“I’m glad you had each other.” He squeezed her hand gently.
She cleared her throat. “Maybe I should try calling her again.”
“Maybe. But not tonight. Tonight is about you.”
She smiled up at him tentatively. “Thanks for coming for me, Zeke.”
“Princess, I’ll always come for you.” He leaned in and kissed her. It started off gentle but soon morphed into something else. Something wilder. He drew back before he could get too carried away.
“Hmm, Daddy doesn’t have any clean panties for you. So, you’ll have to do without tonight.”
“Th-that’s okay.”
“I hate not having everything I need to take care of you.” No panties, no crutches. He frowned. “Were there any medications you needed?”
“Um, no. Just painkillers I take when I get headaches.”
“Tell me if you feel one coming on and I’ll get you some painkillers, all right, little one? After I get you all set up in bed, I’ll go get your chair and do a check outside.”
“Can I come with you?”
“No, princess. It’s too late and cold for you to be up. You need your sleep.” He got her situated in the bed, her back resting against the pillows so she was half-reclined.
She pouted; her lower lip pressed out. “Don’t wanna got to bed.”
It was fucking adorable.
Still, he reached up and tapped her lip. Wouldn’t do to let her think that she got to sulk when she didn’t get her way.
“Well, what you want and what’s best for you can be two different things. Right now, what you need is to get some rest.” He ran his thumb under her eye where shadows were present.
“I told you, I won’t sleep.”
“I have some ideas to help with that.” Although he thought from the way she kept yawning that she would definitely sleep.
“I-ideas? Like last time?” There was a slight blush on her cheeks, but also a hopeful note in her voice.
“Maybe like last time,” he told her.
“Oh.”
“Right now, I’m going to make you a hot chocolate you can drink while I take care of everything. All right?”
“I still think I could help, Daddy. I’s a good helper.”
Jesus, her Little was adorable. And he could see her coming out more and more the sleepier she grew. Or was it just because she was beginning to trust him more with that side of herself? He hoped it was the latter.
“I know you are. And there will be plenty of other opportunities to help me. Just not now. And I don’t want any more arguments, or you’ll be sleeping on your tummy with a hot bottom.”
He’d promised her punishment tonight for putting herself in danger. But with her emotional outburst earlier, he didn’t think now was the time. And he didn’t want to do anything to make her shy away from him, to hide her Little once more.
She sighed. “Okay, Daddy.”
“Good girl. That’s my good girl. Daddy might not be happy with how you put yourself in danger tonight, but I am happy at how you are letting me take care of you.”
All that had to happen was a mini meltdown of sorts. But he’d take it. Anything that brought down those barriers and let him in.
He gave her another kiss on the forehead and left the room. He quickly made the hot chocolate and carried it back to her. He’d searched through the cupboards until he found a sippy cup. When he handed it to her, she frowned in confusion.
“What’s this?”
“It’s your hot chocolate. I didn’t want you to spill it in bed so I put it in a sippy cup.”
She tilted her head to the side, staring at the sippy cup with a skeptical look. “I’m big girl.”
His turn to be skeptical.
“And how will I get the marshmallows out?” She tried to pry the top open. “I needs a spoon.”
He placed his hand over the lid gently. “Don’t open the lid, little one. And there’s no marshmallows in there.”
She gaped at him. “No marshmallows?” Her tone of voice couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d told her he was a serial killer. “You can’t have hot chocolate without marshmallows.”
“Well, you are. I don’t want you having too much sugar before bed.” Or at all.
She wrinkled her nose. “That just sucks.”
He shook his head at her. “Drink your hot chocolate, little one. Then you can snuggle down with dolly and wait for me, okay?”
“Okay.”
He moved outside and quickly grabbed her chair, taking it back into the room.
“Place it by the bed?” she requested. “I like it close in case I need to get up in the night.”
He understood that and moved it next to her side of the bed. But he reached down and grabbed hold of her chin. “If you wake up in the night and need anything, you wake me, understand?”
“But. . .where will you be?”
“Right here, next to you.” Where he damn well belonged. The look he gave her dared her to argue.
“Okay.” Her eyelids fluttered and he knew she was fading. He grabbed the sippy cup from her hand and helped her settle into the bed, pulling the weighted blanket up further. “I don’t want to wake you up, though.”
He kissed her cheek. “Sh, baby. That’s what I’m here for. To be there if you need me. Just go to sleep now.”
Her breathing deepened and he stood and watched her for a while. Her hair was still tied up in a messy knot on top of her head. He should have brushed that out for her.
Tomorrow. Right now, she needed rest. So did he. He just needed to take care of a few things first. He reached for the camera baby monitor, turning it on. He clipped the monitor onto his belt. He wouldn’t leave her without having eyes on her.
She frowned in her sleep and on instinct he reached for the doll, placing it in her hand. She settled, rubbing the doll’s foot under her nose. Shoot, she didn’t have her body pillow. He grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and peeled back the blankets, carefully. He moved her upper leg up and slid the pillow between her legs, then tucked her back in.
An idea was forming. Even if they didn’t have to stay here past tonight, maybe he could convince her to remain here for a while. It would give them a chance to get to know each other without anyone’s interference.
