Free Undefeated (Unexpected Book 5) by Claudia Burgoa

groupies. “Can you stop being selfish for once and think about others, AJ?”
    “You should stop being selfish, prick.”
    That does it, she goes in for the kill, and I don’t have the strength to stay and fight. Instead, I head out. A few weeks of ignoring her will teach her that if she’s not careful she can lose me. Not that she will, but I have to show her that I have the upper hand. To make sure I stick to my guns, I turn off my phone and shove it in my luggage, taking out the other phone. The one I use for everyone else.

    “Sir, Miss AJ is not well,” the maid left a voicemail. “The doctor did some testing, but not to worry, she’s at home resting.”
    I smoke an entire joint laced with coke before I turn on the phone and call AJ to find out what the fuck happened. If she’s not careful with her health and keeps those glucose levels in check, her parents are going to fly down to Austin. One slip and she’s going to damage my fucking career.
    “Hi,” she whispers over the phone.
    “I checked my messages; the maid said you were in the hospital?” No, fuck that wasn’t what I wanted to say, it was . . . I couldn’t remember. “You okay?”
    “I didn’t go to the hospital, but the doctor came by. My sugar levels were out of whack,” she says, and I sigh with relief because she can fix that easily. “When will you be back?”
    Not for a long time, sweetheart, I think but don’t say. Like fuck I’ll go back right now. “Two, three weeks.” I hear a loud huff on the other side and I can feel there’s something that she has to get off of her chest. “I don’t know, why?”
    “Nothing . . .” There’s a long pause and I want to hang up, my mind is running wild with this fucking call. What does she really want from me? Break up? No, fuck not that. “I guess . . . I’m pregnant.”
    What the fuck? I want to scream at her, this isn’t part of the plan. No fucking way am I going to be a father. Hasn’t she noticed that I’m a fucked up idiot? Of course not, she still thinks I’m an amazing guy. Smart. I can conquer the world according to her. A kid? Her parents are going to castrate me. Fucking hell, I can’t think.
    “I can’t do this. Not now.” I slam the phone against the wall, thanking God for unbreakable cases or that piece of shit would be history.
    Hanging up doesn’t fix shit; I know that I have to face this soon. Maybe tomorrow, just after I escape from reality. A day, maybe two. A few weeks?

T he first step has been taken. I have a job. That should give me some work experience, a place to start and build from. Green Blooms Boutique hired me with some odd hours to fill. From two to eight in the morning during the week and eight to two every other Saturday. The hours sound like a killer, but I don’t sleep more than five hours at night. If I switch my habits and go to bed at the same time as my children, it’ll all work out.
    As I park the car outside of my aunt’s house, I spot her cleaning her flowerbeds while Finn sits next to her. I search around for Harper and spot her with Porter tagging along next to her as she rides a bike. A bike? We gave hers away because it was a childish bike. The one she rides is a little bigger, but also bubble gum pink with a basket in the middle of the handlebars. Where did she find it?
    Leaving the car, I realize that the bicycle doesn’t have training wheels. Wait, she doesn’t know how to ride without them. What’s going on? Staring at them, I wait until they turn around and head back my way. Harper’s eyes grow wide and her smile grows along with them. She loses her balance, but before the bike and my pretty girl take a bad hit, Porter’s hands reach for her, catching her almost in the air.
    “Are you okay?” I run toward them, but Harper hasn’t lost her smile while Porter is helping her find a steady foot. “When, how?” I look at my daughter and the bike, then at the man who might have had something to do with this whole