Page 130 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

Cappa finds Fleur first, after utilizing the Blunts subbie network to call every hospital in the Tri-State area. I appreciate Theo trying to go through official channels and utilize his resources but he underestimates the ability of our submissives to get shit done. Cappa gives his personal information to theextended subbie network and with ten different men pretending to be him, they track down Fleur in less than two hours.

Manny offers to drive Ten and Cappa to Trinifas, a hospital outside Elizabeth, New Jersey, who have a Jane Doe matching Fleur’s description. A tense hour later, information begins filtering back to the assembled crowd at my house, which swells through the day. A man who identified himself as Cappa but ran when hospital staff asked him for ID, left Fleur in the ER. She was taken directly into surgery. I walk Laurel and Emily out of the room when Ten, on speaker, begins describing her injuries.

Emily watches me with her big eyes, wet and red from the last few hours.

Jiro joins us in the kitchen, closing my office door behind him. He folds Laurel into his chest. “Enough, petto.”

“I promise I’m okay, Tatsu,” she says but she clings to him in a way I haven’t seen before.

I beckon Emily to me. I need a hug even if she doesn’t.

“When she wakes up, we should go, Daddy,” Emily whispers as I wrap her in my arms.

“We will,” I promise.

“She’ll be okay,” Emily says but I hear the quaver in her voice. “She’s a dragon, too.”

“I hope so, baby.”

Maude’s the next to emerge from my office. She has two spots of red high on her cheeks which match her eyes.

“I’m arranging to have her airlifted to Presbyterian,” Maude tells me. “I don’t trust Trinifas. It has one of the worst ratings in New Jersey. No wonder they hadn’t even identified her yet.”

I nod. “What can I do?”

“Hold down the fort.” Maude glances at the dining table where True is sitting with Cynnie, playing a board game and watching Livvy while she naps. “Keep everyone here level. Georgie’s coming over after work. I anticipate several more ofthe house submissives will arrive later as well. They’ll need calm guidance as they process their emotions.”

“Here rather than the club?” I ask.

She pats my shoulder. “If you haven’t already figured it out, Logan, your house is a symbol of safety for practically every submissive I know. I’ll be back once Fleur’s settled at Presbyterian. Forgive his presumption but I believe Javier’s just booked your business partner’s transportation services for the next week. He should be here any minute to pick us up.”

“Of course, it’s fine,” I agree. Max will rearrange any jobs Manny had lined up. I don’t even have to ask.

“Create a rota while I’m gone if you have a moment,” Maude says. “A Dom and at least one submissive at the hospital during visiting hours for the next five days. Four-hour shifts max. Austin probably still has the template we used when you were injured. He’ll be here by dinner time.”

“You had a rota for caring for me?” I never heard about this.

Maude pats my shoulder again. “Of course we did. We couldn’t have that madness that descended when you first arrived home continue. It frightened Emily. I’ll call when Fleur’s settled. I’d prefer Georgie stay here tonight rather than be alone if I don’t get back at a reasonable hour. I apologize if that’s an imposition.”

“It’s not an imposition.” I already suspect we’re going to have a subbie sleepover in front of the telly tonight. “If you need anything, just call.”

“I will.” She gives me a final pat, holds her arms out to Emily for a hug, then walks away.

I wrap my baby doll back into a hug and drop my face into the warm, sweetly-scented curls on her crown. “We’re all lucky to have that woman in our lives,” I murmur.

“I never got to talk with her about Georgie, Daddy,” Emily whispers back.

“I think it’s okay. Bull’s realized he was using Georgie to plaster over the cracks in his trio. He’s going to work on fixing things before he tries to add Georgie into the mix again. Maybe by then they’ll have figured out an arrangement that suits everyone.”

Emily snuggles, squeezing my ribs, which I discover are sore. Probably all the tension. “I’m glad. I don’t want to come off as partial but I’m really rooting for Maude and Georgie. She’s been alone for so long. She deserves all the happiness.”

“We all do, baby,” I say, a little breathlessly after another hard squeeze. “We all do.”

I’m not wrong about the subbie sleepover.

Emily sets up her tent and a parade of subbies bring down armfuls of pillows and blankets. More people trickle in after their jobs end for the day and by the time Livvy’s gone down for her “little sleep,” there are over a dozen subbies camped out in the great room. Most of their Doms are also milling around, although Sammi is solo after Jack heads to Presbyterian, where he has surgical privileges. I give Emily a firm warning about Littles’ Army shenanigans, since Yummy and Amy are also here but the mood is so somber, it’s probably unnecessary.

When Theo sends me a text saying he’s on the way, I warn Max. He and Cynnie quickly decamp. Curiously, they take Amy with them.

---