“It’s risky.”
Angel’s jaw clenches. “I know that, but it’s Willow’s choice and right now, it’s our best option.”
I stare at the two of them as Jenny pulls a lock of my hair a little too firmly. I yelp and slap her hand away, to which she responds by poking my head with a pin.
“Ouch, Jenny, are you trying to kill me?”
“Sorry,” she says, clearly trying to smother a laugh.
“Willow,” Angel says, ignoring our female attacks, “if you don’t want to do this, I will not make you.”
“I have to do it, Angel. I have to see him.”
“It’s risky, Mick might recognize you.”
“We’ll see how this disguise looks before we do any more worrying,” I say in a reassuring voice.
Though I’m not reassured, I’m far from it, actually. I’m terrified, and I don’t know that this plan will work. Still, I have no other choice but to trust them. It’s the best I’ve got.
The two men excuse themselves and walk outside, no doubt to argue some more. Jenny and Ava continue to poke, prod, pinch, and cover me in loads of makeup. When they’re done, they both stand in front of me with wide grins. I guess that’s a success.
“You look totally hot as a blonde.” Ava winks, fluffing out the beautiful wig she just pulled on.
I stand and reach out to the take the mirror Jenny hands me. When I look into it, I gasp. Holy sweet mother, that’s not me. My eyes are now blue, thanks to contacts, and my hair is platinum blonde. The wig is real human hair, and it looks amazing. I am decked out with makeup, and I honestly wouldn’t recognize myself if I didn’t know it was me. Angel and Ace walk in the door, and I spin around to face them. They stop dead in their tracks.
“Holy shit!” Angel barks, jumping back.
“Fuck,” Ace mumbles.
“I believe that’s a success.” Ava grins, clapping her hands together.
“I wouldn’t recognize you on the street, no way in hell,” Angel breathes.
“You’re a hot blonde!” Ace smirks, and Jenny slaps his arm.
“Okay,” I say, stomach twisting, “so, are we doing this?”
“I guess we are. Tonight. Sit with me, Willow. We have a lot to go over.”
Ace pulls out a chair and Angel points toward it. I sit down, and Angel sits across from me. His blue eyes meet mine, and we stare at each other for long moments before he speaks.
“Okay, Mick takes bets tonight at seven. I’ve had Huck get me a contact to book you in. You go and see him, hand the money over and leave. You play it cool, I’ll tell you exactly what to say. It’ll be a big bet, enough to get you noticed. But you keep your cool, pay it, and leave. Then you walk out into the parking lot, and Jagger will be following you. It is absolutely essential that you keep your cool until you’re far away from the building. When you get down onto the sand, Jagger will no doubt make his move. It’s set out well, really. There are rocks at the far end, and all it would take is someone to slip the wrong way. It’s dark, quiet, and no one would know any better. This part of the beach is secluded and privately owned. No one will see or hear anything. So, you’re going to need to have a sure-fire way to get his attention.”
I close my eyes for a long moment. If this goes wrong, I could lose my son. I am so torn. I either forget Jagger and move on, or I risk helping him and risk my own life. The idea of living without Jagger breaks me, but the idea of losing my life and my son being alone breaks me even more. I wish this were easy, I wish I could just fix this, but I can’t.
“What about Cody?” I whisper. “What if something happens to me?”
Angel touches my hand. “That’s why we need a way to get Jagger’s attention before he does anything.”
“It’s not Jagger I’m worried about, it’s something else going wrong ...”
“We’re covering everything we can to keep you as safe as possible,” Angel assures me.
“If I die ...”
Ace is beside me now, gripping my face in his rough hands. “We’re not goin’ to let you die, we’ll be there, with eyes on you the whole time.”
That does make me feel a little better, but I can’t shake the unease about this whole situation.
“I can’t live with myself if I don’t try to help him, but the fear for my son is huge. It’s eating away at me.”
Angel nods. “I know, and if you want to pull out you just say the word.”
“I’m the only one that can do this, and you all know it, or you wouldn’t have asked,” I say.