Page 11 of Daddy's Oath
But he’d let his salt-and-pepper hair grow out a bit. It wasn’t long by any means. It wasn’t that Army buzz-cut, though.
He continued to watch as Isaiah took his first shot. The cueball slammed into the triangle-shaped collection of other balls, sending the solid and striped ones scattering with loud clacks.
“Can you believe I moved those things so much and didn’t get one of ‘em in?” Isaiah asked with a shake of his head. “Damn.”
Ace just chuckled as he grabbed a cue from where they hung on the wall. He already knew which shot he’d go for. A striped one was teetering on the edge of a middle pocket. It was an easy layup.
“While you two play we can breakdown today’s op,” Jack announced.
Jack was often like that, Ace thought: all business. But he could let loose and have some fun, too. His Little, Iris, brought the fun side out of him more and more.
He’d also relaxed a little now that Frank Holloway was off the streets.
Back when the guys who now formed the Daddy Guard had been in the LAPD, Frank was one of them.
He was a Daddy, too.
But he’d turned into a traitor. After stealing a bunch of guns from the evidence locker, he’d begun selling them on the streets. That greedy move had put a lot of people in danger, including Jack’s Little, Iris.
That was all behind them now, though. Iris was safe and sound. Frank was behind bars. And Ace and his buddies were no longer on the Force, instead forming the private Daddy Guard.
That didn’t mean they didn’t still protect and serve, though.
They worked hard keeping Littles safe. Harder than when they’d been on the Force, possibly. And while Ace didn’t really miss the badge, there was one thing he missed.
His chopper.
He was eager to get back in the air.
That desire was second to the burning ache he felt every day to find his own Little, though.
Maybe one day soon.
He shook those thoughts from his mind and focused on what Jack was saying, along with the game of pool.
Sinking his shot while Jack spoke, he surveyed the table until he found his next target.
“That went well. But the cops were on to us,” Jack said. “I know, that sounds funny. We used to be the cops. Now, though, we need to watch out for them. Sometimes. If we are crossing any lines.”
“We don’t cross any lines the LAPD doesn’t,” Ace called out just as he sent the cueball toward another target. It clacked against it, a successful turn.
He studied the table to find his next one. Isaiah shot him a dirty look. Ace just grinned.
Pool was one of his specialties.
Among other things.
“I didn’t like that Athena was there.” The comment came from Kendrick Vaughn. He’d been in Santa Monica, nearby, monitoring things from the command van parked in a busy city lot.
Ace looked over at Kendrick. He was sitting on the couch, sipping a tumbler of bourbon.
He was handsome, of mixed ancestry, and had mocha-colored skin and green eyes that all the ladies seemed to swoon over.
“I didn’t like it either,” Jack said. “But she insisted. And it was better than putting an actual Little in harm’s way.”
“We’d all be crushed if something happened to Athena,” Kendrick pointed out.
“True,” Jack replied. “But we weren’t going to let that happen. Besides, she’s cunning. It would take a lot for someone to pull one over on her.”
