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“It’s really me, Daddy!”
“You’renotreal. You’re dead. I saw your body,” I yell through my tears, pulling at my hair to try to stop the pain rippling through me.
Poppy steps in front of me, her eyes welling. The tears appear genuine, but how is that possible?. Her hand comes out, gently touching my face.
I jerk back in shock.
I felt her touch.
My eyes widen as her other hand rests on my chest.
I snap my hand out, grabbing her wrist while her hand gently eases back onto my cheek.
“I didn’t die, Daddy. I was taken. I’ve been alive this whole time.”
My entire body sinks when I stare at her, really staring at her, taking my baby in and feeling her hand against my face. My breathing rushes out, and I sit taller on my knees, moving my other hand out to sit on her waist. “You’rereallyhere?”
She suddenly rushes forward, slamming into me, sliding her arms around my neck, and clinging to me. “I missed you so much.”
Fat tears run in rivers down my face while I hold her to me so fucking tightly. My nose slides into her hair.She smells like my Poppy.
The realization hits me that thisismy daughter.
She’s alive.
She has been for the past two years.
I should havenevertaken that burned corpse as a definitive answer. I should have pushed for absolute certainty. I cling to her so tight I never want to let her go. She whimpers in my arms. I think I’m holding on too tight, but I can’t stop myself. “God, I missed you every day, baby girl. I thought of you every. Damn. Day.” Tears continue to dribble down my face while she clings to me.
“Daddy,” she whimpers like she’s just as affected by this as I am. We continue to embrace, my hands sliding up and down her back, needing to make sure that this isn’t some fucked-up dreamand that I’m not losing my fucking mind.
Pulling back, I slide some hair from her face, just looking at her. She’s grown. Not just physically, but there’s something about her that tells me mentally she’s so much more mature than she should be for a seven-year-old. I sniffle back my emotion. “I… I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m here. It’s really me.”
Shaking my head, I exhale heavily, trying to steady my heart rate. “Where have you been, Poppy? And how did you get back here?”
She steps back, gesturing to help me from the floor. I am thankful because my knees are smarting like a bitch. My Poppy grabs my hand and walks me over to the nearest seat. We sit, and she exhales while everyone crowds around us. “The day I was taken, it was kind of a blur. But I remember being locked in a wooden crate and driven in a shipping truck. I was so scared. I had no idea what was happening. But it only got worse.”
I grip her hand and tighten it. “Who held you? Did they hurt you?”
She shrugs like it’s not such a big deal. “They’re called The Nest. It’s an all-female training facility. I’m not sure exactly where the base is located, but I know it is over the border in Tijuana.”
Furrowing my brow, I turn to Loki, and he snaps open his laptop to begin research immediately. Rolling my shoulders, I focus back in on Poppy. “What kind of training?”
“Rounds of physical and mental exercises to teach you to be the best of the best. An elite asset to The Nest. If you don’t make it through the exercises, trials, and tests, then you’re disposed of.”
Furrowing my brows, I glance around at Swift, and he folds his arms over his chest like he’s not liking what he is hearing either. So, I push for more. “What do you become when you passall thesetests?”
Poppy exhales. “An assassin for hire.”
I jerk back, pure rage flowing through me when I stand, starting to pace the floor. “You mean to tell me you were kidnapped, taken over the border, and started training to be anassassin?”
Poppy dips her chin. “Yes, but I had help escaping The Nest. I wasn’t doing well with the testing. I think I was going to be culled within the next round. So one of their elite assassins, her code name is Blue Jay, she came and got me out, bringing me back to the clubhouse.”
I furrow my brows. “Why would this, Blue Jay, help you leave?”
Poppy hesitates, then steps up to me, taking her hands in mine. “Because, Dad. She was sent on a mission to the clubhouse.Youwere her target, but she couldn’t go through with the kill order. When she realized I was your daughter, she came and got me and brought me back to be with you. Blue Jaysaved me.Iknow her as Blue Jay, butyouknow her as Haven.”
