Page 169 of Pucking Daddy

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

My hands curl into fists at my sides.

I’m angry. More angry than I’ve ever been. Angrier than when the custody battle started. Angrier than when Rachel cheated on me.

It coils in my stomach, tight and vicious. I want to hit something.

How dare she cross that line?

I move.

By the time I get into the car, my pulse is pounding, my thoughts racing ahead of me.

I start the engine and pull out fast.

My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I drive.

Images flash through my mind, unwanted and immediate.

Lily standing there. Rachel talking to her. Reaching for her.

My chest tightens.

No.

She doesn’t get to do that.

And then I think of Zara. Of course I do. She handled it. I don’t even know how I could love her more or owe her more than I already do—but somehow, I do.

I press the accelerator a little harder.

The drive home feels like it takes forever and no time at all.

By the time I push open the apartment door, I’m sweating, jittery.

Zara stands in the kitchen, wiping down the counter.

The second I see her, something in my chest loosens.

I don’t say anything. I just cross the distance between us and pull her into me.

Hard.

She exhales against me as my arms wrap around her, one hand coming up to cradle the back of her head, pressing her into my chest.

“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice low, rougher than I intend.

“I’m okay,” she says immediately, her arms tightening around me. “Lily’s okay.”

I close my eyes for half a second.

Thank God.

“Did she touch you?” I ask.

Zara pulls back slightly, her brows knitting. “No. Nothing like that. She tried to take her, but I stopped it.”

I let out a slow breath. “You did exactly right.”