Page 104 of Hey, Daddy

I sighed. “Fine.”

Being in that position would make it easier to accomplish the things that I wanted to—one of which being me now helping Shasha Semyonov.

“I’ll take it. I’ll need back pay for the time off. I’ll also need the department to pay for the rental I had to get after Daniels put me on leave. And I’ll need my cruiser back,” I demanded.

“Done,” the chief said. “I’ll have an officer follow you over with his partner, you can drop that rental off today, and you can pay for it with the company credit card.”

“Fine,” I said. “I can’t start until Monday, though.”

I had plans tonight.

“That’s perfectly acceptable,” he said. “This new job comes with regular hours at least. Monday through Friday, nine to five.”

That was something.

Not having to leave in the middle of the night would make me feel better.

I hated leaving Desi home alone in the middle of the night. I hated it even more that I was now leaving Desi and Nastya.

“Thanks, Chief,” I said as I headed out.

Two patrol officers followed me to the rental place.

I dropped my rental off, then got into the cruiser, only to realize that it was Daniels’s brand new one.

I grinned and pulled out of the rental agency.

The drive back to Nastya’s was quiet.

I’d just pulled into the driveway when my phone rang.

I got out of the cruiser and answered it just as Nastya walked out of her house.

She smiled, but that smile slipped off her face once she heard me answer my call.

“Hey, baby.”

“Daddy?” Desi said quietly the moment I answered the phone.

I sat bolt upright and said, “What is it, baby?”

“Um.” She sniffed. “I don’t even know how to say this, but Mom ran over Finn.”

I didn’t think my stomach could get any lower, but it happened.

“There was something wrong with Finn. He was acting really weird about half an hour after you left.” She sniffed. “Mom said he got outside earlier. She didn’t see him and backed over him after I pushed her as to why he was lying there looking pitiful.”

“Have you taken him to the vet?” I rasped.

“Mom dropped him off, told them to put him to sleep, and then left. I got here just as she was pulling away,” she explained. “I begged them not to do anything until you got here, and they listened. You need to get here, though, Dad.”

I didn’t waste time, and the woman that was watching me closely didn’t hesitate to get into the cruiser with me without asking any questions.

“What happened?” she asked after Desi hung up.

I explained everything, my stomach in knots.

We drove hand in hand in silence to the vet, and I was thankful to see that we were all alone when I pulled into the parking lot to find no cars there.

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