You Belong to Me (Brook Hollow 1) - Page 14

Lincoln looked regretful at his outburst. His voice softened slightly, but his expression stayed the same. “So Jagger wants you to pay your dad’s debt? Ten thousand dollars?”

Jessy nodded silently. She wasn’t going to tell him about how Jagger attacked her. He’d accuse her of lying. She wasn’t about to rehash the horrible memory only to be called a liar.

The sheriff asked for Jagger’s last name but Jessy didn’t know it. She gave him a brief description. “He had a man with him who didn’t speak but he looked just as mean. His name was Carlos. If you spoke to the New York police, you just led him to your town and to us.” Jessy kept her eyes on the sheriff. It hurt to look at Lincoln and his suspicion. “It’s best we leave right away.”

Lily agreed. “He will not only kill us, but anyone who gets in his way. We can’t prove it but I am sure he killed our father when he couldn’t pay. We owned nothing of value. Our father pawned anything he could get his hands on.”

“Running solves nothing,” Abel told them.

“It will keep us alive,” Jessy said tiredly. If it was just her she would face Jagger once and for all, but she was protecting her sister. She looked at Lily. “Unless you run alone, Lily. I will stay here and face Jagger once and for all. I’m tired of being scared all the time.”

“No,” Lily protested with tears in her eyes. “He will finish what he started in New York.”

“What was that?” Lincoln wanted to know. Jessy refused to look at him. He hurt her and she refused to allow him to hurt her more. She sat stubbornly, refusing to answer and twisting her fingers together nervously.

“Jagger tried to rape my sister. He’s an awful man,” Lily confessed, tearfully rubbing her arms as if cold.

Jessy wanted to stop her from talking about it but maybe it was better for Lily to get it out in the open. She just wished it wasn’t in front of Abel and Lincoln. “I wasn’t supposed to be home but I got off of work early. I heard Jessy scream and ran into her room. Jagger was hitting her and tearing her shirt off. I was terrified, he is a huge man. I knew I couldn’t tear him off of her. I hit him with a lamp and knocked him out. We threw stuff in a bag and left town.”

“Why Brook Hollow?” the sheriff asked curiously. He seemed to calm down some.

“We traveled for days with no destination in mind. Then we stopped to eat and rest here in Brook Hollow. We felt safe,” Jessy admitted. It sounded so naïve, even to her ears. Nowhere was safe. She would have to face her problems head-on or she’d be more like her dad than she ever wanted to be. “Jagger has cops on his payroll. He will find us and he will come for us. Be prepared, Sheriff.”

* * * *

Lincoln could hear his own heart beating like a thundering locomotive. Jessy’s ominous words filled the room with tension. He had been so angry when his brother called him into his office looking furious. Lincoln had been in an upbeat good mood thinking of Jessy and feeling hopeful they could have something special together. He saw the desire in her eyes, she wasn’t very good at hiding it.

Abel had burst his bubble with his report on the Simmons sisters. Knowing she lied made him angry, but worse than anger, it hurt him. His heart ached from the pain and he didn’t like it one bit, making him lash out at her. Now hearing her story and what she went through, he felt like a low life for hurting Jessy and calling her a liar. She didn’t even try to hide the pain in her eyes.

“You can’t leave town, Jessy,” he blurted out. Both women looked at him, along with his brother. His brother leaned back in his chair waiting for Lincoln to speak. He knew how much Lincoln liked Jessy, but he wasn’t speaking up and begging the girls to stay. This was all Abel’s fault for being so damn suspicious. The words he really wanted to say stuck in his throat. Instead, he remained focus on thinking like a law enforcement agent. He messed up constantly when it came to anything personal. “We can protect you. It’s our job to protect the citizens of this town.”

Jessy sniffed and turned her head away from him, as if not impressed with his words. She looked at Abel. “Jagger is a dangerous man, Sheriff. Please don’t underestimate him.”

“I’ll have a file put together on him by tonight.” Abel went back into sheriff mode. “If he shows up in my town, he will be sorry. We may be a small force but my men are well trained.”

“He won’t come alone,” Jessy warned. Lincoln wanted to grab her off the chair and hold her tight. Damn it, he hated apologizing but he knew he had to.

“I have to go to work tonight.” She stood up without even glancing at him. He was just gathering his thoughts to reach out to her and she was practically running out of the office.

“I need the tips in case we leave town. Unless we’re under arrest?” She kept her eyes on his brother.

Lincoln almost said yes. He’d throw her ass in jail without a thought if it meant she stuck around and was safe. Before he could shout yes, Abel spoke up. “Of course not. I hope you stick around. Sorry for causing this, girls. It would have been wiser to just come and talk to me from the beginning. I would have helped you.”

They apologized again and left the room. Abel looked at him. Lincoln sat down, feeling his legs shaking. Now that his temper was cooling, he regretted not being kinder to Jessy but he had been taken aback by his brother’s report on the girls. All kinds of thoughts went through his head, and it was hard to think logically when his emotions were in turmoil. He was a hard man but he wanted to be different for Jessy. He wanted to be sweet and gentle, but he wasn’t sure he knew how.

“Shit. I feel bad now. I admit I thought the worse of those two,” Abel said, running his hands through his shaggy hair.

“We would never have known the truth if you hadn’t been such a nosey bastard.” Lincoln snorted. He still felt angry that Jessy had not been honest with him. It wasn’t a logical thought, but it was still there in his head. She felt like she couldn’t trust anyone and he hadn’t exactly been nice to her until recently.

“I was trying to protect you.” Abel sighed. “You never take much of an interest in those bimbos you go out with. Jessy seemed like the real deal.”

“Not everyone is Lydia Abel,” Lincoln reminded him sadly. Lincoln had also been affected by Lydia. Watching the older brother he always admired fall apart emotionally had hardened his heart, too. No woman would ever make a fool of him, he told himself. Part of him had been worried Jessy was trying to do just that, but now he knew different. She was fighting for her and her sister’s life.

“I have a hard time remembering that, little brother,” Abel said sadly. Lydia had moved here from California a few years ago. Abel had been younger and idealistic. Lydia’s aunt and uncle lived in town. She had lied to Abel from day one. She set her eyes on him because of his job as sheriff. He had been newly elected at that time and basking in the glory of his new position. She seduced him and tried to pin a pregnancy on him. Abel had believed her and offered to marry her. His parents had not been happy, but with a child on the way they stayed quiet. Abel didn’t love Lydia but he did his best to make her happy. She had been demanding, constantly spending his money and causing huge fights. Finally, the true father of the baby showed up and Abel’s heart broke. Lincoln knew it wasn’t Lydia he missed, but the thought of having a child.

Abel rubbed his face with his hands. “Jessy is scared but she is not devious. If they leave this guy will just follow them. Here, we can protect them.”

Lincoln nodded, knowing he had to face Jessy. “I’ll go talk to her.”

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