Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

“I thought you were just going to go home and crash,” I said.

“Not without seeing you first,” he said. “Do you have a break coming up?”

Glancing over at the bar, I met eyes with Ava. She offered a hint of a smile and nodded, then called for Sarah to come over to the bar to fill her in on what she had learned that evening. It was nothing short of a diversionary tactic, but I appreciated it.

I finished up checking on the tables, and though some of the guys did their best to tease us by delaying me, soon Jordan and I were headed toward the back of the bar. As soon as we were in the back room away from prying eyes, he wrapped me up in his arms again. I closed my eyes and nuzzled my face into his shoulder, just enjoying having him close to me again.

He pulled back and kissed me. It seemed like it was meant to be a gentle kiss and nothing more, but as soon as our lips touched, it deepened. I could feel myself heating up and had to step back from him to stop myself from turning this into a literal not-safe-for-work situation.

I was beyond happy to see him and relieved he was back. He held my hands as he told me a little bit about his trip, but he couldn’t go into all the details because I only had a few minutes before I had to go back to work.

“Let me follow you home tonight,” he said as he walked me back toward the front of the bar.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” I said.

“I can just hang out here until your shift is over.”

I shook my head. “I still have hours to go. I’m sure you’re tired and just want to get home and relax for a bit. Don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll call you when I get there.”

He finally agreed and squeezed my hand before walking toward the kitchen so he could say hello to the guys in the back before leaving. I went to the bar to collect Sarah, and we got back to work moving through the tables.

The rest of the night was smooth, and I had a nicely lined pocket by the time the shift was over. Sarah and I sat down with Ava for a late dinner to talk about her first day, and then Ava cut us loose rather than having me stay to help clean up. It was a perk of training and getting there early, and I didn’t argue.

I was feeling good right up until I pulled into my driveway. As I sat there staring at the house, something started twisting in my stomach. I felt off as I got out of the car and started up the sidewalk toward the door. Climbing the steps onto the porch, I lifted the key toward the lock but stopped. Something deep down was telling me not to go inside.

Tossing my key back into my bag, I hurried back to the car, got inside, and locked the doors. I got out my phone and called Jordan.

“You got home okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, but…” I said, hesitating.

“But what?” his tone was instantly on alert.

“I don’t know. Something’s weird. I don’t know what it is, but I just feel off.”

“Don’t go inside,” he said firmly. “Are you in your car?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Stay there. Don’t get out. Is the door open or anything? Any broken windows?” he asked.

“No. The door’s closed, and I don’t see anything else strange,” I said. “It doesn’t look like anything’s wrong. I just feel weird.”

“You need to trust your gut. Come over to my place,” he said.

“Alright. I’m on my way.”

Jordan was waiting for me at the door when I got to his house. He pulled me in for a tight embrace.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry for all this,” I said. “I can’t explain why. I just felt like something was telling me not to go inside.”

He shook his head as he guided me inside and shut the door behind me. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Instinct is important. You’ll stay here with me tonight, and I’ll go over in the morning to check it out.”

“Thank you,” I said, still feeling a little shaken.

25 Jordan

The next morning, she seemed in good spirits and less stressed, so I was happy to take her back to her place. Even if she was going to stay at her place, it would be good for me to see that it was safe. When we pulled up, everything seemed normal, and the doors were still locked. All her shades were drawn shut, so we couldn’t see inside, but there were no marks on the doors or windows.

But as soon as the door opened, all that changed. The house was ransacked. Clothes, books, furniture was all torn up and thrown around the house. I pulled her behind me as she screamed in horror at how utterly destroyed it all was.

“Go get in the car. Lock the door. Call the cops,” I said. I used my drill sergeant voice, and she, like everyone else who heard it, got moving before their brains caught up with why. She was in the car with the phone out when I turned back to the house. There was a broken piece of a wooden chair on the floor by the door, and I grabbed it. He must have smashed it against something repeatedly because it was a sturdy-looking piece of wood. Using it as a protective weapon, I slipped inside.

The living room was hit the hardest from what I could see. Some of her underwear was on the floor, cuts going through them as if they had been sliced with scissors or a knife. The walls had messages on them in crude script and red spray paint. I walked through the kitchen, which seemed relatively untouched, and