Jagger

 

 

 

“Fuck the sun,” I said just before I moved a thin sheet of plywood in front of the grimy window.

It was a bright day with low humidity. Some would say a flawless late summer Chicago day. People were out walking and enjoying the beautiful weather. A perfect day to crash a wedding.

I think I ended up coming home to my old apartment around three in the morning. I would have stayed out all night, walking each street until I found Emma Hawthorne, if I hadn’t tripped and fallen. My knee hurt but not enough to quit. But the blood gushing from it made me realize it was wiser to start again once the sun came up—and after I bandaged up my leg.

When I got up this morning and had some coffee, punched a few holes in my old apartment’s wall, I got my old tuxedo on with the full intention of inviting myself to Henrik and Morgana’s wedding. If Emma was still in Chicago, I knew she would be near that ceremony and I wasn’t about to let her get away.

But then I realized I didn’t even know where the new location for the ceremony was being held. And, I had no way of finding out. I wasn’t an agent anymore. Perhaps, I could head over to the original location of the ceremony to see if Emma Hawthorne was around. But first, I came to my new place to drop off a few boxes.

That’s when Tiffany moved into my head and refused to leave. Seeing all those happy people walking on the sidewalk, especially the couples, just heightened the fact of how much I messed up.

I could be at that wedding with her, protecting her and watching David with pride. Instead, I let my fear plant little devices in her place which caused me to get fired and lose her.

I chuckled to myself, it’s like I wanted to fuck up my life so bad that no one would be left in it. It’s not like I could help my mom when I was little and I still had some guilt for Ben, maybe I wasn’t worthy of anyone as wonderful as Tiffany and her son.

I moved to the floor, lying back. Perhaps the rigidity of the floorboards was what I needed. I didn’t deserve comfort or warmth.

My pants vibrated and I reached in my pocket to take out my phone. I sighed but answered as I saw who was calling.

“Hi, Evaleen.”

“Jagger. Where are you?”

I pushed up onto my elbows. “At my place, why?”

“You’re needed here, at Aria’s place. There’s a wedding that’s been interrupted by a Jewel,” she said.

That got me to sit up. “What? You mean Emma.”

“Yes, that Jewel.”

I was ready to hop to my feet and run there when images of Tiffany telling me she never wanted to see me again flickered to light.

“I don’t work for the ITA or anywhere in the government, remember?” I said.

“I don’t care if you aren’t an agent anymore. You are needed here. Tenn obviously botched this up and she got in. Jagger, you have to come here.”

I gritted my teeth, refusing to jump just because she said so. “If Tenn fucked up, then that’s on him. Everyone has made it quite clear that I’m not wanted.”

“Yes, you are wanted.”

I stood and began to walk around the room. “Did Katlin tell you to call me? Or maybe Tenn got scared and needed someone used to being in the field. Because I know that—”

There was a shuffling sound and then someone else got on. “Jagger, please. She took David.”

I didn’t even blink before responding to Tiffany. “I’m on my way.”

Shoving the phone into my pocket, I ran out the door. Sweat rolled down my neck but I didn’t care as I raced through the streets to find a cab. I offered to pay him more if he got to the wedding location in less than ten minutes.

By the time I made it to the building where Evaleen had texted me the address, only eight minutes had passed. I ran into Tenn just outside. He was also dressed up in a dark suit and tie.

“What happened?” I asked.

“What are you doing here?” he grumbled, and I knew he was beating himself up inside.

He was angry that Emma got through and was now taking it out on me.

“Evaleen called. Said Emma took David.”

“Fuck.” Tenn ran his fingers through his thick blond hair. “I know. She’s still somewhere in there.”

He pointed to the building.

“Where’s Tiffany?”

Tenn pointed across the street to a coffee shop. I nodded and ran over in no time thanks to the government and police cars blocking the road.

When I opened the door, a bell sounded and everyone in the place looked my way. I only cared about the pair of caramel-colored eyes that held mine.

When I got to her, I fell to my knees. “What happened?”

She covered her face and I knew she was crying. The kind of sob that wracks a body so no sound can escape.

“She was seated at the wedding. In the back. No one noticed her,” Edgar said from the other side of the table.

“They haven’t left the building, Tiffany. Your boy is still in there. You have to tell me everything you remember from the moment you walked into that building until the moment she took him.” I got up, taking the seat next to Tiffany.

The small, rectangular table wobbled as I leaned in. Edgar pushed a paper cup filled with black coffee toward me, but I waved it off. I had plenty of adrenaline to keep me going.

