Her Daddy's Jewel (MC Daddies Book 5) Page 24

  “What do you like to do? I have video games. Do you like video games?” Dusty asked.

  “Yeah. Sure, I’ve been playing some of Pike’s.” Glancing around the very girly room, her gaze lit on something in the corner of the room she’d seen before. “You skate?”

  She pointed at the skateboard.

  Dusty grimaced. “I try. But I kept falling off and Jag started making me wear all this safety gear and I looked like a dork so I gave up. Why? Do you skate?”

  “I used to.” A long time ago.

  “Ooh, teach me?”

  “I don’t know.” That would involve going downstairs and risking running into Dusty’s mother. Even though she’d been perfectly nice to Jewel, she couldn’t help but feel awful for bringing trouble to their family. Jason had told her how they had upped security to keep her safe.

  “Please. Pretty please.”

  “Do you always get your way?” Jewel complained.

  Dusty grinned. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  She had a feeling that this girl . . . one day she was going to conquer the world. Look out anyone who ever wronged her.

  “All right, here goes.”

  “You can do it,” Dusty cheered.

  They were outside in the paved driveway. Dusty had told her that they were the only ones home besides the guards who wouldn’t bother them.

  That was the only way she’d agreed to do this.

  Who are you kidding? You can’t wait to get on the skateboard. This is how she’d transported herself around as a teenager and before she’d met Maxwell.

  Don’t think about him.

  Jason was doing a good job of keeping her mind off him. But she knew that she needed to question him more about what was going on. She wasn’t the sort of person who could just give him all her issues to worry about. Especially one this big.

  But it was nice to slip into Little space and let everything go. Something she’d never have had the luxury of doing if it wasn’t for him.

  She pushed off. For a bit, she felt unsteady. She wobbled. Oh shit. Maybe she should have taken Dusty up on her offer of safety gear.

  Or eaten some breakfast since she was feeling kind of hungry. She’d eat once they went back inside. She soon had her former confidence back. She pushed herself faster then turned back as Dusty let out a whoop! She raised a fist in the air with a laugh.

  “Jewel! Look out!” Dusty cried.

  She turned and too late, saw the dark car turning the corner of the drive. Fuck! She tried to turn as the car swung quickly to the left, driving on the lawn before screeching to a halt. Jewel dove off the skateboard, landing hard on the ground, the air swooshing out of her. She lay on her back, staring dizzily up at the sky.

  Holy. Shit.

  She’d nearly been hit. By a car.

  Thank God that Jason wasn’t here. It was important that he never found out about this. She’d have to swear Dusty to secrecy.

  Something niggled at her but she ignored it as she groaned. Then the sun above her disappeared. A dark cloud of doom entered her vision.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  Oh, right.

  That’s what she’d forgotten. The driver of that fancy car.

  Fuck.

  20

  “Put me down!” She slammed her hands down on his back. “Put me down right now, you asshole!”

  How could this be the third time today that she’d been over someone’s shoulder? What the hell? And shouldn’t this asshole be checking that she was all right rather than just tossing her over his shoulder?

  He’d nearly hit her!

  The jerk had no right to snarl at her then throw her over his shoulder. All right, so he’d asked her if anything was broken first and he hadn’t actually hit her. She’d just fallen from her skateboard. And at the time she’d came off, she hadn’t been going that fast.

  But still!

  “Oh God, Jewel, are you all right?” Dusty asked, sound out of breath. “Fuck! Jagger, what are you doing here?”

  Jagger? This was Jason’s other brother?

  “Language!” he snarled back but didn’t stop moving towards the house. Jewel tried to wiggle her way off his shoulder.

  “Stop moving!” he snapped.

  “Put me down!”

  “Are you hurt, Jewel?” Dusty asked worriedly. “Jagger, maybe you should put her down. She could be injured.”

  “If she is, it’s her own fault.”

  “My fault? You nearly hit me!”

