Page 79 of Barron

He glanced down at her. “What’s it going to be, princess? My place or yours?”

Yoanni went back to the moment when she found the hanging doll, and her skin crawled.

“My home is here, with you and Caesar.”

He kissed her head. “Excellent choice. Tomorrow, the work begins, then we’ll move all your things over here. We can’t forget that Analise is still at large. The weekend will be busy with my brothers coming and going. Promise me you’ll stay close to me.”

“I promise, Daddy.”

She glanced at the sparkling gem on her fingers and smiled. Everything she wanted in life was slowly coming to pass. How lucky could a girl get?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Barron stared at his ceiling, wide awake. He’d tried to fall asleep, but his brain refused to stop thinking and planning. Yoanni slept at his side, her teddy firmly ensconced in her arms. She snored softly. A long day at work, the stress of Analise still out and about and doing who knows what, and the happy excitement of his marriage proposal had wiped her out.

He bent over, kissed her forehead, and slowly rolled out of bed. He pulled over a T-shirt, glanced once more at his beautiful sleeping girl, and, with his heart overflowing with love and tenderness, he quietly walked out of his bedroom.

For a moment, he thought of going to his office and catching up with bills and paperwork. But his head wasn’t in it. Mindless distraction was a better option. Back in his living room, he turned on the TV, searching for sports. As he surfed, he found a replay of last year’s college football conference championship game and stayed with it. Professional football was his jam, but it was late, and this would do. Way better than tuning in to some boring late-night talk show. The game had advanced to just about the end of the second quarter when a text from Blade dinged.

Feds picked up Killer for questioning. Analise and the cartel guys rabbited. Weaver thinks she fled to Alabama.

Barron stared at the screen for several long minutes.

Do you?

Blade’s answer came right back.

Don’t lower your guard.

I won’t.

No, he wouldn’t. Weaver respected and cared a great deal for his assistant, but the chief had other responsibilities and matters to focus on unlike Barron, whose every breath and heartbeat hung on the safety of his girl.

He sent a text to Johnny Gun.

She was seen and escaped.

Johnny G’s text came quickly.

We keep our eyes on the ball.

Barron relaxed a bit. His closest brother understood his concerns and supported him. He dropped his phone aside, and a soft padding of feet got his attention. Her eyes wide open, Yoanni stared at him from the hallway.

“Baby?”

“I can’t sleep,” she croaked.

He opened his arms to her. “Come here.”

Instead of dashing to him, she stood there, a mysteriousexpression on her face. He tried to read her, but couldn’t. That was, until one by one, she unbuttoned the buttons of her PJ top. Shifting her shoulders, she allowed the top to fall.

“I need you, Daddy. Love me. Take me.”

She uttered her powerful demands in a soft voice. The kind no Daddy could resist. Especially one with a healthy and now-raging libido. Narrowing his eyes, Barron took in her beauty. The gleaming cascade of her hair framed the delicate outline of her shoulders, full breasts with pebbled nipples, and glorious silky skin. Her stomach fluttered with her breaths, revealing nerves she tried to suppress.

“How about we do both?”

Her eyes widened in a silent question.

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