Page 79 of Daddy's Little Survivor

“She had fruit and a protein drink for breakfast and for lunch, she had chicken noodle soup with a protein drink. Monroe hasn’t had dinner yet,” Ezra said. “I made sure she ate and didn’t just chew on a little bit and say she was finished.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “We’re going to get some sugar in your system to see if it’ll help you stop shaking. Luckily, I have some chocolate in my bag I think had your name written all over it.”

Her eyes sparkled at the mention of chocolate and he couldn’t help but chuckle. His girl had a sweet tooth and he would have to watch that carefully. He didn't want her to get so full of sweets that she wouldn't eat anything else. He had seen several Littles do that.

She slowly started to eat it and he looked back at Ezra. He had mentioned talking to some of the guys on his team about the information and Michael wanted to know what that was. He hated not knowing what was going on with his girl.

“We haven't gotten his location yet but my guy is actively working on it and thinks he's close. We don't know if Jared is in Springfield or if he has somebody that is watching her. He could very well be still in Maine and just have somebody he trusts watching until he can get here,” Ezra said. “We're still taking precautions like he was actually in the city.”

Michael looked back at Monroe to see her staring at Ezra.

“Eat your chocolate, Little Bunny. You need it,” he said, but she didn't.

Gently grabbing the already melting chocolate from her hands, he slowly started to feed her pieces of chocolate little by little. He wanted to make sure she was getting sugar into her system because he had no doubt she was experiencing an adrenaline crash.

He had seen it countless times with patients that came in when he worked at the hospital. They had a traumatic event happen and once they were in a safe place, they crashed so hard, their hands shook and they couldn't control it.

“So, what's the game plan?” Michael asked.

They had to have some type of plan.

“I called that guy I know here and he's on extra alert. He knows what to look for and we're going to catch Jared. I have some other local people the guy knows who are also willing to help in patrolling the streets incognito to find him,” Ezra said.

“If you don't mind me asking. Why aren't some of your guys coming in?” he asked.

Michael had found it odd that since Jared was a well-known guy they wouldn’t want more people on this. They all knew he was dangerous and was willing to do anything. He'd already done it once with one girl and Michael knew without a doubt, he would do it again.

“Right before Jaxson called us, well, several days before, we had a high-profile case come in and several of our guys that were free went to help and protect the person. I was the only one that didn't go, along with my guy, Antonio, the tech genius. They sent me and now I'm using my resources here, guys who I know and trust, to help out,” Ezra explained. “A lot of them know who Jared is and were here when he lived here. They want him taken care of because they know how dangerous he is.”

Michael knew it was a last-minute case and they could have sent nobody at all. He was thankful they were able to send Ezra because he didn't know what to do. In this one instance, he felt useless because he didn't know how to protect his girl, his Little Bunny, from Jared. Ezra was smarter about these things and had a lot more resources than he did, and he wasn't afraid to admit that.

Did it bother him that he was relying on someone else to protect Monroe? Yes. Michael wanted to protect his girl and right now, he felt like he was failing her because he didn't know how. He was in foreign territory and couldn't do a thing about it.

“I was just wondering. I'm grateful you were able to come and help us out,” Michael said.

“No worries. I've heard lots of things about Jared Anderson and I'm glad we're taking him out. He's dangerous and doesn't need to be on the streets anymore,” Ezra said. “I'm just sorry he's after Monroe. It must be absolutely terrifying to be in your situation and we're trying our hardest to find him with the resources we have. I can't promise and tell you it'll be done in three days. I don't know how long it's going to be but hopefully, it'll be over soon.”

Michael looked at Monroe to see that some of her shaking had stopped but not all. He needed to get her to fully relax. Maybe he should build a fort and help her calm down. He had done it several times and it always amazed him how well it worked.

“Thank you so much for all that you're doing,” Michael said as he looked at Ezra.

“I'm going to go call my guy,” Ezra said as he got up and left the room.

Michael grabbed Monroe's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Do you want to go build a fort and watch a movie? We can have all the unhealthy snacks and stay in there for however long you want,” Michael suggested.

“Okay,” she whispered.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

MONROE

Monroe didn't know how much she needed this until Daddy made it happen. When he had asked her if she wanted to build a fort, watch movies, and eat all the unhealthy snacks, she’d known she couldn't give up this opportunity. Not only would it help her relax but she'd get to spend time with her Daddy.

It felt like ever since Jared had texted her, they hadn’t really had time to just be together. He had been so worried about her and what they were going to do that yes, he was with her, but they hadn't just spent time together. He'd also gone back to work and while she knew he had to, she didn't exactly like it.

She felt like he took on too much responsibility and didn't delegate, and as such, they weren't able to do much because he was so busy. Daddy had taken several days off when she first got here to help her gain back her strength and heal right.

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