You sure as shit do.
“See you soon.” I hung up.
Already feeling the migraine I knew Evie would evoke.
Evie
I opened the door.
“Oh, no!” I went to shut it, but I wasn’t fast enough, and he was able to barge into my apartment. Annoyed and confused, I questioned, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to pick you up.”
“Excuse me, what?”
“You heard me, Evie.”
“I may have heard you, Caleb, but I have no idea what you’re picking me up for.”
“You’re flying to Miami with me.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Darlin’—”
“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?”
“As many times as I’ve told you that you’re a pain in my ass.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I don’t have a choice. Your brot—”
“Oh. My. God. I’m going to kill Jax. I’ve told him a hundred times now I don’t need you—”
“You’re coming to Miami with me whether you want to or not, so grab your shit, and let’s go. We have a flight to catch and unlike you, I don’t like wasting people’s time.”
She glared at me. “You can’t just boss me around.”
“Watch me.” With that, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me toward him.
“Caleb, don’t you dar—”
He leaned over and abruptly picked me up, completely unfazed by my weak attempt to fight him off.
“Stop manhandling me!”
He threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.
“Stop pretending like you don’t want me to.”
He grabbed my bag, and we were out my door which now automatically locked on its own. One night out of nowhere, Caleb showed up at my apartment with a keyless lock.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I contended.
“You won’t lock your doors. Now you don’t have to. It’ll lock for you.”
“I’m going to kill my brother.”
“This wasn’t from your brother.”
I jerked back, shocked. “Wait, what?”
He didn’t reply, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want him to.
“You arrogant asshole!” I thrashed around to no avail. Giving up on my struggle, I knew it was no use—he was built like a brick house.
Minutes later, he sat me down in the passenger seat of his car, ordering me to put the seat belt on. I didn’t talk to him the whole ride to the airport, staring out the window with my arms folded over my chest in defiance.
Except, we didn’t pull into the airport like I assumed we would. We drove into what appeared to be a private hangar. I wanted to ask whose plane we were taking, but I didn’t want him to think I was impressed. However, I was. I’d never flown on a private jet before.
“Are you going to walk, or do I have to carry you again? Because either way, you’re getting on that plane.”
“This is bullshit.”
“No. What’s bullshit is the way you’re acting. Don’t you want to see Jax win the Super Bowl?”
I sighed, taking in what he was questioning.
He was right.
“Fine.”
I refused to show him any interest, sitting as far away from him on the plane as I possibly could. I watched a movie through the entire flight, feeling his eyes on the side of my face the whole time. Two and a half hours later, we landed with a driver waiting for us.
All I had to do was put up with him for a little while longer and then I’d be free in Miami to do what I wanted. Or, at least, so I thought. When the chauffeur opened the door to the SUV, I realized we were parked outside the hotel doors. A bright, huge lobby awaited us.
I don’t know why I thought this was where our time would come to an end.
After the receptionist announced, “Please enjoy your stay in our penthouse suite,” I came to the brutal realization that our time together…
Had only just begun.
Chapter 18
Evie
“Jax, this is ridiculous,” I complained on the phone, sitting on the bed in the biggest suite I’d ever seen in all my life. “You’ve gone too far this time.”
“Evie, please don’t give me shit right now.”
“What do you expect? For over a year, you’ve had Caleb watching my every move. I’m almost twenty-years-old, and you’re treating me like a ten-year-old. It’s not fair! How much longer is this going to go on? Do I need to get a boyfriend to get you and your best friend off my back?”
“It’ll be the opposite of that.”
“So what are you saying? I’m stuck being treated like a child? What have I done for you not to trust me?”
“You’re my little sister, and nobody has protected you all your life. I’m making up for lost time, okay?”
“Since I did grow up on my own, don’t you think I’m fully capable of taking care of myself?”
“I’m not going to let you roam around Miami alone, Evie. I don’t give a shit what you say. It’s not going to happen.”
“That’s this weekend, Jax. What about back in Texas?”