  “You were skateboarding down the driveway!” he roared as he strode into the house. “Who is she? Is she a friend of yours?”

  “Well, yes,” Dusty replied, still running after them. “But she’s also—”

  “What the fuck are you wearing? What is that fucking junk on your face?”

  Who the hell did this guy think he was? They’d entered a living room and she twisted to watch as Dusty narrowed her gaze.

  Oh boy, he was about to get it.

  Good.

  Suddenly, she flew through the air and landed on the sofa. Ouch. All right, so he wasn’t rough about it. Actually, he was surprisingly gentle. But, she still had a sore butt from where Jason had spanked her earlier.

  He gave her a curious look and she had to look down so he couldn’t see her blush. Please don’t guess the reason for that wince.

  “Go change,” he barked.

  She looked up with a frown. How dare he! She wasn’t changing . . . oh, he wasn’t speaking to her. He was scowling down at Dusty, his hands on his hips.

  All right, he was somewhat intimidating, dressed in a charcoal suit with his forehead creased in a scowl. But she dealt with bikers on a daily basis. She’d lived through hell. And she wasn’t about to let him intimidate her friend.

  Ah, fuck. She’d let Dusty get to her. This is why she should have stayed in Jason’s room. Really. It was all his fault.

  Right now, the other girl was starting to wilt under Jagger’s anger.

  Nope. Not happening. She stood.

  “You stay there!” he barked, pointing at her without bothering to turn and look at her.

  Grr. Asshole.

  “Dusty. Change. Now. And wash your face.”

  “No!”

  He reared back. Looking like he’d been slapped. Wasn’t used to hearing no, huh? Jewel smirked.

  “Why are you smiling?” he snarled at her. “Is this funny to you?”

  “Why are you snapping at her?” Dusty asked, pulling his attention back to her.

  “Is this because of her?” he snapped, waving his hand through the air. “Has she got you dressing like a slut?”

  Dusty gasped and ire filled Jewel.

  “How fucking dare you! Get out!” Jewel yelled.

  “Excuse me?” he asked in a cold voice.

  She slid between him and Dusty. “Are you proud of yourself? What kind of a brother calls his younger sister a slut?”

  Jagger’s eyes narrowed. “My sister is a good girl. And she’s going to go get changed and forget that this makeover ever happened. While you and I are going to have a chat.”

  “Oh yeah, about what?”

  “Skateboarding for a start. Your smart mouth second.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “My mouth is none of your business. Just like nothing I do is your business.”

  “You’re in my house. With my sister. You want to be friends with her, you have to be vetted by me. So far, you’re failing.”

  Boy, this guy was a real winner.

  “I think it’s time for you to leave. Don’t come back without an invitation.” He pointed at the door.

  Dusty gasped. “Oh fuck, Jagger. You can’t.”

  Unworthy.

  The darkness filled her, making her feel ill.

  She let him pull her towards the door. This was his house. She didn’t belong.

  No.

  No, what was she thinking?

  She wasn’t unworthy. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She would
n’t allow him to make her feel less, to bully her.

  She straightened her shoulders. Jason told her that she came first, before everyone else. She had to start believing that.

  “Stop swearing,” Jagger barked at Dusty.

  “Stop yelling at her,” Jewel told him calmly. “You’re not her fucking boss, you’re her brother and you’re a fucking crappy one at that.”

  “What did you say to me?”

  She swore he was breathing ice all over her. Holy. Hell.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  She glanced over as Sting walked in. Oh crap. She thought he wasn’t here. She glared at Dusty but she had her phone out, texting someone.

  Awesome. Seemed she’d been abandoned.

  “Dusty’s new friend is leaving,” Jagger said coldly.

  Sting blanched. “Uh, dude. That’s not Dusty’s friend.”

  “Even better. Then Dusty won’t mind when I have her kicked off the property.” Jagger drew out his phone. “Gareth, get up here. I need someone escorted out.” He gave her a smug look.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dumbass.”

  “Excuse me?” he rumbled.

