Daddy's Sweet Girl (Montana Daddies, #3)

by Roberts, Laylah

  Well, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her anymore.

  She was reaching for the door before her brain warned her that something was wrong. The door was open, the wood around the lock splintered.

  Oh shit.

  HE KNEW AS SOON AS he got to her place, that something was very wrong.

  Yeah, the cop car sitting outside was a big fucking clue. As he pulled up outside her place, parking in behind her piece of shit car, he hoped he hadn’t made a huge mistake in waiting so long to come back.

  Two days. It had been all he could give her. And he’d taken that time to set a few things in place. He’d re-organized some meetings to free himself up. He’d also done a bit of online shopping for some things that might help her feel more at ease with him. To make up for the mistakes he’d already made with her.

  But none of that was important if she was hurt...

  He jumped out of the truck, not even bothering to shut the door as he raced towards the house. The front door was at a strange angle and he noticed the dent in it as though someone had rammed their boot into it.

  When he walked inside, he came to a stop. His heart was racing. He stared around in horror. If there was anything that hadn’t been turned over or smashed, he couldn’t immediately see it.

  He heard the quiet murmur of voices coming from the living room and headed that way. Inside, he could see the couch cushions slashed, the insides pulled out.

  What the fuck? The T.V. was pushed over. There was glass and shit everywhere. This wasn’t a normal robbery.

  “Kent?”

  He moved his gaze towards the kitchen where Abby stood next to Ed. He studied her, not going to her immediately, wanting to calm himself slightly. If she’d been here when this person had broken in... he had to swallow against the bile rising up his throat.

  Fuck. Fuck.

  “What are you doing here?”

  She appeared unharmed. Physically, anyway. She had her arms wrapped around her waist defensively, as though hugging herself. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, her face pale. In shock.

  “Abby.” He took a step forward and she stepped back. He stilled.

  Ed shot him a look, filled with curiosity and something else. “Kent, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to see Abby.”

  “That so?” Ed shot his gaze back to Abby. “You said there was no one you wanted me to call, Abby.”

  She’d said what?

  “Abby, why didn’t you call me immediately?” he asked in a low, calm voice. Much as he wanted to lecture her, he was going to have to give her a chance to explain.

  Whoever had done this to her house had been either in a rage or searching frantically for something. Everything had been destroyed and she didn’t have anything worth taking. So, what had they wanted?

  Why hadn’t she called him?

  “I...I knew you were busy in meetings today.”

  He frowned. True. But didn’t she know that she was more important than any meeting? Obviously not, since she’d chosen not to call him.

  “I don’t care how busy I am, something like this happens, you call me, understand, little girl?”

  She blushed slightly and glanced over at Ed. The sheriff gave him an assessing stare. “Like that, is it?”

  Kent nodded. “It is. And from now on, if there’s ever any trouble involving Abby, I expect a call straight away.”

  “I’ll note that,” Ed said dryly.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she whispered.

  “I just took responsibility for you,” he told her in a firm voice.

  “Umm, you what?”

  “If you get into trouble, get a speeding fine, get into an accident, something like this happens again then Ed knows to call me immediately. Although, if you’re able to I’d expect that call to come from you.”

  “You can’t just accept responsibility for me,” she whispered.

  “She doesn’t know it’s like that, huh?” Ed asked, sounding amused.

  “We were taking things slow.” He looked around. “Timeline just got pushed forward.”

  “It did?” she asked shakily.

  Sympathy stirred. Poor baby, she seemed like she’d reached her limit. He moved slowly closer, not wanting to make any sudden moves and scare her. Thankfully, she didn’t shy away from him. He cupped the side of her face with the palm of his hand. “It’s okay, baby. You’ve had a bad scare. You’re in shock. Just let me help you, okay?”

  “I don’t understand what happened.” She took in the living room with horror-filled eyes.

  He grasped hold of her chin, raising her face up so she was staring at him. Just him. “Just focus on me, baby. I’m going to take care of everything else. All right? Just me.”

