Page 11 of Finding Carly
It was Jag’s turn to look confused. “Um…I don’t think so?”
“I think it is. It’s right after the old woman got blown up on the steps and smushed by the bus. Annie, the heroine—you know, Sandra Bullock? Anyway, she’s upset and driving the bus and Jack, the hunky Keanu Reeves, kneels by her side and says almost exactly what you just said to me.”
Jag grinned. “Yeah?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And did his words help?”
A small smile lit up her face. “Yes. She said something like, ‘Yeah, he’s the big asshole,’ or something like that.”
“I haven’t seen the movie,” Jag admitted.
Carly’s eyes nearly bugged out of her face. “You haven’t?”
“No.”
“Well,thatneeds to be rectified immediately. You remind me a lot of Jack. Your name even kinda sounds the same. Jag, Jack. He’s brave, selfless, and sometimes funny.”
“I’m not funny,” Jag said with a straight face.
Carly giggled.
The sound shot straight to his heart. He much preferred Carly laughing than looking as stressed out and scared to death as she’d been last night when she’d opened her door.
Jag squeezed her hand. “You aren’t alone, Carly. You’ve got me. And my team. And Baker. We’re gonna figure this out. Together. Okay?”
She nodded.
“But first…you need to finish your breakfast.”
She snorted. “You have an obsession with me eating,” she muttered as she picked up her fork.
Reluctantly, Jag let go of her hand and sat back. “The thought of you being hungry doesn’t sit well with me. So yeah, I’m probably gonna be overly obsessed with making sure you’re getting enough to eat for a while, so you should get used to that,” he told her.
Carly paused with a forkful of eggs halfway to her mouth and asked, “Why do you care so much?”
“You’ve gotten under my skin, angel. And I kind of like you there,” Jag said baldly before putting a large bite of eggs into his own mouth.
She stared at him for a beat, before lifting her fork. She chewed and swallowed then admitted softly, “I think I like being there too.”
They finished their eggs and waffles without any more heartfelt admissions, and Jag had never felt more settled. If this was what Mustang, Midas, Aleck, and Pid felt when they were with their women, no wonder they were so deliriously chipper all the time.
Jag hated that he’d waited so long to try to help Carly. He’d only guessed that Shawn had emotionally and physically abused her, and when she’d admitted he was right, it had taken everything within him not to leap up from the table and head out to find Luke himself. The man probably knew what his father was doing to Carly and did nothing to stop it. That alone made him a shitbag of the highest order in Jag’s eyes.
Abusing women was a close second in the worst crimes someone could do to another. The first was the abuse of children. In Jag’s opinion, nothing would ever top that.
Today, they’d gather intel. He was happy to accompany Carly to the police station. He needed to know what the hell the cops were doing about Luke and what their next steps were. If he didn’t think they were adequate, he and his team, including Baker Rawlins, would take matters into their own hands. He had no idea what that would entail, but he’d do whatever it took to free Carly from the threat still hanging over her head.
CHAPTERFOUR
Carly sat next to Jag in his Jetta and tried not to panic. She didn’t like being outside. Not in a car. Not at work. Not anywhere. She hated that Shawn and Luke had done that to her. Made her terrified to go about her everyday business.
As if Jag knew what she was thinking, he reached out and took one of her hands in his. He rested their clasped hands on the console between them.
It was crazy how he could make her feel protected with such a simple gesture. She wasn’t safe, she knew that. Luke could just as easily take Jag out as he could her. But somehow, Jag’s confidence and the way his eyes constantly scanned his surroundings made her feel as if she at least might have a chance.
“So…Baker?” she asked after a moment.
