Page 14 of Jagger’s Remorse (Iron Veins MC #1)

CHAPTER SIX

Scarlett

I wake before dawn, Jagger's arm heavy across my waist.

The nightmare still clings to me—Papa's office but different, Jagger bleeding out while I stand frozen, unable to move, unable to save him.

My throat feels tight, and I have to concentrate on breathing normally so I don't wake him.

When did his death become my greatest fear?

When did the man I came to destroy become the one person I can't bear to lose?

I look at him, breathing in his deep, even breaths.

It was just a dream. That is what I have to tell myself.

The sleep of a man who trusts the viper in his bed.

Some would say that makes him a fool.

They’d be right.

I slip out carefully, not wanting to wake him.

We'll need all our strength for Eduardo later.

But first, I need to check on Mel.

Once I hit the bed last night, I fell straight asleep, but she’s been on my mind since I woke up.

The compound is quiet, that pre-dawn hush when even the most dedicated partiers have passed out.

I pad barefoot through the halls, Jagger's shirt hanging loose on my frame.

I find Mel in the common room, curled on the couch with a cup of tea.

"Can't sleep?" I ask softly.

She startles, then relaxes when she sees it's me. "Not really," she admits. "Keep seeing his face. Diego's."

"That'll fade," I tell her, settling into the chair across from her. "The nightmares get easier."

"Speaking from experience?" she asks.

"Something like that."

We sit in silence for a moment.

"Thank you," Mel says suddenly. "For saving me. You didn't have to?—"

"Yes, I did," I interrupt. "You were only there because of me. Because Diego wanted to hurt me."

"Still. You came for me. You and Jagger both." She manages a small smile. "That means something to me, it really does."

Before I can respond, footsteps echo in the hallway.

Raven appears, already dressed despite the early hour.

Her eyes narrow when she sees me.

"Mel, honey, why don't you go try to rest?" Raven suggests, though it sounds more like an order. "Doc left some sleeping pills if you need them."

Mel glances between us, senses the tension. "Okay," she says quietly. "Thanks again, Scarlett."

She leaves, and Raven turns her full attention to me.

"Stay away from her," Raven says flatly.

"I was just checking on her," I explain.

"Sure you were." Raven crosses her arms. "Just like you were 'just' trying to help when you got our men killed."

"I'm trying to show you all that you can trust me," I say, hating how desperate it sounds.

Raven laughs, harsh and bitter. "Trust? You?" She shakes her head. "You're a snake, little girl. I see you for what you are."

The words hit harder than any physical blow.

"I'm not—" I start.

"Yes, you are," Raven cuts me off. "You slithered in here with your poison and your plans. You might have Jagger fooled, might have some of the others thinking you're able to be reformed, but I know better. I’ve been in this life a long time, and I’ve met women like you more times than I can count. "

"I saved Mel," I point out.

"You put her in danger first," Raven counters. "That's what vipers do. Create the problem, then solve it, and expect gratitude."

"That's not what happened," I insist.

"Isn't it?" She steps closer. "Everything that's happened since you arrived has been calculated. Every move, every word, every fuck—all part of your plan."

I want to deny it.

Can't.

Because she's not wrong.

Or at least, she wasn't wrong.

"People change," I say quietly.

"No," Raven says firmly. "They don't. You're a snake, and I will never trust a snake. And neither should they."

She turns to leave, then pauses.

"When you betray him—and you will—I'll be the one who puts you down," she promises. "That's what we do to snakes who threaten the rest."

She's gone before I can respond.

I sit there, her words echoing in my head.

Viper.

Snake.

Never trust.

The worst part is, she's right.

I am a viper.

I did slither in with poison and plans.

Everything was calculated.

Was.

Past tense.

When did that change?

When did I start caring what they think?

When did their trust become something I actually wanted instead of just a tool to use?

"You okay?" Jagger's voice makes me jump.

He's standing in the doorway, shirtless, watching me with those dark eyes that see too much.

"How long have you been there?" I ask.

"Long enough," he says, coming to sit beside me. "Raven giving you shit?"

"She called me a viper," I admit.

"You are," he says simply.

I flinch.

"But," he continues, "you're our viper now. That makes a difference."

"Does it?" I ask. "She says I'll betray you. That it's my nature."

"Maybe," he acknowledges. "Or maybe your nature's evolved. Snakes shed their skin, right? Become something new?"

"That's not how it works," I point out.

"Sure it is," he says. "The snake looks the same, but it's not. It's bigger, stronger, changed by everything it's survived."

"Still a snake though," I mutter.

"Good thing I like dangerous creatures then," he says, pulling me against him.

