Her Daddies’ Saving Grace

by Laylah Roberts

  Her Daddies’ Saving Grace

  Laylah Roberts

  Laylah Roberts.

  Her Daddies’ Saving Grace.

  * * *

  © 2021, Laylah Roberts

  Laylah.roberts@gmail.com

  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.

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  Cover Design by: Allycat’s Creations.

  Photographer: Wander Aguiar

  Editing: Celeste Jones.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Let’s keep in touch!

  Books by Laylah Roberts

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Dirty Daddies Anthology

  Let’s keep in touch!

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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

  Daddy’s Angel

  Heal Me, Daddy

  Daddy in Cowboy Boots

  A Little Christmas Cheer

  Sheriff Daddy

  Her Daddies’ Saving Grace

  MC Daddies

  Motorcycle Daddy

  Hero Daddy

  Protector Daddy

  Untamed Daddy

  Her Daddy’s Jewel

  Fierce Daddy (coming September 2021)

  Harem of Daddies

  Ruled by her Daddies

  Claimed by her Daddies

  Stolen by her Daddies (coming 2022)

  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

  Jardin’s Gamble

  Romanced by the Malones

  Twice the Malone

  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

  1

  “Missy, would you like some tea? No? Well, tough. You’re getting some. Now, don’t give me that face. If you’re invited to a tea party, then you should drink what you’re offered, not turn up your nose like some fuss pot.”

  Juliet poured tea into one of her delicate cups. They’d been in Reuben’s family for a long time, so she had to be very careful.

  “Angelique, we’re not having the cream cake yet. You have to eat a sandwich first. You’re so naughty.” She waggled her finger at the doll.

  The ringing of her phone jolted her and she splashed hot tea across her hand.

  She stared down at the red patch on her hand. She should probably put her hand under some cool water. But the pain felt almost cleansing. It cleared her mind and helped her think better.

  You’re a weirdo.

  Wolf howls continued to fill the room. She set the teapot down carefully and ran to get her phone from where she’d set it on the small table by the couch. Reuben had bought her several cell phone holders to place throughout the house so there was less chance of her losing her phone.

  Reuben tended to worry about those things. She loved the holders. The one in this room was a sloth and it always made her smile.

  She picked up the phone and saw it was a video call.

  “Hey, big brother,” she greeted him cheerfully.

  He didn’t smile back but she didn’t take offense. Reuben rarely smiled. He worked too hard. If he wasn’t working, then he was fussing over her. It wasn’t healthy. But she knew better than to try and tell him that.

  Reuben didn’t listen well. Plus, he thought it was his job to take care of her, not vice versa.

  Stubborn man. She adored him, but sometimes she also wanted to shake him.

  “Mini,” he said on a sigh.

  “You look tired. Aren’t you sleeping?” His dark hair was up on end and there were bags under his eyes. She’d never seen him so rumpled and stressed.

  “Are you in your playroom?” he asked instead of answering her.

  She sighed. She knew that she was partly to blame for him not sharing any of his worries with her. She’d always be his baby sister. The person he had to protect and coddle. He tended to treat her like she was too young or delicate to burden with his concerns. It probably didn’t help that she was a Little.

  “Yeah. We’re having a tea party.”

  “Missy and Angelique being naughty?”

  “Like always,” she replied. “Missy won’t drink her tea, and Angelique wants to eat all the cream cake and none of the sandwiches.”

  She glanced down at her hand again. If he saw the injury, he’d freak. Especially as it was starting to blister. Not a good sign.

  “And are you eating the sandwiches and cream cake?” he asked in a low voice.

  Inwardly, she sighed. Being thousands of miles apart didn’t stop him from fussing over her or bossing her around.

  Then again, she’d never told him to stop. The only time she’d ever gone against him was when he’d wanted her to move to Boston to live with him. Wishingbone was her home. Her safe place. She couldn’t leave. The anxiety attack she’d had at the idea of movi
ng had been enough to convince him.

