Page 53 of Daddy's Oath
“Oh, this is good,” Iris observed. “More Littles showed up. Auntie has a full house today! That means we can sneak away, and Athena might not notice.”
Lana quickly did the math in her head. If she wasn’t mistaken, there were eight Littles inside working on the craft. Three had broken off from that to play dress-up, meaning eleven were in the house.
There were now nine more in the backyard.
Auntie Athena had her hands full. Thankfully, Trevon was there, along with Auntie Caroline. But that was still a bunch of Littles to keep track of. Perhaps Iris was right. In all the mayhem, no one would probably notice if two were missing.
Of course, Lana was an adult. If she wanted to leave the nursery she most certainly could.
But Auntie would alert Daddy.
And Daddy would not be happy. He’d also most likely be distracted during the mission, and that could lead to dangerous—even deadly—consequences.
It was best if Lana snuck out.
“Iris, you don’t have to go with me. I don’t want to drag you into this. Seriously.”
Taking Lana by the hand, Iris said, “I told you, I’m in this with you. Until the end.”
Lana knew she didn’t mean the end as it sounded, but it was hard not to think of the finality of the word, given the serious nature of what was going on.
Don’t think like that. Daddy is in control. He and the Guard will take care of this!
“Thank you!” Lana said, hugging her friend. “Now, how do we get out of here without being seen?”
“Oh, that part’s easy. We just need to make it to the front yard without being spotted. We can open the gate and just walk out. It’s only coming in that you need the code. But what do we do about transportation? I don’t even know how to drive. Besides, we don’t have a car.”
Lana thought it over for a moment. She only saw one possibility. “We can call a rideshare. I don’t have my phone, though.”
“I have a phone.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. Come on. Let’s go check on your Daddy and then get back here before Auntie Athena notices we’re gone!”
“Hey, maybe we should let her see us first,” Lana proposed. “You know, so it seems like we’re around?”
“Good thinking!” Iris said. “Come on!”
And with that, the girls skipped off to enact their plan.
Their dangerously naughty plan.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ace was happy to see the plan progressing flawlessly.
“Lady Luck is with us today, boys,” he announced from his seat in the van.
“Don’t crack open the champagne just yet,” Stryker’s voice shot back on the earpiece. “I’m not even in the apartment yet.”
After parking the moving van, he’d cut through an alley where his disguise was hidden behind a trashcan. There, he’d quickly changed into a worker’s uniform, put on a fake nose and mustache, and threw on a ball cap to hide his blond hair. What Stryker couldn’t do anything about was his height, but Ace doubted anyone would use that to connect him with the guy in the moving van.
It was Jack’s voice heard next. “Tell me when you’re almost to Lana’s building.”
“I’m thirty seconds out,” Stryker replied.
Ace didn’t have eyes on Stryker right then, but he assumed he was still walking down the long alley that would put him right at Lana’s place.