We sit there as the sun starts to rise, neither of us mentioning what's coming.

Eduardo.

The meeting that will determine if we live or die.

"We should get ready," I finally say.

"Yeah," he agrees, but doesn't move. "Scarlett?"

"What?" I ask.

"Whatever happens today, I want you to know?—"

"Don't," I interrupt. "Save the goodbye speeches for after. When we know if we need them."

He nods, understanding.

We head back to his room to get ready for this meeting.

A knock at the door interrupts my preparation.

"Yeah?" Jagger calls.

"It's Tina," comes the response. "Got something for your girl."

Jagger opens the door, and Tina enters carrying a garment bag.

She doesn't look at me with warmth, but there's less hostility than before.

"Raven sent me," Tina says, hanging the bag on the closet door. "Said you'd need something appropriate for your meeting with your uncle."

I unzip the bag, find a black dress inside.

Modest but looks expensive.

Exactly the kind of thing Eduardo would approve of.

"How did she—" I start.

"Raven knows things," Tina says simply. "The shoes are at the bottom. Try not to get blood on them. They're borrowed."

She turns to leave, pausing at the door.

"For what it's worth," she adds, "Mel told me what you did. How you saved her. Raven will hold a grudge for a long time, but she’ll get over it eventually. Maybe just… prove her wrong."

Then she's gone before I can respond.

I hold up the dress, surprised to find it's exactly my size.

"Raven really does know everything," I mutter.

"Told you," Jagger says. "She's been watching you as close as you've been watching us."

I strap knives to my thighs, knowing I'll have to surrender them.

It's about the ritual, not the weapons.

Showing I came prepared to fight but willing to disarm.

Jagger watches me dress, tension in every line of his body.

"Tell me about him," he says. "Eduardo."

"He's old school," I explain. "Values respect, tradition, family above all. He took me in after my father died."

"Does he care about you?" Jagger asks.

"In his way. I was his project. The girl who could have been anything." I smile bitterly. "Lawyer, doctor, politician. Instead, I chose revenge."

"That'll disappoint him," Jagger observes.

"Everything about this will disappoint him," I correct. "Especially you."

"Because I killed Miguel," he says.

"Because you lived," I l)Iclarify. "In Eduardo's world, you should be dead. The fact that you're not, that I failed to kill you, that I'm fucking you instead—it's all disappointment."

"So why meet?" he asks. "Why not just send sicarios ?"

"Because I'm still family," I explain. "And because he's curious. Eduardo loves chess. This is just another game to him."

"And we're the pieces," Jagger says.

"No," I correct. "We're players who think we're pieces. That's what makes it interesting."

My phone buzzes.

The address.

A restaurant in Redding I know well.

Eduardo owns it through shell companies.

"Time to go," I tell him.

"Wait," Jagger says. He pulls something from his drawer. "Wear this."

It's a necklace.

Simple silver chain with a small pendant.

A crow.

"Your crow?" I ask, surprised.

"So he knows you're claimed," Jagger explains. "That killing you means war with the Iron Veins."

"You think that'll stop him?" I ask.

"No," he admits. "But it might make him think twice."

I let him clasp it around my neck.

The weight feels significant.

Like acceptance.

Like belonging.

Like everything Raven says, I'll never have.

"Let's go," I say.

We take Jagger's truck, two prospects following on bikes.

They'll wait outside, symbolic protection that won't mean shit if Eduardo decides we die.

But it's about appearances.

Showing strength even in submission.

The restaurant is closed to the public.

Eduardo's men wait outside, checking us for weapons.

They're thorough but respectful.

I surrender my knives without causing a scene.

Jagger gives up his guns.

We're sheep entering the lion's den.

Defenseless by choice.

Inside, Eduardo waits at his favorite table.

He hasn't aged a day.

Silver at his temples, lines around his eyes, but still powerful.

Still, the man who taught me to play chess at seven.

Who sent me to private schools.

Who had such hope for what I could become.

" Mija ," he greets me in Spanish. "You look well."

" Tío ," I respond, bending to kiss his cheek. "Mm.n

We take our seats across from him.

A chessboard sits between us.

Of course it does.

"You remember our games?" he asks me.

"Every one," I confirm.

"Then you remember what I taught you about sacrifice," he says, moving a pawn.

"Sometimes you have to lose pieces to win the game," I recite.

"Exactly." He looks at Jagger. "Mr. Morales, you know who I am?"

"Yes, sir," Jagger says carefully.

"Good. Then you know I could have you skinned alive for touching my goddaughter," Eduardo states calmly.

"I know," Jagger acknowledges.