  Of course, she’d had to give in to all his stipulations and rules, but he needed to feel like he was keeping her safe. And whatever he needed, she’d give him.

  She’d give Reuben everything if she could.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I am well aware that’s not an answer, Mini,” he replied, glaring at her through the phone.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” She’d learned the art of deflection well.

  “Actually, no.”

  Okay, that shocked her. He never admitted to any sort of weakness. At least, not to her.

  “What is it? What’s wrong? Are you ill? Is it cancer? Your heart? I’ll get the first flight out there.” Her heart raced with panic. Her fear of leaving Wishingbone was nothing against her fear of losing him. She couldn’t live without him.

  “Mini, I’m not ill.”

  How would she get to the airport? What did she need to take? She’d never booked an airline ticket before, but it couldn’t be too hard, right?

  “You never say you’re not all right. It’s the apocalypse. The zombies are coming.” Zombies were terrifying. Maybe she should get a gun. Did bullets work on zombies?

  Reuben narrowed his gaze at her. “Have you been watching zombie movies again?”

  “What makes you ask that?” She made her eyes go wide.

  Look innocent. Look sweet.

  “Juliet Susanne,” he said sternly. “What did I warn you about watching those movies?”

  “That most rely on shock value to garner interest.”

  “Well, yes, but I was actually talking about the fact that the last time you watched one, you didn’t sleep for three days.”

  Yeah, well. She hadn’t slept for four days after the one she watched last week.

  But she just couldn’t stop watching them. It was a strange addiction.

  “Sorry,” she told him, knowing that was the quickest way to get out of a scolding.

  He worked his jaw, his tension palpable through the phone.

  “Reuben? What is it?” He was really starting to scare her.

  “I’ve run into a bit of trouble here.”

  Did that mean he was coming home? Back to Wishingbone? Excitement filled her. It had been ages since he’d come to visit. He’d kind of pissed off a few people in town, but Reuben was like blue cheese, you loved him or hated him. Most people just misunderstood him. He was simply, um, passionate.

  “You’re coming home?”

  He ran a hand over his face. “I wish I could, Mini.”

  Mini was short for Mini-me because when she was a child, she’d always tried to imitate him.

  “Oh.” She tried not to look too disappointed.

  “I’m not sure anyone would appreciate me coming to visit.”

  “Of course, they would.”

  Liar.

  Last time he was here, he’d threatened no less than four different people with lawsuits. He’d also bought the local hardware store and fired half the staff.

  But everything he did was to protect her.

  The manager of the hardware store was a complete dick. He’d been upset because she wouldn’t go on a date with him and he’d spread awful rumors about her. Somehow, Reuben heard about it, and he’d taken care of that asshole.

  “Mini, I’ve been working on a case that has brought some bad attention.”

  “From who?”

  Her heart started to race. Shoot. She was going to give herself a heart attack at this rate. Bad attention? What did that mean?

  “From one of the leading crime syndicates in the city.”

  “Oh God. Are they going to hurt you? You can’t let them hurt you.” Visions of him being tortured, waterboarded, his fingers chopped off filled her head. “I like your fingers!”

  Nothing could happen to him.

  “Of course, I won’t allow that,” he said arrogantly. That voice soothed her. It told her that he had everything under control. “I like my fingers too. Have you been watching mob movies?”

  It was a sickness. She couldn’t seem to stop. No matter how many nightmares these movies gave her, she just had to keep watching them.

  “Juliet,” he said sternly.

  “I saw one a long time ago,” she lied. A small lie wouldn’t matter, right? “What happened? Why are they after you?”

  “I failed to successfully defend one of their guys.”

  What? Reuben never failed . . . unless . . .

  “What did he do?”

  “Abused a child.”

  Ahh. That explained it. Reuben never defended anyone on charges of abuse.

  “Why’d you take the case?”

