Page 40 of Her Protector Daddies

“You did? That’s amazing kiddo,” Jay grinned, setting the food down on the counter. He immediately scooped Dae into his arms, hugged him, and then glanced at me. “Thank you for helping him.”

“It was my pleasure,” I smiled. “Honestly, I feel like I learned a thing or two.”

“I feel like that every time,” Jay laughed. “They change how to teach kids so often that half the time I think they need to enroll parents. So, are you hungry?” He kissed Dae’s temple as Dae nodded and rocked in his arms.

“Starved!”

Dinner was a swift affair, filled with amazing food that had me cursing all the years I resorted to pizza when there was such incredible Korean food so close by. There were a few moments when Jay and I flirted with each other over some rice noodles. The other benefit of staying here was that I had definitely grown closer to all three of them.

Maybe too close.

After dinner, I scooped Dae up and carried him to bed while Jay tidied up downstairs. After a quick story and a kiss, Dae was fast asleep and I returned to the kitchen to find Bailey and Tyler were home.

They sat at the table, which was now covered in several folders and papers, each scoffing down mouthfuls of leftovers.

“What’s this?” I asked, squeezing Tyler’s shoulder on the way past and then ruffling Bailey’s hair.

“We made a break in the case,” Tyler said around a mouthful of beef.”

“What? Really?” I dropped into the nearest chair but kept my hands in my lap, not wanting to touch anything I shouldn’t. “It’s been weeks.”

“Too right,” Dae grumbled from where he was leaning against the island counter, his nose buried in a file.

“With Marcus in the wind and the Cartel clamping down on their people, none of our CI’s have been willing to talk,” Bailey said.

“CI’s?” I asked.

“Criminal informants,” Jay said.

“Exactly.” Bailey shoved another forkful of noodles past his lips. “Trying to get someone to flip has been impossible; everyone’s too scared.”

“But Bailey saved a woman and her kid from a car wreck the other day,” Tyler added. “Turns out, she was in the forced employ of a guy called Toby Sanchez who is a known associate of Andrés Dorame. He traffics women into the country and then forces them to work on the streets.”

My stomach flipped, and my dinner immediately soured. Years of experience at witnessing horror was probably why Tyler and Bailey could eat, unphased but for me, the thought was sickening. Those poor women. I couldn’t even fathom the terror of being forced into such a horrific situation. The fact that there were men out there raking in hundreds of thousands off the bodies of women was sickening.

“My god,” I murmured.

“She gave up her boss though, in exchange for protection and a new life for her and her kid,” Bailey said, his concerned gaze locked on me. “And while we were processing him, he let slip that Andrés has been like a bull in a china shop looking for Marcus. Normally, Andrés wouldn’t care about something like this because he takes his personal pleasure out of other shit.”

“Because he’s a psychopath,” Jay muttered tightly.

“Exactly. So it became clear that what Marcus did was more than a normal burglary especially if Andrés is this worked up , so we started looking into the casino more.” Bailey set his empty carton down. “Originally, we thought it was just another one of his money laundering houses which has been impossibly hard to prove.

“But,” Tyler added, pointing at me with his chopsticks. “It turns out, Andrés’ private security wasn’t there that day to keep Andrés safe; they’re there on the regular. Like clockwork, maybe even more. We’re still looking into all the details but the fact that his private security hang out there all the time implies that it’s not a normal casino.”

“So, what does this mean?” I asked, trying to piece it together in my mind.

“I think it isn’t the money they care about, but the items your father stole,” Tyler said.

“The items?” I frowned, casting my mind back.

“Can you remember anything about what else was in the bag?” Bailed asked.

I could only shrug. “Not really. I mean, it looks like expensive jewelry and I half assumed he’d just ripped it all from the necks of rich assholes.”

Bailed leaned over and grasped my thigh, smiling widely. “That’s exactly it!”

“Well, not exactly,” Jay cut in.

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