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“Of course. It’s what will make you happy and it’s a good thing. Besides, I can afford it and I like the thought of my money going to something good. Or I can spend it on you. I don’t mind either option.”
Red laughs reluctantly and frames my face with his soft and warm hands. “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much.” Then he gets a horrified look on his face. “Oh my God, please don’t think I’m using you for money. I didn’t know you had money. Not enough money to pay for therapy for eleven people for years. You don’t have to spend money on me. That’s why I wanted to work for you, so I can earn my own money. I’m not the type of person …” I let him ramble on and on, thinking it’s pretty cute that he would think I thought that about him.
“Boy,” I say, interrupting him and he clamps his mouth shut. “I don’t think that. We’re still new, but I know you. Here.” I lay a hand over his chest where his heart is beating rapidly. “I’m not worried. You didn’t even want me to spend money on you at the mall, Red. No offense, but I don’t think you’re that good of an actor.”
He lets out a relieved laugh. “I’ll have you know I’m a brilliant actor.” Red sobers, leaning into where I still have my hand. “But not about that. I promise. That’s something you’ll never have to worry about.”
“Good,” I remark, kissing his nose. “Now, how are you feeling? You want to take the day off to process?”
“That would be great. I’m okay right now, but panic attacks can crop up whenever.”
“Speaking of, your meds will be here in a week or less.”
“How … do I want to know how?”
Smiling, I shake my head and motion for Red to stand. “Getting into your medical files was easy. Your old therapist needs tighter encryption.”
Red shivers and leans into me. “Yes, Daddy, speak nerdy to me.”
Barking a laugh, I wrap him in a hug, relieved he seems to be doing okay with the news. Then I remember that I have to call Lorry back to set up the therapy sessions for the victims. Not a bad way to spend a few million dollars.
Chapter Eleven
Red
Wow.It’shardtowrap my mind around the fact that eleven people were rescued because I stopped being afraid long enough to tell Quin what I overheard. I’m thankful Quin and Michael knows whoever they do and trusted my word enough to look into it. It took over a month for the RCMP to conduct the raid, but better late than never. And Quin vowing to help the victims with therapy definitely helps. Since I got away that night, I’ve been thinking about the people they might have been holding. It still gnawed at my gut that the RCMP didn’t recuse them sooner. I understand they had to set up a taskforce and have a coordinated raid, but fuck, it was terrible waiting and imagining what could be happening. Another source of nightmares for me.
For the past few days, Quin has been keeping me wrapped up in a blanket on his lap every day after work and I have to say it’s the best feeling in the world. Having his arms locked around me while he talks to me and tells me about his old life is relaxing. While he’s not treating me like I’m fragile, he’s taking care of me by keeping the panic attacks at bay. When he has me in his arms, I don’t have to think about anything else.
My favorite thing to hear about is Quin’s military career. He tried to teach me the United States Marine rank structure, but I got confused with pay grades and rank and time in service and time in grade and other military jargon.
I got the basics down at least. “Your first assignment was in California? Like Los Angeles?”
Quin shakes his head. “Not in LA, but not too far away. About an hour and a half, depending on traffic.”
“Did you love it there?”
He shrugs and pulls the blanket around me more. “Didn’t love it or hate it. It was an assignment. I met Judy and Grant there, so it wasn’t all bad.”
“Where are you from, Daddy? You know so much about me and my shitty childhood and I don’t even know where you were born.” I frown, thinking how selfish that is. Quin has been making an effort to get to know more about me by asking me questions about my life and I’m not doing my part to move our relationship forward.
Like he creepily does, Quin knows what I’m thinking and reassures me. “It’s okay, Red. We’re both new at this and working at it. Soon, we’ll know all there is to know about each other.” He kisses me softly. “I’m from Chicago. Left when I was seventeen and haven’t been back since. I joined the Marines right after I graduated high school. My brother moved to Washington State to attend college, so it was easier for me to stay on the West Coast because it was closer than Illinois.”
“That makes sense. Do you miss California? Sounds like you spent a lot of your life there.”
“I miss aspects of it. But no,” he answers, shaking his head. “I don’t miss it. It wasn’t safe. We spent over a decade looking over our shoulders there.”
He talked his nerdy talk to me about how he learned basic backhacks before joining the Marines and how the Marines built on those skills, resulting in the level of expertise he has now. It’s all very refreshing and makes me admire him more than I already do.
On the last day of the week, we both come home exhausted. Quin had to deal with some potential breaches that had him almost shouting into his phone all day and I had a million things to do for everyone, as it seemed there were contracts and inquiries coming in left and right. Luckily, it’s Friday, so no work tomorrow.
While he was busy putting our fires, Quin lost the tie he wore to work, but seeing him still mostly dressed in his business casual is a turn on. When I started working for him, I asked why he insisted everyone wear dress clothes all the time. He said he and Michael are used to wearing suits after years working as bodyguards for Savage at his corporate day job. It’s weird thinking of a mob boss having a normal day job, but I guess it helps that he did, so they could integrate easily when they fled.
My Daddy still has a frown on his face from the shit he had to deal with earlier and that simply won’t do. After we enter the bedroom, I stop him before he can head into the bathroom for a shower. Pulling him into my arms, I paste myself against him and feel the tension leave his body. We stand for an uninterrupted amount of time, just absorbing and taking comfort from one another.
Finally, Quin exhales and pulls back, kissing me on my forehead. “Thanks, baby boy. I needed that.”
“I know,” I respond cheekily, making him pinch my ass. I yelp and pout, then start to undo the buttons on his shirt. “Want to tell me about it?”