  “Because that wasn’t actually one of the things he was charged with.” His jaw worked. “But we had a meeting at his house, and there was this little boy . . .”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “I should have backed off then, but this asshole was adamant he wanted me. And I figured if he went away then that little boy was safe for a while.”

  This was a side of him she knew no one saw but her. Most people were terrified of him. For good reason. He had power. Money. Influence. He had information on a lot of important people. Reuben could move mountains. And he would. For her.

  Which made her wonder why he was so worried.

  “So, this criminal group is now angry? Don’t you have something on them to make them back down?”

  He sighed. “I’ve got stuff, but there’s a lot of players to deal with, and it’s going to take me longer than I anticipated to get things moving, and I need to make sure you’re protected.”

  “You think they’ll come for me?” She and Reuben had different last names for just this reason. While he’d paid for this house and everything in it, it had all been done through a trust he’d set up for her.

  But plenty of people still knew that she was his sister.

  “I’m not taking any risks, okay?” he said to her.

  Panic filled her. “I don’t like that you’re in danger.”

  Nothing could happen to him. He was her anchor.

  “Nothing is going to happen to me,” he soothed, clearly seeing her panic.

  “I . . . I . . .” She started to pace, excess energy coursing through her body. She was dressed in a long, black dress that completely hid her body. It swished around her bare feet.

  “Mini, it will all be all right.”

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked. “Come to you?” Then she could watch over him, make sure he was all right. Yes, perhaps that was the best idea. She was definitely going to need a gun, though.

  “I wish you could, but it will be safer for you to stay away from me. I’ve hired a security firm to guard you.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Mini,” he said in a firmer voice.

  “No. No strangers.” Her fingers started tingling, indicating a panic attack. When she had a panic attack, she tended to go into her own head, the panic eating her from the inside out.

  “Juliet, there’s no one in Wishingbone who can do this.”

  “Of course, there is. There’s JSI.”

  “I’ve already asked them. Kent hasn’t got anyone free for another month. He offered to let you come to the ranch, though. You’d be protected there.”

  Move out of her home. No . . . she couldn’t.

  “Mini, it’s okay. Look at me. Look into my eyes.” His voice was filled with command. She stared down at him. “Either you stay in your house, with strangers as guards, or move to the ranch. I’m sorry I can’t offer anything else.”

  There was genuine sadness in his face. He knew how hard this was on her. And he had enough going on. She couldn’t add to his worries.

  She was being selfish.

  “JSI is already monitoring my cameras.” Reuben had arranged that. Even though Kent didn’t like him much, he did like Juliet.

  “They’ll continue to do so,” he told her. “But you need someone in the house with
you.”

  Oh God. She didn’t want that.

  “Loki,” she managed to get out, her lips growing numb.

  “Loki is a nutcase.”

  She winced. She hated when Reuben talked about Loki like that.

  “He’s not. He has PTSD.”

  “And that PTSD causes him to behave erratically, and you know it.” Reuben sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be harsh. I know he’s your friend. But he isn’t reliable. And how fair would it be to put him in a possibly dangerous situation when he has PTSD?”

  Oh, that wouldn’t be fair at all. What was she thinking? What a terrible friend she was.

  “You’re right.” The world around her was growing dark. She could barely focus on his words. “Do they really have to be in the house?”

  “Mini, you know I wouldn’t do this unless it was necessary.”

  Her free hand twisted in the long skirt of her dress.

  “It’s only for a short time. And I’ll make sure that they know they’re to bother you as little as possible. But I need your promise that you’ll do what they say. That you’ll let them in. Please, Mini?”

  He was nearly begging. His desperation was clear. That, more than anything else, had her nodding.

  She wouldn’t be a burden to him. Well, no more than she already was.

  “I’ll be all right.”

  “I wouldn’t allow you to be anything else.”

  One breath. Two.

  “I’ll get this sorted as quick as possible, all right?”

  She nodded, unable to speak. Her hand gripped the phone so tight that her fingers hurt.

  “Mini, I need you to talk. I need you to be okay. You know what happens if you’re not.”