Page 5 of Baby for Stepmom

But relationships go through rough patches.

Maybe a romantic date would be just what the two of us needed to reignite… something… between us.

Everything in me wanted to believe it.

THREE

JAX

Three months—that’s all the time I had before Dad backstabbed Delila. Before he kicked her out into the streets, where she had nobody. No money. No degree. Nothing.

Maybe she’d go to a homeless shelter and get assaulted. Maybe she would walk down the side of the road and get human trafficked. Maybe she would waltz out of my life, and I would never see her again.

Legally, there was nothing wrong with my dad’s plan to ruin the life of an innocent woman. He could financially fuck her over and wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. He thought he would be getting away with his assholery without losing a dime. He thought that none of his friends and family would find out that he was a cheating little bitch.

No.

I couldn’t let him hurt her—a man like my dad would destroy her.

I’d seen my father’s manipulative bullshit before and never said a word. But then he went and targeted her. Now my father was going to find out what happened when he fucked around.

Even though I was nineteen and legally an adult, my hands were tied—all because my dad had the bright idea to delay kindergarten to give me an athletic advantage, and I was still in high school. I’d only just started getting noticed by recruiters. Give me a year or two, and I would dominate in the ring. My career was just getting started. I’d be able to protect Delila, make sure that people like my dad could never hurt her again.

But now? What could I do? I was running out of time.

The right thing to do would be to show the texts to Delila. Leave her to fight things out against overpaid and high-powered lawyers. It would be the same outcome as throwing a kitten into a shark tank. Doing the right thing meant I would lose the person who’d cared for me more than anyone else in my entire life.

If doing what was right meant losing Delila, then I didn’t want to do right by her. Fuck doing what was right. It was time to do something fucked—it might be all I could do to save her.

I was going to ruin my father and give Delila what she wanted, all in one go.

That’s how I ended up drilling loop hooks on the bottom of their bed when my dad and Delila were out. The hooks were small. No one would even know that they were there unless they got on the floor and stared up at the wooden frame. But they were heavy-duty steel—they’d do the trick.

I figured I was going to hell anyway and might as well make it worth it, when I ordered the restraint kit. It would arrive tomorrow morning, and I triple checked it would come in discrete packaging. I made sure to read through all the ratings; I didn’t want to hurt her—I only wanted the best for her.

My plans for Delila were fucked up… it was beyond wrong and bound to upset her. But my stepmother loved me more than anyone else.

She had to forgive me for this—one day.

As long as she was still in my life to forgive me, I would make things right.

FOUR

DELILA

It was date night, and Ryan waited until the last minute to bother texting.

working late.

That was it. No further explanation. No timeline or plans. Not even a sorry.

Once again, I was alone in the house with Jax.

My stepson’s always so attentive to me. Immediately he noticed my mood and tried to cheer me up by suggesting a movie. Even when I told him about date night, he’d shrugged and said we could always finish it later, once his dad came home.

I don’t know what I’d done to deserve him. Jax was always so good to me.

“What about The Cabin in the Forest?” I named a horror movie that my husband would never agree to, and that I didn’t really want to see by myself.