands. “Look, I am not sure how to explain this, so I’ll just come out with it. Ace has someone else…kind of…and I know who.”

Jagger walks over, gripping my face, forcing me to look at him. “Baby you're not telling me everything, what’s the truth? Just spill it.”

I chuckle nervously. “Well, I am, but you won’t like the truth.”

“How about you tell me, so I can decide if I will like it or not.”

I swallow. “So, you know Maggie’s back in town and…”

Jagger drops the beer on the countertop, spinning around and storming towards the front door.  He grips his keys off the countertop as he brushes past it.  I rush over, gripping his shoulders and pulling him back.

“Baby, stop, let me talk to you about this before you lose your shit.”

He spins on me, his eyes are wild, his glare crazy. He opens his mouth and rasps out “Don't fucking tell me not to lose my shit,
that is
my sister,
that is
my best friend, and nobody thought to tell me?”

I grip his shoulders, shaking him little. “Listen, you need to calm down.  This isn't how it looks, for now, they’re just friends.”

“Then why the fuck did you tell me about it?” he growls.

I frown. “Well, because I wanted you to know. I wanted you to know they were hanging out, I thought that maybe you could support your sister.”

He gives me a skeptical look, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.  “Are you using my guilt to try and get me to back down and let Maggie and Ace do what they want? ‘Coz it don’t fuckin’ happen like that, Willow, you know that.”

“No, that's not it.  It’s just you told made that you wished things were easier for her, that she could have a chance to live. Ace could be that chance, they have connection Jagger, they really do, and I think that you need to back off.  I think that you need to let this one go, honey.”

“She’s my sister, she’s all I have, Willow.  She’s everything that I have left in my family.  I can't just let it go.  Ace is no good.”

“That's not fair Jagger, that's not fair and you know it. You weren't any good, but I gave you a chance. How is it fair for you to say that Ace is no good, he’s your best friend and he’s a good person.”

“And that's exactly why I know he's no good, Willow.  I know because he is my best friend.  I know because I've seen what he's capable of.  I know these things because I’ve been around him longer than any of you. You need to trust me on this one. She’s too good for him, to perfect, he will fuck her up.”

I cross my arms and snap, “I was the one girl that probably would never suited you, but you know what? It worked. I think you need to give them a chance.  I think you're overreacting and jumping the gun.  I think that you’re just trying to protect something that really doesn't need protecting. Maggie is a big girl, she’s grown, she’s beautiful, she’s smart. I think Ace could be her saving grace, I really do.”

“You don't know Ace, don't know him like I do,” he grumbles.

I cross my arms and tap my foot. “I do know Ace, Ace is my best friend Jagger, and I know what he's like.”

“I think you're wrong, Willow,” he growls, dropping the keys and storming back into the kitchen.  He picks up his beer and tips it down his throat angrily. 

“Jagger,” I say, walking over. “Just give them a chance. There is nothing even going on right now, but he needs a chance to get something going on, let him have that chance.”

“You're asking me to let my sister fall into the hands of a gang member.”

I softly say, “You let me fall into the hands of a gang member, and look where ended up. I'm fine, Jagger. I’m happy.”

He spins on me, his eyes wild, “You have been nearly killed, you have been kidnapped, you have been treated horribly by your husband. Don’t you try and tell me this life is good, Willow. ‘Coz it’s not. You deal, because you’re amazing. Maggie isn’t that kind of person, she’s too sweet. It’s a mistake.”

“I think you're wrong, I think that Maggie knows what she wants to be. He's just what she needs.  Maybe she needs a bit of danger, she’s so perfect, so uptight, so hoity-toity. I think that maybe, just maybe, he could be the best thing for her.”

“There’s no fuckin’ point in me arguing. You’re gonna support them no matter what I say. What about your sister? Where’s the loyalty for her?”

I cross my arms and glare angrily at him. “My sister played games, my sister put herself in this situation. I don’t think Ace is right for her, not because of what he does, but because of the standards she has set for herself. So don’t throw it back on me.”

“Whatever,” he grumbles, pulling off his shirt. “Don’t expect me to happy about this, ‘coz I’m fuckin’ not.”

Then he turns and storms down the hall angrily, his hands clenched. I watch him go, and then I lean my hip against the counter, rolling my eyes. Honest to god, this man will be the death of me.  I understand why he doesn't want his sister in the position I’ve been put in, but I think this is a chance she needs to take, and I think he needs to accept that.