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

as much space and as many obstacles as possible between Ethan and me.

He pounded on the door to my room so hard it felt like the house was shaking.

“Open this door right now,” he screamed.

He pounded even harder, then let out an exasperated sound. Things went quiet for just a moment, but I didn’t move.

“Hannah,” he said in a quieter tone. “Hannah, please. Let me in. I just want to talk to you. I came all this way to find you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? I missed you so much and was so worried about you, I had to find you. I searched for you, and I came out here to get you and bring you home.

“I know things haven’t been perfect between us, but we could be a family. You can’t really think that guy is any good for you or for the baby. You don’t even know him. And he owns a bar. What kind of life can he give you and a child? I could make sure both of you have everything. You and I have so much history. We know each other. We know everything about each other,” he said.

“I do know you, Ethan,” I said. “And that’s exactly why there are two locked doors between us.”

“Damn it!” Ethan shouted, slamming his hands against the door again.

The sound startled me, making me cry out, but I swallowed any more reaction. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, and I didn’t want him to think he was breaking me down. He went back to pounding his fists against the door and screaming. Soon, the sounds got louder, and I realized he was kicking the door. He was trying to break the lock.

I stepped back from the door and pressed one hand to my stomach, praying the lock held up. But what then? I didn’t think he was going to give up this time, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t get away.

The bathroom window was too small for me to climb out of. I didn’t have my phone. There was no way for me to get out and away from the house or for me to call for help. I was stuck there with nothing to do but pray he didn’t get in.

For the next several minutes, Ethan went through the cycles a couple more times. He would yell and scream, pounding on the door until my teeth rattled. Then he would change back to trying to talk to me calmly and nicely. As soon as he realized that wasn’t working, he would go back to kicking and pounding.

Suddenly, I heard another voice boom toward the front of the house.

“Hannah?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ethan demanded.

His voice wasn’t coming through the door at me anymore. A loud bang made me scream, and a second later there was another. Voices grunted and shouted, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Another loud bang came right before a crash that sounded like walls were coming down. I stood with my back against the counter, my hands over my mouth.

Then there was silence. That was almost more terrifying than the loud sounds and shouting. My heart jumped into my throat at the sound of something hitting the bedroom door.

“Hannah?”

I nearly sobbed at the sound of Jordan’s voice.

“I’m here. I’m fine,” I said.

“Call the police. I have him,” he said.

I scrambled to unlock the door and ran out into the bedroom. With my phone in the car, my only option was to get to Jordan’s phone, forcing me to go out into the rest of the house. I did and found Jordan holding Ethan down on the ground. One shoe was lying on its side in front of my bedroom door. Apparently, that was what hit it to get my attention.

“I need your phone,” I said.

Jordan nodded and indicated his pocket. I hated to get that close to Ethan, but I knew Jordan had him. That didn’t stop Ethan from growling and trying to grab at me when I crouched down. I fished the phone out of his pocket and called the police.

They were there within a few minutes, but it felt like hours. I stood near the front door, staring at Ethan, and waiting for any sign of him moving. Finally, the police arrived and dragged Ethan away in handcuffs. One came back after stuffing him into the back seat of the car.

“You should really consider getting a restraining order against him, Hannah,” he said.

I nodded. “I will.”

“And we’ll be back to take pictures and notes of all this damage so we can include it in the police report.”

He walked out, and the second the door closed behind him, I crumbled, sobbing, into Jordan’s arms.

37 Jordan

I had been awake on and off for a while. For once, it didn’t bother me. It wasn’t nightmares or stress that was keeping me awake this time. It was contentment. I wanted to spend every single second with her that I could awake. I wanted to be conscious of how I breathed in her scent. How she felt in the crook of my arm. All of it.

Her head rested on my chest, and one leg was draped over mine. She looked so peaceful. I watched her sleep, her deep, full breaths rising her back off me and then sinking back into me. She was wearing one of my T-shirts, and it dwarfed her. The arm draped over me twitched in her sleep, and she smiled.

I brushed a strand of hair gently over her ear, and she stirred. I frowned at first, not wanting to wake her, but she slid her head up to my shoulder and smiled at me through drowsy eyes. I smiled back and kissed her nose.

“Morning,” I whispered.

“Morning,” she said as she stretched.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m okay,” she said, but then suddenly her eyes went wide. She was up and running to the bathroom before I knew what was