Page 55 of Daddy, Sir

Fiona shook her head and looked back at me. “Anyway, the ‘O’ came next and now I think whoever this freak is, he… he’s going to claim to be my savior. I-I guess I’ll know if the next one is signed with an ‘R’.”

There it was. The strength I knew she had inside. Yes, she was frightened and had every right to be, but she wasn’t scared out of her mind. Not yet at least. “I think you’re right.”

At my affirmation, she made a sound which had me promising that when I found this asshole, and I would, I was going to make damn sure he’d never be able to make another woman utter that same sound. It was a moan but not one of pleasure. It was the sound someone made when facing a charging bull or standing on a precipice just before the ground beneath their feet began to shake. It was primal and it stirred every protective bone in my body.

I reached across the desk and took her hands in mine. “Look at me, Fee.”

Her eyes met mine, uncertainty swirling in their depths.

“You’re going to be okay. We’re going to find this guy and stop him. He’s not going to hurt you.”

Her heritage assured she had skin the color of alabaster, but the face across from me was pale enough I could see a hint ofblue beneath the surface. I could also see evidence that when she ran out of fingernails, Fiona chewed on her bottom lip. It was all I could do not to reach up and trace it, to soothe the cracks at the corner.

“How?”

“How?” I repeated when I realized she’d spoken.

“How are you going to find him? How are you going to stop him? I have no idea who it is.” Her eyes dropped to the desk and the pitch of her voice rose as she pulled her hand from mine and picked up the slip with the letter “O” at the bottom. “He thinks I’ve sinned, I’m of the devil, and I must make atonement.” Her gaze returned to mine. “So yes, how are you going to keep him from hurting me?”

Because he’ll have to kill me first.

That was the promise I made, but only in my head. If I uttered it now, she’d not believe me. Too much had happened and too many years had slipped by for her to just hand me her trust. I’d have to earn it, and I would. But for now, it was my job to reassure her she was no longer alone.

“Because you don’t have just me and Audra on your side. You’ve got the entirety of my security team. From this moment forward, you won’t be alone for a single minute.”

Fiona looked to Audra who nodded and gave her another smile of encouragement. “That’s right. Your stalker might think he is in control but he isn’t. You have a team now.”

“A team,” Fiona repeated. She appeared stronger when she pulled her other hand free. Sitting back in her chair, she gave me a long look. “Though I’m still mad at you, I have to admit, the last time you were on a team, you did pretty well. Are you still that good?”

“I’m better,” I said with a grin. Normally I’d remind her that rolling her eyes was a spankable offense, but I was glad as hell to witness her rolling them. It told me her fear was receding. “I’mbetter because, while there is one quarterback on a high school football team, our team has nothing but quarterbacks.”

Fiona’s glance slid to Audra. “That includes you?”

“Don’t let the stilettos or the curves fool you,” Audra said with a smile. “Remember, your American football is different than the footy I grew up with. In England, we don’t use our hands to pass the ball. If our heads aren’t enough to score the win, we use our feet to kick the shit out of it.”

Her words hadn’t been shouted or even said loudly. They’d been delivered as if she was at some high-tea party and informing her granny of the choices being offered on the three-tiered tray.

“I bet every little girl who meets you wants to grow up to be like you,” Fiona said in what sounded like awe.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Audra reached across the space between their chairs to take Fiona’s hand. “I think we are going to be lifelong friends, Fiona.”

“I’d like nothing better,” Fiona admitted before turning to look to where I was seated, a soft smile on her lips. “Though I suppose that depends on how well your boss keeps his promises…”

She didn’t have to say anything further, but I could practically see the words she so wanted to say:He sure didn’t keep the last one.

I was saved from having to go there, at least for the time being, by Fiona’s question, “So, what happens now?”

“We start by you telling us everything that’s happened since this began.”

Fiona nodded, her eyes dropping once more to the desktop. “When I got the first paper, I wasn’t all that worried. In fact, I wasn’t even sure it was meant for me as it didn’t have my name on it.”

“But instead of tossing it in the trash, you kept it. What made you decide it was meant for you?”

“It didn’t have my name on it, but my cup did…” She looked toward Audra who had leaned forward at the news. Fiona shook her head. “It was at a Starbucks. I’d ordered coffee along with about a dozen others. It was very crowded that day. Anyway, while I waited, I went to the restroom and had to stand in line. By the time I returned, there were several orders waiting to be picked up. I got mine and left?—”

“You didn’t wonder about the paper under your cup?” Audra asked, cutting in.

“It wasn’t under the cup, it had been tucked into the cardboard thing around the cup. You know, the one they use to let you pick up hot coffee without burning your hands. Became the fashion after that lawsuit against McDonald’s?”

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