Tiffany started to tell me how she showed up early because David was excited to be the groomsman. She didn’t notice anything unusual. The flowers were still being put in place when the first guests arrived. She recognized most of the people from the rehearsal dinner, except for one.

“Who didn’t you recognize?” I asked.

“Grace’s date. She mentioned she had a date a few weeks ago, but I didn’t expect her to bring him to the wedding.”

She went on to describe him and I made a mental note to tell Tenn to ask the guy questions.

“I think his name is Will,” she said.

“Okay. Were there any items there that looked unusual? Even small things stuck to something. Specifically, small black plastic or metal objects that look like they fell off something or didn’t belong.”

I wondered if Emma or someone she hired had planted any devices that we might be able to get information from.

Tiffany creased her brow and started to shake her head. “No, I don’t think . . . wait.” Her eyes widened and she turned to me. “David was fiddling around with something small and black. He said he found it in our apartment though. He thought it fell off a blender I threw away.”

“That wouldn’t help,” I said before the realization smacked me sideways and I had to smile. “No, that does help. I have to go.”

I got up but turned before I opened the door. “Tiffany, I promise I will find your son and he will be safe.”

She wasn’t convinced and I didn’t blame her. It’s not like I proved to her with my past actions that I’m a trustworthy guy. But with this information, I think I could help get him back. I just hope nothing had happened to David since he was taken.

I ran out of the shop and up to Tenn. He was standing over the front of a car looking at the architectural layout of the building.

“I think I may be able to listen in on Emma,” I said slightly out of breath.

He looked up and frowned. “How? We don’t even know where she is in there.”

I got out my cell and tapped it a few times. I took a deep breath before lifting the phone to my ear. There was silence.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I shook my head realizing I had made a mistake. Just as I was about to lower my phone, I heard it. Faint, but it was there. Sounds of people talking.

Holding the phone out, I handed it to Tenn. He took it and listened. His uncertain eyes began to widen with the realization I had figured out just minutes ago.

“You bugged them?”

“No. It’s one of the listening devices I planted in Tiffany’s apartment a month ago,” I said with a smile.

Tenn straightened but still held the phone up to his ear. “So, they have escaped—”

I waved my hands. “No. When I went to sweep for the devices there was one I couldn’t find. I had planted it in her kitchen. It must have fallen, and David found it. Tiffany just told me he was fiddling with it before the wedding.”

Tenn shook his head. “Even your fuck-ups save people. Let’s just hope someone mentions something that will give us a clue as to where they are.”

I was itching to grab the phone back and listen, but this wasn’t my case. I had to let Tenn take over. He yelled out for a headset and within a minute someone ran up with a pair. I hovered near him for what felt like hours but was probably a few minutes when he finally said something.

“They’re in room twelve thirty-two.”

I began to move toward the building entrance when a hand grabbed onto my arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” Tenn asked.

“To get that kid.”

“You don’t work for ITA anymore. You know I can’t let you inside,” Tenn said as his eyes softened.

“I’ve got to do something, Tenn.”

He held up my phone. “You have.”

“No, that’s not enough. I can’t just stand down here and hope these guys don’t fuck this up. Because if they do, I have to go over there,” I pointed to the café across the street, “and tell a woman who has been through hell and back with her son, that he’s gone. I can’t do that.”

Tenn looked down and wrinkled his forehead. After a few seconds, he shook his head. “There’s a fire escape in the back of the building. It only goes to the second floor. But if you get caught—”

“Then I tell them you forbid me from coming in the building but I didn’t listen. Like usual,” I said with a wink before I took off.

The escape was old and rusted but once I made it down the alley to the back, it was easy to spot. I had to maneuver a dumpster under it to reach up, but once it opened, I made it to the second floor. The door was locked but I knew how to pick a lock from my years going undercover with criminals.

“Thanks, Jonsey,” I said with a new appreciation for the best lock pick in the Midwest.

I got inside and immediately took off my coat and bowtie. Rolling up my sleeves, I knew it was going to be a workout making it to the twelfth floor. Especially since the stairwell wasn’t air-conditioned.

Old buildings were the worst.

Racing up the stairs until I thought my legs would fall off, I stopped to catch my breath.

“I need to work out more,” I wheezed.

When my breathing regulated, I stepped into the hall. Based on the numbers on the doors room 1232 was right around the corner. I moved along the wall and just as I was about to peer around to see if anyone else was there, something hard hit my head.

It felt like an explosion inside my brain and it seemed like I was falling. I saw a pair of black loafers just before I passed out.