  Her eyes were still too wide. Her pulse was racing. But she kept her eyes on his. He ran his thumb over the smooth skin of her cheek. “That’s my sweet girl.”

  Ed cleared his throat. “Now that that’s settled, maybe you can shed some light on the bruises she’s got on her wrist?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  You’re not scared of Kent. Kent isn’t scary.

  But right at that moment, as he stared down at her bruised wrist, the one she’d forgotten to hide from the sheriff in her shock over the state of her house, she had to work really hard to remember that she had nothing to fear from him.

  She swallowed heavily. She couldn’t believe this. Any of it. Who had done this to her house? Why? They hadn’t taken anything, it just seemed like they’d done their best to destroy everything they could. There wasn’t anything left. Nothing.

  She had nothing.

  And where the hell was Max?

  A sob worked its way up her throat and Kent raised his eyes from her bruised wrist to study her face. He still held her hand gently in his large one. His skin was warm, his touch surprisingly gentle, the look in his eyes was banked fury.

  “How old is this bruise?” he asked.

  Tears swam in her eyes. She shook her head.

  “You don’t know?” he asked incredulously.

  She did. She just didn’t want to answer him. Once he knew it all, he’d be so disappointed in her. Disgusted by her life.

  And what is the alternative? Keeping this all a secret?

  “Abby, if someone is threatening you, we can help,” Ed offered.

  She sobbed out a breath. “You can’t. Nobody can.”

  Kent shook his head. “Abby. You know who I am. What I do. The teams of men I have who work for me. There isn’t much I can’t do. And I can most certainly protect you. I will take you to Sanctuary with me, and I will make damn sure that nothing happens to you.”

  “But you won’t want to take me with you once you know,” she whispered.

  He frowned. “Know what?”

  “How I’ve been lying to you.”

  Kent didn’t explode like she thought he might. He didn’t do anything except give her a thoughtful look. Then he turned to Ed. “Give us a minute on our own?”

  Ed shook his head. He was watching her carefully as well. “Wish I could, but it’s best just to get my questions out of the way now so you can take her home and get her settled. Got two of my deputies coming to help process the scene. They’ll be here soon and I’d really like some answers.” There was a stern note to his voice now.

  Kent nodded. “Me too. Right, get it off your chest, Abby. Tell us the worst of it.”

  She took a deep breath. There was no hiding from the truth anymore. She had to tell him. “The bruises are two days old. I got them that day that you...that you came here and I wouldn’t let you in the house.”

  Kent’s eyes narrowed, but it was his only reaction to her statement. “That’s the reason you wouldn’t let me in? Why you were acting so odd? Who gave them to you?”

  “My brother.”

  “Max is back?” Ed asked sharply.

  “Yes.”

  “Damn it, Abby. Don’t you know there’s a warrant out for him? Do yo
u know what kind of trouble you could get in for harboring him?”

  To her surprise, she suddenly found herself behind Kent’s wide back. He stood between her and the sheriff. And when he spoke, it was in a voice she’d never heard before.

  Controlled fury.

  “First, don’t ever swear at her. Second, don’t take that tone with her. Third, she’s obviously a victim and there will be no threats of arresting her or anything else. Understand?”

  “I...I didn’t even think about that. I’m sorry.”

  Kent turned so he still stood between them, but could stare at them both. “It’s okay. You obviously had other things on your mind.” He gave Ed another glare.

  Ed huffed out a breath. “Sorry, Abby. Do you have any idea where Max is now?”

  “No, that’s the thing. I think maybe whoever did this was looking for him. He said he was in trouble—”

  “When isn’t he?” Ed remarked.

  Abby nodded. She held her hands together tightly in front of her. “I know. But I think he’s in worse trouble than usual. He owes money. He gambles and he doesn’t know when to stop. And he’s using. I think he was high when he did this.” She pointed to her wrist.

