Page 2 of Her Dream Mafia Daddy

“Don’t open it! As long as we’re quiet, he’ll never know we’re in here.” Daphne was in full-blown panic, silently begging her friend to stay put.

“I know he sounds super scary, Um Claire, but he won’t hurt me. Well, nothing more than a sore bottom. But he won’t ever harm me. I have to tell him I’m in here though before he gets super worried and calls Eamon to come and find me. He’d probably spank my butt too.” She shivered but went to open the door.

“Daddy, I’m in here with my new friend!” Kiera yelled out the door, and suddenly, the tallest man she had ever seen entered the room.

“Little girl, you are in so much trouble. Where are you supposed to be right now?” he demanded of her.

“At the front desk, Daddy. But I was helping get our new guest situated, and she says she’s a Little!” She was bouncing on her toes, clapping her hands, and beaming at her Daddy. Meanwhile, Daphne felt like she had been dragged into a different universe. She stayed still, hoping that no one would notice her. She tried to plan an escape route, but nothing stuck out to her. The door was blocked and there wasn’t a back exit. The only windows were in the front of the room. She was stuck and felt claustrophobic.

“Ok, Little girl, let’s calm down and take a breath. We don’t want to scare our new guest.” The man put his hands on his girl’s shoulders and the bouncing stopped. Kiera took in a deep breath and blew it out.

“Sorry, Daddy. I am just so ‘cited!”

Slowly backing away, Daphne tried to make it to the bathroom. If she could get in there and lock herself in, she would be safe. Her slight movement garnered the attention of the giant man, and suddenly his piercing green eyes were on her. For reasons she did not understand, they calmed her. He was tall. Had to be well over 6’5’’. He had light brown hair that was shaggy and somewhat curly, and a burly beard that touched his chest. The lines were clean, but it was scruffy and wiry.

“I’m sorry, Little One. I’m Liam and I run the motel with my Little girl, Kiera. What’s your name, sweetheart?” His lips ticked up in a smile, creases appearing at his eyes.

“I’m Um Claire.” She shuffled her feet and subconsciously moved her hands behind her, her toes digging into the carpet.

“Can you look at me, Claire?” He was asking, but given the tone, she knew shouldn’t disobey. Disobeying wasn’t something she could do. She wanted to be stronger. To stand up for herself. But she was weak and raised to obey.

Slowly raising her eyes to meet his, she continued to dance from foot to foot. Her cheeks burned hot, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He moved to sit in the chair by the window, tugging his girl with him.

“Take a breath, Claire.” He was so soft-spoken, it was at odds with how he looked. She would have guessed, given his gruff appearance, that he would be loud and incapable of being nice. Her experiences taught her that men used their strength and authority to break down women. As her breath slowed, she moved to perch herself on the edge of the bed, hands in her lap, waiting.

“Claire, I know you are scared; it is written all over your face. And I know you have no reason to believe me, but you are safe here. No harm will come to you here. I promise.” The sincerity in his voice cracked through her shell and she dropped her shoulders.

“My name isn’t Claire. It’s Daphne, and I’m sorry I lied.” She felt her throat burning. Being caught in a lie almost always resulted in being slapped, kicked, or punched. She braced herself for a blow that never came.

“Thank you for telling us the truth, Daphne. You’re not in any trouble. That was a lie of self protection. You didn’t know Kiera and needed to make sure that no one could find you.”

“Yes, Sir. I’m running from people and I don’t want them to find me. I can’t use credit cards, and I could only get a little bit of money out before he would catch on and come after me. I ditched my car and bought Bob so he couldn’t track me.”

“It sounds like you have been stressed for a long time, sweet girl. How long have you been on the road?” Liam asked.

“A couple of weeks. I kept weaving back and forth across the country. I slept in my car most nights, showering at truck stops because it’s cheap. I tried to stick to the main roads because it felt safer, but I haven’t felt safe in a really long time.

“I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up driving through the mountains. The scenery was so beautiful, I just kept driving. I got really sleepy and decided to find a place to stop. This town was the first one that I came across and I stopped. I only have enough money for a night or two, but an actual bed will be a nice change from the back seat of my car. I also need to find some work where they can pay me in cash.”

She couldn’t believe she had told them all of that. She was normally much more closed off. It was safer that way. Giving away too much information was always used against her. She learned the hard way that anything that was said to her “friends” ended up in a separate group chat to be talked about later. Bunch of toxic bitches. They would get their karma, she just didn’t know when or how.

“Well, I would love to take some stress off of you,” Liam said. “You can stay here as long as you need. We will keep you safe and fed.”

Her brown eyes grew comically wide. “I-I can’t accept that, Mr. Liam.”

“I insist. Maybe you can help Kiera at the front desk. Y’all can keep each other company.”

Kiera squealed as she hopped off her Daddy’s legs. “Eek! We’re gonna have so much fun!” She raced over and tackled Daphne in a giant hug. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her.

“Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you. I appreciate your kindness.”

“It’s my pleasure.” He smiled and stood up. “Now then, you have a shower and get settled in. If you give me your keys, I will move your car behind the motel so it’s not visible from the street. No one will know you’re here.” At her terrified look, he added, “Or you can move it tomorrow.”

“I would prefer that. I’m sorry, Mr. Liam, Sir. I just…” She couldn’t finish her thought; guilt nagged at her.

“Hey, it’s ok. You can move it tomorrow. I would like it to not be the only car out there just in case someone drives by.”

“Daddy just wants to keep you safe, I promise. All the men here do. These are the biggest bunch of bossy buttheads around, but they will keep you safe.” Kiera’s cheeks turned pink, and she grimaced and faced her Daddy.