Chapter Twenty-Seven
Luke
Iknow she told me she didn’t want to see me, but the second she sent the last text, my head started pounding. I really need to go to my doctor about these headaches. Or maybe a shrink since the only cure seems to be Tayler. Hell, maybe she’s the cause too.
Stepping up to Tayler’s building, I’m about to call her to let me in, but the door’s ajar. It immediately pisses me off. I need to have a word with Vic, her landlord, about this. The door has remained locked pretty much since he installed it after the Dylan episode, but there have been a handful of times that someone has left it ajar, and one time, someone shoved a shoe into the door to keep it from locking.
“I’ll deal with that later.”
Pulling open the front door, I step through and jog up the steps. It’s late, well after two, so I know she’ll be asleep. I hope she hears my knock. Raising my hand to the door, I’m about to do just that when I hear voices. Leaning forward, I recognize Tayler right away. The other voice is male. I know that one too. Shit.
Knocking loud and fast, I yell Tayler’s name. “Tayler. Open up. It’s Luke.”
Reaching back, I pull my phone out of my pocket and search for Gage’s number. “Be on duty, man.”
I quickly knock again. “Open the damn door, Tayler.”
Holding the phone up to my ear, I start swearing under my breath before he finally answers. “Gage. It’s Luke Green. I think Dylan’s at Tayler’s place. I’ve knocked twice. She won’t let me in.”
“On my way. Knock down the door if you have to.”
Knock down the door? My pleasure.
I knock one last time. “Open the goddamn door, or I’m kicking it the fuck down.”
I hear the knob jiggle and hold my breath. When it pops open, Tayler’s there wearing her normal sleep outfit of shorts and a tee.
I reach out and place my hands on her upper arms. “You okay?”
She nods but then glances to her left. I look over and there that motherfucker is, standing by the windows, hands in his pockets, with a stupid grin on his face. I want to tell him I called the cops, but then he may try to get away. Reaching back, I shut the door, not planning to move any farther into the room until Gage gets here. I don’t want to startle the asshole.
“What’re you doing here, Dylan?” I growl.
“I just stopped by.”
“You’re not supposed to ‘just stop by,’ Dylan. She’s got a protective order—”
“I know!” he shouts loudly. “It’s bullshit,” he snaps.
“It’s not bullshit.” I look over at Tayler, and I know from her demeanor that she’s shaken. “You’re scaring her.”
“No!” he shouts again. “You’rescaring her.”
I want to laugh at this asshole, but now’s not the time for levity. “Why are you here? You know she’s with me now.”
“You’ve turned her against me.” The snarl in his voice is creeping me out. This dude is definitely unstable.
“No, you did that when you cheated on her.” And stalked her.
“It. Was. A. Mistake,” Dylan seethes. “How many times do I have to apologize?”
“Dylan.” Tayler’s voice is soft. “Please….”
Dylan starts to step toward her, snapping, “Please what?”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down?” He’s still moving our way. “You want me to calm down?”
