Warrior Daddy
Laylah Roberts
Laylah Roberts
Warrior Daddy
© 2020, Laylah Roberts
[email protected]
laylahroberts.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
Cover Design by: Allycat’s Creations
Editing: Celeste Jones
Created with Vellum
Contents
Let’s keep in touch!
Books by Laylah Roberts
Authors note
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Cole’s Mistake
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Books by Laylah Roberts
Doms of Decadence
Just for You, Sir
Forever Yours, Sir
For the Love of Sir
Sinfully Yours, Sir
Make me, Sir
A Taste of Sir
To Save Sir
Sir’s Redemption
Reveal Me, Sir
Montana Daddies
Daddy Bear
Daddy’s Little Darling
Daddy’s Naughty Darling Novella
Daddy’s Sweet Girl
Daddy’s Lost Love
A Montana Daddies Christmas
Daring Daddy
Warrior Daddy
Haven, Texas Series
Lila’s Loves
Laken’s Surrender
Saving Savannah
Molly’s Man
Saxon’s Soul
Mastered by Malone
How West was Won
Cole’s Mistake (coming April, 2020)
Men of Orion
Worlds Apart
Cavan Gang
Rectify
Redemption
Redemption Valley
Audra’s Awakening
Old-Fashioned Series
An Old-Fashioned Man
Two Old-Fashioned Men
Her Old-Fashioned Husband
Her Old-Fashioned Boss
His Old-Fashioned Love
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
Bad Boys of Wildeside
Wilde
Sinclair
Luke
Authors note
This book was so much fun to write! I really hope you love Macca and Gigi’s story. This story is set in Queensland, Australia, so there might be a few words that are a little different.
Enjoy
Laylah
Prologue
Home, sweet home.
Macca stepped into the main hub of Jensen Security International. Exhaustion tugged at him as he made his way down to the meeting room. This past week had been particularly grueling. He’d just stepped off a nine-hour flight from Guatemala then hopped into a waiting vehicle that had driven him and Dominic back to Sanctuary Ranch. Thanks to their client’s private plane, the flight had been much shorter than it would have been flying commercial, at least.
“What a week,” Dom groaned. He stretched as he followed Macca into the meeting room. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
Dom slumped into a chair, looking as tired as Macca felt.
“Went that well, huh?” Kent Jensen, their boss, stepped into the room. Behind him walked Corbin.
“Just your usual bullshit,” Macca sat in a chair next to Dom.
Kent nodded. “Let’s get the debrief out of the way then you can both go and get some sleep. You’re both off for the next week.”
Macca frowned. “Don’t need that long, chief. I’ll be good to go tomorrow.” All he needed was a hot shower and twelve hours sleep.
Kent gave him a knowing look. “You’ve barely had any time off in the last year. You need some downtime.”
Downtime? Why the fuck did he need that?
He ran his hand over his face. “I went to Hawaii for a week.” He always tried to meet up with his nan once a year in Hawaii.
Kent leaned back in his chair. “That was ten months ago.”
Shit. Was it?
“And I’m telling you that you’re taking time off.”
He ground his teeth together. It was getting harder and harder to hide how dissatisfied he had grown with his life. It wasn’t his job. He loved working as a security specialist for JSI. He loved living here on Sanctuary. It was a special place, where people weren’t judged for the types of relationships they wanted.
But being amongst like-minded people who lived the lifestyle he wanted highlighted exactly what his life lacked.
Someone to share it with. A Little girl to pamper and adore. To cherish and discipline. To protect and love.
“Chief—”
“Non-negotiable, Macca. Take the time.”
Crap. When Kent spoke like that, he meant business. Awesome. What the hell was he going to do for a whole week? Sit and twiddle his thumbs? Work out and watch freaking television?
Round up some Littles and get into mischief?
Huh. That held some possibilities.
Twenty minutes later the debrief was over. He grabbed his duffel bag and left the room, stepping outside.
“Macca!”
He looked over with a smile as he saw Abby, Kent’s Little girl, waving at him. As she drew closer, he frowned down at her.
“Abby, where are your gloves? And your hat? Your coat?” he scolded as he watched her dance around from foot to foot to try to get warm. Even though the sun was out today, the wind had a distinct chill to it.
“Oh. I didn’t think it was so cold out.” She pushed her hands deep into her jeans to keep them warm.
Macca took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shivering frame.
“You d-don’t need to d-do that.” Her teeth chattered together.
“You need to get yourself inside quick before you become a giant popsicle.”
