Page 15 of Detective Daddy Next Door

"Nope, you'll scare off all the men."

I shake my head to show I disagree with her statement. "I'm not going out to meet men. I'm only going for drinks."

She raises her hands up in surrender. "Okay, no need to get all defensive.”

She gets out and as we make our way in, I glance over at Myles’ house. The lights are on both inside and outside.

Ava catches me. "How's your boyfriend doing?"

I sigh and push my front door open without responding. She giggles as she comes in after me. Ava has a way of making light of things. She's the person I go to when life gets too heavy. But if she knew what deep shit I'm in right now, she would stop snickering at me. I haven't told her about what Myles said. I doubt I will. I doubt I can tell anyone. I thought of telling my sister, Aria, but she’s busy getting ready for her wedding that's coming up soon. I don't want to trouble her with my own problems. Aria and I never keep anything from each other, but I'll have to keep this to myself for now and not burden her. I'll find a solution.

Twenty minutes later, after a lot of grumbling from Ava about the traffic we’re about to face and how all the good men will leave before we get there, we finally leave the house. We're maybe two minutes into our journey to the bar when her car stalls.

I exhale. "When are you getting a new car?"

"When they increase my salary. Or maybe when I marry a billionaire," she says, winking at me.

The cars behind us begin to urge us on with their horns.

Ava puts her head through the window and shrieks at them. "Oh, stop honking at me."

She pulls her head back in as she continues to try starting the car. "People are just so impatient these days," she laments.

"How ironic. Who was rushing me out of the house a few minutes ago?"

"I did that for a good cause."

I shake my head and laugh.

Soon, the car is jerking forward again and we're on our way.

We get to Hoogles bar at 8:50 p.m. Ava blames me for delaying and I blame her car for breaking down. We choose a comfortable seat at the corner of the hole-in-a-wall bar and agree we're both at fault.

The waiter comes for our order. "It's been a while, ladies. What are you having tonight."

Ava gives me an ‘I told you I’ve been away for too long’ look before looking back at the waiter. "Do you have something new on the menu? Something exotic. I need some adventure."

The waiter nods. "There’s a summer bourbon cocktail with pineapple and ginger and a secret ingredient I can’t divulge. I think you'll love it."

"Amazing. Will you have the same, Bria?" Ava asks.

I'm not sure what I want, but I’m not in the mood to go through the other options. “Yeah, sure."

The waiter leaves and I look around the bar. Some couples are dancing on the marble floor and laughing. Everyone seems to be glowing with happiness tonight except for me.

I slip my hands together and cross them on the black circular table between Ava and me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am,” I say, and try to bob my head to the electronic music playing.

Ava and I haven't talked about Myles for a while now. I've purposely avoided questions about him because I'm not sure if I should say anything. He promised to give me immunity if I cooperate with him and his partner. It’s so hard when something is eating at you on the inside, but you can’t tell anyone. It’s like having an itch you can’t scratch because your hands are tied. I sigh and shake my head.

"There's something bothering you. I know you. Out with it. Now."

I sigh again. "It's Myles."

"Oh, I see. What about him now?"

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