Free This Is Where I Sleep by Tiffany Patterson

don’t know. I would have never left if it weren’t for a good reason,” I said, and brought my lips down to hover just above hers. Just as our lips were about to touch, I heard my door burst open.
    “Daddy!” A pint-sized ball of energy shrieked as she sprinted towards me. Instinctively, I stepped back from Coral and stretched my arms wide to scoop her up. I stared down into the face that looked so much like mine.
    “Hi, Daddy!” Laura excitedly exclaimed. Her nanny, Anna, wasn’t far behind.
    “I’m sorry, she couldn’t wait to see you,” Anna apologized. I looked from Anna to Coral, who was now staring wide-eyed at me.
    “Oh, you must be in a meeting. We can come back,” Anna started, but was interrupted by Coral.
    “No, we’re done here,” she said abruptly, grabbed her bag and jacket, and made a beeline for the door.
    “Coral!” I yelled to her back, but she didn’t even break stride. “Dammit!” I cursed. This was damn sure not how I wanted Coral to find out I was a father.

 
    Chapter Eight
     
    Liam is a father. Liam has a daughter. A daughter who is a spitting image of her father.
    Those thoughts kept spinning around and around as I continued my run around Bachman Lake Park.
    After running out of Li’s office, I headed straight to my hotel room, threw on some workout clothes, and went down to the hotel’s gym. As I used some of the weights to do a circuit workout, I kept picturing Liam holding that little girl in his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I wondered if that was the reason he’d up and left me; because he found out Michele was pregnant with his child? But even as I contemplated that, the timing didn’t make sense. That little girl looked to be no older than three years old, and Li had married Michele close to six years ago. And speaking of Michele, where the hell was she? Just yesterday, Li had said that he was no longer married. 
    Even during my sweaty circuit workout I couldn’t get my brain to slow down, so instead of going back to my hotel room, I opted to go for a run. I checked the pedometer on my arm and realized I was nearing mile five. I decided to run one more mile before stopping to stretch and head back to the hotel. Questions about Liam and his daughter continued to invade my thoughts. I’d kept a lid on my feelings for him for so long, and seeing him with his child felt like ripping a Band-Aid off an old, but unhealed wound. I didn’t even realize I was clutching my lower abdomen as I sat in my car thinking of Liam being a father. I closed my eyes and counted to ten as thoughts of “what ifs” made their way to the surface. I shook my head, refusing to allow myself to go there. It’d been years, and I would not look back. Liam’s life was here without me. I would solve this case, figure out who Ghost was, take care of him and go back to Savannah.
    It didn’t escape me that I didn’t refer to Savannah as home. I didn’t know any place that had ever felt truly like home, not since my mother died. Savannah was close, but it was a place where I rested, not exactly where I comfortably slept.
    I reached my hotel suite and slid the key card in, carrying my gym bag over my shoulder. As soon as I entered the door, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was immediately on high alert. I quickly reached into my gym bag, pulled out my glock nineteen, and quietly placed the bag on the floor. I did a quick scan of the living room and saw everything was as I’d left it. Still, I knew someone else was there.
    I turned right towards the bedroom, letting my gun lead the way. As soon as I nudged the door open, I spotted a pair of black oxfords. I recognized the shoes, but I didn’t lower my gun even as I raised my gaze and allowed my eyes to rake over his entire body. His green eyes glared at me as he sat comfortably on the edge of the bed.
    “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I asked, sarcastically.
    “You weren’t going to shoot