JAGGED EDGE: A BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE (ALPHA MALE) (10 page)

Chapter Eleven

Jag

Buried in a business or sports forum like usual, he periodically looked up from his phone to check in on Sammi. Ever since she’d dismissed him, thrown his diamond ring off a balcony, he’d not been able to stay away.

Sammi Jo would be his. She
was
his already. Even if she didn’t know. Or believe it.

Eventually, she’d come around and understand that he’d not been lying when he spilled his heart to her.

Jag could bang any woman he wanted, but there was only one he cared to have. And that was Sammi, so he’d parked his car often outside her apartment, like a lost puppy. When he stayed close to her, he felt better. It wasn’t like he could do much of anything in his hotel anyway, only watch sports or read up on forums and groups he liked to chat in.

One night, he even fell asleep in the driver’s seat. Sure, it might have been a hint of stalking with a whole lot of possessiveness, but he reasoned that he wasn’t doing it for nefarious reasons. Jag really thought that she would eventually come around. And he needed to make sure she was all right in the meantime. She’d seemed quite distraught when she broke it off with him. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her life worse, which unfortunately right now, it seemed like he did.

Jag kept the diamond in the glove compartment of his silver Mazda. After she’d left, he eventually went outside to search for it on his hands and knees. It took longer than he would’ve liked in order to retrieve it, but retrieve it he did.

Minutes ago, Sammi Jo left her house with a beat in her step. A few times he’d seen her come out of the house but she always looked gloomy. And she always came back with some sort of fast food, like she was trying to drown her sorrows with it.

Jag had tried to mend things. But she didn’t believe him—and he understood that, even if it was painful.

Whoever visited her had done a good job. A better job than Jag ever did to mend things. Whoever it was, he would have to send a gift to after they
really
mended things. He would personally thank her…and somehow avoid mentioning how creepy he’d been watching and waiting from his rented car a few houses down.

When he went back to reading and Sammi turned the corner, he planned on leaving in a minute. He would need to talk about how the meeting went with Dispatch. They would take the offer. It was pretty much a done deal, but he needed to check in to pretend like he was interested. The only reason he cared was to stay back home longer.

A screech of tires jolted him in his seat.

Jag wasted no time in reacting. His protective instincts took over and he shifted into drive. The four door sedan gunned down the street, as fast as one could say a cheap car like this
gunned.

Fuck this piece of shit car, I need my Venom.
He had plenty of fast cars, but they wouldn’t be very good at hiding out. Slamming down on the gas, he made it around the corner, skidding out and almost toppling over, but up ahead a familiar truck raced away.

Like him, it sped away.

As he made that turn, he noticed the skid marks across the road.

No sign of Sammi, either.

“Hold on,” he growled as he slammed down on the gas again.

The black truck ahead didn’t notice him yet as it swerved out of the development. He checked twice as he approached the stop sign and blew right through it to catch up to him. The truck careened up a hill toward the entrance to the highway. It sped right up and then took off, with Jag following close behind.

“Shit, come on,” he yelled as he pumped the gas. If only he had a manual car right now, he would feel more in control.

Sammi Jo, his bride to be, struggled inside. As he sneered, leaning into the wheel, he kept pressure on the gas and used the curve of the highway to breach the gap. The truck swerved back and forth, losing speed.

An exit came up. It didn’t appear the driver would turn, but at the last minute he swung a hard right. Jag did the same. He would not let them out of his sight. The truck’s driver might try to speed away, but somehow that small, ineffectual car did more than he expected.

It closed the gap.

On a straightaway, it jerked side to side. They raced on a straight shot, a thin road with the woods surrounding them. Jag knew Tony was driving the truck. He’d be taking her far away from civilization. To do what, Jag didn’t want to know, didn’t want to think about.

An SUV passed them by on the other side. Luckily, the truck had been swerving opposite, otherwise they would’ve crashed head on.

With the opposing traffic gone, they grew more reckless. Despite the upcoming turn, they rattled back and forth. It looked for a second they would hit the edge of the road and tumble into the woods, but miraculously the truck remained straight.

