TAG by Shari J. Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

need something?”
    I whirl around, faced with a white t-shirt tightened over a well-defined chest. I close my eyes to block out the sight. “No.”
    “Cool.” He turns around and heads back toward his bedroom.
    “I’m fucking starving,” I yell after him. My voice carries louder than I intended, but I’m so irritated right now that my self-control is being pushed to the brink.
    “Why didn’t you say so? I was about to order a pizza.” He walks back into his room and immediately returns, pulling a cream-colored Henley over his head. “But if you’re that hungry, I’ll assume you don’t want to wait for delivery.”
    “I don’t remember asking you to join me for lunch.” I cross my arms over my chest and fall back against the door. “I don’t need a babysitter, Tango.”
    He pulls his coat off of the sofa and throws it over his shoulder. “Well, I’m hungry too. And since I’m supposed to . . . ahh . . . keep you company, we’ll call it, I can either go with you or we can wait an hour for delivery.” He shoves his hand into his front pocket and pulls out a key. The key that will release me from this new bubble I seem to be confined to. “Oh, and even if I wasn’t supposed to . . . ahh . . . keep you company, it’s a free country, right? And there’s only one food joint within walking distance.”
    “What if I place a restraining order against you?” Like that would even work.
    He throws his head back and lets out a brash husky laugh. “Good luck with that one, Carolina.”
    I growl with annoyance. “It’s Cali.”
    “I’m sorry, but I think the name Carolina is beautiful. It’s fitting. You shouldn’t be so annoyed to hear it.” He looks at me without shame, which tells me the compliment was sincere. I never really saw anything beautiful about myself. And I have a bad attitude to boot. So I’m not exactly sure what he meant by it. But it was sweet, I suppose.
    He slides behind me and unlocks the front door. “Well if it helps, you can call me whatever you want, princess.”
    I bite my cheek, refraining from another comeback. He wants me to keep fighting. It’s obvious he’s enjoying it.
    I don’t flinch, I don’t react, and I don’t respond. I take the lead and head out the main entrance, realizing we likely have no transportation here since we were dropped off.
    “Look. You’re in danger—we both know this. We’re okay here for the time being, but I don’t want to go too far. There’s a sandwich shop around the corner. Will that work for you?” he asks.
    I follow behind him, pondering the likelihood of being able to run. My focus darts around to familiarize myself with these new surroundings. It’s pretty barren, full of trees and no shops in sight. “I need to find a pharmacy after we eat.” If I don’t refill my prescription, I’m going to implode from pain.
    “There’s actually one around the corner,” he says.
    “You from here, or something?” I ask.
    He pulls out his phone and stops walking. Whatever he’s reading seems unimportant since his face doesn’t twitch. His eyes hardly scan the words. His chest doesn’t constrict any faster, and the visible pulse on his neck holds at a steady rhythm. He drops his phone back into his pocket and continues walking. I cannot read this guy.
    We step into the sandwich shop and the bell sounds on the glass door, announcing our arrival. The scattered customers all stop mid- bite and turn their attention to us. The examination is brief and they all turn back around to continue on with their eating.
    I approach the counter and wait for the woman to greet me. “What can I grab for ya, hon?”
    “Small roast beef with everything on it and a water.” I reach my hand into my front pocket to pull out my card, but Tango reaches his hand out in front of me with his card. Dad has been good at depositing money into my account since I can’t exactly settle down and do something normal, like find a job. I suppose it’s his attempt