  “You should have told me,” Kent told her. “When I arrived, you should have told me he’d hurt you and that he was in your house.”

  “I was scared.”

  “Of me?”

  She shook her head. “Of him. Of what he would do to you. He’s not the brother I grew up with. He’s mean. He’s violent. He said these people wouldn’t hesitate to hurt either one of us to get what they wanted from him. I’m not sure what that is. Usually people just want money. Not that I can afford to pay anyone else off. All of my spare cash goes to Mr. Markovich.”

  “What?” Kent whispered.

  HOW HAD HE NOT KNOWN any of this was going on? How had he missed it all? She had a bruised wrist, for fuck’s sake. Clearly, her brother had been threatening her. Mistreating her.

  And she hadn’t said a word to him.

  Fuck it. He should never have left her that day. He’d known something was going on, but he’d never imagined it would be something like this.

  “You’ve been paying off Max’s debt with Drew Markovich?” Ed asked incredulously. “Wait, is that why you were at the bar the other night when Eden was attacked?” He turned to Kent. “Markovich owns the Suck ’n Blow.”

  Kent nodded, still unable to find his voice. He knew that. He also knew that Drew Markovich was a dangerous, ruthless bastard. And she’d been paying him off? Visiting the damn Suck ’n Blow every week? Anything could have happened to her.

  “I go there once a week to give him the money. One of his goons approached me months ago. They forced me into a car and drove me to him. He told me that Max had used me as a guarantee on a loan. I tried to tell him he couldn’t do that. I mean, I’m not responsible for my brother. But he said...he said when he caught up to Max, he’d start taking off body parts unless we came to some arrangement. I believed him.”

  “Fuck. Fuck.” Kent ran his hand through his hair. Why hadn’t he questioned her further about what she was doing there that night?

  Maybe because he’d been too busy thinking about his own personal crisis. Which suddenly seemed so stupid in the face of what she’d been going through. He started to pace up and down, he had to do something with all the restless energy inside him.

  “Luckily, he lets me pay it off as there was no way I could come up with the cash Max owed. Not without selling the house.” She rubbed her arms and he caught sight of the horrible bruise surrounding her wrist in shades of yellow and green and he felt ill. “Of course, I still might have to do that.”

  “Markovich is threatening you,” he snarled.

  “What? No. Well, not anymore. He’s actually quite a reasonable man to deal with,” she said.

  “Never heard that said about Markovich before,” Ed said. “He must like you.”

  He didn’t like the idea of that much either. He didn’t want her around a dangerous character like Markovich at all.

  “No, it’s the other people Max owes something to. That night that Eden was attacked, when I was leaving work this man approached me in the parking lot. I’d just fallen over and he appeared out of nowhere. Said Max had something that belonged to his boss and they wanted to know where he was. I told them I didn’t know. He got so angry and I was scared he would hurt me so I said that Max called me each week and that next time he called I’d find out where he was.”

  She rubbed at her head as though she had a headache. But he couldn’t offer her any sympathy or help until she got this all out.

  “And you didn’t think to tell me?” Ed asked the question Kent wanted to.

  Abby shook her head. “He made it clear I wasn’t to tell anyone. And I didn’t think there was much you could do. If I told you and he found out, well, I’m rather fond of my toes and fingers where they are.”

  “He threatened to chop off your fingers and toes?” Kent roared, making her jump.

  “Well...no...not in so many words. But isn’t that the way these things go? At least it always is in the movies.”

  Kent had to bite his lip to prevent himself from pointing out this wasn’t fiction. It was real. Truth was, with people like the ones Max was obviously mixed up with, things could very rapidly escalate to violence.

  “What happened after he threatened you?” Ed asked, making notes as she spoke.

  “The first time?”

  “First time?” Kent whispered. This just got better and better.

  She gave him a guilty look. Oh, he so wasn’t going to like this.

  “Yes,” Ed said, sending him a look.

