Page 4 of My Turn

“Alright, Alana.” His voice had taken on a darker quality that sent a chill down my spine. “Mask or no mask?”

I tried to keep my breathing even as I pulled out a pair of nice black skinny jeans. If I wore a pretty shirt, it would be appropriate attire for dinner. The alternative was a dress and that wasn’t about to happen.

“Alana,” he prompted, almost musically.

“Mask, for sure. Kidnappers are never actually sexy.”

When he laughed, he sounded more like his usual self, thankfully. Jayce was absolutely sexy, just like his brother, of course. The thought immediately made my chest ache.

“Fine, go on your date, but I’m claiming you for Halloween. No exceptions.”

“I’m yours for the whole night,” I agreed. “Don’t tell me we’re going to a party, though. We’re too old.”

“We’re single, hot, and have no kids. Don’t pull that ‘too old’ bullshit with me.”

With a growl, I shimmied the pants over my ass. Had I gained a few pounds? I needed to delete all the food delivery apps on my phone and force myself to bring lunch to work, but have you met Taco Bell? It was a sad girl’s wet dream and that was saying something considering depression had killed my sex drive this year.

“Are you jogging?” Jayce asked. “You sound out of breath.”

“Go enjoy one of your cool bottles of wine, bitch face.”

He was still laughing when I ended the call. I sat on the edge of the bed to let my heart rate slow down.

Fucking skinny jeans. They were officially the bane of my existence.

Chapter 2

Jayce

A date. A real date. A date with a man.

The words kept filtering through my mind and nothing could deter them. It wasn’t ideal, that was for sure.

Who the fuck was I kidding? It was completely unacceptable.

I didn’t know how I’d missed this. She hadn’t been texting anyone new. When I pulled up her emails, I scrolled through them but didn’t find anything suspicious there. The only places she’d gone in the last week had been the coffee shop, the school, home, and the grocery store.

Don’t tell me she agreed to a date with one of the cashiers. She used self-checkout when she went, though. If someone random approached her, I couldn’t imagine that she’d say yes.

I didn’t follow her everywhere, otherwise I’d never get anything done. Her phone provided her location to me at all times and unless she went somewhere new or was there at a strange time, I trusted that she was okay.

Mistake, apparently. It had led to someone finding a way to ask her out.

Unacceptable.

Keeping my eye on the map on my phone, I pulled on a hoodie. I should’ve asked more questions. Where did she meet him? What was his name? What the fuck were his qualifications? He sure as fuck didn’t deserve her time.

I laughed as I slipped on my shoes. The fucking audacity of some man to think he could go after what was mine. If he touched her, he was going to regret it.

Maybe I should just stake my claim on her already, but it wasn’t time. She wasn’t ready for it, regardless of what she thought about dating. This guy she was about to see was a guppy, whereas I was a shark who had every intention of devouring her whole.

When I did take her, I didn’t want there to be a single remaining thought of my brother. When she looked at me, she wouldn’t see him, think of him, or even remember him. She would be completely consumed bymeand once she was, nothing could save her. Not that she would want that.

This date, though… Maybe she needed to be punished for making such a terrible decision. For betraying me. She didn’t even tell me about it until today.

Oh, sweet, delicious Alana. Yeah, a bite was exactly what I needed.

The icon on the map began to move, so I grabbed my keys and headed into the garage. I climbed into my Bronco and waited for the door to rise. Within seconds, I was on the road, heading toward that little dolphin icon on my phone.

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