The Guardian: DARYL (Cover Six Security, #2)

by Lisa B. Kamps

  He caught her gaze, started to reach for her arm then stopped. "Do you trust your father?"

  "What? Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?"

  "Then just remember that everything he's done has been for a reason. Promise me you'll remember that."

  "Promise? I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

  "Nothing." Yeah, sure. Nothing, his fucking ass. Damn the sneaky bastard. "Come on, let's go get your daughter."

  He turned and headed back across the parking lot, held the door open for Kelsey and started to follow behind her only to be stopped by Wolf. "Did I really see what I thought I saw?"

  "Yeah."

  "Holy fucking shit. Um, yeah. I'll just go wait in the car—"

  "The hell you will." Daryl grabbed his arm and dragged him inside, snatched the first envelope from his hand. "I need you with me every second from here on out."

  "Why? Afraid she's going to kill you?"

  "You could say that, yeah." He dropped Wolf's arm and marched back to the desk. He pulled the sheaf of papers out and passed them to the woman, followed them with Paige's birth certificate and his own license.

  The woman accepted the papers, scanned them, then looked from him to Kelsey and back again. She pushed away from the desk and motioned for them to follow her. "I'll call our manager then get Paige. You can wait in here. Ms. Edmunds will have some paperwork for you to sign, Mr. Anderson."

  Daryl nodded, ignored Kelsey's questioning glance as he pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. At least Wolf was smart enough to start a rambling conversation, drawing Kelsey in, keeping her occupied so she wouldn't ask the fucking question he'd seen in her eyes.

  Yeah, but for how long? Ten minutes? Fifteen? Maybe more but he wouldn't count on it. He just hoped to hell she didn't make a scene. If she did, the woman in charge—whoever she was—might start asking questions. Questions he couldn't answer.

  That was the last thing they needed.

  The minutes dragged by, Kelsey's impatience increasing with each one. Every time someone moved down the hall, she would jump and slide to the edge of the chair, like she was ready to bolt out of it. Could he really blame her? Hell, no. Not when he knew how much this meant to her.

  He leaned over, grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Surprise flashed across her face and he expected her to yank her hand away, to tell him not to touch her. Instead, her trembling fingers threaded through his and she squeezed back, holding on like he was some kind of lifeline.

  He leaned closer, ignored the way her head dipped toward him and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Just remember to trust your father. Remember he had his reasons."

  Confusion creased her face and she opened her mouth. Whatever she'd been ready to say was drowned out by the quick knock against the door. They turned—all three of them—and stared at the woman standing in the doorway.

  At the young girl with wide green eyes clinging to her hand.

  "Paige! Paige, oh my God!" Kelsey launched from the chair, stumbled and dropped to her knees in front of the little girl. A second went by, then another. Did Kelsey see the girl's confusion? Her uncertainty? For her sake, Daryl hoped not.

  Then the little girl's face cleared, the uncertainty disappearing behind a wide smile as she ripped her hand from the woman's and launched herself at Kelsey. "Mommy!"

  A memory slammed into him from nowhere, knocking him to the side. Stealing his fucking breath.

  A sunny Spring day, just warm enough to finally shed the light jackets they'd been forced to wear the last few weeks. A small hand held his, tiny fingers wrapped around his larger ones because Layla's hand wasn't really big enough to hold his yet. She skipped along, her hair blowing in the breeze as she pulled him with her toward the swings. She loved the swings. Loved going higher and higher, holding on tight while she leaned back, making him laugh and giving him heart failure at the same time.

  She dropped his hand and skipped over to the bench near the swings, carefully placed BaBa Bunny in his usual seat of honor and dropped a kiss against the fake pink fur. Then she was back, already climbing onto the swing without any help.

  "Real high today, Daddy."

  "Yeah? How high?"

  "Higher than the angels, Daddy."

  It was what she said every time. He made sure the belt was clipped and started to pull the swing back, only she stopped him with an impatient command.

  "Come here, Daddy."

  He bent down, wondering what secret she'd tell him today. "What is it, Bean?"