If he wanted, with the right angle and right point of attack, Jag could catch up. But he didn’t want to, because right now they didn’t see him. He kept close behind but because of whatever happened inside that vehicle, it didn’t give him away.

Trees blurred past him. He kept focus, laser focus, on the truck, because he knew if he had an opportunity, he would take it.

This would be it. A long straightaway with few cars around. With the reckless driving Tony displayed, they wouldn’t make it. In fact, as he closed in, using the sharp turns to accelerate by hitting it at the right angel, the truck shook, almost spilling over.

But he saw the woods diminishing in the distance. It opened up onto a field—his time to attack. Jag sped up as the truck kept a straight line.

Country ahead, no one in sight, Jag slammed on the gas and used his knowledge from racing to bridge the distance. At the last second, he saw Tony in the rearview recognize that something might be wrong. Now that he understood that Jag had been chasing him, Tony accelerated much too fast.

But in that very last second, Jag took a chance.

Despite his confidence, he prayed for a good outcome as he drove the tip of his car into the backside of the truck.

Sammi

Tony told her to shut up. He slammed her against the side of the truck as she tried to fight. Every time she opened her mouth in protest, he swung to the side of the road. She flew around on the passenger side like a rag doll.

“Shut up,” he screamed. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

Sure, she wouldn’t say a word.

At first, she demanded that he pull over but now she understood he had no intention. Tony, like she feared but not believed, had lost his mind. Drunk, swerving back and forth between lanes, he sneered at her.

“Keep your eyes on the road, please, Tony. Don’t crash into an innocent vehicle.”

“Always telling me what to do,” he said with a snort. “Why don’t I tell you what I think you should do? You’re with a man who doesn’t care about you, a man who doesn’t care about anything.”

“He cares,” she protested.

After she said it, she bit down hard on her lips to seal them.

Sammi didn’t need to add fuel to this fire.

His fingers clawed at the wheel. His nostril flared and he slammed his head forward. He almost struck the wheel with his forehead.

“He does
not
care about you like I care about you. He’s a sociopath. Let me tell ya something about that man you’re crazy over...”

Oh, please do. I’ll be trying not to hurl right next to you.

“He’s a rat. A schemer. I looked em up.”

The accelerating vehicle lurched her already knotting stomach forward. Sammi braced herself, but feared it might not help.

“I’m telling you because I want you to know, so you can make an honest decision.”

Right, no way I’m going back to you
, she wanted to scream, but she kept her lips clamped as she peered out of the windshield at the blurred woods passing by them.

“I looked em up,” he said again.

Sure, sure, Tony
. Sammi said nothing. Her throat wouldn’t let any words through. As the fear gripped her, she did nothing but hold onto the door handle.

She might be less scared if he didn’t swerve back and forth to throw her against the sides.

Soreness spread over her right shoulder from how hard she’d struck the interior.

“I looked em up,” he started again. Tony’s pupils disappeared behind his drooping eyelids.

Sammi feared they would drive right off the road, but he steadied himself, shaking the steering wheel like trying to strangle it.

“He’s been lying to ya the whole time. He’s got a business and that’s all he cares about. Why do you think a billionaire would be interested in you, Sammi? Must want something...”

“No, Tony, now pull over. Please.”

“Shut up,” he hissed again as he jerked the wheel. A sharp pain dug into her shoulder as she bounced against the door.

She wouldn’t say anything else.

“Listen to me, all right?”

Sammi nodded reluctantly.

“I’ve got to tell you about him. He’s a schemer. I’ve been researching this guy.” As he talked about Jag, he got a lead foot.

“Did you know he’s been destroying families? The news came in this morning. His company Jagged Edge did a shady deal and forced a company to be sold. A company that’s been around for over a hundred years. A family business.”

“They must’ve sold,” she muttered meekly. Her focus remained on the road ahead. Not that there was much she could do but fear for her safety.

