Protector Daddy

by Roberts, Laylah

  “Let’s get back on track,” Reyes demanded. “So Millie is Daria’s half-sister. She gets a huge amount of money from the Fox. Only she doesn’t know who he is?”

  Spike nodded. “She has no clue or she likely would be trying to hire him to kill Luther.”

  “So she decides to come here to find her sister’s killer,” Reyes continued. “Which is a damn stupid idea. She overhears a conversation. Which leads her to us. Well, to you.”

  “Yep.”

  “And it’s all one fucking big coincidence,” Reyes muttered. “Except for the Fox sending her money. He obviously did that deliberately.”

  “Remember when he stole that money from Sunny’s ex and donated it to a charity for foxes?” Jason asked.

  “What? You think he used that money to send to Millie?” Ink asked. “But Sunny’s ex didn’t have that sort of money.”

  “Nah, I’m saying that what if he took money from someone else and gave it to her. Someone he considered had wronged her.”

  Spike straightened. “The senator. Who knows what sort of dirty funds he had? If he’d taken that money, he might have thought it was a weird sort of justice to give it to Daria’s sister.”

  “Fuck,” Ink stated. He then looked over at Spike. “What are you going to tell her?”

  Spike ran his hand over his face. “The truth, I guess.”

  “Don’t envy you that, man,” Duke told him.

  No. He was dreading it. “I think she’ll react one of two ways. She’ll either try to ignore the pain.” Push it into her box. “Or she’ll completely lose it.”

  “Anything else we can do?” Duke asked.

  “Umm, yeah, there is one more thing I need help with.”

  36

  Millie reached the top of the stairs just as Spike appeared at the bottom.

  He scowled up at her. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, baby doll?”

  “Coming downstairs to see you?” She’d woken up feeling out of sorts. Part of it was aftereffects from the migraine and the fact that she’d slept so long. But mostly it was because she’d remembered that Spike knew something about her sister’s death.

  It cut her to the quick. She wanted to know.

  And yet she didn’t.

  He strode up the stairs. “Stay right there.”

  When he reached the top of the stairs, he placed his hands on her hips and studied her closely. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I got shot, had a migraine then slept for fifteen hours straight.”

  He grunted. “If you’d wanted up, you should have called for me.”

  “I didn’t feel like screaming. How did you know I was up anyway?”

  He wrapped his hand around the back of his neck. “Ah, I might have put a camera in the bedroom.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “That’s kind of kinky.”

  “Not a camera that records. More like a baby camera.”

  “Oh.” She blushed. “You’ve been watching me sleep?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t like leaving you when you’re injured or ill. This lets me keep watch over you while I’m somewhere else in the house. And you obviously need watching since you got out of bed without permission.”

  “I need permission to get out of bed?” He had to be kidding, right?

  “You do,” he replied, completely serious.

  “Spike, I can get out of bed on my own.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. No can do. You could get light-headed and fall, hit your head, knock yourself unconscious and end up back in the hospital. Do you want to be in the hospital again?”

  “Not sure they’d let us back in after last time,” she muttered.

  “From now on, you want out of bed, you call for me. And there is no going up and down the stairs on your own.”

  She sighed. “More rules.”

  “More rules.”

  “I’m not made of glass.”

  “To me you are. To me you’re more precious than anything.”

  Tears entered her eyes and she leaned her forehead against his chest.

  “Hey, what is it? Did you hurt yourself? Fuck it, from now on, I’m just carrying you everywhere. Come on, back to bed.”

  “I didn’t hurt myself. I’m not in pain.”

  He ran his hand up and down her back and just waited for her to continue. She drew away to look up at him, aware of a tear escaping. “Don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  He snorted. “Think that’s my line. From what I know of you, baby doll, you deserve everything.” He gently ran his fingers through her hair. “Sounds to me like you’ve spent most of your life taking care of everyone else. Time to let me take care of you.”

