Page 30 of Bossy Surprise Baby

He smiled.

“Hey, it’s you,” he said.

I blinked at him. “Do you know me from somewhere?”

“Yeah, of course. You’re the girl from the club,” he said.

I blushed. I guessed Zane had told his friend about me, although the girl from the club wouldn’t exactly be how I would describe our relationship.

“Oh,” I said, turning a curious look at Casey, who was staring up at the man in fascination.

“Bro, you an MMA fighter?” Casey asked, not even noting the danger of the question.

The man frowned as if he’d been insulted. “Do I look like some kind of pussy to you, kid?”

Casey shook his head frantically. “No.”

“Good.” Then, the man glanced back at me and said, “This your kid?”

“No,” I said. “He’s my nephew.”

His eyes immediately widened and then flashed back to Casey. He hid his expression, but I could tell he was studying Casey. When his gaze turned back to me, there was accusation in their depths.

I avoided it. I knew why he was staring at me like that. Like I’d betrayed his best friend. Because I had. In the past, I thought I’d done the right thing…no, I knew I had done the right thing.

But now I had doubts.

Itwasan exceedingly shitty thing to do to someone, even Zane. Maybe we thought we were protecting Casey, but then again, maybe we were wrong. We didn’t even know him all that well.

And though it wasn’t my idea to hide Casey, I could have at least tried to contact Zane and…I dunno…maybe sat down with him and evaluated whether or not to tell him. I memorized his number and could have let him know at any time, but I didn’t.

I thought the man would say something, but instead, he glanced at Casey curiously and stepped back.

“Come on in,” he said, taking another step back. He was shirtless, and his chest was a mess of scars and tattoos like Zane’s. We entered a sparse living room that looked like one of those decor pieces they staged houses with. It was nice enough, but there was nothing personal about the decor. Everything looked cold.

“I’m Meech, by the way,” the man said as we walked further in. “An old friend of Zane’s.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” I said politely. “Do you know where he is?”

“Basement. Follow me.”

He turned around, showing off a broad back and another tattoo that crawled between his shoulder blades. As he led us across the wide living room, I noticed the house was relatively clean, considering that men were living here. They probably had a cleaning lady.

As we started descending the staircase, I noticed the sound getting more hollow, and a thumping echoed through the room.

He pushed open a door at the bottom of the staircase, and the first thing I noticed was a ring. Zane stood inside it, currently battling a punching bag. His shirt was off as well while he fought, and another punching bag that was all tattered lay against the wall.

“Woah,” Casey said, his eyes widening in fascination. “You have a whole ring in here.”

“Yup.” The guy, Meech, came and laid his hand on Casey’s shoulders. “We were sparring, actually, before you guys knocked on the door.”

“Spar? Like, fight?” Casey asked, sounding excited.

“Yup.”

“Amazing. Can I join?”

“No,” I said instantly, and they all turned to look at me. I heard Zane stop punching the bag, too, and walk over to the side of the ring.

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