“They sold, but he forced them to. See, what he does, I read it in the paper, is that he goes after the weakest link. This cousin in the Dispatch company, he had a small percentage. The brothers and sisters didn’t want to sell. But this cousin, he was a no good drunk.”

Kind of like you, Tony?
She wanted to say so much.

Sammi kept her sights peeled ahead for a cop car. Anything that might pull them over.

When she noticed him not paying attention, she slowly slid her fingers to her pocket.

“And so this cousin, he convinced him to start buying up the other family members shares. Gave em money. Then convinced the other cousins to turn on the higher percentage shares. Practically caused a family civil war.”

Sammi got her cell phone. She tried to remember where the numbers were on her phone to press. If she chose correctly, she might hit 9-1-1.

“Give me that,” Tony screamed. He reached across the truck and caught her pocket.

It wasn’t coming out, but the truck jostled enough where she gave it over gladly in order to save her hide.

“You’re dirty, just like him. You’ll do anything to undermine me.” Tony threw her phone out of the window. His neck snapped back and forth. “I don’t know about you. I really don’t know.”

“What don’t you know?”

After he threw the phone out, she checked behind as it bounced off the road. That’s when she noticed the silver car pulling ahead.

“I don’t know...” he kept repeating. Tony swiped the sweat from his brow.

The other car, that silver car, picked up speed. To Sammi it looked to be following them.

Now it closed in.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched the car come within fifteen feet.

“What the fuck?” Tony gazed into the rearview mirror.

With his reactions diminished by his drinking, the other car easily pulled ahead.

“Son of a bitch.”

Sammi didn’t think he’d been there to save her, now she readied herself to whoop and holler, until she saw him pull within inches.

She planted herself against the seat and looked ahead. No one ahead. Nothing to the side of them, either. They’d passed through the woods. A wide, open field stretched for miles on all sides.

And that meant the car took its chance.

They screamed as the front of the car nudged their side. Just a touch swung the truck out of control. Continuing to apply pressure, it rammed them.

The windows outside were a blur. Sammi gripped the sides of the truck to hold on and sat straight in her seat as they whipped around. How many times they spun, she didn’t count, but by the end, after the whipping of her neck stopped, she rested back and tried to stop her whirling thoughts.

Go...

It’s Jag. It’s got to be Jag. It made no sense, but she needed to believe it.

Run. Now.

Her instincts took over. Sammi saw Tony stare straight ahead, bewildered and overwhelmed with what had happened. She dove from her seat. Her knees scraped against the road as she fell, but she kept on crawling until she could get to her feet.

Sammi surveyed the area. This road had been picked by Tony for a good reason. He would be trying to take her far away, to where no one would find her. The car that had saved them rested on the bank. It looked slightly dented in the front, but other than that, in pristine condition.

And the driver of the vehicle looked very familiar. She thought she was imagining him…so she squinted and rubbed her eyes.

Then Tony jumped out. Blubbering and staggering toward her, he reached out like a zombie for her.

From the silver vehicle, Jag stood tall and proud. Tony might’ve been drunk and stunned, but he still stopped to gape at the furious man getting out.

“Jag,” she screamed his name, but he focused only on Tony.

The two men ran and collided with each other. She thought they would smack heads and fall, but Jag, with impressive reflexes, backed off as Tony threw punches his way. He dodged to the left while bringing his knee up to strike him in the chest.

Tony staggered, tried to fling his fists at Jag but Jag dodged behind him, putting him in a choke hold.

One arm around his neck, the other around his shoulder, he applied pressure. It seemed easy to Jag. Like he did this every day, saved a girl from an abusive ex and choked him out. No problem.

Unconscious, Tony crumbled to the road like a ragdoll.

Chapter Twelve

Jag

He caught her, sniffed her intoxicating, flowery scent and didn’t want to let go. But she weakened in his grasp, so much so that he allowed her to slowly and softly bring her knees to the road.

“Are you okay?” No response, but a blink. “Sammi?”

