“Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” Sharleen snaps, stepping closer to Mick.
“Leave,” Mick orders her, without so much as a glance in her direction.
Her eyes widen, and she glares at Mick. He keeps his gaze on me.
“Did you fuckin’ hear me?” he grinds out.
With a curse, she turns and leaves. Mick closes the door, and then stares thoughtfully at me. Then he kneels beside me and reaches out, grazing his fingers across my cheek. I jerk my head away. Bile rises in my throat at the very thought of him touching me, let alone feeling my skin prickle when he does. I hate him.
“You know, I didn’t want you when this plan formed together, but then I saw you that night and I changed my mind. It was as if the universe put you on my path for a reason, and I wasn’t going to let that reason go.”
He didn’t want me? What is he talking about?
“You took me. If you didn’t want me, why am I here?” I say, trying to push my body back as far as I can so he doesn’t come near me, so he doesn’t touch me again.
He laughs, and it’s a deep, rumbling sound. “You didn’t figure it out, did you?”
“I figured out enough. Jagger was right about you, you’re a complete psycho. His wife he might have gotten wrong, but he knows now. You’re both as crazy as the other, you’re perfect together.”
He loses his smile. “I’m not the psycho, Willow. I’m just doing what’s necessary.”
“What have I got to do with it? I haven’t done a single fucking thing to any of you.”
He laughs again. “As I said, you didn’t figure it out, did you?”
“Figure out what?” I bite out.
“It was never about you, Willow. My son focused all his time on trying to protect you, when all along it wasn’t you we wanted. God, how far off the mark you all are.”
“I don’t ...” I shake my head.
I’m confused as hell.
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“You have only seen a glimpse of my son fighting, he tries to keep it away from you, but if you knew the raw talent he has ... The boy can fight better than anyone I’ve ever seen. He just tries to keep that from you.”
I know Jagger can fight, with all that pent-up rage, of course he’s good at it. I still don’t understand how that has anything to do with this situation. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“How much did he tell you about my island?”
Wait, what?
His island? He is the big dog? He’s the one running the show?
My blood runs cold.
“That island is yours ...?”
He claps sarcastically. “Of course, it’s mine. Why do you think I went after you? I knew your father had information, and I needed it. Manchez was just one of my puppets to do my dirty work. I also knew my son wanted that information to bring us down. Why, it was me that started his little gang.”
“He started it,” I protest. “He started it because he had no family left, and you destroyed him. He started it because he had people he could rely on.”
Mick grunts. “That’s what he thinks. But no, he started it when I gave him no choice. I hooked one of his friends on drugs, and when he got himself into trouble, my son had no choice but to roll in and help him. He banded together with those pathetic losers he calls brothers, and well, here we are. Exactly where I wanted him.”
“I don’t ...”
It’s all coming together now. I think it was Ace that got into trouble and Jagger created the gang to help him. He wanted the information from me, so he could stop what his father was running, even though he has no idea it’s his father running it. He was doing it to help his friend, to seek justice, to finish the evil that ran on the island. My father got hold of that information, and that’s how I came into the picture.
“Does he know?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
“No, that’s the best part.” Mick grins. “He just thought he was taking down something huge, he had no idea I am behind it all.”
“You had Sharleen with you this whole time. Sharleen has been part of it?”
I can’t stop the questions that are rushing out of my mouth. I need to know all of this. I need answers.
“Yes, Sharleen always had a thing for me, so it was easy enough to use her. I knew Jagger and you had started something, so I sent her in to find out more about it. He loved her once, I knew he would fall for her story of being in protection. After all, he was dealing with some dangerous people at the time. She gave me everything I needed to get you here.”