She giggled and the sound made him smile.
“I will. I’m j-just off to f-find Kent.”
“He’s inside. He’s not going to be impressed by your lack of warm clothing, though.” He gave her a knowing look and she blushed. “Guess a spanking will warm you up, though, huh?”
“Macca!” She rolled her eyes as her cheeks went bright pink.
“Come on, I’ll walk you inside.”
“Now, I’m thinking I should turn around and go back home.”
“Nope, I want to see Kent’s reaction.”
As though they’d conjured him up, the other man opened the door and stepped out with a frown. “Macca, I—Abby!” Kent’s face immediately lightened and he smil
ed at the woman standing next to Macca. Then his frown returned. “Where’s your hat? And your scarf? Is that Macca’s jacket?”
“Um. Yes. I may have underestimated how cold it was out here.”
“Little girl, get your butt inside now,” Kent growled at her, smacking said butt as she walked past him. Abby let out a squeal that made Macca grin. When she was inside with the door shut, Kent turned to him. “I’ll return the jacket.”
Macca waved his hand in dismissal.
“Macca, I just wanted to say it’s not a punishment, forcing you to take a downtime.”
“I know, chief. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He forced a cheery grin, ignoring Kent’s concerned look.
The other man didn’t need to be worried about him and his state of mind. He gave a wave to his boss before heading off to his cabin. Stepping inside, he was grateful someone had come in and lit the fire.
Unpacking his duffel, because he hated things not being in their right place, he pulled out his phone. Shit. He forgot that it had died before they’d even left Guatemala. He should have charged it on the plane.
He plugged it in and put the rest of his stuff away. His phone beeped, letting him know he had a message. He frowned when he saw he’d missed a call from his father. What could that old bastard want? He played the voice message.
“Alexander, it’s your father.” Macca rolled his eyes at his stiff, formal tone. “I’m calling about your grandmother. She’s very ill. We’ve placed her into hospice care. If you want to see her before she dies, you’d best hurry home.”
What? Fuck!
1
Penny’s grandson was stunningly gorgeous.
Too bad he was also a rude asshole.
Gigi stared at the bad-tempered man, working hard not to show her fear. Her hands trembled slightly so she clasped them together. A wave of dizziness assaulted her. Skipping breakfast this morning hadn’t been the best decision. But she’d slept in late and hadn’t wanted to miss the bus. That would have put her whole day out of whack, considering she’d had to make a connecting bus then walk twenty minutes to the hospice.
This is what she got for starting a CJ Bennett book last night. She hadn’t been able to put it down. The eReader Penny gave her for Christmas was the best present she’d ever received. Actually, the only present she’d ever received. She’d gotten lost in Ms. Bennett’s latest Daddy Dom romance and hadn’t fallen asleep until she’d finished it about two this morning.
“Are you listening to me?” the large man asked. His forehead was scrunched into a frown. She noticed the scar running through his right eyebrow. She wondered how he’d gotten it.
“You want to know how I got my scar?” He stared down at her incredulously.
Whoops. She had this horrible habit of blurting things out loud without meaning to. Penny thought it was hilarious. Obviously, her grandson did not.
No doubt he thought she was a complete moron.
“Um, sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“You’re not one of the nurses, right?” It was clear he hoped she wasn’t.
“Oh, no, I—”
“I want to speak to whoever is in charge of her care, that’s not you, right?”
“Oh, no, I—”
“Can you find them for me?” He was growing increasingly impatient with her. She wished she’d known he was coming. Not that she was family and entitled to know, but she would have stayed away today. Last thing she wanted was to get in the way, even though she wanted to be here for Penny, who meant everything to her.
She wished Penny knew he was here. Penny adored her only grandson, talked about him constantly and his photos were in pretty much every room of her house.
Alexander Martin James McKenzie.
It had a nice ring to it, right? Very Scottish sounding. You’d almost expect him to be red-haired and wearing a kilt not tanned with blond hair and hazel-green eyes.
She thought he’d be able to pull off a kilt though.
“You want to see me in a kilt?”
Oh shit. Crap. She started to hyperventilate. Why was she such a dork?
“I. . .umm. . .” Why couldn’t she manage to string more than a couple of words together?
Get it together, Gigi. You’re stronger than this.
He ran his hand over his face tiredly. “Look, can we start again?” His voice was surprisingly gentle now. “I’m exhausted. As soon as I got the call that my grandmother was so ill, I jumped on a plane and I’ve been travelling for over twenty-four hours. I just want to talk to whoever is looking after her care. Can you help me?”
