Page 11 of Wild Side

Then I put Thunder Rock into the navigation system.

There’s only one hotel in town, a motel really. I’m okay with that. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but hopefully, it’s clean and safe. Once I pull out of the spot, I find Sable’s name in my phone and call her.

“You’re safe,” she announces.

“Well, for now,” I reply with a laugh.

She doesn’t find me funny and joins in the laughter. Instead, she clears her throat, and I can tell she has something to tell me. Something that I’m not going to like. “Your dad came by,” she whispers.

“My dad came by your place?” I ask.

She hums. “He was looking for you.”

Shit.

I wish I could pull over and hyperventilate right now, “He told me to handle my shit. I’m handling it.” My words come out in a whisper. She doesn’t respond immediately, instead makes a noise in the back of her throat before she continues.

“I told him you were going to talk to the baby daddy.”

Sucking in a breath, I hold it for a moment before I let it out slowly. “Did you tell him where?”

“I didn’t have to,” she mutters.

“How?” I demand.

God. I need her to talk faster, so much faster, but she doesn’t. She’s taking her sweet-ass time, and I’m about to lose my shit. But thankfully, she does continue, and I don’t have to cry or scream. I don’t even have to ask her anything else about the conversation. She offers it all, and by the time it’s done, I don’t feel any better about my situation, or rather, the situation I’m going to be coming home to.

“So, basically… I’m cooked.”

“You’re cooked, girly.”

Fuck.

“Well,” she begins, “the only thing I can say is that you’ll get to him before your father will. So, there is that.”

“Is he coming here?” I breathe.

“He is. I’m going to try really hard to keep him from going, like… tonight, maybe talk him into taking his bike. I don’t know how. I’m going to do my damnedest. But, babe, you’d better tell that man of yours there and get reinforcements, because I think your dad might be out for blood.”

Great.

Thanking her, I end the call and turn up the radio. I need to breathe, I need to rock out, I need to calm the hell down. It doesn’t even dawn on me that my father being at her place, even if he was looking for me, is odd.

I don’t have any missed calls on my phone, no voicemails, no new text messages. Nothing. You would think if he had been trying to get in touch with me, he would have at least attempted to contact me.

But he hasn’t.

Which means he went to her place, but I’m not so sure he was looking for me. I can’t help but wonder if my best friend and my father are more than just that—my best friend and my father.

At least thinking about them, and whatever the hell they are, takes my mind off Maverick and this baby. But not for long, because the motel comes into view, and I pull into the parking lot. I’m the only car here.

Shifting the Jeep intoPark, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and let out a heavy sigh. “Okay,” I exhale. “Let’s do this shit.”

Opening the Jeep door, I throw my legs over the side and slide out. I place my feet flat on the asphalt and I let out another heavy breath as I move toward the office. I gently tug the door open and slip inside.

The girl behind the counter lifts her head, and when her eyes find mine, I can tell with a simple glance that she’s annoyed with me. Ignoring her bad mood, I flash her a smile and stare straight ahead.

“I would like a room,” I chirp. “For a week.”