  But there was no secret, not today. She quietly clapped her small hands against his cheeks and pressed a noisy kiss against his lips.

  "I love you, Daddy."

  "I love you, too, Bean. Forever and ever."

  And then he sent her flying, higher and higher, her joyful giggles dancing in the air around them.

  Higher than the angels, never knowing that his baby girl would become one two weeks later.

  And shit. Fuck. Daryl looked away, pressed the edge of one hand against his eyes and struggled to draw air through his closed throat. Struggled against the fucking weight sitting in the middle of his chest while laughter and cries of joy echoed around him in a homecoming he'd never have.

  "Mr. Anderson."

  He heard his name, drew in a sharp breath. He needed to get his fucking act together, needed to get his fucking head on straight. A second went by, then another and another, time moving too damn slow as he shoved the memory—all the memories—into that little fucking box he kept hidden deep inside. He slammed the lid closed, drew in one last deep breath, then lowered his hand.

  The woman sitting across from him offered him a gentle smile, like she knew exactly why he was so overcome with emotion. Only she didn't know shit, had no fucking clue. Nobody did.

  "I just need you to sign some paperwork then you can take your daughter home."

  His daughter.

  He slid a glance to his left, saw Kelsey's body stiffen as she looked up. She was still clinging to the little girl in her arms, holding her like she'd never let her go.

  His daughter.

  Fuck. The little girl with a mop of wild curls the same color as her mother's wasn't his daughter. The little girl sending him shy looks with her father's wide green eyes wasn't his daughter.

  His daughter was dead. Taken from him in one selfish moment that had destroyed his life.

  Only the little girl still watching him was his daughter—because that son-of-a-bitch Allen Davis had signed over guardianship of her to him.

  Fuck.

  Kelsey stood, scooped the girl off her feet and rested her on her hip. And she was going to fucking blow it, ruin everything by opening her mouth and asking what the fuck was going on. Daryl knew it.

  And Wolf did, too. Thank God the man was there, was thinking a hell of a lot faster on his feet than Daryl could. He made his way over to Kelsey and the little girl, both dimples showing as he smiled and gently took Kelsey's arm and guided her out of the room, talking nonsense about some cartoon Scottish princess that he said looked just like Paige.

  Daryl ignored them, focused on the paperwork the woman pushed across the desk. He signed his name, over and over, the woman's words nothing more than a senseless droning in the background until, finally, he was done.

  She said something else, reached down and grabbed a small backpack and a stuffed bear from the floor and handed it to him. "These belong to Paige. She must have forgotten them."

  "Uh, yeah. Yeah. Thanks." He took the pack and the stuffed animal, tried to hide his surprise. Fuck, that was it? All her worldly possessions were contained to one small backpack and a fucking stuffed bear?

  He held them both in one hand, made his way down the hall and pushed through the doors. Kelsey was standing there waiting, anger clear in her eyes.

  "What was that about? What did she mean?"

  "Nothing." He moved past her, kept walking.

  "Don't tell me it was nothing. She said your—"

 
; He spun on her, his own anger jumping to the surface. "Not. Now."

  "I deserve to know—"

  "It was nothing. Just a fu—" He stopped, swallowed back the oath and sucked in a deep breath. "It's just a formality. A matter of paperwork. I'll make it right when we get home."

  "Make what right? What did you do?"

  "Lady, don't even think about putting this on me. This was all your father's doing."

  "What was? What are you talking about?"

  Dammit! Couldn't she leave well enough alone? Couldn't she fucking wait?

  He started to ask her that, stopped when the phone in his pocket started ringing. He swore to himself, shoved the fucking pink backpack and stuffed animal at Wolf, then grabbed the phone, answered it with a sharp, "Yeah."

  "You've got problems."

  Yeah. No fucking shit he had problems. He had a woman ready to rip his head from his shoulders and piss down his neck and a daughter he didn't want. He started to say as much when the urgency in Mac's voice finally registered, stopping him in his tracks.

  "Talk to me."

