Page 30 of Daddy's Little Sunshine

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Sort of?”

Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. Even in the short time they’d spent together, she’d come to recognize that as a sign that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. Knowing he was telling her anyway made her heart do a slow roll in her chest. “I was protecting the daughter of the head of one of the families. A couple times a rival family came for her, and I did what I had to do to get her to safety.”

“Whoa.” Setting the sandwich aside, she turned to face him more fully. “How the hell did you end up in the mafia?”

Frowning, his eyes narrowed at her. “I wasn’tinthe mafia. It was more of a contract job.”

Lainey rolled her eyes, then yelped when he swatted her thigh. “Hey!”

“Don’t roll your eyes. I’m getting to it.”

“Sorry. So how did you end up contracted or whatever with the mob?”

“I accidentally saved Rico Moretti’s life.” Daddy grinned and tapped his finger on her chin, which had dropped open on shock. “Close your mouth, sunshine. You’re catching flies.”

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “When you said mafia, I thought you were exaggerating. How do you ‘accidentally’ save the head of the Moretti family?”

Shrugging, he reached over and began playing with the ends of her hair. “I didn’t know who he was. I was waiting tables at this little mom and pop Italian restaurant when I was about seventeen. Found out later it was a front, but that’s beside the point. Rico was having dinner there one night. I’d just finished taking his order and I noticed this guy a couple tables over acting weird. I honestly can’t even tell you what really happened. I don’t know if I actually saw the gun or it was some weird intuition, but I jumped in front of Rico and took a full magazine in the chest.”

“Oh, Daddy.” Sympathy welled in her chest and she scooted closer to him. “That must have hurt.”

His laugh was surprisingly genuine, without even a hint of bitterness. “Yeah, getting shot stings like a motherfucker. Needless to say, when I didn’t die right there on the spot, Rico knew something was up. He had me taken back to his penthouse and brought a doctor in to see me. But by the time the doc got there, the bullets were sitting in a Tupperware container and I was good as new.”

“Holy shit! Yes, yes, I know, my language.” Waving off the stern look he’d given her, she plowed ahead. “So, Rico asked you to be his daughter’s bodyguard?”

“Yeah. I balked at first because I didn’t want to be tied to anything, especially the mob. But he eventually won me over. He’s persistent that way,” he added with an easy, affectionate grin. “He even paid for me to get pretty extensive martial arts training. Clara was a sweet kid, so tagging along with her wasn’t much of a hardship. She kicked me to the curb after she turned eighteen, much to Rico’s dismay.”

“The men you killed. Were they mafia, too?”

The humor faded from his expression as he nodded. “Same family that tried to take out Rico the night we met. They eventually stopped being a problem. I don’t know what happened,” he said as soon as she opened her mouth to ask. “I never wanted to know.”

“Oh.” Lainey blew out a breath. She’d known from the moment he’d rescued her in the alley that he’d been trained to fight. She’d imagined the military or law enforcement of some kind, but the mafia? That hadn’t even been on her radar.

“I guess I should tell you.” He tugged at her hair, drawing her attention back to him. “Rico is the person helping me get you out of the city. He has contacts I can’t reach without him. We’re working on getting you a new identity.”

“What?” Panic began to set in, wrapping its icy fingers around her throat. “I don’t want a new identity. I like being Lainey!”

“I know, sunshine. But Rose Corp knows who you are. You’ll never be safe if you keep your name.”

Her eyes burned with yet another wave of unshed tears. What she wouldn’t give to have her nice, normal life back. “Are you coming with me?”

“If Rico can put the paperwork together fast enough, yeah.” The hand tugging her hair moved to cup the back of her head, drawing her closer to him. “If not, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Really? Oh, thank God.” Nearly shaking with relief, she flung herself into his arms. “I don’t think I could do this without you.”

“Sure, you could. You’re stronger than you think, sunshine.”

“I think you’re giving me too much credit,” she said with a shaky laugh. “You’re the strong one.”

“Are you arguing with your Daddy, little girl?”

The playful growl in his voice made her core clench with need. “Maybe.” Tilting her head up, she smiled at him. “What are you going to do about it?”

Rising from the couch, he swung her up into his arms all in one fluid motion. He carried her to the bedroom and showed her exactly how he handled naughty little girls.

CHAPTER 13

Donovan

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