11
Zeke secured the cabin, made certain all the alarms were on. Then after checking the monitor, he moved onto the back porch. The moonlight glinted off the lake as he pulled out the burner cell.
Seemed Reyes was as paranoid as ever. Who the hell did he think would be listening in on their conversation? There was only one contact number on the phone and he pressed on it. It rang four times before it was answered.
“Took your time,” Reyes rasped.
Zeke raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t realize I was keeping you up. If you think beauty sleep is going to help your ugly mug this late in the piece, you’ve been misinformed.”
Beat of silence then Reyes let out a low bark of laughter. “Still a smart-mouthed asshole, huh? Some things never change.”
Actually, he thought he was completely different from the boy who’d been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He’d finally found a home, people who cared about him, someone he needed, wanted.
“Some things don’t.”
“Yeah, I hear ya. Guess I can’t blame you for taking your time, when you’ve got a fine piece like that in your bed.”
“She’s not a piece,” Zeke said hotly.
Reyes let out another bark of laughter and Zeke knew he’d given him what he’d been aiming for. More proof Eden was important.
“I told you I had claimed her. You don’t need to test my feelings for her.”
“She didn’t seem so sure.”
“She will be.”
“Yep, some things never change. Still cocky. Still think you can have any chick you want.”
“She’s not a chick. And she’s the only one I want. I’m serious about her, Reyes. And I will do whatever it
takes to keep her safe. From every and any threat.” He wasn’t the teenage idiot he’d once been. He didn’t chase every high he could find just to feel alive.
More silence. He knew Reyes was getting his message. He didn’t care about their history when it came to Eden. Reyes needed to understand that if he was a threat, Zeke would take him down.
“I hear you, Jonas.”
The use of his last name didn’t escape him. Reyes wasn’t happy. This wasn’t some sort of reunion of brothers. But that didn’t matter. Zeke hadn’t seen Reyes in years. He was grateful to the other man for calling him about Eden. But he knew there had to be an ulterior motive.
“I need that money back,” Reyes told him. “I don’t hurt innocents. However, that doesn’t make my need any less. And the person whose money it is, they don’t fuck around. My whole club is at risk and that doesn’t make me happy. Once I learned who she was, I called you because I figured we could work something out. They don’t have the scruples I do, Zeke. They won’t hesitate to use her to get the money back. And then she’ll become collateral damage.”
“Who is it?”
Reyes sighed. “Ever hear of Fergus Bartolli?”
Fuck. Yes.
“Yeah, I have. We had a job that involved him a while back.” A job that was close to home. Abby’s brother Max had gotten involved with the Bartolli family. He’d stolen some information and Bartolli had him killed. But they’d never been able to find the evidence to pin Max’s murder on him.
“Why would you get involved with him? Why did you have that money?”
“You know I’m not going to tell you that.”
Zeke pinched the top of his nose. “Fuck.”
“Yep. Bartolli knows that Keira and my guy took the money. We’re trying to find them, Bartolli has his goons looking for them. We have no leads. Until your girl walks into my bar, asking after Keira.”
Fuck. Shit. His protective instincts rose, threatening his control. He needed to stay calm. She was safe. She was with him.
“I called you because I don’t hurt innocents. But Bartolli doesn’t feel the same.”
“Eden has no clue where she is.”
“I know. But Bartolli is fucked up. If he thinks Eden will help him get his property back, he’ll use her.”
“What are the odds he knows that Eden came into your bar asking about Keira tonight?” Zeke asked.
“I would say pretty good. I’ve got a suspicion there’s a mole in my club. Don’t know who it is. And plenty of people heard your girl say Keira’s name.”
So, odds were Bartolli already knew about her.
“Fuck. It’s only a hundred grand.” He thought furiously. He knew that Clint or Kent would easily have those sorts of funds on hand.
“It’s not just the money, that’s the least of it.”
“How did I know you were going to say that?” he muttered.
“You know the sort of shit that Bartolli is into?”
“You mean that he’s a scumbag who sells drugs, weapons and skin? Yeah, I fucking know.” It surprised him that Reyes was working with him. He didn’t peg him as the type to get into shit like prostitution. “Why the fuck would you work with the likes of him?”
“Not out of choice, that’s for fucking certain,” Reyes added. He let out a sigh. “I was forced into it. Don’t like it. At all. But mostly it was just laundering a bit of money.”
“He’s got something on you?”
“I own the bar myself not the Iron Shadows. I got into a bit of financial difficulty. Borrowed from the wrong people, ended up in bed with Bartolli. Started off just having to launder a bit of money for him. I’m not a good person, Zeke. It didn’t bother me much. Then he stepped the game up. The cash was a payoff from blackmail.”
“Who was he blackmailing? How did the money get in your safe?”
“Who isn’t important. And he was using me as the go-between. Keira didn’t just take the money; she took that fucking blackmail material. And Bartolli really wants that back.”
Holy. Shit.
“Idiot girl.”
“Yep,” Reyes agreed. “I had plans to take care of Bartolli, I won’t be his bitch forever. But Keira put a stop to that. Right now, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I don’t get what Keira fucking stole, then we’re all in jeopardy. Your girl included, because he won’t think twice about using her for his own gain.”
