Page 55 of Jagger
I could hear the anguish in Molly’s voice as she told me what had happened, and I wanted to tear those motherfuckers apart for the hell they’d put that little girl through. Right now, though, all I could do was try to help my Angel deal with this.
“I can call Abby’s dad in a little while if you want me to. He’s a homicide detective, but he may be able to reach out to the other detectives to find out what’s going on for you.”
Her eyes widened a little, and then she gave me a sad little smile. “I’m almost afraid to find out what the doctors had to say about her injuries. The bruises on her arms and shoulders were all in various stages of healing, so this wasn’t a one-time thing. I think Anna’s been abused for a while. That’s why she is so quiet and timid at school. I just wish I’d realized it sooner.” The way Molly’s voice cracked at the end made my chest ache.
“Hey, look at me,” I said gently, placing a finger under her chin to lift her head up to meet my gaze. “Lots of kids are quiet and timid, and it doesn’t mean anything. There was no way for you to know that there was more going on there. No way at all, so please, don’t take on that guilt. The fault lies strictly with those fucking parents of hers, Angel. They did this, not you.”
Molly closed her eyes, and the sight of a single tear running down her cheek and another clinging to her eyelashes made me want to hunt down the miserable bastards responsible.
“Let me take you for a ride. It will give you something else to think about, and a good ride usually helps me clear my head. Do you think you’re up for that?” I asked huskily. She nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that riding would bring her the same sense of peace that it brought me.
“OK, Angel. You need to change your clothes. Jeans and those boots you wore to the bar that first night would be fine. I have a helmet for you, but you should probably braid your hair, or at least put it in a ponytail. Otherwise, it will be a bitch to comb out the tangles later.”
I waited in the living room while she changed, knowing that seeing her naked would mean I’d take her for a different kind of ride entirely, and I wasn’t sure she would be in the mood for that. Ten minutes later, she walked out of her bedroom wearing a pair of faded jeans that molded to her curves like they were made for her, a blue T-shirt that matched her eyes, and her hair braided over one shoulder.
“You look sexy as fuck like this.” My voice was low and husky, and I flipped up the end of her braid with my thumb before brushing a light kiss over her lips “Let’s ride, Angel.”
She picked up her purse, then looked at me questioningly. It took me a second to catch on, then I grinned and informed her that she could put her purse in the saddlebags on the bike. She smiled and reached for the door, opening it a crack before I placed my hand on it and closed it again. She turned to me in surprise, and I fought to control my frustration.
“Alarm, Molly. You forgot to set it again.”
“Oh, shoot. I really need to stick a note on the back of the door to remind me.”
“Get a pen and paper for me, Angel. Some tape too.” She blinked up at me in surprise, and I tugged on the end of her braid a little. “Not kidding, woman. I’m making you a goddamned note right now.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed as she turned back toward her kitchen, muttering under her breath as she pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it. She tossed a small notepad and a pen on the counter and continued searching through the junk drawer for tape. I wrote my message, and waited patiently until she finally found an almost empty roll of tape and handed it to me. She followed me to the door and watched as I carefully taped the note at eyeball height for her.
“Set your damned alarm, Angel!”Molly read aloud, turning to look at me with that one brow raised in what I thought of as her stern teacher look. She rolled her eyes again and shook her head as a reluctant grin stretched across her full lips. She tapped in her code on the alarm panel with a flourish, and I lightly smacked her ass as I opened the door and followed her out. She tried to scoot out of reach, then giggled as I grabbed her and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
“Lock your deadbolt and let’s get a move on, Angel. I want to see you on my bike.”
We headed down the stairs, and I took her hand as we crossed the small lobby and exited her building. The heat of the day had barely let up, and I knew it would be a nice evening for a ride. I led her over to my Harley Davidson Fat Boy, giving her instructions on how to mount it and ride safely as we walked across the parking lot. I handed her the helmet I’d borrowed from Abby for her. I wanted to take Molly with me to properly fit a helmet before I bought her one of her own, but Abby’s would do for a short ride around town. Once I was sure the helmet was secure, I climbed on my bike and held out my hand to help Molly keep her balance as she swung her leg over the seat behind me. She rested her arms on the sides of my waist, and I grinned as I reached behind my back and grasped her legs behind the knees, then pulled her flush against my back.