  She gave him a tremulous smile. “I’d like that. Just, try not to go too far overboard, huh?”

  “I did warn you.”

  He was right. He had.

  “I want to have a shower and get changed. Then I need you to tell me about my sister.”

  “Sure you’re ready for it?”

  “I’m ready.” Not really. But then she never would be. There was a ball of dread in her tummy telling her that she didn’t want to know.

  “No shower. I’ll give you a quick sponge bath and get you dressed.”

  She sighed but let him fuss. And by the time she was dressed in clean trackpants, a camisole and a cardigan that hung off her injured shoulder, she was exhausted.

  Spike held her shoulders, studying her intently. “How are your pain levels? Is your migraine completely gone? Feeling dizzy? Hungry? Thirsty?”

  She placed her good hand over his mouth. “Spike.” Enough procrastinating.

  He nodded. “Right. But before I tell you though, you’re going to eat and take some painkillers.” He carried her downstairs and had her lie on the sofa with a pillow at her back and a blanket over her legs as he heated up some soup. Mr. Fluffy managed to rouse himself enough to toddle over to her for a cuddle before settling in at her feet. A fresh bottle of fairy juice was placed on the floor by the sofa. Then Spike pulled the coffee table closer and sat on it. He spooned up some soup, blowing on it and held it out for her.

  “I can feed myself.”

  “Nope. Daddy will feed you. I need to. Please.”

  There was a flash of pain in his eyes and she knew that her being shot was going to haunt him for a long time.

  Maybe forever.

  This connection between them was something special, maybe something that some people never experienced in a lifetime.

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  “Good girl.” He proceeded to feed her, checking every mouthful to ensure it wasn’t too hot. His caring almost brought tears to her eyes again and she had to take a deep breath after he finished and left to grab her pain pills. What was wrong with her? Her emotions were bubbling just beneath the surface.

  Where had her control gone?

  After taking the pills he handed her, she settled back into the sofa while he sat by her legs, facing her. “Good? Too hot? Too cold?”

  “Spike just tell me. It can’t be . . . it can’t be worse than not knowing, surely?”

  He glanced away from her and she braced herself.

  “I’m going to start a bit further back so you understand how I know this. See, before Reyes was the President of the Iron Shadows, we had this asshole called Smiley. He started laundering money through the bar, got us mixed up with some bad characters. Reyes came along and got rid of Smiley. But by then it was too late, the bar was in the red and we were in deep with the Bartolli family.”

  “Bartolli? I’ve heard that name.”

  “Yeah, Luther is connected to them. He married Fergus Bartolli’s niece. Fergus was the head of the family. Asshole man. Involved in human trafficking, drugs, guns. Anyway, Reyes was trying to put the bar in the black and made some deals with the wrong people. Bartolli had us over a barrel. He got us to blackmail US Senator Jonathan Robins.”

  “Whoa,” she stated. “What was the blackmail over? Wait, wasn’t
the senator murdered? Didn’t he have some young girl in his cabin?”

  He scowled. “Yep. Robins was scum. He bought young women from Luther’s old man, raped and murdered them. Bartolli gave us photo evidence to use. We handled retrieving the cash and dropping it to Bartolli. You gotta know, none of us wanted to do it. We started watching the senator, trying to work out where he was hiding the girl in the photos so we could rescue her.”

  “Did you find her?”

  He sighed. “No. Not in time.” He grimaced. “Baby doll, the girl in the photos, it was Daria.”

  “No,” she whispered. “It . . . it what? How can that be? The police . . .”

  “They never knew about her connection to the senator. Although if they did their job better, they might have worked it out. We think the senator’s father probably has connections with the cops and got things pushed under the rug.”

  “Oh God. Oh God.”

  “I’m so sorry.” He reached for her hand and she drew it back. She just couldn’t be touched right then.

