Page 28

We’ve dealt with the trash in the elevator. We’re coming in, Marcus announced.

Thanks for the warning. One more in the kitchen. The other two decided to stroll into the shadows. Bram? Did you discover whose place this is?

Multiple layers of bureaucracy camouflage the owner’s identity. I’ll peel them back with time to find who is behind this.

He’s mine.

Leaving the last of the cleanup to Marcus and Donovan, Darius returned to his Little girl. “Daddy’s here,” he whispered as he lifted her into his arms.

She blinked up at him, still affected by whatever the kidnappers had added to her food. Her glassy eyes struggled to focus on him. “Daddy? I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I,” he said softly. “I’m going to take you home, and we’ll have a doctor check you out.

Sending a car to pick up a trusted physician, Darius. She’ll meet you at your mansion, Bram said.

Darius would thank him in person soon. For now, he needed to concentrate on his mate. Holding Mara against his chest, Darius debated whether or not to take her through the shadows. Waking up in that realm would make the location even more frightening.

“Can we go home, Daddy?”

Her words convinced him. Hovering between alertness and drugged sleepiness, Mara wouldn’t be able to keep her eyes closed to protect her mind from possibly seeing terrifying creatures there. No shadow walking with his mate tonight. He wouldn’t expose her to that.

A car is pulling up to the curb, Bram told him.

Darius held her close and covered her with his jacket. “Yes, Zoí mou. Let’s get out of here. Sparkle is waiting for you.”

Mara nodded against him and relaxed in his arms. Her trust in him warmed his heart but did not distract Darius from his vow to find whoever had orchestrated this attack on his Little girl. He’d make them suffer. What had they planned to do with her? They could have simply killed her at the apartment.

Marcus and Donovan would retrieve the kidnappers’ phones and IDs. Well, at least the ones on this plane of existence. They needed to know who they were dealing with. The clan would eliminate whoever dared to harm one of their own.

Chapter

Eleven

Wrapped in warmth and hard steel, Mara wanted to hide in the safe space she occupied. Without opening her eyes, she inhaled deeply and basked in Darius’s appealing masculine scent. She would recognize him anywhere, just as she immediately identified Sparkle from the feel of the well-loved stuffie in her arms. “Daddy.” Relief flooded her.

“Good morning, Little girl.”

“Morning?” She blinked to take in the bright light flooding Darius’s study. Cuddled against him in an oversized leather chair, Mara struggled to remember what had happened.

Flashes of terror flooded her mind. She clung to the arms wrapped around her as she recalled falling from her chair to the carpet of her apartment. Even her gargantuan attempt to rally her strength hadn’t helped.

“I fell and couldn’t move. Someone came in. How did they get in?” she asked. Having people violate the space she trusted to be safe frightened her. She’d never feel at ease in her apartment again.

“They kicked their way in, breaking the lock,” Darius told her. The anger in his voice made her sit up slightly to look at his face.

“I’m sorry, Darius. I was stupid to go to my apartment.” She used his first name. Maybe he wouldn’t want to claim her when she hadn’t followed his instructions. That thought sent dread through her.

“Daddy, Zoí mou.”

His correction of the name she used for him soothed Mara slightly. “You’re not mad at me?”

“I am angry that someone kidnapped you and put you in danger. You should be safe anywhere, Little girl. Do I wish you’d talked to me about your plans? Yes. Are you going to keep me updated from now on?”

“I made a horrible decision. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You could never be a bother, Mara. You are my mate. My life’s purpose now is to keep you safe and happy.”

That promise echoed inside her brain. Darius meant the statement. He wasn’t halfway committed to this relationship. He was all in. While she was confessing, she might as well tell him the whole thing. “I even wore an aluminum foil hat to keep my mind from clueing you in that I was at my apartment instead of the bank.”