Page 42 of Mister Teacher

“It’s him,” I muttered.

“Answer,” Nathan directed, sitting up in his seat.

I answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

“Daddy?”

“You didn’t think I would find out what you were up to?”

“Where are you?”

“Do you think I trust you with that information? Not only are you a snitch, but you went against your blood, and youneverdo that.”

Nathan squeezed my shoulder, and the gesture grounded me. Reminded me of what was most important.

“If you want to call me a snitch for telling the truth and saving the only man that’s truly loved me, that’s fine, Daddy. And since when do you care about blood? You’ve treated me like that didn’t mean shit to you all this time.Nowyou care?”

“Where did I go wrong with you?”

That got a chuckle out of me. “The better question would be where do you go right, because you’ve always done wrong by me, Daddy. Always.”

“If that’s how you feel, you shouldn’t care that you won’t be seeing me again. Not any time soon at least. Because of your betrayal I had to leave the country. I will be back, though, and you’d better damn well believe both you and Nathan are going to pay for this.”

He disconnected the call, and I stared at the phone for seconds on end. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what my father was capable of. I wouldn’t expect the average father to go after his daughter, but this was Ahmad Grisham that we were talking about. He’d discarded of me while I was a child, not seeing my value until I was old enough for him to use and allow men to abuse. There was no telling what he’d do to me.

“Are you okay?” Nathan asked, pulling my attention back to him.

I forced a smile. “I have you, so I’m more than okay.”

“You know that I’m not going to let him do anything to hurt you, right?”

Under different circumstances I would say yes, but I didn’t know what my father was going to have in store, or when he planned to strike. For now, though, I wouldn’t worry about that. He was gone indefinitely, and I was finally free of him. Free to live and love for myself and with my best friend. My best friend who was in love with me. That recollection had me smiling as I straddled him, and Nathan wasted no time squeezing my ass and letting his hands rest on my hips.

“I know, Nathan.” Cupping his cheek, I added, “And I’m in love with you too.”

He gave me the sexiest grin before reconnecting his lips with mine. This wasn’t how I saw myself getting to love, but I was glad I’d finally gotten here, and I prayed my father stayed the hell away and allowed me to finally live the life I deserved.

EPILOGUE

Janae

It was my turn to host dinner for my family, which was a welcomed treat. With my work schedule in the past, I didn’t have time to do more than show up and eat before I had to rush back out. I could admit, it felt great hosting parties and dinners again. That was something that I’d genuinely loved to do. My family and friends had always meantsomuch to me.

The joy that I got from cleaning and cooking and prepping before spending hours having an amazing time with my family was beyond compare. All we did was sit around, reminisce, and talk shit, and I loved every minute of it. We did a hell of a lot of drinking too. It was funny because my mom had gotten wine drunk and it made me think about Tyreek’s mom. I couldn’t wait to see them together, drinking and laughing, dancing and having a great time. Just the thought of that had a huge smile lifting the corners of my mouth as I carried another tray from the dining room to the kitchen. I was extremely relaxed and probably wouldn’t clean and put the leftovers up until in the morning.

“You need me to do anything before I go, sis?” my brother, Jason, asked with a lazy smile.

He’d fallen asleep twice which hadn’t surprised me. Once he got in the corner with his recliner and space heater, he was out for the count.

“I’m good. Just let me know when you’ve made it home.”

“I’m probably going to a friend’s house, so I’ll let you know when I get there.”

“Mhm.” I eyed him skeptically as he grabbed a chip and covered it with my famous spinach artichoke dip. “What friend is this?”

“She won’t be around long, so you don’t need to meet her.”

My eyes rolled as I leaned against the counter. Jason was the oldest, but I was the one always checking in with him as far as relationships go. He was my protector, but Jason had always been a bit reckless with his own heart. I wasn’t exactly sure what made him become that way because we had a great example with our parents.

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