Page 58 of Sawyer
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she whispered. “You got hurt and it’s all my fault.”
“You didn’t stab me, little one. It isn’t your fault. Bones, when you finish stitching me up, I want you to check Lele over.”
She jumped when Ravage said, “Not big on sitting around waitin’.” Slapping his thighs, he stood. “Headin’ across the street to see what shape Lele’s house is in. Call me if I’m needed.” Before anyone could answer, he stalked from the house.
“Reid, you sure the cameras and bugs are out of Lele’s house?Or did we catch a break and record who was in there?” Sawyer asked.
Reid tugged on his beard. “Our equipment is out, but we found something you’re not gonna like.”
Sawyer’s already tense jaw tightened. “Well, so far, this hasn’t been a stellar day anyway. What did you find?”
Reid gave a sharp nod. “You put three cameras in the house, right?”
Sawyer's jaw clenched tighter. “Yeah. Why?”
Reid’s expression turned grimmer. “Because we found four.”
Wait. What? Lele shook her head. That couldn’t be right. That would mean she had… no. “That means someone else has been watching me?” She felt like throwing up. “Where was the camera? They couldn’t see in my bedroom, could they?”
Reid shook his head. “From what Deke said, they hacked into the camera on your television.”
Bones finished stitching Sawyer’s wounds. “Thanks, Bones. Reid, how the fuck did they figure out someone had hacked the TV?”
“Dumb luck,” Reid answered. “The television came on by itself while they were there.”
Lele gasped, and Sawyer didn’t miss it. “Has that happened before, Half-Pint?”
It had. Lele was trembling now. Why were people trying to watch her in her house? It wasn’t like she did anything exciting. No one even talked to her. Why would they want to spy on her? “Sometimes,” she answered Sawyer’s question. “Not often. But also, sometimes the television was on a different channel when I turned it back on. I thought I’d hit the remote or something. I was willing to put up with it because it was a graduation and welcome home present from Hector. He said it was to make up for his never coming to visit me while I was at Blackford Correctional.”
Sawyer exchanged a glancewith Reid. One she didn’t understand. “Come here, babygirl.” He held his hand out to her.
She didn’t think twice. She crossed to the other side of his chair, his less injured side, but then hesitated. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Half-Pint, you’re not going to hurt me. I need to feel you close. Come sit here with me.”
Carefully, she sat beside him in the large chair and rested her head on his broad shoulder. Silence filled the room. And not the good kind of comfortable silence. This was a heavy, almost ominous silence.
“Look at me, Half-Pint.” As soon as she did, he asked, “Was the television Hector gave you doing strange things since the time he gave it to you?”
Had it? Now that she thought about it, it had. She nodded. “Maybe not right at first, but it wasn’t too long after he gave it to me. I mentioned it to Hector, in case he wanted to return it. But he’d been insulted that I didn’t appreciate his gift. It wasn’t a big deal, and it was a really nice gesture, so I didn’t mention it again. I hadn’t even thought about it being a camera.”
Sawyer gave Reid another of those knowing looks. “I’m on it,” Reid said, and a few minutes later, he and Bones left, leaving her alone with her Daddy at last.
She wasted no time. Swallowing back her tears, she said, “I could have lost you today, Daddy. I almost did. You could have died.”
He squeezed her arms. “I’m right here, babygirl. I’m not going anywhere.”
She snuggled close. “I understand why you didn’t tell me why you came to town.” He tensed at her words. “It hurt to think you suspected me, but you had a good reason. I gave you the ammunition because I lied first, all those years ago.”
“Lele—”
She placed her fingers on his lips. “I love you, Sawyer Dorsey. The few minutes I pictured my world without you are the worst minutes I’ve ever endured. The thought that you told me you loved me, and might not have ever heard me tell you how I feel… I don’t ever want minutes like that again. I love you, even when you make mistakes, because I’m going to need that extended to me, too. I love the way you make me feel safe and loved. I love that you’re fun. I just love you. I, if you still want to be my Daddy, I would love that, too.”
She held her breath, waiting for his response. He didn’t make her wait long. He pulled her face to his and kissed her. Thoroughly. And the coil of dread and sorrow inside her unwound.
“Babygirl, there is no world in this galaxy or any others that are discovered where I will not love you. You were made for me. I told you that the first time we talked. I kissed you, and you were mine.”
Laughter bubbled up from deep inside her, and he smiled. “I’ve never heard a more beautiful sound than the words I love spilling through those magnificent, sexy lips. When I get you home,” he paused and ran his eyes over her. The desire, no, the need in them made every erotic inch of her tingle.
