Free Blissful volume 3 (New Adult Romance) by Clarissa Wild

broke into my apartment and checked my phone! Dammit.”
    Jack soothes Madeline who’s crying from the whole ordeal, and then checks up on me, too.
    “Hey, you okay?” he says, dragging me toward him for a firm hug. His arms are warm, but his muscles are still tense from the fight mode he was in. He cups my face and looks me straight in the eye, as if he doesn’t think I’m going to speak the truth.
    He knows me way too well.
    I swallow. Of course I can’t say I’m okay. I’m shocked and feel split in two. Ronnie, of all people, came to this place. And he did it to find me.
    I’m still trembling in place. I can’t believe he was actually here. It’s as if two worlds that absolutely do not belong together are meshing.
    Jack squeezes my back lightly as he waits for my answer. It’s almost as if he’s trying to keep me from falling apart.
    I nod softly, but I only do it for him. I don’t want him to worry about me, although it’s totally valid to do so. I’m shattered.
     
    ***
     
    Jack
     
    My fucking god. That was really her ex.
    I can’t believe that little shit bag was here.
    My blood is still pumping just from the memory of him. He looked like a giant pile of shit, and from the way he was wobbling I could see he’d been drinking. A lot.
    He was Ronnie motherfucking Keston, the asshole that made Amy cry.
    Who the fuck does he think he is showing up here?
    My fingers curl up into a fist, but I force myself to relax again. I don’t want Amy to see this side of me, this person I can become if I’m confronted with people who have hurt my family. And I consider Amy my family, now, regardless of our relationship.
    Of course I’m hoping that he’ll leave , and that she’ll soon forget about him, but who am I kidding? He just made a threat not to leave her alone again. I’m sure that fucker is going to come for her again.
    And I’ll be ready to smack him into oblivion.
    I get Amy to the car where she starts sobbing like crazy, and I don’t know what to do. Nicole went after Ronnie in the hopes of convincing him to get the fuck out of here again. But I don’t think he’s going to give Amy up so easily.
    At least, I wouldn’t.
    Amy buries her head into my chest, and I hold her tight to help her deal with this. She’s shaking, and I rub my palm across her spine to calm her down. I don’t want her to feel this way, and I have to do my best not to go after him myself, because I need to be here to console her.
    When the tears stop f lowing, she wipes her cheeks with what’s left of my dry shirt, and lets her head rest on the seat. In the mean time, I put Madeline in the car and buckle her up before getting in myself.
    I have to drive hard and fast to get away from this town as fast as possible. I don’t want to stay here another minute. Not another second do I want to spend thinking about that asshole, but I do. It’s because I know she’s hurting, and it’s his fault, and I want to kick him in the balls for it.
    When we get home, I put Madeline to bed and kiss her goodnight. She pulls my shirt, though, and I struggle to get loose without hurting her.
    “Daddy, who was that man?”
    “No one, Madeline,” I say, sighing.
    “But he wanted to be with Amy,” she says.
    “Nobody wants to be with someone like him.”
    “But he seemed really sad, daddy. Can’t we be friends?”
    Just the mere thought of being friends with someone who did that to Amy makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “No. He is a bad man, Madeline.” I lean down and look her in the eye, and she draws back. I know I’m frightening, but I can’t help it. “He is a very, very , bad man.”
    “Okay …” she says.
    She lets go of my shirt, and I sigh loudly again. I’m basically telling a little kid that Amy’s ex is a boogeyman. I’m not really any better than him, honestly.
    “Don’t worry about it, Maddy. The grown-ups will take care of it, all right?”
    She nods and wriggles her way under the blanket while I