Tony’s jaw hung open. His eyelids flickered. But none of his muscles budged. For a while, he would be out cold. Sammi, on the other hand, needed to get up. They needed to get out of there.

“What did he do to you?”

Sammi didn’t respond. All of her weight dropped into his arms. His fingers immediately slid down to her pulse.

Still, a steady beat. Good.

She wouldn’t be leaving him any time soon. Thank God.

Just when he’d saved her, she’d passed out.

To be fair, with all the adrenaline and stress building inside him, he wanted to pass out too. Hitting the truck at the right angle had been twenty percent luck and eighty percent skill. A lot could’ve gone wrong.

Lifting her easily into his embrace, he carried her to his car and carefully arranged her on the passenger seat.

Jag kissed her on the forehead before shutting the door. “You’re safe now. Stay with me.”

He worried that she would never wake up. Jag knew she’d only fainted, but he still worried.
Don’t leave me now. Not now.

Before he took her away, Jag dragged Tony over to the side of the road. He got into the truck and drove it over to the side as well. Then, hitting the gas once he got inside his own car, he called 911 to report a crime.

They sped off, away from the city. A few hours away in Pennsylvania he had a ranch that he often visited if he wanted to be in the Northeast but didn’t want to visit his parents. This would be a good time to use it, he figured, and gunned for the private, isolated estate.

An hour later Sammi’s eyelids fluttered and she mumbled incoherently. He pulled over at the next gas station to get her cold water. When he got back, she took it and gulped it down.

“Where are we?”

“Twenty minutes away from one of my houses.”

She swallowed the water greedily as her head rocked back. She shut her eyes again. “You saved me, Jag. How?”

“You don’t remember anything?”

Sammi held her forehead like the memories burned her. She looked to be in pain, so he rested his hand on her thigh, told her it was okay. “Rest. It’s all right. He’s gone.”

He knew she wouldn’t be able to process what happened yet. Maybe it would be permanently blacked out of her memory if she were lucky. For now, he didn’t bother her with questions. She kept her eyes closed, and he resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her.

Soon, the woods surrounded them as they traveled deeper into the country, off the beaten path. Plenty of millionaires had acres here, coming in from the city whenever they needed a nature retreat.

The entire place was gated, and he needed to enter his code once he got to the steel black gates. Once they swung open, he found the woods more overgrown than he’d expected. It had been a while since he’d been here.

Racing up the long road to the front, he checked on Sammi. Her eyelids started to flicker again and he squeezed her thigh to get her to wake completely.

They stopped. He waited, but she didn’t wake. “We’re here,” he whispered.

But she didn’t seem to want to wake yet. Instead, he took her in his arms, lifting her out of the vehicle and carrying her inside. He dropped her on the bed in the master bedroom.

Before he left to check on the house, she reached for him to stay.

Jag took her hand and kissed it. She smiled in response, and that’s when he knew she would be okay. He left her then because he needed to get the house together for when she woke, and also he needed to check in with the local police department to see about recent arrests.

Like he hoped, they arrested Tony on the spot for drunk driving. And he’d been in such a mood that he’d attacked the police officer. The news site said he was being charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Jag grinned smugly.

Take that, asshole.
He would be in jail for a long time.

If they failed to convict him, Jag would find him and make him pay himself.

“Jag?” Sammi stood in the doorway of his study.

“Glad you’re awake.” He hugged her. “You look much better. I was worried for a while.”

“What happened to me?”

“You blacked out. Tony tried to kidnap you, but I managed to stop him and now you’re in my cabin in Pennsylvania.”

Sammi held her head again. Jag caught her wrist before she dropped and let her sit in his office chair. She sank back while cradling her temples, trying to piece together what happened. It looked like it clicked.

“I’m starting to remember things…how he took me in his truck, the swerving.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Just swung me around hard.”

Jag slipped his hand behind her neck. He rubbed her tenderly. “He’s been taken in, arrested for DUI, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer. That should be enough to lock him up for a long time.”

