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Once we returned to Whitmore and discussed it with the girls, Jag told Coach he was moving in with me. It was nice to have him next to me at night. I slept better, and the nightmares didn’t plague me as often.
“I know. At least Coach is using you to help with plays and on the sidelines. If for some reason you aren’t able to play again, I think you would make one hell of a coach.”
Jagger smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s a backup for sure. But I’ll do whatever I have to in order to return to normal. The physical therapist doesn’t see why that can’t happen. Tiny at least shot my left shoulder instead of my right. It still fucks me up, but . . .” He placed his hands on his hips. “I’m trying to find the ray of light in this dark, fucked-up mess.”
I stood and smoothed my teal top before I closed the gap between us. “I know. Me too. Maybe Samantha and Psycho’s business is over and we saved some kids. If that’s the case, then I would do it over and over again.”
Jag pressed his forehead to mine. “Same. I think about how many children and families I hurt already. Maybe this was the universe’s way of giving me a sliver of redemption by ridding the planet of a few more sick bastards.” Jagger pulled me against him and gently kissed me. “A part of me is still in shock that my mother was behind it all.”
“And the memory blocker. I still can’t swallow that she tested the drug on her son. She has zero conscience.”
Jagger brushed my hair from my forehead. “It’s twisted that she experimented on me, and it’s still hard to process.” He hesitated, sadness flickering across his face. “Ari, I stand with you on taking time away from Theo. I’m angry with him too. But he’s the only family other than Gunner we have left. Now that we have all the pieces of the puzzle, maybe think about forgiving him. My mom tricked him too. He lost his wife and his daughter.”
I frowned, not liking where the conversation was going. I wasn’t ready to forgive Theo yet. He’d lied to both of us for years. Plus, they weren’t a few white lies. If they were, then it would be a moot point. Theo willingly chose to let me believe that I’d killed my stepbrother. How would I pretend that never happened?
“Where’s this coming from?” I placed my palm on his chest, the steady beat of his heart soothing my unruly emotions.
“I knew my dad was twisted, but I thought Mom was a good person. When her charade was shattered, it felt like a hot knife stabbed me in the chest. Both of my parents are straight-up evil, which makes me think I’ll end up like them. But my point is that you never know how much time you might have with Theo.”
I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. “Samantha . . . Do you believe she was playing mind games when she said that Theo’s business isn’t legit?”
Jag took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. We’ve never been around Theo at work. It’s not like we’ve overheard phone calls or saw him sneaking out and meeting shady people. Honestly, I think she wanted to fuck with your head. It’s her talent.”
“If he is then I don’t want anything to do with him, Jagger. It makes more sense to keep him at arm’s length.” I scrunched the soft material of his sweatshirt beneath my fingers.
“What if you’re wrong? Then you’ve pushed him away when this might be a good time to make things right.” He rubbed my back and placed his chin on the top of my head. “Do what feels best for you. Just promise me that you’ll consider it. If he died tomorrow, would you be okay with how it ended?”
When I finally realized where Jagger was coming from, my heart hurt for him. “I’m sorry you didn’t have that chance with your parents.”
Jagger remained silent as we held each other.
The doorbell rang, and I stepped back. “You ready to have some fun and celebrate with our friends?”
“Hell yeah. It will be good to see everyone.” He took my hand and led me down the hall and the stairs.
“Can someone get that?” Gabby called from the kitchen.
“I got it!” Excitement bubbled up in my chest. This was our first Friendsgiving, and I was so excited. Flinging the door open, I offered them a huge smile as my attention landed on Kane, Quinn, Anderson, and another guy.
“Hey, come on in,” Jagger said.
I laughed as the teammates filed into our home, each holding a bottle of alcohol. We’d agreed the girls would cook and provide the food and the guys would bring the booze and mixers.
Kane slowed. “Ari, this is Sterling. I’m not sure if you’ve met him or not.”
“Thanks for having me.” His sandy-blonde hair flopped into his eyes and he brushed it aside. He looked at Jagger and raised a bottle of tequila. “Hey, man. Good to see you. How’s the shoulder. Miss your ass on the field with us.”
“Me too. Can’t wait to get out there and crack some pads.” Our friends laughed as I closed the door.
Quinn sniffed the air. “Something smells really good. I think I need to check out what’s happening.”
I remained in the living room as the guys headed to the kitchen. Laughter filled the house, and my heart twisted into knots. None of our friends knew the truth about Samantha and the kidnapping except for Teagan, and she’d sworn to keep our secret, taking it to her grave. I realized she was scared as well. We were still waiting to see how things unfolded but were afraid to ask Gunner about his sister. At least Gunner had let Jagger know that Psycho would never be a problem for us again, or anyone else for that matter. I understood what that meant. As for my wicked stepmother, I didn’t want more blood on our hands than we already had, but a part of me wanted to know if Samantha was alive or not. Surely her arrest would have made the news, but we hadn’t heard or seen a single thing. The criminal world dealt with people very differently than the cops and the legal system. In this case, I appreciated that fact.
Jagger returned to the living room with two blue Solo cups in his hands. He’d been able to ditch the sling and moved much more normally.
“Here. Your fave, vodka and cranberry juice.” He gave the glass to me and kissed me.
I took a drink and choked. “Damn, baby, did you make this?”
