Page 28 of Daddy's Oath
“Welcome to the mansion,” he told her with a slight nod. “Please, make yourself at home.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said.
“And that is Matteo,” Ace said, pointing to a guy who was shooting pool. He was tall, broad, handsome, and like Lana, clearly had Hispanic ancestry.
He stopped his game, waved, and said, “Nice to have another cutie running around here. Have you met Little Iris yet?”
“No, Sir.”
“Well, she’s going to be so glad you’re here.”
“She will be,” Ace confirmed. “Right now, she’s out with her Daddy, Jack. You can meet them later. Right now, though, say hello to the last two members of the Guard. Right over there with Matteo are Ryan and Jordan.” He pointed to each one as he said their names.
Ryan had dark-blond hair, blue eyes, and a tall, lean frame. Jordan wasn’t quite as tall as Ryan and had jet-black hair with dark eyes. They both looked like they were in their thirties, though Ryan seemed to be older by about five years or so.
“I know things are stressful right now, darlin’, but we’re going to try and make your stay fun,” Ryan told her.
“Thank you, sir.”
“We sure will. But later,” Ace said. “Right now, honey, you need to get ready so we can drop you off at Auntie Athena’s place on our way to your apartment. Me and the guys have work to do.” He took hold of her hand and looked down into her eyes. “I have it on good authority that Auntie is making some of her famous pancakes this morning just for you. Trust me, you don’t want to miss them.”
Lana’s stomach had been growling since she woke up. But the thought of being away from Ace just didn’t feel right.
“You’ll be careful, right?” she asked.
He smiled down at her, brushing a strand of her hair back and tucking it behind her ear.
His touch was magical.
She wanted him to keep caressing her. But now wasn’t the time, she reminded herself.
“Of course we’ll be careful. And when we’re finished, we’ll have some fun. Get your mind off everything. Sound good?”
Lana perked up. “Sounds great.”
But inside, she was still worried.
She just hoped Ace would come back to her safe and sound.
Chapter Fourteen
Ace felt as if he was really getting into character as he slid a key into the apartment’s lock and opened the door.
After knocking loudly he called out, “Maintenance! Anyone home?”
He waited for another moment.
“Anyone?”
Ten seconds later, he stepped inside.
“I’m coming in. Looking at the HVAC.”
He hoped no one would call him on it. In reality, Ace didn’t know a thing about heating and cooling—besides the fact that he rarely used the former. Los Angeles didn’t get cold enough to mess with turning the heater on, in his opinion. Sure, early mornings could get a little chilly in the winter months, but it was a rare occurrence for it to actually be considered cold.
Still, state law required every rental property have it, so it was guaranteed the apartment complex had an HVAC system.
Of course, everyone wanted air conditioning.