  “Jagger, I don’t know why you’re this upset,” Sting said placatingly. “But you need to calm the fuck down and stop talking to her like that before Pike loses his shit.”

  Jagger frowned. “Why would Pike lose his shit over a friend of Dusty’s?”

  “She’s not a friend of Dusty’s.”

  “She is so my friend,” Dusty told them, putting her phone away. “And she helped me with my outfit and make-up because I asked her to. Because I have a date.”

  “What?” both men snapped.

  “Like fuck you do,” Jagger roared.

  “I’m nineteen. I’ll date if I want to.”

  “With who?” Sting demanded. “Has anyone vetted him? Where are you going? Who is he? What security has been arranged?”

  Damn. She’d never seen two men about to lose it over their sister going on a date. All of them were insane.

  “Did you arrange this?” Jagger snarled at her.

  Who the fuck did this dick think he was?

  “Why would Jewel have arranged my date for me?” Dusty asked, sounding bewildered.

  “Because you’ve never wanted to date before.”

  “And what? I couldn’t possibly arrange a date myself? Because no one could want me?” Dusty folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot.

  Jagger’s face softened, making him look almost human. Well, as human as the devil could look. “That’s not what I mean, little sis. It’s just that you’re not ready to date. You’re our baby. We only want the best for you.”

  Damn, that was kind of sweet. She found herself softening a bit.

  Then a big dude all in black walked in the door. “Who’d you want me to escort out, boss?”

  Jagger turned and pointed at her.

  Oh fuck. Jason was going to lose his shit.

  21

  Jason walked out of the building where he’d been meeting with the guy he’d had looking into Maxwell’s partner. So far, he’d come up with nothing. Fuck. He hoped the Fox had better luck getting something out of Maxwell because he was fucking over these dead ends. He wanted life to go back to normal. Well, normal as it could. He wanted to take Jewel back to his place and get her settled in.

  His phone buzzed with a message and he frowned as he saw it was from Dusty. He hoped Jewel was all right. And that she’d damn well eaten like he’d told her to.

  Dusty: Get home now. Jagger’s here. And he nearly hit Jewel with his car.

  His heart raced, nearly threatening to burst out of his chest as he took off running.

  What the ever-loving fuck?

  Jewel took a step back as the security guard’s gaze moved to hers. At least that’s what she guessed he was. Although he was like no security guard she’d ever encountered. In her experience, they were all overweight and unfit.

  Not this guy.

  He looked like he bench-pressed small cars for fun.

  And threw out trash like her.

  Nope. Not doing that. She was starting to understand where Jason was coming from. Self-sabotaging. Instead of taking Jagger’s shit, she needed to tell him exactly who she was.

  “You want me to escort her off the property?” the guard asked, staring at her. There was a strange expression on his face.

  “Yes. But ensure she doesn’t take that skateboard. She’s a menace on that thing.”

  “Hey!” Even though it wasn’t her skateboard, so she had no intention of taking it with her, she resented being called a menace. How did Jason and Dusty come from the same parents as Jagger?

  She was reserving judgment on Sting. He seemed okay, but she didn’t know what went on underneath the exterior.

  At least Jagger wore his assholeness on the outside. She could appreciate that while wanting to knee him in the balls.

  “It’s for your own good,” Jagger told her condescendingly.

  The ass.

  “Call her a taxi and give her some cash to pay for it.”

  What was she? A fucking charity case? She put her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

  Sting groaned. “I hope you like sipping food through a straw.”

  “What are you going on about? Gareth, why aren’t you moving?”

  Gareth took a step back, his hands in the air. He actually looked . . . scared?

  “What are you doing?” Jagger gaped at the big guy.

  “If I end up in the hospital then my wife will be pissed.”

  “What? Why would that happen? Are you scared of this little girl?”

  “That’s not just any girl,” Sting said. “She’s—”

  “My girl,” a deep voice rumbled. They all turned to see Jason stepping into the room.