“What was the blackmail material?”
Reyes sighed. “This stays between us.”
Obviously.
“There were photos in the envelope of a state senator having sex with an underage girl.”
Fuck. What a mess.
“Those photos would have netted him a lot more than a hundred k,” Reyes said sourly. “That was just the beginning. This particular senator has aspirations of becoming President.”
Jesus. This was a fucking mess and Eden could be right in the middle of it.
Zeke ran his hand over his face.
“I spoke to Bartolli about an hour ago. Told him that I thought I had a lead but it fell through. Not sure what our chances are of him leaving things at that, though. He may come after her.”
If he did, he was a dead man.
“I take it you’re somewhere safe?” Reyes asked.
“Yes.”
“Look, I know a bit about JSI. I know you fuckers are well-trained. I’m guessing she’ll have the best protection. Honestly, it was another reason I called you in. I don’t want fucking JSI on my ass or the cops. If she wasn’t who she was, if I didn’t believe her when she said she had no idea where Keira might be, I would have tried to use her so it’s easy to see where Bartolli would have the same idea.”
He couldn’t trust Reyes. He couldn’t trust anyone who wasn’t his family. Which meant he would need to call Kent.
Fuck. He was going to lose his mind. But Reyes was right, Kent had the resources to find Keira.
“If she remembers anything, let me know. Sooner this bitch is found sooner we’re all safe.”
“The guy she’s with?” he asked.
“He’s a fucking ghost. Iron Shadows was all he had and no one here has a fucking clue where to go looking for him.”
He’d make a call to Corbin after this, see what he could dig up. “Can you send me all info you have on them both?”
“You gonna tap JSI’s resources?”
“To protect Eden, yes.”
Reyes let out a low snort. “Don’t worry, I never thought it was because of some brotherly affection.”
They weren’t brothers. But Reyes had been there for him many times. Until he wasn’t. Until he chose a gang over him.
“It will help you too.”
“Of course. Text me an email address and I’ll send what I have.”
“Why do you think she took the photos?”
“I don’t know. She has to know who they belonged to, though. My guy who took off with the bitch, he knew about Bartolli and the blackmail.”
“So maybe they’re going to use them to blackmail this senator,” he guessed. “Seems to me you have some problems in your ranks, Reyes.”
“I don’t need you fucking pointing that out to me, asshole,” Reyes said in a hard voice. “Believe me, things are not good here. But it doesn’t mean I can’t get everything back under control. I just need some time and to get fucking Bartolli off my case. He’s unhinged. Whether Eden has a chance of luring Keira out or not, there’s a possibility he’ll come for her.”
“Then I need to do what I have to in order to make her safe.”
“Figured that would be your call. Also figure you know this, but don’t ever fucking tell me where you are, okay?” There was a tired note to Reyes’ voice and Zeke felt a tinge of worry. “She doesn’t deserve to be caught up in all this, but she is.”
The phone went dead. He sighed and slid it into the back pocket of his jeans. For tonight, he was going to concentrate on Eden. On her trust. Tonight, he wanted her to get some rest. Tomor
row would be soon enough to tell her everything that he’d learned.
For now, he had to call Kent.
Fuck.
He dragged out his cell phone.
“Zeke, everything okay?” Kent asked after a few rings.
He hated that the reason for this call was Eden. She should be safely ensconced on the ranch, protected, coddled and. . . probably smothered. Yeah, he was going to have to be careful not to do that.
Even if he had to be a bit sneaky and protect her without her knowing. Like he had those nights he’d sneak into town and watched over her while she was out with those idiot friends of hers.
“No, chief,” Zeke answered honestly and to the point. “Eden’s in trouble.”
“What? How? Where the fuck is Clint?”
“Back home on the ranch. I haven’t spoken to him. I thought I’d best call you rather than him.” Lord knew how Clint was going to react to this. Well, he knew. He was going to fucking lose his mind.
“Everyone fucking calls me to deal with Clint. One day you all are going to have to deal directly with him yourself.”
He had to grin at that. He wasn’t too worried about dealing with the boss man. But he enjoyed riling up Kent’s calm façade at times.
But now really wasn’t the time.
“Listen, Eden’s gotten herself into some trouble with Fergus Bartolli.”
Silence.
“I’d ask you if this was some sick fucking joke, except I know you value breathing too much to do that.”
“I value your sister too much to joke about this,” Zeke snapped, insulted by the idea he’d make this shit up.
He heard Kent take a deep breath. “Finally gotten your head out of your ass, have you?”
Zeke narrowed his eyes at the implication he’d been ignoring what was between him and Kent’s younger sister.
“My head was not up my ass. I was giving her space. Going slow.” Okay, maybe it had taken him a while to work it all out. But he’d been working on gaining her trust.
“We have more important things to talk about, chief,” he reminded his boss.
“Yeah. Give it to me. What’s happened?”
He explained everything, including his relationship with Reyes, and the phone call he’d just had with him.
Daring Daddy (Montana Daddies Book 5) Page 11
