Page 155 of Guardian Daddy

“Bikers? On my street?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, they’ll be inconspicuous.”

“Right,” Rhodes said in a sarcastic voice. “Because that’s what bikers are known for.”

Ethan was tempted to tell him that he’d just joined a MC. But he thought he’d save that surprise for another time.

He was a thoughtful guy like that.

Did he know that Ink belonged to an MC?

“Fine, but if one of my neighbors call the cops on them, I’m going to pretend I know nothing about this. Now, let me talk to my sister.”

Ethan pulled the phone from his ear and handed it to Cate. “He wants to talk to you. If he tries to bully you, yells at you, is mean to you, I want to know.”

37

Cate walked into the living room after ending the call from Rhodes.

Ethan was standing out by the pool, talking to someone who looked rather rough. He had a long beard and even longer hair tied back in a ponytail. The top of his head was completely bald.

She thought about going out there and checking if everything was all right. But the truth was, she was beginning to feel stressed. Everything was getting on top of her and stealing her breath. A heavy weight rested on her chest.

Rhodes had questioned her about Ethan and the way he treated her. She tried to put her brother’s worries to rest. Cate knew all of his questions stemmed from love. So she’d put up with a lot of questions before she’d finally told him enough was enough.

At least he was going to his gala and not rushing home.

But she had a headache and that panicky feeling was back.

Rubbing at her chest, she decided she needed some space to get her head together. Retreating into her closet, she grabbed her weighted blanket and pulled it over her lap. Then she put on her headphone headband.

But it wasn’t working. That feeling was still there.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave herself butterfly hugs.

Everything is fine.

Deep breath in. Let it out slowly.

Why was nothing working? Opening one of the drawers, she saw her pacifier was missing. Where was it?

Not wanting to leave the closet, she tried putting her thumb in her mouth. But that didn’t feel right. Tears dripped down her cheeks.

The door to the closet opened, making her scream in fear. She shied back until she realized that Ethan was standing there. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him.

Reaching up with a shaking hand, she slid off her headband with the headphones built into it.

“Baby, what’s wrong? What can I do?”

He crouched down so he wasn’t looming over her.

“Talk to me, sweetheart.”

“I am just a bit o-overwhelmed,” she said.

“Is this because of Rhodes? Did he say something to upset you? I knew I shouldn’t have left you on the phone with him.”

“It’s not that.” She shook her head. “Just e-everything.”

---