  And damn if Kelsey wasn't still coming after him, demanding answers he wasn't ready to give. Wolf grabbed her, shook his head, started walking her toward the car.

  "I've been trying to reach you for two fucking hours."

  "Cell reception hasn't been the greatest—"

  "Ninja checked in. That woman you sent him to check on? She's been worked over pretty damn bad."

  "What? What the fuck happened?"

  "Looks like Grady Byrne paid her a visit."

  A blast of icy air washed over him. He looked over at Wolf, motioned for him to get in the car, now. "What? When?"

  "Sometime yesterday. Maybe an hour or two before he got there."

  "Fuck. Is she going to make it?"

  "She's out of surgery. Beyond that, who fucking knows."

  "Okay, keep me posted—"

  "Yeah, that's not the problem."

  "Mac, you better start fucking talking and not stop until I know everything."

  "Ninja was able to talk to her. Byrne knows everything. Your name. That you're the one who grabbed Kelsey from the cabin. The name of CSS. All of it. Chaos found the name Byrne used to get into the country and he's been tracking it. He got here yesterday afternoon."

  "Fuck. Fucking goddamn son-of-a-fucking—"

  "Daryl—Chaos thinks Byrne found you. He's not sure how, but Byrne's on the way there now. To New Mexico."

  He didn't wait to hear anything else, just rushed to the car and pushed Kelsey in, jumped in behind her and pointed at Wolf.

  "Drive. Now. And don't fucking stop."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Daryl met Wolf's gaze in the rear-view mirror and quickly shook his head. Yeah, the man knew something was up—but Daryl couldn't tell him, not yet.

  Not when Kelsey was staring at him like he'd lost his mind. She finished buckling Paige into the car seat, ruffled the girl's hair, then frowned at Daryl while she fastened her own seatbelt.

  "I think you owe me an explanation."

  "I'll explain later—"

  "Not later—now. What did she mean when she said your daughter?"

  Holy shit. That was what she wanted to talk about? Didn't she realize—?

  No, she didn't. There was no reason for her to realize anything. Hell, she probably thought he'd pushed her into the car just so they could leave. That he'd ordered Wolf to start driving because he was in a fucking hurry.

  Shit.

  He met the other man's gaze once more, saw Wolf shake his head and utter a low oath.

  "Kelsey, there are bigger things I need to focus on right now."

  "Bigger things—" Her mouth snapped closed, those green-ringed hazel eyes going wide for a fraction of a second. The color drained from her face and she shot a panicked look out the back window. "Do you mean—but how? Why?"

  "I'm not sure." He leaned between the front seats, stretching until his fingers caught the latch of the glove box and flipped it open. It was empty except for the rental paperwork. "Dammit. I need a map."

  Wolf nudged him out of the way, tapped the center console. "Try in here."

  Daryl rolled to the side, yanked the lid open. Nothing. "Dammit. Doesn't anyone believe in maps anymore?"

  "Not when they can simply use their phones, no."

  "Phones aren't an option right now."

  "You think he can access them?"

  "I can't risk it. Not right now."

  "Then if you have a better idea, I need you to share it because I'm coming up on the turn for the airport."

  Shit. Daryl clenched his jaw, trying to figure out their best option. Should they head to the airport and hope that Byrne wasn't there waiting for them? Or head in the opposite direction, ditch the car for another one then drive like hell for the state line and cross into Texas?

  He closed his eyes, pulled up a mental image of the map he had briefly studied before leaving home. Christ, he wished he had that fucking map with him now instead of relying solely on memory, because what he was remembering wasn't very reassuring.

  Because there wasn't a hell of a lot of anything between here and there—unless you counted a lot of empty highway.

  "Zeus, I need an answer."

  Fuck.

  He met Wolf's gaze, nodded. "Airport."

  "You sure?"

  "No, but it's our best bet."

  Wolf hit the brakes, cut the wheel to the left and fishtailed as he made the turn. Kelsey lurched forward, caught herself as Daryl swore.

  "Dammit, Wolf, you've got passengers back here."