  “Afterwards, I went home, got changed and headed out to Suck ‘n Blow and, well, we all know how that went. Then a few days later, I came home to find the door ajar. Max had found my spare key and was inside the house. He got angry with me, because he thought I’d called the police.”

  “Which you should have done,” Ed said firmly.

  Kent scowled.

  “He slammed me against the wall and twisted my wrist. He said he was in trouble and needed to hide. That he needed cash to go on the run. I told him I didn’t have any, but he wouldn’t leave. And I was scared of him. I’d dropped the bag of groceries, so I went out to get more. That’s when that scary man approached me again, in the parking lot of the grocery store. He wanted to know where Max was, but I lied and told him I still didn’t know. He said he’d be back and that he’d get nasty if I still had no answers for him.” She glanced at Kent. “I couldn’t tell you about him. I was scared of what he’d do to you if you knew he was there.”

  He stopped pacing to stare at her with exasperation. “Baby, I was a Navy SEAL. I own a security company. Every day, I train, I work out, I go to the shooting range. Do you seriously think Max could do anything to hurt me?”

  “I...I didn’t want to take that risk.”

  He shook his head. Damn it. He knew she didn’t know him well. Not then. But over these last few days they’d spoken each night. He’d texted her during the day. She could have told him any time.

  “He...he wanted me to use you.”

  “What? Who?”

  “Max. He listened in on our conversation on the porch. I’m so sorry. He might use what he heard against you. For blackmail, he said. If you wouldn’t...if you wouldn’t...” she closed her eyes as though she couldn’t bear to look at him while she said what she had to, “he wanted me to get close to you so I could rob you, or something. I don’t know. I know I should have pushed you away. I shouldn’t have been talking to you on the phone or agreeing to anything. I lied to you. I kept things from you. But please, you have to know I would never have done it. I wouldn’t have let him blackmail you, either. I’m so sorry. Please, you have to believe me. Please.”

  She was nearly hysterical as she stood there and begged him. Tears dripped down her pale cheeks, her eyes were wide and glassy. Still in shock. And here he was,
pacing angrily up and down the room instead of taking care of her as he fucking promised he would.

  Fuck.

  He strode to her and she flinched back. Shit. Shit.

  “Baby, Abby-girl, I would never hurt you. Not ever.”

  “I...I know. It was just reflex. Sorry.”

  The sound of a car door slamming made her jump. “That will be my men,” Ed said. “I’ll go meet them and give you as long as I can. You’ll take care of this,” he said to Kent.

  Kent just nodded.

  Ed disappeared out the front door, shutting it behind him. Kent took in a breath then glanced around, searching for a place where he could sit. He gently took hold of the wrist that wasn’t bruised and walked with Abby into the dining room. The chairs in here were solid and still in one piece. He turned one upright and set it down. Then he sat and reached for Abby once more, pulling her over.

  She went reluctantly, tears still spilling down her cheeks. He basically had to lift her onto his lap.

  She sat there stiffly. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to comfort you,” he told her. “Lean into me. Put your face against my chest.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back in slow, soothing movements.

  “Why are you being nice to me? You should be yelling at me. Telling me I’m a terrible person.”

  “Should I?” he murmured. “Why?”

  “Because I lied to you, kept things from you, because my brother wanted me to use you for money.”

  “But you didn’t, did you?”

  “No. Never. I wouldn’t ever. Please, believe me.”

  “I do, sweetheart.”

  “W-what?”

  “I believe you. I know you wouldn’t do that. You’re too honest. Someone who could risk themselves to save another person they barely know, couldn’t turn around and blackmail someone. Not when I know how much you like me.”

  She snorted. “Don’t get too carried away. I tolerate you.”

  “Oh, tolerate huh?”

  She nodded her head, but she gradually relaxed into him. He kissed the top of her head. “This doesn’t mean that you’re not in trouble for lying and keeping things from me. I distinctly remember telling you that you were to contact me if you needed me or were in trouble.”