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It’s a silly question. I can see what it is. He hung fairy lights around the room, giving it a soft glow. He takes my hand and leads me to the bed where there’s a large stuffed dragon that wasn’t there before. When he sits on the edge, he pulls me between his thick legs. We’re closer to eye level when we’re sitting.
“This is me taking care of you. Sometimes you’re not going to like how I do it, like being handcuffed to a car, even if it is truly what’s in your best interest, but most of the time, I’m going to treat you like a princess because that’s what you are. And I’m the dragon. It’s my job to protect the princess.”
My eyes burn. When I glance at the stuffed toy, my unshed tears start falling down my cheeks.
“Killian,” I whisper.
“It’s Daddy to you, but for now I’ll let you get away with calling me by my name. We’ll discuss that later,” he says with a wink.
Without a second thought, I throw my arms around him and bury my face in the crook of his neck. “This is the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me,” I sob.
He holds me for several minutes, stroking my back the entire time.
When I pull myself together, I wriggle back and give him a wobbly smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby. I’ll be home around midnight, so if you want to stay up and wait for me, you can. Otherwise, the lights and your dragon are here to comfort you. I, uh, I also got a nanny cam that’s over there on the dresser so I can check in on you. I want you to know it’s there so you can go into the bathroom to change if you aren’t ready to undress in front of me.”
I should probably be pissed that he put a camera in my room to spy on me. But I don’t feel angry. What I’m feeling is nowhere close to anger. I mean, he’s basically going to stalk me, but is it really stalking if I know about it? And knowing he can check on me any time makes me feel warm inside. It also turns me on a little. Knowing Daddy is watching. Not that he’s my Daddy. He definitely isnot.
“Okay,” I say with a nod.
His brows lift as though he’s relieved. I’m sure he thought I was going to scratch his eyes out over it.
“Okay. You have my number in your phone. Call or text me if you need anything. Please be good and listen to Grady and Bash. Eat your dinner. Can you do that for me?”
A smile breaks out on my face. “I’ll eat some dinner and I’ll think about being good.”
He snorts and taps my nose. “Brat. I’ll see you tonight.”
When he makes his way toward the door, I start to panic at the thought of him leaving. Even though I’ve been a brat to him ever since I found out he was in the mafia, I’ve still gotten attached to him. Maybe more than I thought.
“Killian, wait.” I cross the room and wrap my arms around his waist, taking in his scent. “Thank you for everything. Please be careful tonight, okay?”
He wraps his arms around me and presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “Aye, baby girl. I’ll see you later.”
I sink onto the bed in silence and pull the stuffed dragon to my chest. The scent of Killian’s cologne wafts through the air, and when I lower my face to the soft toy, I realize he sprayed it with his scent. My entire body heats. Why does this man have to be so damn hot? And protective? And bossy? I should hate how bossy he is. Instead, it turns me on.
The nanny camera catches my eye. A slow smile spreads as a naughty idea pops into my mind. Oh, it’s going to be a fun night.
10
KILLIAN
This is a fucking shitshow. Instead of meeting somewhere neutral, Andrei asked us to meet him at one of his warehouses. Normally, walking into another family’s warehouse would be like asking for a bullet in the head. But Andrei says we’ll be safe. He’s holding one of the traitors so we can…interview him.
Alessandro De Luca and Luciano Ricci are standing in the gravel parking lot, smoking cigars when we roll up.
“Gentlemen,” Declan says as the four of us exchange handshakes.
“How are your girls?” Luciano asks me.
I nod. “Scared, but they’re hanging in there.”
“If you need anything…I know I fucked up the last time, but—”
“It wasn’t your fault, Alessandro. Don’t fucking blame yourself,” Declan growls.
The Italian leader nods, but I can tell he’s still struggling with the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop Cali from being kidnapped. They were completely ambushed, though, and Ivan put three bullets into Alessandro.