“You need to hold on tighter than that, Angel,” I told her with a smirk, patting her thigh and running my hand down her calf. She wrapped her arms around me, and I pulled them even tighter across my abdomen. I patted her clasped hands in place, signaling her to leave them there.
“Ready?” I asked with a wide smile as I looked over my shoulder at her and saw her nodding. Abby had a full-face helmet, at Rome’s insistence, and I could barely make out Molly’s features behind the tinted face shield. I could tell she was smiling though, and I was fucking stoked to see it, especially after the shitty day she’d had.
I started the bike, appreciating the familiar rumble under me. I tried, and failed, to suppress another grin at the suspicion that my girl would love the vibration of the powerful bike. I knew a lot of women got turned the fuck on by riding, and I had a feeling Molly would be one of them since she was so responsive in bed. I felt my cock get hard at the thought, and briefly considered pushing her hands a little lower, so they were resting on my groin instead of my abs. I quickly discarded the idea – for tonight at least. I needed to keep my head on straight for this ride since it was the first time she’d been on my bike. Hell, it was the first time any woman, outside of family, had ridden with me.
“Let’s ride, Angel,” I shouted to be heard over the rumble of the bike as I pulled out of the spot and exited the parking lot. Her arms tightened around me, and I felt her thighs squeeze my hips a little harder. I had a vision of her sitting naked in front of me on my bike, straddling me, as I slowly fucked into her sweet cunt, and that made my now rock-hard cock strain against my zipper as my blood surged south. Damn, this was gonna be a good ride.
I’d debated whether to take Molly to the clubhouse for a bit but decided against it. I didn’t want to share her, and I knew those assholes wouldn’t keep their mouths shut about her riding bitch on my bike. I hadn’t told her about the significance of it yet, mainly because I wasn’t sure how to have that conversation. I’d fallen for her, hard, but I had no fucking idea if she was in as deep as I was, and I was too goddamned chicken-shit to find out just yet.
I headed south out of the city, winding through the back country roads around Mooresville. I stopped at a nature park there, and we spent about twenty minutes just walking around to give Molly a chance to stretch her legs since she wasn’t used to riding. She didn’t have much of an appetite, so we decided to skip dinner and just stopped for ice cream on the way back to her place. Watching Molly lick her ice cream cone was an exercise in self-control which left my cock hard and throbbing in my jeans again, and I promised myself that the next time I took her out for ice cream, I’d make sure we were in a place where an immediate blowjob could follow.
We pulled back into her apartment parking lot almost two hours later, and I crab-walked my bike back into a parking space at the end of the building.
“Remember to be careful getting off, Angel. Don’t touch the pipes or you’ll get a nasty burn,” I cautioned her.
“Got it,” she replied, as she placed her hands on my shoulders for leverage and then carefully swung her leg over the seat and dismounted. She unbuckled the helmet as I got off and opened up the saddlebag to retrieve her purse. I tucked the helmet in where the purse had been and took Molly’s hand as we walked up the sidewalk to her building.
Once inside her apartment, she put her purse down on the entry table and fished her cellphone from its depths.
“Crap, I missed a call from Michelle,” she muttered, pressing a button on the phone screen as she joined me on the couch. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and drew her close as she put the voicemail on speakerphone so I could hear the message as well.
“Molly, I just spoke with Malik. Anna is going to be OK, but she does have extensive welts and bruising from the belt, cuts from the buckle, handprints, and several old and new cigarette burns,” the woman’s voice was shaky as she said those last words. I felt Molly shudder and tightened my hold on her as the message continued. “She also has a couple of broken bones that were treated over the past year that are now deemed suspicious, and it appears that the bastards were withholding food at home too, so the police are looking into that as well. Her mother was arrested at work a couple of hours ago, and they have a warrant out for the stepfather. Anna has been taken into emergency custody with DCS, and they are reaching out to her paternal grandmother and an aunt to see if either are suitable for temporary custody. Call me if you have any questions, otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning.”
My anger built with each word of the message. Christy had been a shitty and neglectful mother, but she had never physically hurt us. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could beat a child like that, let alone theirownchild. Molly was crying by the time the message ended, and I gently took the phone from her hands and tossed it onto the couch next to me when it finished. I pulled her onto my lap and held her tightly, rubbing my arms slowly up and down her back while I let her cry it out. I knew there was nothing I could say that would take away her pain right now, no matter how damned much I ached to make her feel better.
