Man Up Stepbrother (9 page)

Chapter 9

Jagger

I still can't believe she said yes. I let out a long breath as I start the engine and pull out of the pharmacy parking lot. I stopped to pick up an extra box of condoms, just in case we decide to extend the night into the whole weekend. I don't know what her schedule is, but if she's game, so am I. Hopefully we'll get to use the vibrating cock ring I got there too. Never noticed those in the condom aisle before.

Not the first time though.

I want our first time together to blow every other experience she's had out of the realm, but for other reasons. I want her to feel every touch, every sensation from her skin through to her heart with nothing between us. No barriers. No aids. If it's as spectacular as I expect it to be, I want her to realize it's because of whatever this growing thing is between us so she loses her doubts and inhibitions about me. About us.

But thereafter, whatever she's game for is fair play.

I dial her number once I'm back on the road. She answers on the first ring.

"Are you there yet?" I ask when I hear her voice.

"Almost."

"Where are you?"

"Beach Wood Boulevard."

She's about seven minutes from my apartment and five minutes ahead of me.

"Do you want me to undress you, or do you have a striptease planned?" I ask, hoping to give her mind a head start.

I listen to the silence, not sure she's going to answer. Whether she does or not will help me get a read on how invested she is. An answer means she's still in. Continued silence, she's teetering on backing out.

"I want you to do it."

She answered. Jackpot.

"How?" I lower my voice, hoping she finds it seductive. "Should I use my hands to rip your clothes off? Tie you up and use a sharp blade to slice them off your body? Or should I take my time, go achingly slow and make you beg for more?"

"Jagger!" I hear the disapproval in her voice.

"What? No one can hear us."

"Still. Besides, I don't want to tell you what to do. I want you to just know."

"Believe me, I know what to do." I chuckle. "Do you like when I talk to you like this?"

"A little."

"Tell me it isn't turning you on, knowing that I can't wait to fuck you. And that in a matter of minutes, I'm going to be inside of you."

"Maybe a little bit."

"This is no time to get shy, sunshine. I'm hard thinking about how warm and silky your pussy is going to feel wrapped around me." I hear a hitch in her breathing. "Tell me you want it, too, Allie. Tell me how bad you want me."

There's silence. Maybe I went too far?

"Having second thoughts?"

"No," her voice is firm, resolute.

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"Don't be. It's going to be the best you’ve ever had. I promise." I step on the accelerator. I can't wait to get to her. My dick is already throbbing imagining it.

"Noooo!" she yells, threatening to burst my eardrum.

A loud piercing scream comes through the phone next. A scream ridden with fear and horror. The type of deep, guttural scream that forces its way out when you're face to face with your own demise. It's followed by a loud crash and crunching in the background.

My heart nosedives through the floor of my car and the asphalt beneath it. It drops down hard and heavy into blackness. Into nothingness. I'm numb, haunted by the scream I just heard until it morphs into the sounds of my brothers dying.

Not now
.
I can't deal with it now. Allie needs me.
My lungs are tight as I struggle for air
.
This is no time for a fucking panic attack. I can't fucking breathe. I fight through the memories, sucking in deep gulps of air, and pound back the memories.
Allie needs me!
I remind myself.
Allie fucking needs me.

"Allie!" I shout, snapping back to my senses. Nothing comes from her end. "Aleena, answer me right now!" Still no response.

I make a left on Beach Wood Boulevard and step on the gas. It's a windy road, but it's usually pretty empty. There's never much traffic on it regardless of the time of day. I don't care that the posted speed limit is twenty-five miles per hour, I'm doing ninety. I need to get to her.

"Allie, stay with me baby. I'll be right there. Just hold on to the sound of my voice."

I keep talking, calling her name, hoping that she'll answer. Hoping that she'll hear my voice and it will give her a reason to hang on, something to reach out for.

Time stops as my car screeches to a halt. I jump out with my phone in my hand and call for help before I even know how badly she's hurt. I can’t answer any of the dispatcher’s questions. All I know is the location of the accident and that there are injuries. Allie’s silence over the phone after her screaming tells me she's been knocked unconscious and needs medical help. 

The cars are mangled, twisted. Smoke is rising up from the hood of the other car. I squeeze my eyes shut, collecting myself for a moment. The driver's side front end of Allie's car is smashed to bits, and the car turned sideways from the impact.

I glance at the other car, to peek at how bad the driver is hurt. So help me, I'll kill the fucker if she dies. No. I refuse to even consider it. Not Allie. God, please. Not Allie.

No one is in the other car. The son-of-a-bitch took off. It's a hit and run.

Allie's chest is rising and falling. She's alive. I give thanks and bang on the driver's side door to wake her. There's no reaction from her, none at all. I run around, smash the window on the passenger side, and unlock the door so I can get in the car. I slide into the seat and reach for her hand, hanging by her side.

"Come on, sunshine. Open those beautiful eyes." I squeeze her hand and keep talking.

No response. Blood streams down her face in multiple spots. It's from the airbag. I've heard they're like hitting a brick wall when you're thrown into them during impact. The left side of her face is already swollen. I fight the urge to move her. I know I'm not supposed to, that jarring her can make her injuries worse, but damn it, I'm here and help isn't.

As I convince myself we can't wait for help any longer, the whine of sirens breaks through my thoughts. The police, EMTs, and the fire department all arrive within a minute of each other, like they were all at the coffee shop together.

