Page 76 of Her Protector Daddies

“The purple tabs are Tyler’s favorite, the red tabs are mine and the blue are for Jay. We highlighted what we like and if you can use the yellow to highlight what you like, then we have a pool to pick from.”

“Oh goodness,” I whispered, my eyes widening. There was everything from fancy apartments to beach houses. “You know I can’t afford any of this.”

“Well, for one thing, we’re all chipping in, so with four of us, any of this is in our price range, and with the case being brought against the Chief that directly resulted in attempts on your life, there’s some compensation coming your way,” Bailey grinned.

“You really think of everything,” I chuckled, and a deep warmth bloomed in my chest. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Maybe.”

“Ooo,” I teased softly as tears of delight warmed behind my eyes. “That’s a big ask.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Bailey remarked. “After a couple of assassination attempts, maybe moving in will be our biggest challenge yet.”

“Mmm, oh sure,” I murmured, running my fingertips over the tabs. “Maybe you won’t actually like living with me now that everything is calm.”

“What do you mean?” Bailey’s hand stroked across my shoulder and toyed with a few loose strands of my hair as I studied the homes.

“Well, things will be so boring now without the excitement of Andrés and all the drama of that. What if you lose interest when I’m just a regular woman becoming a regular mom?” Mostly, I was teasing, but there was a little truthful concern to my words. I had no idea how things were going to work when we went back to normal lives.

As much as we had bonded, the past two weeks in the hospital had given birth to a new fear that once they saw I was no longer someone they had to keep alive, then the attraction would die.

“Oh, Selena. Honestly, I prefer it when my woman isn’t being shot at or pursued by drug lords. Do you have any idea how much restraint I had to practice to keep my hands off you in case someone burst in when my pants were down?” Bailey chuckled softly, then he stroked my cheek and cupped my chin. With a single tug, he encouraged me to look at him.

“I know I speak for the others when I say this, but our attraction and love for you is for you and you alone. Our lives are filled with the kind of excitement that’s alien to you so that doesn’t play a part. Your strength, your kindness, and your good heart are what we adore.” Bailey’s smile softened. “After everything that happened, it might be hard for you to hear that or accept it, but over time, I hope we can show you do that.”

Yet again, tears threatened at the corner of my eyes as my heart swelled with love, and I gave a watery smile.

“Thank you,” I murmured. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed that kind of reassurance until it came from Bailey’s lips.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

God, I was so fucking in love.

Turning back to the brochures, I used the attached yellow tabs as requested and started to sticker the buildings and homes that appealed to me. It was tough not to look at the price tags, but given how this home would provide for my baby, I wanted the best of the best.

Halfway through, the front door clattered and Tyler appeared in the lounge a few moments later, bringing with him a familiar scent of his car air freshener and aftershave.

“You’re home!” He made a beeline for me, cupping my face and planting a solid, warm kiss on my lips. He kissed my nose as he pulled away, then glanced down at the folder. “Ahh, house hunting!”

“Yeah, you guys have some good taste,” I mused, then I paused when I clicked that Tyler wasn’t wearing his Officer’s uniform anymore. He was in a shirt and slacks with his police badge attached to his hip. “You’re not on patrol anymore?”

“Hm? Oh! No, sorry, I thought I had told you. With Andrés behind bars awaiting trial, there’s no need for me to be undercover anymore.” He winked at me and pushed some of his thick hair away from his eyes. “Back to being a sexy detective.”

“Oh, please,” Bailey scoffed while I winked back at Tyler.

Sexy indeed.

Suddenly, a clatter of pots rang from the kitchen, followed by Jay cursing loudly, then even louder laughter from Dae that his dad said a swear word. Tyler darted away immediately and Bailey, after swiftly kissing my cheek, followed suit to check out the damage.

With just the folder for company, I focused on tabbing each page until a thought struck me, worming its way up from the depths of my mind.

My father. I’d made several attempts to contact him over the past two weeks but he had responded to nothing. Andrés’ arrest was big news, so there was no way he could avoid seeing that Andrés was finally behind bars. None of my code words brought a response through text and the longer things were silent, the more I feared the worst.

Was he dead? Did Andrés’ men get to him and leave him in the gutter somewhere as just another junkie swept up by the system? Or did he turn tail and leave me in the dust without a care in the world?

Honestly, I couldn’t settle on which answer I preferred.

Eventually, I pulled out my phone, closing the folder in the process, and dialed his number half by habit. Pressing it to my ear, it rang out for a few seconds and then clicked automatically to voicemail. I took a deep breath and held it until the machine beeped.

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