“Good.”

“And I also knocked him the fuck out, so there’s that.”

“Even better.” Her pretty lips curled up in a smile, albeit a weak one. “I’ve got a headache. I’m going to go back to bed, but then you can take me back.”

Take her back, no he didn’t want to do that, but he didn’t say anything. “Sure,” he agreed, leading her back into his bedroom. “Sleep well.”

But a few minutes later, she slipped back into his office. “Come sit with me, I can’t sleep.” He followed her in and sat on the edge of the bed.

“There’s something that’s bothering me,” she said. He noticed that Sammi put her shoes back on as she hung over the edge like she was ready to bolt.

“Go on, what is it?”

He still had the ring in his car. Jag wouldn’t stop thinking about putting it back on her finger, but he needed to wait.

“Nothing.”

“It’s about the proposal, isn’t it?” Jag sat beside her now. She flinched, which shocked him, but she didn’t move otherwise.

Something really bothered her. The last thing he wanted to do was add extra pressure. “We don’t have to get married, Sammi. I still want you in my life though. We can do this slowly if you want.”

“That’s not what’s bothering me, Jag.” She wouldn’t let him out of her sight now. Sammi analyzed him. “Now tell me the truth, Tony said some nasty stuff about you. Like you’re breaking apart families and taking over small businesses. He said you paid off a young cousin to stab the family in the back, and there’s a news article out about it too.”

“It’s true, in a way.” Jag strode away. He shifted his weight back on his heels and winced. “Not as dramatic, but the facts are true. My advisers said that I need to sweep up and get the smaller, mom and pop stores before they become competitors.”

It sounded a lot like butchering babes so they would never grow up to oppose him, the king. For fucks sake, he sounded horrible right now. That wasn’t what his brand or company was about. Not at all. Yet he’d allowed a group of people to influence him in the worst way.

She glared at him harshly. “You’re ruthless. You’ll do anything to achieve your goals, no matter the cost. I found that out the hard way.”

Sammi stood straight up as he drifted off further into the dark. “I want to leave now,” she demanded.

“You’re not leaving.” Jag slowly slid closer to the door, so she wouldn’t notice.

“If you’re not going to give me a ride, I’ll call one for myself. What’s the address?”

“You’re still not well. You need rest and time.”

Sammi started toward him, but he jumped behind the door.

“You’re not leaving,” he said matter of fact, and then locked it behind him. Sammi’s fists pounded against it as she screamed to be let out.

“Stay the night. Promise me, you won’t regret it.”

She kept screaming for him to let her free, but he wouldn’t, not until they were on the same page. After the day she had, he wouldn’t be letting her go so soon, either.

As his footsteps carried off down the hall, she eventually stopped and returned to the bed.

Let her hate him for now…sometimes all that worked was tough love.

He would be back to check on her soon.

Sammi

Jag better let her out soon. Jag better apologize profusely. Or Jag would be in a lot of trouble.

Sammi kicked her feet at the edge of his luxurious bed. She didn’t know what she’d do yet, but she believed he’d be in trouble if he didn’t make things right. Her anger would be at historic highs right now if it weren’t for the fact that he’d rescued her.

Her head still hurt from the stress, but the pressure faded after the second hour. Sammi, growing restless, checked the bookshelf. She picked out some random business book to look over, something about focusing on the eighty percent of the work that drives the most results, but that bored her much too soon.

The words all looked like gibberish to her. Clearly not interested, she paced the master bedroom. At least he had a bathroom in this place. She checked that out…all marble, and expansive, big enough to be her bedroom back home.

She opened the balcony doors and looked out into the dense woods. A breeze of fresh pine floated into the bedroom, lifting her spirits, helping push away that pressure in her head.

Okay, she liked it here. This place was isolated, quiet. She wouldn’t want to live here forever, but she would take it for a break. It seemed like the perfect place to clear one’s mind.

No sounds, except for the chirping of birds. As far as she could see, there were woods. No neighbors either to hear their moans. That was good.

