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Her forehead wrinkled. “Is that some kind of a threat?”

He pushed his lips together and shrugged.

“Ugh!”

Turning back around, Carla unlocked the door and pushed through it. On the porch, she scanned the area. After a moment, she identified it as the southside of town.

“Great,” she mumbled. “Fool probably got me in the hood.”

She took off in a fast walk down the sidewalk, crossing the street and trying to get as far away from Lennox’s house as she could while she fished for her phone.

Barefoot and still a bit dizzy, Carla hit the ride-sharing app and ordered a ride.

Five minutes.

A courier was in the area. Carla breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for that.

Her phone beeped with an incoming notification.

It was from Lennox.

“Ugh!” If she hadn’t needed the phone, she would have thrown it into traffic.

Opening the message, her eyes ran across an image.

Of her.

Naked in his bed.

Her feet stopped walking, heart ricocheting, heat sweeping up her skin.

Along with it, the words:As I said, I need you this weekend, and you’ll be there if you don’t want this delivered to your boyfriend.

Another message came through from him.

Have a great day, Carla. Kiss emoji.

Carla grabbed her chest.

What was she going to do?

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Not right now, Sasha.” Carla swatted at her Bichon Frise, who licked her fingers hanging over the bathtub. Inside, Carla soaked her body, needing to feel uncontaminated after the fiasco an hour ago.

It didn’t take long for the ride service to get her home, even though she lived some twenty minutes away from Lennox.

Once inside, she made a beeline for the bathtub but was still too tired to run hot water and get inside. She sat slumped against the porcelain clawfoot tub for thirty minutes, calming her breath, catching up with her thoughts before finally reaching over to turn on the water.

Now with her cell phone plastered to her ear, she waited for the person on the other line to take her call.

“This is Principal Sharp.”

“Hello, this is Ms. Carla Jones. I have a family emergency and will not be able to get to my class today, unfortunately.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Ms. Jones. Is there anything I can do?”

“No, no. But I will be in class tomorrow morning.”