Free Her Old-Fashioned Boss by Laylah Roberts Page A

the man.
    “Lesbian bitches,” he snarled as he turned and walked away.
    McKenna shook her head and led the way off the dance floor, the others followed her through the thick crowd of grinding bodies to the next room which was a bit quieter. McKenna found a free table. Ava sat with a sigh, grateful the music was a bit quieter in here. She loved to dance, but tonight she’d had too much to drink, hoping the alcohol would help her forget everything that had happened earlier that day.
    “I’m beat,” Casey said with a sigh, looking tired as she gazed around at the rest of them. “I just don’t have the energy for this anymore.”
    “That’s cause you waste it all on those kids,” McKenna replied. “I wouldn’t have any energy if I had to look after twenty-five littlies either. It’s a wonder you don’t collapse each night.”
    “Sometimes I do,” Casey muttered.
    Ava glanced over at her, trying to get her brain to function properly, but everything was muted by the fuzziness in her head. Her stomach lurched and she held her hand over her mouth.
    “You okay, Ava?” Casey asked with concern.
    The others turned to look at her and she nodded. “Just not feeling so great,” she said weakly.
    “Can’t handle your tequila shots, huh,” Asia teased.
    “You want to talk about it, Ava?” Casey asked kindly.
    Ava shook her head. They knew the bare facts; she’d had to tell them that. But she couldn’t confide in them how Roarke and Sam made her feel. How she longed to have Roarke order her to her knees, take her, command her. How Sam made her feel giddy inside, loved, precious.
    How could she explain that she lusted after both of them? And that she was so disgusted with herself that she’d raced home like a scared little bunny, devouring brownies and cookies then spitting them out as soon as she could no longer hold it in her mouth without swallowing.
    No, she didn’t want to talk.
    What she wanted was her bed and sweet oblivion.
    Pulling up her bag, she dug around in it until she found her cell phone. Her phone might be large and old, but it still worked and that was all that mattered at the moment.
    “What you doing?” McKenna asked. “You’re not leaving are you? The night has barely begun.”
    “I don’t feel so great, guys. I’m really sorry, I just want to go home and curl into bed.”
    “We’ll go with you,” Asia said with concern. “We’ll do that sleepover. Except this time we’ll actually sleep.”
    Ava shook her head again, then wished she hadn’t as the room spun. “No, you guys stay. I really would like to be alone. I’ll just call a taxi.”
    She opened her phone just as it started vibrating.
    “Hello?” she asked.
    “Ava?” Roarke’s deep voice came through the phone. “Where are you? I’ve been trying to call you for half the night.”
    Ava pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disbelief.
    “Ava? Ava? Answer me now.”
    “Ava?” Asia asked. “Who is it?”
    “It’s him,” she said dazedly.
    McKenna plucked the phone from her gasp.
    “Hello? Who is this?”
    McKenna listened carefully for a long moment. “No, she’s with us. I’m her friend, McKenna” She nodded again as Roarke spoke.
    “No, we were about to put her in a taxi. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” She looked over at Ava then bit her lip, looking uncharacteristically unsure. “Okay. Yeah, I see your point. We’re at The Wild Tortoise. Yeah, that’s right. Okay, see you soon.”
    She closed the phone and looked around the table, her gaze settling on Ava. “That was Roarke.”
    “We figured that,” Asia said dryly. “What did he want?”
    “Ava.”
    They all looked over at her and she swallowed heavily. “What?”
    McKenna nodded. “He sounded really worried. Said he’d been trying to call you all night. He even went to your apartment.”
    Jesus, Roarke had seen her where she lived? The neighborhood wasn’t the best and the apartment building didn’t have much going