Do Not Disturb 2 Read Online Free Page B

familiar shamble. It was his father.
    Raven was the first to speak. “Mr. Cunningham, I-”
    His father completely ignored her, instead turning his attention to Jake. Even in the dark he could see the fury shining on his face. He gripped Jake’s elbow, yanking him from Keisha. For the slightest moment, Jake was too surprised to even respond.
    Keisha’s gasp shook him to action and he ripped away. “Don’t you put your hands on me!”
    Conrad scoffed, but didn’t move to grab him again. “This is rich. Real smart, Jake.”
    Raven tried again. “Mr. Cunningham-”
    “Are you still here?” he snapped, looking at her like she was a cockroach scurrying across the kitchen floor. He didn’t wait for a response. He lowered his voice. “Take the girl and get her out of here.”
    Raven opened her mouth to protest but hung her head instead, conceding. She took a step toward Keisha, but Jake gripped Keisha’s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. “We have this under control. Why don’t you get out of here, Dad?”
    “Please,” Conrad said indignantly. “This could have crucified you, Jake. Luckily for you, my contacts at Newscorp were the first to stumble onto this and have given us time for damage control.” He turned back to Raven. “So you take the girl and-”
    “She has a name!” Jake thundered.
    “Jake,” Keisha said quietly. “It’s okay.” She stepped toward Raven. “Maybe you and I should go.”
    But it wasn’t okay. His father started off disrespecting him, then he disrespected Raven. He’d finished off with disrespecting Keisha. Jake wasn’t gonna stand for it. “You’re going to respect Keisha, Dad.”
    Conrad ran a hand through his gray hair, clearly fighting to maintain his composure. “How’s this? ‘Hi! I’ve heard such great things about you—pissing away a full-ride to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, having a child out of wedlock, and ruining my son’s campaign with your ghetto brawl!’”
    “Dad-”
    Keisha stepped forward, her shoulders squared. “I’m aware that my actions have consequences, Mr. Cunningham. And I hate that Jake may be drug through the mud because of this.”
    “My dear,” Conrad said snidely. “That ship sailed the moment he met you.”
    Jake saw red as he lurched forward and slammed his fist into his father’s jaw. The sound echoed around them like a gunshot.
    He shook out his hand as it spasmed in pain. He expected his dad to come back at him. He could see the headlines now. But when Conrad stood up straight, he just held his jaw gingerly, his eyes round with all the surprise and shock that hung on the night air.
    “Well,” he said finally, breaking the awkward silence. His gravelly voice wavered as he tightened his blazer and collected himself. “Apparently, I’m not needed.”
    Jake was about to affirm his observation when Keisha pushed forward. Her voice was impossibly gentle, even kind as she touched Conrad’s forearm, stopping him.
    “Are you okay, Mr. Cunningham?”
    Conrad was confounded, but not nearly to the extend Jake was. Why was she asking the bastard if he was okay? He’d been nothing but rude to her!
    He could tell a similar question was on Conrad’s mind, but he just staggered backward. “I’m fine.” He coughed a bit and did a bizarre bow thing before he turned toward his car and slid back behind the driver’s wheel without another word.
    The three of them watched him reverse out of the alley, his tires squealing as he peeled back onto Main Street.
    Raven let out a heavy sigh then turned back to the Escalade. “Senator-”
    Jake nodded, still looking at Keisha, trying to read her and put two and two together. As he filed into the backseat beside her and the car rattled to motion, he sent Raven a silent bout of gratitude as she eased in the front passenger seat and pulled out her cell, giving them a degree of privacy.
    He slid over closer to Keisha and stroked her hand. She didn’t respond to his