Free ARRESTED: A Stepbrother Cop Romance by Stephanie Brother Page A

held my number carefully and I wonder what she’ll do with it when
she’s finally closed her door. Will she add it to her contacts or just toss it
on her desk?
    I
hope that she feels safer for having it, but most of all I hope she’ll use it
if she needs to. An uneasy feeling remains with me as we attend the next call
that comes through on the radio. A feeling that my father would tell me to
recognize as instinct.

 

9
    ALLYSON

 
    The
lobby smells of laundry detergent and ramen noodles and I shuffle to my dorm
room, closing the door behind me. I hold the piece of paper with Cory's number
against my heart. It’s like a key to a safer place. I sit on my bed and slip
off my heels, then tap Cory’s number into my cell phone. Just as I’ve finished
saving his details, it starts to ring in my hand. It’s a private number and I
answer, thinking it’s Rachel calling from home. I’m not really ready to answer
the questions she might ask but if I don’t pick up, she’ll only keep calling.
    I
swipe to answer the phone and whisper a greeting, expecting Rachel’s voice to
reply. Instead, I’m shocked by an angry male voice.  
    Drew.
    "If
you think you can hide behind your punk cop fake brother you're dumber than I
thought."
    He
sounds absolutely furious, as though his anger at the party has been stoked by
Cory’s words. It was what I dreaded, and why I’ve been trying to appease him.
    "I'm
not hiding," I insist, trying to keep my voice even. If he hears it break
he’ll know how scared I am and it’ll give him more power.
    "He
can't help you, you know. You had your chance to keep everything between us. I
wanted you back but you blew it big time."
    Panic
steals my breath. I suck in air, trying to calm my racing heart. I have to say
something. I have to try and make him see that what he’s doing is wrong.
    “Drew,
you can’t do this anymore.” Anxiety cracks my voice. “Just delete the pictures
and I’ll forget any of this ever happened. We’ll just put it down to
end-of-relationship bad-blood, okay. It happens.”
    Drew’s
breathing sounds furious on the other end of the phone.   Maybe that sounded wrong. Does he think I’m
mocking him? Or trying to make him sound pathetic? Blood pounds in my head.
    “Shut
up,” he says. “You stupid bitch. You think you get any kind of say in what
happens next. YOU GET NO SAY, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? You think you can just walk
away from me because you want to. I say when it’s over, Allyson. And I haven’t
said it’s over.” It sounds as though his teeth are gritted. Everything is
falling apart. I should have known things wouldn't end well when I first told
him it wasn’t working out between us. I never imagined he would be so
vindictive.
    “Drew,
you can’t force me to be with you. That isn’t how it works.”
    “It
works, however I say it works,” he growls. “You think you’re just going to walk
away and hook up with someone else and I’m going to say nothing about it.
You're mine. Everything from your stupid laugh to your fat ass is mine.”
    I
want to tell him to go fuck himself. I want to slam the phone down on his
horrible, cruel words. His jealousy has always been difficult to deal with but
this is taking things to a whole other level.
    I
don’t know what to say next. Nothing’s working. If reasonable words have
failed, then lashing out in anger is only going to stoke his fury.
    "Drew,
please delete the pictures. I won't tell anyone anything. I promise."
    His
harsh laugh sends a shudder through me. "Everyone thinks you're a whore
anyway. The way you dress and carry yourself. I've already shown the pictures
to most of my friends. They’ve seen exactly what kind of a slut you are."
    My
heart sinks, hot blood creeping up my cheeks as I think about people looking at
what he did to me. "You said you hadn't shown anyone.”
    His
laugh sends fear skittering down my spine. "If you want, they all said
they’ll fuck you too. They’ll give it to you exactly the