Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 135604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
I shut my door, putting force behind it.
I was angry at him for showing up uninvited, again. I was especially angry at him for his honed skills in breaking and entering, a talent I was certain he’d put to use whenever the situation called for it, meaning every time he showed up at my house like this.
I’d never be able to keep him out.
And I was really angry because Jamie brought food I was suddenly craving and that craving was taking precedence over everything else at the moment, including my desire to get rid of him.
Fine. One last time.
“The only reason I’m allowing this to happen tonight and tonight only is because I’m starving and that food is smelling a lot better than the bowl of cereal I was planning on making myself, so don’t think this is going to become a habit because it’s not,” I declared, walking over to the couch and taking a seat on the far end. “Also, I will be putting new locks on all my doors come morning, and they’re going to be military grade.”
Jamie breathed a laugh as he started unloading container after container, spreading them out on the coffee table.
“Go ahead and test my skills, babe. Just know …” He paused, turning his head to look at me. “If you’re in this fuckin’ house, I’m gettin’ in.”
I looked into his eyes, reading his seriousness. “You sound crazy, you know that?” I shared.
“Not crazy if deep down you’re really wantin’ me in here.”
“Oh no. He’s onto me,” I joked, feigning alarm with an overplayed gasp and a hand to my chest.
Jamie stared at me for a breath, letting his eyes wander over my features, then he smiled, shook his head, and turned away.
“What’re you feelin’?” he asked. “Got a little bit of everything. Chicken. Pork …”
A phone beeped, breaking up his rundown of what he’d brought. I knew it wasn’t mine since I had mine plugged in and charging upstairs, doing that after I took a shower and got dressed. So I started peeking at the food.
While I did that, Jamie dropped the container he was holding, leaned back, and reached into his pocket, pulling out his device. He read the text.
“Shit. Figures this would happen now,” he mumbled, coming to his feet. “Come on. We gotta go.”
I looked up from the container of shrimp fried rice I was staring longingly into.
“Excuse me?”
He reached down and took the container I was holding, siting it on the coffee table among the others.
“We’ll eat when we get back. I need to go pick up my sister, and you’re tagging along. Come on. Up.” He grabbed on to the underside of my arm and started pulling me off the couch.
“What—”
“Need you to come with me,” he repeated, cutting me off. His voice vibrated with meaning.
I spun around, which pulled me out of his hold, flattened my hand on his chest, and pressed firm, halting him. Then I stared up into his eyes and saw they were also conveying a sudden urgency, matching his voice.
I didn’t understand any of it.
“Why do I need to go with you?” I asked, needing to know a reason before I went anywhere, especially anywhere with him.
Jamie’s jaw clenched.
I wondered if he was craving another cigarette, looking as stressed as he was looking, and that prompted me to say my next words.
“I’ll go,” I assured him. “I just wanna know why you need me. And I think it’s a fair question. I don’t know your sister.”
Jamie exhaled a breath, nodding once.
“Right,” he began. “She’s at a bar gettin’ hit on by a bunch of shitheads she don’t wanna be gettin’ hit on by, considerin’ they’re dudes and she ain’t into dudes, expressed that to them, and they’re still hittin’ on her and bein’ persistent about it. She’s had one too many and can’t drive home. Needs me. Thinkin’ if I walk in there and see what I’m expectin’ to see, I might lay a few motherfuckers out in front of people who could catch it on camera or call the cops, and that can’t happen. I got sponsors I can’t lose. They see me fightin’ or doin’ shit they don’t like, they drop me. This is where you come in.”
I wet my lips, letting all of that information sink in, which took me a few seconds considering the amount of information he’d shared.
“Okay,” I started when I was finished processing. “But I’m still not seeing what that has to do with me.”
“You’re there? I’m gonna be less inclined to spend a night in jail, considerin’ that option leaves you alone for them to feed on next,” he explained.
I blinked at him.
Oh.
Huh.
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, or how to feel hearing it. I mean, it was kind of sweet and protective, him wanting to get to his sister and also his strange reasoning for including me in this plan, and Jamie wasn’t those things.