Criminal: A Bad-Boy Stepbrother Romance Read Online Free

would’ve
backed down.
    But I am his sister, and he owes me. More than owes
me.
    I reach into my purse, taking out the wads of dollar
bills, flashing them to his face.
    “Look! Rent! Aren’t you happy now,
Kaiden? I’m not a liability anymore,” I sneer right back,
and by now I’m pissed.
    He is the reason I couldn’t go to college; he
is the reason I had to take this job, and now he’s trying to
force me to quit?
    He can’t control every aspect of my life, damn
it!
    He’s breathing heavily, and he takes a few
steps closer to me. He has over a foot on me usually, but in my
heels, I come up almost to his shoulders though he’s over one
hundred pounds of muscle more than me too.
    Kaiden is an intimidating guy.
    But he’d never hurt me. Not like that.
    “Abigail, I mean it,” he says darkly.
    I take a step backward and shake my head.
    “You can’t tell me what to do, Kaiden.
Get over it,” I say as I shove the money back in my purse.
    He reaches out, grabbing my face and forcing me to
look at him, and there is so much emotion in his expression that I
don’t understand. Couldn’t comprehend. The intensity
behind his eyes is unlike anything I’d ever seen, and it gives
me pause.
    But then he releases me and storms back into the
club, leaving me alone in the chilly, dark outside to catch my
breath.

It’s been a hard week, and not just because
I’ve worked every day. That would be hard in and of itself,
especially in the heels that were killing my feet.
    It was hard because dealing with drunks brings about
a sort of mental exhaustion I haven’t felt before. Seeing their
faces day after day and catching that haunted unhappiness between the
hoots and the hollers, it takes a toll.
    But I think the worst part of it is that Kaiden is
avoiding me. He sneaks in after I’ve gone to bed. There hasn’t
been any women. No sex. Nothing to incite my rage.
    And he hasn’t talked to me since our fight at
the club. It’s driving me crazy, and I didn’t think that
it could affect me like it is. I’m torn up about it. The worst
part is I barely even know why. I guess it’s because I’m
invading ‘his’ place, but even that doesn’t wholly
make sense. There’s something else going on between us, and I
have no idea what.
    I give another drunk a gin, and he grabs my ass
before handing me a ten-dollar bill with a leering grin. I feel like
I’m going to be sick to my stomach, and when I try to tug the
bill out of his hand, he tightens his grasp.
    “I’ll do it for a kiss,” he says,
puckering up his weathered lips and looking at me through his watery
eyes with expectation.
    But I’m not that desperate, and I let it go,
turning my back on him. I need some air, and I look at the bartender,
motioning that I’m heading out for a second.
    Opening the door, I find the eerie light to be
strangely soothing, but when I hear a motorcycle’s engine rev
up, I quickly move away from the entrance and the parking lot towards
the back.
    I can hear some voices though I can’t make them
out yet.
    Maybe I’m stupid, but I’m getting
curious, and I try to make soft steps as I move towards them. I hold
my breath, and it’s like by instinct I know I shouldn’t
be here. As if I’m tiptoeing up to my parent’s bedroom at
night, trying to hear what they’re saying about us.
    “Man, I’m already looking at three years, minimum , for you.” I recognized the voice just as clear
as day.
    Kaiden.
    I press myself up against the wall of the building,
breathing softly through my nose. I can’t hear who replies or
what they say as the motorcycle gets nearer. He seems to be parked in
the lot, revving the engine for some reason.
    My ears strain, and I hear Kaiden’s voice
again.
    “You know what this means,” he says, his
tone threatening and dark.
    But then there’s another deep voice I
recognize, and it’s like my blood turns cold in my veins.
    “You want to play that game with me, boy? Fine.
But just remember that your little