Page 52 of Alluring

Alexis was jarred awake by the ringing of her phone. Getting up on an elbow, she cracked open her eyes and noticed it was still dark out. Worry for her sister made her heart speed. Nothing good ever came from late-night phone calls. She fumbled around on the nightstand until she felt her phone.

Unknown flashed on her screen. She put the phone to her ear. "Hello." She looked over at Jack. He was awake, up on an elbow, beside her.

"He's mine, bitch." A scratchy female voice said over the line.

"Who is this?" Jack must have heard the tremor in her voice. He took the phone from her and put it to his ear.

He listened for a moment. "Don't fucking call this phone again," he growled, then hung up. He put her phone down and picked up his.

Alexis looked over at the clock. Five a.m..

Jack spoke rapidly into his phone. When he hung up, he tuned to Alexis, pulled her into his arms, and laid down. "Stan's gonna trace the call. He said he'll call us when he knows something."

Alexis nodded her head. She buried her face in his neck and breathed in his scent.

He ran his fingers through her curls. "Will you be able to go back to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Good" He kissed the top of her head. "Sleep, baby.

* * * * *

Jack listened to Alexis's even breaths and watched the ceiling lighten as the sun rose. His brain worked a mile a minute, but he couldn't produce any solutions. He had no idea who was doing this. He felt impotent. A feeling he wasn't used to, and it made him angry. He struggled to compose his rage. Rage for an unknown person and unpredictable situation.

Stan had looked into Janet as the suspect, but after over a week of following her, he'd pretty much ruled her out. Said she didn't fit the pattern of a stalker. Jack wasn't so sure, but, then again, he'd seen her brand of crazy first hand.

He liked the idea that it was Janet, because if it wasn't, that left way too many other possibilities. His list of friends and acquaintances was long. His list of women longer. It could even be a stranger fixated on the two of them.

Alexis mumbled something in her sleep and he laid a soothing hand on her back. The need to protect the woman in his arms was a compulsion he had no desire to halt. He would protect her from all harm. She would stay safe because the alternative was unacceptable.

* * * * *

Alexis stood in the middle of the dealership parking lot when her phone rang. She almost didn't look at the screen. The unknown number had called three more times throughout the day. Alexis didn't answer them, but there were messages left. She felt it best not to listen to them, either.

But now, her screen flashed Steph's name. "Hey," she answered cheerfully, happy to hear from her.

"Girl, I have not seen you in weeks. I have given you time to play with your new toy, but it's now time to come out of hibernation. We're having a girls' night, this Friday. I will not take no for an answer."

Alexis giggled. She really missed her friend.

"Steph and I planned a girls' night Friday. I thought you might want to go out with some of your friends. I would hate to think I'm keeping you from them." Alexis was in the middle of making dinner. Jack had just come down from changing out of his work clothes and into a pair of black basketball shorts and a gray T-shirt.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer.

"I'm not sure. We haven't set anything up yet."

"If I asked you to stay in the hotel would you have a problem with that?"

Alexis put down the spoon she used to stir the noodles and turned to face Jack. "I don't know. I guess it depends on why you're asking."

"With everything that's going on right now, I'm worried about you. If you stay in the hotel, I can have security keep an eye on you. You guys can go to the spa, out to dinner, hell I don't care what you do, just so I know you're safe doing it."

"That sounds fair. I'm sure Steph won't have a problem with that. She's always wanted to eat at Temptation, but we could never afford it."

Jack put his beer on the counter and scooped her into his arms. "I'll make a reservation. And before dinner, you can go to the spa and do whatever girly shit, you guys do there. I'll let them know you're coming."

Alexis smiled up at him. "I've never been to a spa, so I don't know what girly shit goes on in one, either."

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