Dark Passion (The Dark Brother Series Book One) (5 page)

“What’s wrong?”

If he finds out that Snake whipped me, all hell will break loose and my plan will fail. I bite back my tears, as the throbbing pain in my back begins to worsen.

“I just slept wrong, my backs sore.”

He makes a sound of uncertainty, but I keep my head down. If I look at him, he will see the way my lip is trembling. I have to do this, I have to escape. If I don’t, I’ll crumble here. I walk slowly to the table, presenting the bowls to all the men. Jagger shakes his head when I offer him one. Shit…shit!

“I’ve eaten.”

Dammit! At least I’ll get rid of the other men; that’s enough for now. I only need to catch Jagger off guard to stab him. He’s looking at me with that beautiful expression, why do I so badly want to fall into his arms? I’m fucked up; this has fucked up my way of thinking. I can’t have feelings for a man who has treated me this way; I have to get out…now.

The men all scoff the food, typical male style. Then
about ten minutes later, Angel grips his stomach and groans. Soon all the men are groaning and holding onto their tummy’s with desperation. Jagger looks over at me, and I turn and run. I bolt down the hall and into the room. I can hear his footsteps behind me. I slide into the bathroom and slam the door, locking it. I fall to the floor, gripping my sides. My back hurts so much, feral tears slide down my face.

“Open the fuckin’ door
Willow.”

I slide out the knife, this is my only chance. Jagger kicks and shakes the door but he can’t open it.
Well-built house. I hear cars outside about ten minutes later; Jagger is still beating on the door and cursing me. I peer out the barred window to see all the men leaving. This is my chance; this is the only chance I’ll get. The other men will be down and out for at least a day; they’ll spend their evenings on the toilet.

“Fucki
n’ hell Willow, open the fuckin’ door!”

I grip the knife in my hands. I can do this, as soon as I open the
door I just need to plunge it forward. Why does my heart hurt so much? Why are my hands trembling at the thought of hurting him? I have to do this; I have to save my Sister and myself. We have to get out of here and never come back. I open the door, and everything happens quickly. I go to drive the knife forward but Jagger catches my hand.

The struggle begins, I kick out and the knife waves around in my hand. He’s growling and holding my hands out, to keep the knife away from him. I manage to kick my leg out and hit him in the shins; he roars and drops my hands. I stumble forward and the knife drives into his stomach. My eyes widen and my
mouth opens, oh God, what have I done? What have I done? I stare at him on the ground, watching as the blood pours from his stomach. Run Willow; get out of here now and save yourself and your Sister. Think of Jenny.

With pain in my heart, I
leap over him and try hard not to notice the blood pouring from his gut. I run out the door and down the stairs. I find a set of car keys, and I grab them before rushing outside. My back hurts so badly, I want to drop to the ground and throw up, but I keep pushing forward. I press the button on the keys but none of the cars open. Panic grips me. I have minutes, if that, before he gets up and comes after me. I press it over and over, nothing. The car must be in the garage.

I drop the keys on the d
irt, and I turn and stare out into the darkness. I have to run, it’s the best I can do. The morning will help me out of this mess. If I find a driveway, I might be able to follow it. I start running, and that’s when I hear the front door slam. I pick up my pace, crying out as my shirt rubs angrily against my back. I hear footsteps, he’s close. I have to run faster, I need to get out of here but I’m in so much pain, I can’t pick up my pace.

My face is in the dirt before I can get another thought in. Jagger is on top of me, his chest crushing my back and squashing me against the dirt. I scream in agony as he moves, crushing me harder and causing my shirt to slide across my
back. I scream and cry, wiggling but he has me pinned. His face is down by mine, and he whispers into my ear.

“Stop, just stop,
”

“Please,” I cry.
“You’re hurting me, please.”

“What?”

“My back, oh God.”

He gets off me quickly, but he doesn’t let me go. H
e keeps me pinned with his hand wrapped around my wrists. I couldn’t fight him if I tried. I’m in too much pain. My plan failed. I’m a failure. I start so cry hysterically, and it seems he doesn’t know how to deal with it. He just stands there, holding my wrists and staring at me.

“Get inside.”

He shoves me and I begin walking, still sobbing madly. When we step into the light of the house, he reaches over to a nearby table and takes a set of handcuffs. He pulls my hands behind my back and I scream.

“Please
Jagger, cuff me at the front.”

He looks confused, but he cuffs my hands at the front and shoves me against a wall so my face is pressed against it. Then, he lifts my shirt and snarls viciously.

“Who the fuck did this?”

“I…”

“Tell me who the fuck did this Willow, NOW!” He roars and I shudder at the booming sound of his voice.

“
Snake,”

He slams a fist into the wall and it goes straight through. It’s only inches from my face. I close my eyes and more tears slide down my face.

“Tonight?” he says, in a gravelly voice.

“Yes.”

He drops my shirt and spins me around. I get a good look at him and gasp. He’s covered in blood and he’s pale. I suddenly feel guilty, what if he dies? I’ll be left with Snake at the rest of the group, and that’s not a good outcome. How could I be so stupid? What is wrong with me? My plan was thought out all wrong and now I could very likely pay in the worst way.

“Let me call for help,” I whisper, staring at the blood soaking his shirt.

“Not fuckin’ likely.”

“You could die, Jagger.”

“If I die,” he rasps, “So do you; should have thought of that.”

I swallow and stare into his pale blue eyes. “Please, let me help you.”

He looks like he might pass out, but he’s still looking at me suspiciously.

“And try to kill me again? I don’t think so.”