  "Yeah. Sorry. My bad."

  For her part, Kelsey looked relatively calm. Pale and shaken, yes, but still surprisingly calm. The little girl was a different matter—her wide green eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled. She pulled the stuffed bear closer to her, holding it tight enough to decapitate the fuzzy head, and reached for Kelsey with her other hand.

  "Mommy."

  "It's okay, sweetie. I'm right here. We're just going for a quick ride, that's all."

  Daryl uttered a quick prayer that she wasn't lying. That they'd reach the airport with no issues. That they'd be in the air and out of harm's way within an hour.

  He'd feel a hell of a lot better if this area wasn't quite so remote. Nothing but fields and brush, with an occasional house so far off the road you could barely see it. And they didn't have any options for backroads because there simply wasn't any, not unless they decided to make their own.

  Yeah, that wasn't an option, either.

  Daryl turned in the seat, stretched behind him for his pack and reached into the outer pocket for his weapon and an extra clip before grabbing Wolf's from the other pack. He tried to be discreet about it, used his body to shield both weapons from view when he passed Wolf's up front—

  But Kelsey saw anyway. Her eyes widened, panic flaring in their depths before she quickly hid it.

  "It's just a precaution." He meant the words to be reassuring, figured it would have sounded a hell of a lot better if he believed it himself. But she didn't say anything, just turned her head and started talking to her daughter in a low voice, keeping up a stream of one-sided conversation.

  How much farther? It had taken them forty minutes to get to the home from the small motel this morning. The airport was only ten minutes from the hotel—but they had to pass the hotel to get there. Fifty minutes then? No, less than that with the way Wolf was driving, pushing the small SUV to its top speed of nowhere-near-fast-enough.

  Daryl twisted in the seat, glanced out the back window, saw nothing but empty road behind them. He looked at his watch, jerked his head up at Wolf's low oath.

  "Car's coming our way."

  "Just keep going, doesn't mean anything."

  Daryl focused straight ahead, breath held as Wolf shortened the distance between them. Fifty yards. Thirty. Ten—

  "It's slowing down—"

  "Just keep going." He cradled the weapon in his han
d, slid the rack to chamber a round.

  "Daryl." Kelsey's voice. Soft, holding the faintest tremor. He looked over, his gaze holding hers for the space of a few heartbeats. Then he looked at the little girl, felt his heart slam into his chest when she stared up at him with those tear-filled eyes.

  She wasn't his daughter. His daughter was dead and buried, her life cut entirely too short by a tragedy he'd had no control over. This time was different—this time, he was the one in control.

  And he'd die before allowing something to happen to this girl. Before allowing something to happen to her mother.

  He met Kelsey's eyes once more, wondered if she could see the determination in his gaze. If she could see the unspoken promise in his eyes.

  Wolf swore, the sound sharp and angry. "They just spun around to follow us."

  "How many?"

  "I saw three visible."

  Daryl nodded, a deep sense of calm falling over him. Three against two were damn good odds—except for the two passengers with them.

  "Kelsey. I need you to keep your head down. I need you to keep calm, no matter what happens. Is that understood?"

  She nodded then leaned to the side, draping herself over her daughter, her fingers squeezing the edge of the car seat so hard that her knuckles turned white. Daryl shifted in place, focused on the car behind them.

  "Wolf—"

  "This is as fast as it goes, Zeus."

  Shit. Not good. Not when that car was gaining on them.

  Sunlight flashed off something a split-second before he saw another flash, before he felt the impact of something hitting the back of the SUV. There was a ping of something hitting metal, the sound of plastic splintering. What was left of the SUV's taillight bounced on the road behind them, disappeared under the tires of the encroaching car.

  The SUV swerved, quickly straightened as Wolf gained control of the wheel. Daryl bit back an oath, held his breath as he willed the small SUV to go faster. Faster—

  Another shot. The SUV lurched as shredded rubber fell away behind them. The car swerved—no, not the car. It was the SUV, bouncing from one side of the road to the other as Wolf fought to control it.