Free Man Up Stepbrother by Danielle Sibarium Page B

spilling from his lips.
    What a fool I am to let him suck me in.
    I fucking hate Jagger Evans.
    And wait until Lexi gets back. That bitch has a lot of explaining to do. And even then, I just might get a whole lot of pleasure when I decide to turn her world upside down.

 
    Chapter 7
    Jagger
    I pull my phone from my pocket and check again for a message. Nothing. Not a fucking peep from Allie. My fingers clench the phone tight as I shove it back down in my pocket. Five days since I saw her. Five long, endless days.
    I promised myself I'd have patience and not push her, but that was five days ago, when I thought, when I could've sworn something ignited between us. Five agonizing days since I held her in my arms and tasted the sweetness of her mouth. Five fucking days since like a jackass, I didn't let anything happen as I held her against me until she fell asleep in my bed.
    Fuck, I'm an idiot.    
    "Hey, you ready to get out of here?" Shane asks, crumbling a paper from his desk into a ball and tossing it at my face.
    I snatch the paper before it hits me. "Dickhead." I narrow my eyes and glare at him.
    "You've been in a shit mood all week. Want to tell me what crawled up your ass?"
    "Not particularly."
    "You make it official yet?" he asks.
    I bring my hands up to my head, run my fingers over the cropped sides of my hair, and clasp them together behind it. "Leave it alone," I growl.
    "Look, you know if some bitch has you on the ropes, this is the best place to be. We're never tied to one place for too long."
    A decade and a half ago, Shane knocked his girl up in high school and with limited legal options to provide for a family, he enlisted. While he's higher in the ranks than me, I don't think it would matter much. He loves this life. He lights up when he talks about the fight. Me, I don't want to go back. Out there, you need to always keep on high alert because the second you let your guard down, chances of you being blown to smithereens quadruples. I just can't bring myself to make it a reality.
    "Yeah. There's nothing like getting sent on a peacekeeping mission where our enemies know we're sitting ducks."
    "Then you're out."
    "I don't know what the fuck I am. I still have time to decide."
    "The clock's ticking, Jagger. Tick, tock." He moves his finger back and forth as he shuts the lights with his other hand. "Now go on, get going and leave the attitude at home."
    I start my truck and put it in gear, not sure where the hell I'm headed. Fuck, I want to see Allie so bad. All our communication over the last week has been over text messages, and she's always short and clipped. For reasons I don't understand, she refuses to see me. She hasn't taken one of my calls or bothered to call me back. Why the hell hasn't she called me?
    I had her car checked over and repaired while she slept. Before I left in the morning, I made sure it was sitting in front of my place, detailed and sporting four brand-new, high performance tires. She sent me a thank you text Friday morning, but that's it, the only communication she initiated. And all it said was, "Thanks. What do I owe you?"
    Not one word about what happened between us the night before. Maybe she took me up on forgetting everything I said. Still, the electricity that raced through my body when we touched and kissed…she had to feel it too, didn't she?  
    Since my calls go straight to voicemail, I sent her a text asking her out to dinner, but she refused. I've texted her a couple of times since asking if she's heard from Bailey. Each time she answered with one word, no. And that's it. Otherwise it's been radio silence.
    Not one fucking peep from her.
    She doesn't know I've had someone tailing her during the day to make sure she's safe, and that I've spent every night watching the house myself. It's been pretty uneventful. With the exception of Troy stopping by for a short while the night after Allie and I were together, no one has been there. I'm pretty sure all hell will break loose