“Jagger, I didn’t want to kill you. I didn’t mean to…please, let me help. I can stitch…let me stitch it at least. It’s that or you’ll bleed out and die…”

He glares at me, and drags me into the kitchen. He ruffles through the drawers and pulls out a gun and a first aid kit. He un-cuffs my hands and lays down on the couch. I stand
in confusion for a moment, but slowly I reach forward and take the first aid kit in my hands. He aims the gun at me and I flinch.

“You t
ry one thing, I’ll shoot you.”

I stare at him, hurt. Ok, I
know that’s stupid because I deserve that gun being pointed at me, but it still hurts. I nod and tear his shirt. When his stomach is exposed, I wince. It’s pretty bad, and I feel terrible. A deep wound is seeping dark, red blood in slow, thick rivulets. I use his shirt to put some pressure on it, while I clean the skin around it. He doesn’t make a sound.

“I’m sorry, this will hurt…”

He doesn’t speak to me; he just points the gun at my head and watches me work. I clean around the wound with some antiseptic, and then I remove the shirt. God, it’s a mess. I dig through the kit to find a needle and thread. I sterilize and tie the thread, and then I stare at him, waiting for him to give me the go ahead. He nods and leans back, closing his eyes but he doesn’t lower that gun.

The first pull of the needle through his skin, has me crying again. He winces and tenses, and I can see his jaw clenching. By the time I’
m finished, I’m sobbing heavily and he’s staring at me with a hurt expression. I’ve seen a lot of expressions from Jagger, but never a hurt expression. He sits up with a wince and takes my face in his hands, shocking me.

“Your turn,
”

I swipe my tears. “I’m sorry…”

He huffs weakly. “You tried to kill me, run off and now you feel bad because you had to stitch me up?”

I put my head down, my soul is weakened and I have nothing left.

“I’ve never hurt a soul in my life Jagger, not one. I can’t even kill an ant without feeling bad. I didn’t mean to…I thought it was the only way I could be free. I don’t want to live like this forever.”

“You won’t,” he whispers hoarsely. “But even if you get out of here, and away from me, you’re not safe. Manchez will find you, didn’t you think of that?”

“I was going to run…take my Sister and run.”

“He’d find you.”

“I’ll never be freed of this,” I whisper.

“You will, I promise you will.
It won’t be like this forever.”

“Yes it will!” I cry. “My Father made enemies; I’ll never sleep peacefully again. I’ll always be looking over my shoulder wondering who else he pissed off and when they’ll decide to use me as revenge.”

“It won’t be like that…”

“You don’t know that,” I whisper.

“Come on, just turn around and let me help you.”

“Why would you bother?” I whisper, defeated.

He grips my face. “No woman deserves to endure what Snake did to you tonight. I won’t leave you again. I’m sorry. Now turn around and let me help…please?”

I turn weakly and he gently peels my
shirt off and winces again, and I close my eyes and clench my teeth.

“Fuck…”

I say nothing, his statement about covers it.

“I’ll fucking gut him.”

That would be nice.

“
Lie down on your stomach, and don’t move.”

I
turn to face him and his eyes fall to my stomach. They narrow and his hand slides out to trace the jagged scars on my belly. I know how awful they are, I live with them every day. “Willow?” he whispers.

“Don’t ask…please Jagger.”

He nods and I lie down on my stomach. I hear him shuffling around. He comes back a moment later and I hear the sound of water. He places a warm cloth on my back and I wail, clawing at the couch.

“I’m sorry…
it’s gonna fuckin’ hurt but if I don’t do this…you’ll get an infection.”

I
grit my teeth and only whimper as he cleans my wounds and then coats them with a cool cream. He makes me remain on the couch until the cream sinks in, and I find myself falling into a restless sleep. I’m so exhausted. I am jerked back to consciousness when I hear Jagger snarling down the phone.

“You tell him he better be there in the morning, and
if he’s not I’ll fuckin’ cut his tongue out and shove it up his ass. If any of you EVER touch her again, I’ll put a bullet in your brains!”

He slams the phone down
and I’m too frightened to move. Jagger’s in a mood now, and I don’t want to push him any further. I get to my feet silently and begin walking towards my room.

“Where you goin’
?”

I freeze and slowly turn,
“To my room.”

“Why?”

I’m confused. He starts a strained walk towards me; his chest shines under the faint light in the room. My heart thumps.

“So I can sleep…”

“Sleep on the couch.”

“No, I’d rather sleep in there.”

“Fine, go sleep in there,” he snaps.

I stare at him, completely confused. “Ok…”

“Wait!”

I stop again and stare at him once more. He walks out of the room and comes back a moment later with two bags. He thrusts them at me and gruffly mutters, “I got these for you today.”

I stare down at the bags and then back up at him. “What is it?”

“Clothes; can’t have you smellin’ like a fuckin’ dog any longer.”

Ouch, mean Jagger is back. I turn and walk away, furious with the man that captured me. I’m quite over him and his mental personalities.

“Thanks would be nice!” He yells after me.

I flip him the bird over my shoulder, and close my door to the sound of his booming laughter. I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Jagger laugh, and worse, it’s a beautiful sound that has my heart clenching in ways it never has before.

CHAPTER
6

Another week passes, and my back is healing slowly, but I still struggle to sleep. Jagger beat the crap out of Snake right in front of me. I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life. He nearly killed him, and it made me realize just how dangerous Jagger can be. I haven’t seen Snake again since that day, but all the other men have been oddly nice to me. Gee, I can’t guess why?

One afternoon, I’m in the kitchen preparing dinner in the crock pot, when Jagger walks in. He’s half naked again, as always, but this time he has a woman on his arm. I’m quite shocked, why would he bring a woman into his home when I’m around? Isn’t he worried I’ll beg her to call the
cops or tell her what he’s done? He stares at me and his gaze narrows. God, he’s so fucking beautiful. I hate that I see him as beautiful, because this situation is anything but.