Page 26 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

“Militarizingis a strong word, Daddy. And you said I should make friends. Sammi, Yummy, Aggie, Cynnie, and Amy are becoming really good friends. Littles’ Army is just what we call our friend circle. Like a boy band, only for littles.”

Logan rubs the bridge of his nose. “Baby?—”

“Master Mac is having T-shirts made, Daddy. Think of how disappointed he’d be if we didn’t wear them?”

“Okay but promise me no more glitter bombs. I’m still picking glitter out of places it hasnobusiness being.”

It’s hard to keep a straight face because I’m particularly proud of that prank. Daddy tried to give Max a lesson in spanking technique. Cynnie and I—very coincidentally andpurelyin celebration of National Glitter Day—had glitter packets in our back pockets.

Glitter really does get into strange places when ejected from pockets at high speed.

I unwind my arm from Daddy’s waist so I can hold out my pinkie. “Promise.”

He shakes my pinkie and pecks a kiss on the tip of my nose. “You can have a sleepover as long as Brenna agrees to superviseand Max can monitor you. I’m not sure what his schedule will be like after he’s landed.”

“Could it be someone other than Max? Sammi’s still very angry at him.”

“Because Max scuttled your butts on the fainting mini-goat escapade, yes, I know. Don’t think the caregivers haven’t been talking about that a great deal, little girl.”

I have to duck my head to hide my grin. “You said you weren’t angry about Harry-the-Mini-Goat, Daddy. The bad scientists wereexperimentingon him.”

Daddy wraps his arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze. I burrow my face into the curve of his shoulder. “I’m not angry about rescuing Harry. I’mconcernedyou didn’t bring the situation to me. This is the sort of thing that Daddy helps his little girl with.”

“Iwouldhave if Max had refused to drive. We were still in theplanningstage of the rescue, Daddy.”

“I accept that, sweetheart but I want it to be very clear that if you ever get to theexecutionstage of another of the Littles’ Army’s crackpot schemes without involving me, there will be punishment. You could have been arrested for trespassing on private property and stealing a goat, baby. That’s not okay.”

“I promise it wouldn’t have gotten that far without me telling you. Promise-promise.”

Logan gives a long-suffering sigh. Poor Daddy.

“As long as we’re clear. I know Sammi is planning some sort of revenge on Max. Jack’s monitoring Sammi’s messages. I’m telling you right now, baby girl, that’s not a ball you want to start rolling.”

I tip my head back so Logan can see my face. “I’ve been staying out of that. I know Sammi is angry at Max. I’m not. I understand why he told the daddies. I really was about to bring itto you once Cynnie said Max wouldn’t drive. I’m not part of any revenge plan. Cross my heart.”

Daddy kisses my forehead. “That’s a good girl. I want you to have friends and do fun things with them.”

“You just want me to be smart about our shenanigans. I understand, Daddy. I can have fun in a safe way. Promise.”

He cuddles me against his side. “That’s right, sweetheart. I trust you, you know I do. I just have to know you’re safe. Getting arrested upstate for trespassing and goat-napping isnotsafe.”

I give him a squeeze before slipping back into my own seat, because my knees are getting ouchy. There’s no rug under the breakfast table the way there is under our big dinner table and kneeling on the hardwood floor is double-tough.

As soon as I’m back in my seat, I stretch my hand across the table. Daddy folds his big, warm paw around it.

“I promise to be safe, Daddy. You promise to be safe, too. No more hits to the head.”

Logan nods. “That’s why I’m taking Mac with me. No ops without backup. That’s the new rule.”

It’s a good rule, given Logan’s injuries over the last six months. He’s recovered really well. He says he feels stronger and healthier than he did before the evil massage man broke his skull. Or after Rick-the-Dick aggravated his injury by punching him in the face. He can carry and toss me around the way he did before he was hurt, and, crazily, I think his stamina is even better than it was. But repeated head injuries are a bad idea by anyone’s estimation. Max and Mac have promised me they’ll never let Daddy be hurt like that again. I trust them but I’m glad to hear they’re putting rules in place.

“And don’t be too harsh on Joker’s B if you catch her?” I ask.

“Baby, I know you think she’s not malicious but she’s creating chaos at Sacrum. It has to stop.”

I nod. I’m not sure why I’m convinced Joker’s B isn’t a bad person. I just am. Her notes to Daddy, the way she only takes small things that are easily replaced, the way she never damages anything. I know it’s not okay; theft is wrong. I just feel like there might be some justification for what she’s doing, like our plans for liberating Harry-the-Goat. Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Even Daddy, who adheres as rigidly to rules as anyone I’ve ever met, agrees with that.

“Are you going tonight?” I ask.

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