“You’re not goin’ out tonight,” I stated roughly.
She paused again, then snapped, “I beg your fucking pardon?”
My jaw tightened. “Did I stutter?”
“I think you must have, Aiden,” she said snarkily. “Because I swear I heard you try to tell me what to do, and you would never say that to me, right?”
“Stop with the lip, Aislynn,” I growled.
“Or you could stop with the orders,” she returned. “I can’t believe you’re telling me what to do. I’m not one of your kids, Pagan. I’m an adult.”
“You’re a fuckin’ brat,” I gritted out.
She sighed and, in a resigned tone, replied, “Standing up to you isn’t being a brat. Not letting you railroad me isn’t being a brat. I’m not saying it to make you pissed, Pagan; I’m saying it because you’re being unreasonable. I started making my own decisions a long time ago, and telling me I’m not allowed out isn’t just weird; it’s unhinged.”
“Aislynn!” I grunted. “Hand to God, if you defy me, you’ll be sorry.”
“Oh, just fuck off,” she snapped, and then the line went dead.
I lowered my cell and stared at it, shocked.
No bitch had ever ended a call on me before. They wouldn’t fuckingdare. The fire in my chest began to burn out of control, and I had to physically hold myself back from launching my cell through the goddamned window.
I sucked air into my lungs to cool the fire within.
My boys were inside waiting for me, which meant I had to keep my shit together for their sakes. I had a responsibility to them, so I couldn’t go on a wild hair by saddling up and riding down to Denver to punish my woman.
Still, there was no way she was going out tonight.
If myDubheasawanted to test me, I’d give her a result she wouldn’t much like.
I held my phone back up to unlock it, then went straight to my contact list. After clicking on the name I was looking for, Iheld my cell up to my ear, my ever-present smirk ghosting across my mouth.
After a few rings, my brother answered with, “Yo. Prez.”
My smirk widened into a grin, and I muttered, “Thug, brother. Pack an overnight bag. I’ve gotta little job for you.”
CHAPTER 13
AISLYNN
Pagan Sinclair was an asshole.
I couldn’t believe the man’s sheeraudacity. It was bad enough that the controlling bastard had the balls to think he could tell me what to do, but then to accuse me of acting like a brat because I wouldn’t comply with his ridiculous demands was just the icing on the cake.
Fuck him.
Fuck him!
I was still muttering angrily to myself, hours after the call, while studying my closet for a hot outfit to wear to dinner with the girls. I pulled out a low-cut white bodysuit and some wide-leg jeans and black boots, then I grabbed the small black LV purse my dad bought me for my twenty-first birthday and carried everything to my bed so I could get dressed.
That was when I heard a low chuckle and froze.
It sounded like it was coming from the living room, but that was impossible, because I was alone.
Slowly, my face swiveled toward the door, my ears straining as my common sense took over and I told myself I was hearing things. I had good locks along with a great alarm system, and I always made sure they were set, even when I was in theapartment. I’d never had any problems in Denver, but it was a big city, and shit happened.
I stayed rooted to the spot for a good minute, listening out for more noises, but everything remained silent. Slowly, I relaxed, shaking my head ruefully at my own idiocy for being so darned paranoid.
