Free Unauthorized Obsession (Unauthorized Series Book 3) by Lisa Ladew

steps around the table, oblivious to the people around him. “Would she?” he asked himself out loud, his voice cracking. He whipped his phone out of his pocket and touched the screen rapidly. Kara’s eyes followed him, her heart breaking with his.
    He rounded the table and sat back down in his chair looking at his phone in dismay. “I don't even have her number anymore. I can’t even call her!”
    Kara thought quickly. “Does she have a Facebook page?”
    Zane shook his head. “No, or at least she didn’t used to. She had a Twitter account though.” His eyes flashed dully as he considered his options.
    “What about her friends, or her parents? Do you know any of their numbers?”
    Zane grimaced. “No, her friends never liked me, and her parents? They put on a good show, but I don't think they liked me either …” He trailed off thinking, then said, “I’ll just tweet her, I bet I’ll get a response fairly quickly. She always used to be very active on Twitter. If not, I’ll start asking around or just drive over to her mom’s house.”
    Kara caressed Zane’s arm, not liking the lost look in his eyes.
    Zane grabbed her hand and leaned forward. “I just wish I could talk to her right now, you know? It’s burning me up. I need to know , am I a father?” He shook his head and shot to his feet. “Can we take a walk? I feel like I need to move.”
    “Sure, let’s go.”
    Zane dropped her hand, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and threw several bills on the table. He put his wallet back in his pocket, patted the wallet once, then patted his right front pocket (where Kara knew his keys were) three times. Kara’s eyes shot to his face, but he was trying to catch Clint’s eye. When he did, Zane gave him a small wave and then grasped Kara’s hand again, pulling her towards the exit.
    As Zane pushed the door open, Kara lifted her face to the cool evening air. She felt like she had been on a roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs. Zane looked both ways, then settled on a direction, turned left and started walking. Kara fell into step beside him, enjoying the feel of his hand in hers and the metronome of their steps on the sidewalk.
    They walked for twenty minutes, passing only a few other people on the sidewalk. Kara's thoughts swung to her own issues and she felt tension creep into her body as her mind started to tangle with the mess of her stalker again.
    Zane’s voice cut through the haze of her thoughts. “Sorry I’m such bad company right now.”
    “Don't be silly,” she told him. “I totally understand. This is life-changing for you. I’m sorry to be the one who told you.”
    “I’m glad you did though, otherwise, I never would have known.”
    “It’s not a guarantee that she’s your daughter though. We are jumping to a pretty big conclusion here.”
    Zane’s head bobbed up and down. “I know, and at this point I’m not sure exactly what I want to hear when I talk to Kensi. It’s so scary to think that I fathered a child that I don't even know about, but it’s also a little compelling to think I might be a dad, you know?”
    Kara grinned and shook her head no.
    Zane laughed hard at that, throwing his head back. “Yeah, I bet you don't. Let’s just talk about something else. Something fun.”
    “Okay, you start,” Kara said.
    Zane laughed again. “Let me think.”
    Kara interrupted his thoughts. “No wait, I have something. What’s with you and patting your pocket three times?”
    Zane’s face turned towards her, his eyes large and horror struck. “I’ve been doing that?”
    “Yeah, you’ve done it three times tonight.”
    “Oh God, please don't think I’m crazy. It’s a-a habit I guess. I developed it during my first tour in Iraq and I haven’t been able to break it.” He dropped his eyes. “Well the truth is, I haven’t tried to break it. I was only eighteen when I was sent over there, and my job was to maintain and drive the trucks. Sometimes I drove equipment and