  Lightness filled her. Relief. And a bit of satisfaction as she saw Jagger’s eyes widen. He looked from her to Jason.

  “What the fuck did you just say?” Jagger asked.

  “Jewel’s my fucking girl. And I want to know why the fuck I got a text saying you were trying to kill her!”

  Oh. Hell.

  22

  How had this happened?

  Just a few minutes ago she’d been wanting someone to put Jagger on his ass.

  In fact, she’d been fantasizing about doing just that herself. And now she was standing between him and Jason, trying to keep her man from killing his brother.

  “Pike, man. I didn’t fucking try to kill her. And I didn’t know who she was.”

  She noticed that Gareth had disappeared. What a wimp. And Sting was standing in front of Dusty, protecting her. Okay, that made her warm to him a bit more. There was no doubt these guys loved their sister.

  They were also just completely fucking crazy.

  “Stop,” she commanded. She held out her hands towards him as she moved in front of Jagger. The asshole didn’t really deserve her defense. She should probably let Jason go to town on him. But then, she didn’t want to be the reason they fought. She didn’t want to mess up his relationship with his family.

  They might all be nuts. But it was clear they loved each other. They just had a strange way of showing it. Not that she’d ever really been around a functioning family. Well, not unless you counted her friends at Iron Shadows.

  “Jewel, get out of the way. Now.”

  “Can’t do that.” She wanted to, but she couldn’t. Because he wasn’t looking like her man right now. He looked like the guy who had laid waste to several guys threatening his brother.

  Only this time he was looking at his brother like that.

  “Jewel, I’m not joking around. Get. Out. Of. The. Way.”

  “No.”

  His gaze narrowed at her. “Little girl . . . you move or you’re in all sorts of trouble once I deal with my brother.”

  “How was I meant to know she was yours?” Jagger asked. “I thought she was some crazy friend of Dusty’s. She didn’t te
ll me who she was. And it’s not like she’s been harmed.”

  “You nearly killed her.”

  “I did not.”

  “He really didn’t. Why would you think that?” She glanced over at Dusty, remembering she’d had her phone out. Dusty gave her a shrug.

  “I had to text him. Jagger was being an ass and trying to kick you out.”

  “What?” Jason asked, deathly quiet.

  Uh-oh. Everyone gave him wary looks. And Jagger took several deliberate steps back. Jason stepped forward.

  Oh, right. So Jason came in all psycho-scary and everyone took note. Typical.

  “Maybe if I was six-foot-four with muscles bigger than my thighs people would listen to me,” she muttered.

  “But you’re not,” Jason rumbled. “You’re five-foot-six and tiny and I want to know what the fuck my brother was thinking trying to touch you.”

  “He did touch her, he carried her in here. Over his shoulder. After she fell off her skateboard,” Dusty said.

  “Dusty!” she yelled.

  Dusty barely looked guilty. She gave Jagger a look filled with ire. “He deserves a punch to the face. He wouldn’t listen to either of us, manhandled you, then told me I looked like a whore.”

  “What?” Sting roared, joining Jason in glaring at Jagger.

  Oh great. Now she had to defend the asshole from both of his brothers.

  “What did you call her?” Sting snapped.

  “I didn’t call her a whore. She’s exaggerating.”

  She turned back to find Jagger glaring at Dusty. “Look at what she’s wearing and the gunk on her face. She thinks she’s going on a date.”

  “Yes, a date. I’m nineteen. I get to date. And yeah, I asked Jewel to help me with an outfit and my hair and make-up. Then we went outside so she could teach me to ride a skateboard. There’s no crime in that. Then along comes this Neanderthal asshole. He nearly runs Jewel over, picks her up, insults me then tries to have her escorted off the property.”

  “You touched her,” Jason growled.

  Everyone’s attention went back to him. Sting stepped closer to him. “Listen, brother. Jagger didn’t know who she was. He was probably just trying to help her. After she, um, fell off the skateboard.”