Crushing Beauty (Harbingers of Sorrow MC): Vegas Titans Series (3 page)

Jagger Stromm didn’t want to go out that night. He had a
strange feeling that something was off. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but
being someone in the seat of such power, he was accustomed to these feelings of
clairvoyance. After all, it was his ability to stay three steps ahead that kept
him at the top.

He peered around his bedroom. He had kept the blinds drawn
all day. Business from the night before needed his attending to and he didn’t
end up stumbling in until 10 a.m. There was a woman in his bed. He didn’t know
her name. He didn’t care. He didn’t actually remember if he had slept with her
or not. He shook her. She didn’t wake up. He shook her again, more violently
this time. She moaned and rolled over, but seemed to have no intention of
waking up.

She was pretty: blonde, short hair, thin, and full breasts.
He liked breasts. He liked to grab them, and pull them, and bite them. He felt
himself growing, ready to take this woman as she slept, but decided against it.
This time. Although he was physically attracted to her, he felt nothing. He
never felt anything. He had grown too comfortable turning his emotions off. In
his business, he couldn’t afford to care about people outside of his club. They
were his family, the only ones who mattered. Everyone else was trash.

He decided he couldn’t stay in his house while this woman
was taking over his bed. He snuck out of the bedroom and into the vast living
room. Jagger stood in the window, baring his nakedness and gazing at a patch of
trees near his house silhouetting in the moonlight. No one could see in, and there
were no other houses for miles. Still, if they came wandering by, he’d be happy
to show them. He was proud of his body. He was proud of the man he had become,
and he wasn’t planning on hiding that from anyone.

He found his way to the casino, still feeling on edge.
Something big was going to happen; he could feel it. As per usual, when he
entered into a room, people stared. He was, by any account, a striking man; his
disheveled hair hung around his high cheekbones and strong, chiseled chin. He
had just a hint of stubble, deciding not to shave that evening, for fear that
the sound of his razor would awaken the blonde woman, and he would be forced
into an awkward conversation.

He looked around the room, contemplating his first table.
Then he noticed her out of the corner of his eye, a dealer he'd never seen
before. She was beautiful—her long, shining hair, olive skin, almond shaped
eyes, and that blood red dress. There was something familiar about her,
something that he was drawn to. He caught her gaze and their eyes locked.
Britton. It was Britton. How did she find him here?

Her heart began to race as he approached the table. Did he
realize who she was? He flashed that exact same smile she remembered seeing the
last time they were together.

Britton wanted to run. She wanted to call the whole thing
off and never come back, but she couldn’t. This was what she had been waiting
for, and training for. She was an FBI agent after all.

Jagger cautiously sat down in front of her. He wanted to
gauge her reaction. Being the head of a giant crime syndicate, he could never
be too careful. Still, this was Britton. This was his first love, his only
love. But why was she here? Things weren’t adding up—it would be too much of a
coincidence. Plus, he knew she had gotten out of Nevada. Why would she ever
come back and drudge up all the shit from her past?

She gave him no reaction to gauge; she just politely smiled
as he sat down. Did she not remember him? That seemed impossible. He thought
about her all the time; all the time. He replayed the night of the accident as
he looked into her eyes.

She was breathtaking. At sixteen, he had never seen a
more beautiful woman, and she was all his. They'd known each other for eleven
years, and in those eleven years he had watched her blossom into a strong,
powerful, and stunning creature. He stared at her from across the room. He knew
she was trying to get his attention. He knew all her ‘laughs’ were to make him
jealous. Okay, he thought to himself, let’s get out of here. He recognized he
shouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel. He had been steadily drinking for the
past four hours. Still, he wanted her. He wanted to be inside her. He needed to
take her to their secret place. He needed to take her now. That single thought
glazed over his realization that he was too drunk to drive. Besides, he knew
those roads. What was the worst that could happen?

He loved when she took control. She climbed on top of
him, teasing him. He felt the car glide around the curve. He was hydroplaning.
Jagger panicked, slamming on the brakes, and sending them straight into a tree.
Britton was thrown from his lap, into the windshield.

 He opened his eyes. Where was she? Why was it so dark?
Where was she? He managed to open the collapsed door and slide his body out. He
reached inside, fishing for her. He grasped her shoulders and pulled, cradling
her in his arms. He had to get away. His affiliation with the biker club had
already landed him in juvie a number of times. Now he was eighteen. He was
legal. This time could land him in prison. He would take Britton and flee the
scene.

 Jagger took a step forward and crumbled to the ground.
His leg was broken. There was no way he could carry her. He had to leave her
there, alone. It would be the hardest decision he ever had to make, but there
was no other choice. Jagger laid her down on the pavement, clearing away the
shards of glass. He lowered his face to hers and lightly kissed her goodbye. He
choked back an audible sob. He would call the cops as soon as he could get to a
phone. He would make sure she was safe, even if it was from afar.

As he sat in front of her, Britton could see the confusion
in his eyes. Did he recognize her? Had he been with so many women in the past
ten years that he would forget his first? She wouldn’t have been surprised,
especially having read his file. He was a womanizer, always surrounded by
beautiful, leggy, big chested women. She didn’t let this shake her. She was
there to do a job.