Her sex started to throb again in response to being close to Jag. Like always, Jag eventually got her hot and lusty. It certainly made it difficult to remain mad at a man who could give you orgasms as easily as snapping his fingers.

She braced herself as she shivered, a wave of excitement rolling up her spine. Sammi moved away from the breeze. As she did, Jag knocked on her door, then the lock jiggled and it opened. He placed himself right in the middle of the frame. Perhaps he feared she would try to rush out like a puppy cooped up in a kennel for too long.

“Are you feeling okay? No headache?”

“A slight headache, but not much.” That was nice of him to care.

Nice of him to leave her locked in a room too, that asshole! But the words in her head fell short. She didn’t really think Jag was an asshole.

“I’ve got something out here you might like. Care to join me?”

He looked smooth and sexy with a long-sleeved black shirt and black jeans. He looked impressive in all black. When he showed his smile, he won her over again.

She wagged her brows. “Nice of you to let me out of here.”

“Is that a yes?”

Her stomach knotted in anticipation. He opened the door wider to welcome her out, and she took it, following him down the log cabin style hallway.

Jag smirked. “You’re going to like this.”

The next room was massive. Her feet took her in without her thinking about it. Then all of a sudden she stood in front of the screen, rising up to at least twenty feet. He had his own movie theater back here. And all of it looked stunning with the cabin theme.

“So cozy,” she moaned. “You’re right. I do love it!”

They sat down on the leather seats in the center aisle. It was like half of the cabin had been constructed to fit this private theater. Jag wasn’t joking about needing a good entertainment system. He came back with a handful of DVDs, all of which only had one classic eighties movie she was interested in. A romantic classic.

Jag started up the projector, and the image and sound blew her away. The best part—he even had a remote for it in his hand. Now that’s something you couldn’t do at a normal theater.

“Wait, I forgot our snacks.” He paused it and left. A few minutes later he returned with a plate of crackers and dip with some treats for dessert, chocolate covered popcorn.

Sammi went wild on it all. She stuffed her mouth as the movie resumed. “Sorry,” she whispered about her crunching.

“It still amazes me that you can afford all of this,” she said. She wanted to get closer to him. The barrier between them seriously aggravated her.

“It’s something I like to splurge on. You know I like movies…but more the type with big boobs and big explosions.”

“Sometimes I need a break from being so sophisticated,” Sammi said as she took a big handful of chocolate popcorn.

He shifted closer. Damn, that divider! “Don’t we all.”

“Please,” she said and raised her eyebrow at him.

Jag glared back at her. They kept their stares until the other laughed, but both laughed at the same time.

He put his hand on her thigh, a spark jolting between them. “I’m glad we can joke with each other now.”

She slipped her arm over onto his side as she whispered, “How did you know I needed help, Jag?” The question had been on her mind ever since she woke up.

Jag paused longer than usual. “I might’ve been checking in on you.”

“Creepy,” she said while trying to hold back another laugh.

Creepy, but kind of sweet? Although I suppose it matters who’s following you that determines whether it’s creepy or sweet. Jag could get away with a lot other men couldn’t.

“I needed to know you were all right.”

Jag took the control and paused the movie. They hadn’t gotten through ten minutes yet.

“I don’t think we’ll get through this,” Sammi said. “I like talking to you more.”

“That’s fine with me.” He shrugged. Then he moved his focus to the side as he pondered something, hard lines marring his always beautiful complexion.

“What is it?”

“About what you said, about breaking up that family, I think you’re right. I ruined a few people’s dreams recently. I found people who were greedy, who only wanted money, and I convinced them with cash in order to beat out their family members. I’ve probably destroyed the family, broken it up into factions.”

She didn’t understand. “Why did you need to do it?”

“Because investors and advisors convinced me I needed to. But I didn’t
really
need to. I’ve got more than I could ever need, money wise. My company is doing well. If we don’t grow for one quarter, so what. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing. There’s no need to stomp out the competition before they even get out of the crib.”