  A flash of hurt crossed his face but she was too deeply in shock to say anything to soothe him. It wasn’t him. It was just . . . Daria. Oh God, Daria.

  A sob broke free.

  “Baby,” he said, his voice broken. “I’m so fucking sorry. We tried and failed. Failed her. Failed you.”

  “I . . . you said he bought her from Luther’s father? The pimp?”

  “Yeah. Don’t know how she ended up with Frankie. She could have been picked up as soon as she arrived in the city. Frankie had a woman that he’d send to hang around the bus terminal to lure runaways in.”

  She could barely process it. Couldn’t handle that this had happened to her sister.

  “Why didn’t she call me? I would have come for her. I would have done anything for her.”

  “I don’t know, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  Oh Daria.

  “Robins killed her then?”

  “Yeah. Or one of his men.”

  “How many women do you think he did that to?”

  “I don’t know, baby.”

  “The one found at his cabin? Is she all right?”

  “I don’t know. I can find out.”

  She nodded. “Maybe she needs help. I have money . . . I can help her.”

  “Fuck, baby. You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Why don’t you just concentrate on you right now. I know this has to be a fucking shock.”

  “You didn’t know she was my sister when you met me?” she asked. She didn’t know what she would do if he’d kept it from her all this time.

  “No. You have two different last names. We didn’t look into her background once she was . . .”

  He trailed off but she knew what he was going to say.

  Oh Daria.

  Keep it together, Millie. No point in falling apart. But she could feel the strain of locking everything down.

  “But when I told you about the money, you acted strange, why?”

  He sighed. “Like I said, we were keeping watch on Robins, trying to find out where he was keeping, umm, Daria.”

  “Right,” she whispered.

  “Turns out, he was being watched by someone else. Someone called the Fox.”

  “A person who calls themselves the Fox.” Her mind could barely put the pieces together.

  Oh Daria.

  “The Fox is an assassin for hire. He was there to take out the senator.”

  “An assassin for hire murdered the senator?”

  Spike was watching her carefully. “Yes, but you can’t ever say anything. The Fox is, he’s different. He could well be a psychopath. We’re not sure. But he helped us.”

  “Helped you?”

  “He took a shine to Sunny, rescued her from two men who had kidnapped her and then he hid her away. He had us trying to find her while he was taking out the senator. But he’s not a normal man. He might not like that I told you this. You must keep it to yourself. Promise me.”

  She nodded. “I won’t tell. He did the world a favor. I only wish I could make Jonathan Robins pay. That sick asshole. And Frankie too. Wait, do you think Luther had anything to do with it?”

  Spike sighed. “Don’t know. Don’t think he was in the city at the time.”

  “If he did, I want him to pay.”

  “I’ll find out. I promise you.”

  “Wait. Fox. For Fox Sake. The company name? You think this assassin had something to do with the money I was sent?”

  “I don’t know, baby doll. But frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me. That’s something he might do.”

  “I don’t get it.” The more she learned the more confused she grew.

  Oh Daria.

  “He might have seen it as justice to take money from the senator and give it to you.”

  She blanched. “You mean it’s dirty money.” It was becoming harder to breathe. “I have to get rid of it.”

  “We’ll do whatever you want,” he reassured her. “Give it away to a charity, whatever you need to do.”

  “Yes. Yes. We’ll get rid of it. Get rid of it.”

  “Baby?”

  She was aware of his worried stare. Knew that he was waiting for her to lose it. She should be losing it, shouldn’t she?

  Instead, all she felt was this weird emptiness. It was like her emotions had drained out of her. Was she in shock? She wasn’t sure. She felt weird. Out of it. Numb.

  She was numb.

  This wasn’t right. She should be screaming. Crying. Mourning Daria. Mourning the loss of her baby sister, who she’d helped raise.

  Who she’d failed. She’d failed to keep her safe.

  “Millie, talk to me.”

  “Think that’s the first time anyone has urged me to talk. Most people want me to shut up.”