I scramble out of the car and give my report to the attending officers as the fire department works on separating the cars and getting Allie out. "No, I didn't see the accident, just heard it over the phone." "No, I didn't see the other driver before he bolted." "No, there's nothing more I can tell them."

Except someone slashed her tires a week ago.

I keep that tidbit of information to myself. I don't want to spend more time answering inane questions that won't do a thing but keep me from Allie's side. She needs me, and even if she doesn't, I need to be with her.

After answering every question at least three times, I step away from the scene and call my buddy Ox that's keeping an eye on Bailey.

I don't bother with pleasantries when he answers, I get straight to the point. "Where is he?"

"Right now?" 

"No, yesterday. Yes, right now!"

"What the fuck crawled up your ass?"

"I don't have time." I growl. "Where is he?"

"Home. With his girl."

"Are you sure they're together?"

"Yep. She greeted him at the door about an hour ago."

"And there's no chance either of them could have slipped out even for a few minutes?" I know how sometimes what feels like five minutes is really twenty-five. And this isn't official surveillance work. It's just a favor from one brother to another.

"No man. I've had eyes on him all day. By the way, when is this shit going to end?"

"I don't know." I give Ox a recap of what happened. He offers to leave his unofficial post and meet me at the hospital, but I decline his offer.

After I'm given Allie's personal belongings, her purse and phone, I follow the ambulance to the hospital. I don't know what to do. Should I call Mom and Vic? It's not like they can drive over. They can't even hop a plane and be here in an hour or two. And I have no fucking idea how bad her injuries are. None. So all I'll do at this point is frustrate them and make them worry. I'll reconsider when I have more information.

Once I arrive at the hospital, I give Allie's name and take a seat in the waiting area. It's a good thing I knew where to find her. I hate to think of what could've happened if I hadn’t been talking to her. Needing something to do, I look at the apps on her phone and go to settings.

I shouldn't change anything, but I ask myself again, how long would she have been there, unconscious without help, if I wasn't behind her? I feel like shit, but it's all the justification I need to change her settings. When I'm sure she's safe, I'll turn the notification back off. But for now, if I need to find her, I can.

After a few minutes, the receptionist in the ER sends me back to the holding area. Relief washes over me as I approach Allie's bed and see the gray of her eyes. They're open. She's awake.

"Hey, beautiful," I say, approaching the gurney.

Her eyes dart away from mine. She smoothes the sheet over her legs and reaches up to the dressing over her left eye.

"No worries, you look just as gorgeous as always."

"What are you doing here?" She's unable to hide the accusatory tone of her voice.

"Where else would I be?" I take her hand in mine and rub my thumb over her knuckles.

She pulls away and turns her head. "Oww."

I try not to read into her not wanting me to touch her, but everything between us feels off. Like she's mad at me. Maybe she blames me for the accident because I distracted her. She can't blame me more than I blame myself.

"What hurts?" I extend my hand toward her head, but she stops me again.

"Everything," she whimpers. "I feel like I was hit by a truck." She winces as she turns slightly toward me.

I squeeze my eyes tight and swallow down the emotion biting at my heart.
She's okay, that's what's important. Stay in the moment
. "Accidents have a way of doing that to you."

"Seriously, why are you here? Who called you? How did they get your number?"

"I was only a few minutes behind you. I saw the accident and called for help."

"Behind me? Why?"

"We were going to my place. Don't you remember?"

No answer. I have a funny feeling in my gut. She
doesn't
remember. That's why she's so standoffish. Guess I need to back up a few hours and see where that takes me.

"Allie, are you mad at me?"

Her eyes shoot icy spears at me and her jaw juts out. "Yes. I heard you on the phone with Lexi."

I nod. That's what I thought. The whole night is wiped from her memory. Fuck! I grasp her hand in mine and hold it tight, taking away her option of no contact. "It was a misunderstanding. My lame attempt at humor. That's all."

"I don't know if I should believe you."

"You should." I say, bringing her hand to my lips. "I know you don't remember, but we kissed and made up. I told you how sorry I am and promised nothing like that will ever happen again."

Her eyes are uncertain. She doesn't know whether or not to believe me. At least she's not ordering me to leave.

"Then why don't I remember any of that?"

"I'm guessing you hit your head pretty hard. Did you see who did it?"

"Who did what?" she asks, looking genuinely confused.

"The guy who hit you."

"Aleena," a male voice comes at us as the privacy curtain is opened. "How are we doing?" he says in too cheery a voice. "All ready to go get some films done and see what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"I guess," her voice is barely audible.

"Sir, you can wait here, we won't be gone too long."

I nod, pissed that I can't go with her. "Hey, I'll be right here when you get back," I promise.

Once the orderly rolls Allie away, I call Lexi. Allie isn't right, and I might need some help getting through to her.

*

"The doctor won't speak to me about Allie's condition," I explain to Lexi. "Not unless she gives him permission, but she doesn't want me there because she thinks she's pissed at me."

"She
thinks
she pissed at you? Wouldn't she
know
if she's pissed?"

"Ok, smart-ass, if she's still mad at me, she's still mad at you, too," I shoot back at her.

"See what a jackass you are, you fuck everything up." She hits the top of my arm.

Standing behind his wife, Noah wraps his arm around Lexi's shoulders and pulls her against his chest. "Easy. I was pretty pissed too. It's a good thing your buddy here cleared it all up. Now you need to do the same for him."