Page 17 of My Fantasy Daddies

She’d mentioned her sister, her nose scrunching up as she described the other woman.A few inches shorter.Blond.Brown eyes.Birthmark on the inside of her thigh.Supposedly Eloise.I’d known immediately who she was talking about and had had a moment of panic.

Of course, more than a few people had birthmarks on the inside of their thighs, but it was too much of a coincidence that I already knew someone who looked like she had detailed.Shit would get complicated fast and ugly if I didn’t figure out whether Esme’s sister was who I thought she was.

Squeezing the back of my neck with one hand, I dialed a number I knew well but wasn’t stupid enough to have programmed into my contacts.Ghost was the best of the best when it came to information-gathering.If he couldn’t do what his clients asked of him, then no one could.The man had shut down entire countries with a few keystrokes of a computer.

Ghost didn’t work for anyone, not private or governmental, so he could stay neutral.But I suspected he used his superpowers for good more often than evil, given the number of human trafficking rings that had been shut down by him.No one knew what he looked like or even what country he originated from, and I was certain he used a voice-altering app of his own making to further hide his identity.

“You have thirty seconds.”That was always how he answered anyone’s calls.Whether a person was done speaking or not, Ghost hung up after thirty seconds.No exceptions, ever.If anyone attempted to trace the call, it would send them on a wild chase across the globe, his GPS simultaneously pinging off cell towers around the world.

It took me less than half the time to give him a summary of what I needed.No sooner had I finished speaking than the line went silent.Tossing my phone aside, I got back to my own research.Ghost would take the money from my account whenever he was done.Whatever payment he wanted for this job, I’d gladly shell out.Knowing everything about Esme and her sister was crucial, not only to my own happiness and that of my two best friends, but Esme’s most of all.

When the doorbell blared, I pulled up the front door security feed on one of the four other screens connected to my computer.I saw two men in suits standing at the door.From their stance alone, I could tell they had a history in the military, but the stitching on their jackets was so detailed, I doubted an entire year’s worth of salary would cover the cost of their suits.

Zooming in on them, I noticed the communication devices in their ears.Secret service didn’t dress as poshly as they did, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in the private sector.I paid my men well, especially the ones who covered personal security.Babysitting politicians in war-torn countries so they could win the hearts of their constituents came with a hefty price tag.

But what the fuck were those two doing at our door?

Immediately, I thought about Esme.Being a Barbier came with risks.Even if Arnaud kept his daughters’ identities on the down-low, they would still require bodyguards.

Rolling my chair back from the desk, I stood and jogged through the house to the front door.Before I could reach it, the doorbell went off a few more times, becoming more insistent until one of those assholes was pressing on the button.As I swung the door open, I heard Malcolm stomping up behind me, his displeased grunts barely registering as I took in the two men on our front steps.

“Can I help you?”I tried to keep my voice neutral and diplomatic, but it came out as a bark.

The one on my right cocked a brow, a half smirk pulling at his lips, but otherwise, he didn’t respond, while the other adjusted his jacket before folding his hands at his waist.“We’re here to collect Esme.”

“The fuck you are,” Malcolm growled behind me.

Shifting, I got in my friend’s way so he didn’t get an assault—or murder—charge slapped on him.There were too many cameras on the buildings and light poles around the house.Too many eyes that could potentially peep through windows and witness the carnage that Malcolm could unleash.Our neighbors had as much money as we did, so there would be no paying off witnesses.Maybe with a little blackmail, but the mess would be too big to cover up before the cops showed up.

His weight hit me, but my legs were already planted, so he bounced back a step.“I got this, man.Let Parker know we have company, yeah?”

Malcolm hesitated, his breaths coming in snarls more than pants, but after a few seconds, he turned and stomped toward the stairs, while I kept my eyes trained on the two men still standing on the other side of the doorway.“Names?”

An amused huff came from the one who’d lifted his brows at me.“I’m Astro.This is my partner, Otto.We’re Esme’s security.”

Otto muttered something in French that caused Astro to grin before he spoke in English.“If you would let Esme know we’ve arrived, it would be appreciated, sir.She alerted us that she was ready to leave.”

“When the fuck did she do that?”I snapped.Suspecting she had security, I’d purposely left her phone back at the club after I’d pulled the sheets from the bed and picked up her torn clothes in case anyone attempted to track her.

Then I remembered her smartwatch and swallowed a curse.The band was made of platinum and decorated in diamonds, so I hadn’t given the device much thought.But it was most likely not just a pretty trinket as I’d first thought.Esme had me so twisted up inside, I was making rookie mistakes that would have gotten my friends and me killed during our service years.

Regrouping my thoughts, I stepped back.“Come in.”

Astro shook his head.“Thank you, sir, but we will wait here for Esme.”

“For now,” Otto muttered, rocking back on his heels while looking over my shoulder.

“You’re going to be waiting a while then, because Esme changed her mind.She decided she doesn’t want to leave.Or have you two as her security.”I already had two of my best female operatives in mind to protect my woman.“Don’t worry, though.You will both receive a generous exit package.Unless you want to work directly for me?I have a few spots on a detail going into Syria in a couple days.”

Otto ran his mouth again in French, which I only knew a few words of, but his tone was snarky as hell.Astro coughed to mask another laugh.

“Sorry, sir, but we will have to hear that directly from Esme.The sooner we see and speak to her, the faster we can get out of your way,” Astro said, turning his grin into a grimace.“We need verification that she actually wants to remain here and isn’t being held against her will before we leave her with you and your friends.”

They were fucking hilarious.The two clowns were so close to taking a bullet to the head, and they didn’t even realize it.

Reminding myself that I wouldn’t be able to hide two dead bodies and clean up a crime scene before the cops could be called, I nodded toward the vehicle double-parked in the street.“Is that your ride?”

“Yes, sir,” Otto answered.

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