“Place your bets.”

Jagger put down a hundred dollars. While this was a hefty
amount for a single bet, she didn’t think it gave him the right to confine
himself to the high roller room. She placed a 7 and a 2 in front of him and, in
front of herself, she placed a 6 up-card and a hole-card face down. They stared
at each other. He put down another hundred dollars to double-down on his bet,
his 9 against her 6, a sound bet to make. This, surprisingly, was cautious for
him, Jagger was known to play $500 minimum hands, but he still wasn’t sure
about the situation he was getting himself into tonight. He knew nothing about
her anymore, and he didn’t think she knew anything about him. For the first
time in his career, since the last time he saw her, he felt ashamed. He didn’t
want to tell her what his job description entailed, or that he hadn't changed
for the better—only gotten worse.

“Double.” His voice rattled her.

“Good move.” She was able to hide the shaking in her voice.

He nodded, looking her square in the eye.

She handed him a third card, and he smiled. She flipped over
a 10, adding his cards up to nineteen. She flipped her hidden hole-card,
revealing a jack and totaling 16 for the dealer. She still had to take another
card.

“Monkey, monkey, monkey. ” He chanted, excited by the 16
laying in front of her.

She pulled a card swiftly from the shoe and flipped over a 5
to make 21. The House won. She reached forward to collect his offering just as
he shot his hand out and grabbed hold of her wrist. A pain shot through her
body. It was worse than she remembered. Britton had forgotten how much she
yearned for him. She ached for him. This touch made her want to scream out. She
quickly inhaled and innocently stared into his eyes.

“Where did you go?” he queried.

“I’m sorry?” She said, feigning confusion.

“Britton. Where did you go when you left Nevada eight years
ago?”

“I went to college. Now let go of me.”

Her tone surprised him. No one spoke to him like that. He
wasn’t quite sure how to take it. He felt his blood boil; it had been so long
since anyone dared to defy him. He felt the sickening urge hit her, the way he
hit anyone who spoke out of line, but the feeling quickly passed. He stood up,
towering over her. She had forgotten how tall he was. At six feet and five
inches, he was practically a foot taller than her. She'd once felt safe around
him, but now, with the look of rage gleaming in his eyes, she couldn’t help but
feel frightened.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you.”

She continued to deal the cards, and he continued to bet.
Sometimes he won, and sometimes the house claimed its edge.

“Why did you come back?”

“I had nowhere else to go.”

“And you’re working here now?”

“It pays the bills.”

He didn’t want her to work. He wanted to take care of her.
He wanted to support her the way he always dreamed he would. He fought the urge
to tell her to quit and that he would take care of her. They knew so little
about each other. Jagger wanted to change that.

“What have you been up to?”

She knew she had to lie. She had spent the last year and a
half fabricating her cover story, but at this point, she just wanted to tell
him the truth.

“After college I was living in D.C. It was fine, but it
didn’t feel like home, so I came back here. I’ve been here for three years, and
working at this casino for the last year and a half.”

She couldn’t believe that was all she could muster up of her
story. She had planned the whole thing, including boyfriends, and travel in
Europe, and finding herself back here only because her car had broken down. But
she couldn’t lie to him. Even if she did leave out some important information,
she still told him the truth.

“What about you?”

He wanted to boast. He wanted to tell her about his amazing
house, his cars, his power, and his family. But, he was a criminal. He knew
that what his family did was wrong, and he didn’t want to disappoint her. He
didn’t mean to fall into the leadership position, but he climbed that ladder so
quickly that he didn’t even realize how deep in he was until he had taken over
the president’s chair.

“I have people here who care about me. It’s all I ever
wanted.”

He didn’t lie. It was the honest truth. Britton felt like a
knife jabbed into to her stomach. It hurt so much that this criminal, this man
who had left his girlfriend on the ground after he crashed into a tree, had
people who loved him, and she had no one. She forced a smile.

“That’s wonderful, Jagger.” It hurt to say his name. Her
lips were stinging. She couldn’t do this. She wanted to sneak away and call
David. He would know what to do.

“My shift is up. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She walked out, slammed her back against the stairwell wall,
and sunk to the ground. She didn’t even say goodbye. She had failed. Britton
would never find out what was truly going on inside his organization. She might
as well give up now instead of waste everyone’s time. She dialed David’s
number.

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Britton, are you okay?”

“Not really.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“No…” she looked down at her wrist. It was still red.

“What happened?”

“I couldn’t do it. I froze.” She began to cry. She couldn’t
help it.

“Did you reveal yourself as an agent?”

“No, no, I didn’t say much of anything. I just told him my
shift was over.”

“Britton, do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Get back in there.”

“I already left. I’ll look stupid.”

“You could never look stupid.”

It was a silly line, but still comforting to hear. She
needed some comfort.

“I feel like I failed you.”

“You could never fail me. This is hard work. You are up
against your past. I wouldn’t have offered this case to you if I didn’t think
you could do it. What, did you actually expect to get all your answers in one
night?”

“Yes.”

“Well, at least you set high standards.” he laughed.

Britton laughed through her sobs. She felt better after
talking to him. She could go back in there. She just needed a few minutes to
breath, and maybe a compact to fix her mascara now.