Her heart melted. He did look tired. There were dark marks under his eyes and his clothing was wrinkled. Sympathy flooded her. How hard would it be to live on the opposite side of the world when a loved one needed you?
“Of c-course,” she stuttered.
He smiled at her. Her body flushed with heat. Holy shit.
“Thank you.”
Okay, so her initial assessment of him might have been a bit harsh. His grandmother was dying, and he’d flown halfway around the world, he was obviously exhausted and worried. She wasn’t used to a man who apologized when he was wrong. Her father certainly never had.
“I’ll just go find them.” She looked over at Penny. She’d intended to stay for the day, but she didn’t want to get in the way. She should probably explain who she was, but he had enough on his plate right now. And she wanted to give him some time with his grandma.
“Thank you. . .” There was a question in his voice and it took her a moment to realize he wanted her name. He thrust out his hand.
“Oh, um, I’m Gigi.” She stared down at the hand he had outstretched towards her like it was a snake. Had Penny ever told him about her? She knew they spoke a lot but wasn’t sure if she’d mentioned that Gigi lived with her.
His lips twitched. “Gigi. Cute. I’m Alexander, but everyone calls me Macca because of my last name. It’s okay, little girl. I don’t bite. Promise.”
“N-nice to meet you, M-Macca.” She reached out and briefly shook his hand.
Then before she could do something stupid like blurt out how hot he was, she turned and fled the room.
Macca watched as the tiny woman practically ran out the door. He yawned and glanced at his watch. He’d found the quickest flight he could from Bozeman to Brisbane, and then he’d had to wait at the airport for several hours for a flight up to Proserpine.
His family had owned properties and businesses in this area for years. But it wasn’t until his father took over that their wealth really grew. The old man was intelligent, ruthless. He was also one of the worst human beings Macca had ever met.
And that was saying something.
At least he’d always had his mother to ground him in reality. She’d been a flight attendant when she’d met his father. She’d migrated from the States to Australia, not realizing the hell she was coming into.
Thankfully, she’d managed to divorce his ass when Macca was seventeen and had moved them back to the States. He’d returned a few times to see Nan, but mostly they met in Hawaii where she owned a condo.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were ill, Nan?” he asked.
No answer.
“You could have told me you had cancer. I would have come.”
Nothing.
A tear slipped down his face.
He slid into the seat next to the bed, his legs no longer able to hold him up. He slid his larger hand over hers. Her skin was wrinkled and delicate, like tissue paper. He remembered all the times he would escape to Nan’s house when his parents were fighting. How she’d always greeted him with homemade chocolate chip cookies and strawberry milk. She’d keep him occupied, playing board games and telling him stories.
Even though he hadn’t known she was ill, he couldn’t help but feel like he should have been here for her. He closed his eyes for a moment. He was used to going long hours without sleep, but he’d just come off a hard assignment and then hopped straight a
way on a plane. And seeing her like this, his once vibrant and lovely grandmother lying here, looking so frail and old. . .
It tore at him. Ate away at his composure. He felt the tears well and had to take a moment to blink them back.
“Mr. McKenzie? You wanted to see me?”
He glanced over as a kind-looking older woman stepped into the room. Ah, the little pixie from earlier must have found whoever was in charge of his grandmother’s care. He felt guilty for how sharp he’d been with her. He wasn’t normally like that. He loved women. Of all ages. And there was something about the little pixie that tugged at him, but he didn’t have the time to work out what it was. His emotions were on a razor’s edge. He pushed all thoughts of her out of his mind as he stood and shook the other woman’s hand.
* * *
Macca stepped out into the parking lot of the hospice care feeling like he’d gone a few rounds with Corbin in the ring. Only all the battering was on the inside.
Nan was dying.
Nothing could be done. When his father called to tell him that she was in hospice care, he’d been caught totally by surprise. She hadn’t even told him she was ill. Why would she keep that from him? He paused to take a deep breath. Didn’t she know he’d want to be here for her?
Fuck. Shit.
His phone rang and he glanced down at it, letting it go to voicemail when he saw it was the old man. He knew he’d have to go see that bastard at some stage. But not now. Not while he was so. . .
Raw.
He took in a shuddering breath. He had to steel his defenses before dealing with his father. And that wasn’t happening tonight. All he wanted to do right now was go home to Nan’s place, help himself to some of her bourbon and sleep.
Warrior Daddy Page 1