  “What?” Spike scowled.

  “It’s okay. I know I can be a lot. I get excited about stupid things. I dance around the house, I love to sing and be silly. I can be too much.”

  “Fuck that shit. You’re fucking perfect. I don’t want you to be anything but yourself. Do you hear me? If I find out you’re trying to change yourself to be what you think I want, I’m going to be fucking mad, understand?”

  “You wanted me to change my outfit to fit in more.”

  “What? When?” he demanded.

  “At the fabric store.”

  “Fuck. Baby, that wasn’t because I didn’t like the way you looked. Liked it too fucking much. You’re gorgeous. I’m going to spend all my time fucking keeping men from staring at you.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “I don’t,” he growled. “And I was wrong to tell you to do that. Safety be damned. Should never have demanded you change. Fucking kills me that I hurt you. Understand? I was wrong. And you, are perfect.”

  She blinked at him.

  “Christ, baby doll. I think you’re in shock.”

  “I think so too.”

  “I’m going to call Hack,” he said urgently.

  No. No, she didn’t want to deal with anyone else.

  “No. I just. I think I need to just sleep. I feel tired. I need to sleep.”

  * * *

  Spike paced back and forth in the kitchen. What the fuck should he do?

  For over an hour, she’d just sat there, staring into space. He’d called Hack. The asshole had told him just to give her some time to process everything. How much time did she fucking need? He just wanted to hold her. He wanted to make her feel better. To take away her pain.

  Fuck, he wished he knew how to do that. To put that spark back into her eyes.

  He couldn’t believe that she thought he wanted her to be less. To hide who she was. Fuck, how many people had done that to her? Told her that she was too much as she is? No wonder she’d started locking down any emotions that she thought people might react negatively to.

  No more.

  A cry came from the living room, he raced in there. Her eyes were shut, a fine sheen of sweat covered her brow. Fuck! Was she too
hot? He placed his hand over her forehead, sighing in relief when her temperature felt normal.

  “No, Daria, no!”

  Fuck. She was having a nightmare.

  “Millie! Millie, wake up!”

  He didn’t want to jostle her. She started to thrash around, crying out as she obviously hurt herself. Fuck!

  Carefully, he picked her up. He sat on the sofa with her nestled on his lap.

  “Millie, wake up! Wake up, baby doll. Daddy needs you to wake up.”

  Her eyes shot open and she took in a gasping breath. “Daria . . . oh God, Daria!” She attempted to suck in a breath, panic filling her face. Suddenly, he realized she was having a panic attack.

  “Shit! You’re panicking. Breathe in. Slow. Out slow. In. Out.” He reached for her hand, placing it on his chest. “In. Out. That’s it, baby doll. In. Out.”

  Her breathing started to slow and panic gradually gave way to despair.

  “Spike,” she sobbed.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He held her as tightly as he dared. “Let it out.”

  “I can’t!”

  “Baby doll, you have to. You can’t keep it inside you. Let it free, baby doll. There’s just me and you. Give me your pain. I’ll take it all. Give it to me.”

  He didn’t think she was going to. Then she turned her face into his chest as a sob broke free. And he held her tight as she lost it.

  * * *

  She’d never cried so much in her life.

  When her grandma died, she’d struggled with her emotions. Everything had been a mess. She’d tried to shed tears when she heard about Daria, but they just hadn’t come.

  But now she was paying for keeping her tears on the inside. The pain burst out of her in huge sobs. Everything she’d shut down tight came out. Fear. Anger. Hurt. Pain.

  The terror she’d felt when that asshole held a gun on her.

  The fear as she’d crouched in the alleyway and listened to Luther and the rat talking.

  Her worry when Spike wouldn’t listen to her that night at Reaper’s bar.

  The terror when Corey tried to take Tawny.

  Anger when Daria left. Anger at everyone dying on her.

  “Why did they all have to die? I’m all alone. They all died.”