Page 59 of Daddy's Oath
“Perfect!” she said with a giggle as she jumped on him again.
Once they were finished saying goodbye, she watched him go back down the walkway with Jack. She knew the other Guard members were just on the other side of the property wall, waiting in the big van that had driven the girls over.
“Be careful, Daddy! And… I love you!”
Part of her felt silly for blurting that out. She hadn’t known Ace long. Most people would think she was crazy for already falling for him.
But there was no denying it. She was in love with Daddy. There was no doubt in her mind.
Did he feel the same way?
She was relieved when he turned around and offered her a warm grin just before stepping out through the gate. “I love you, too, babygirl. You mind Auntie. I’ll be back soon.”
Lana giggled and waved.
Tonight was going to be perfect, she told herself. She’d have fun playing with Iris and the other Littles. And the Guard would do what they do best. Soon, this whole mess would be behind them and they could get on with their new life together.
But little did she know that just around the corner, someone lurked.
Someone who was preying on Little Lana.
It was an hour later, with the game of hide and seek still going strong, when an idea struck Lana.
“They keep getting away from us! They make it back to base before we can tag them every time. Which means we’re going to keepbeing ituntil we can turn the tables.”
Iris agreed. “Do you have a plan?”
“I sure do. I’m going to sneak out the front gate, climb the back fence, and come at them from behind. You come around from the front. We’ll trap them between us.”
She could tell Iris was thinking it over. A moment later, she said, “But you have to go off the property. Won’t you get in trouble?”
Lana shook her head. “It’s not like before. I’m not leaving or anything. Just going to try and turn the tables on them so we can be the ones to hide for a change.”
After some more thinking, Iris said, “That back fence is really high! It’s hard to climb. That’s sort of the point. And there’s lots of bushes beneath it. You’d have to jump in them and that would hurt!”
Lana waved it off. “Nah. I’m really good at climbing. Besides, I was looking at that tree back there earlier. Its branches extend far enough where I should be able to reach one and swing onto it, avoiding the bushes.” She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot so we have a chance at winning.”
“I guess it’s worth a shot,” Iris admitted. “But do you want me to do it?”
“No. It was my idea. I’ll take the risk.”
“Just don’t get caught. Auntie might spank you and if your bottom feels anything like mine, it’s still on fire! You don’t want to add to it.” She hugged her friend. “Be careful.”
Lana happily skipped off, ready to turn the tide on their opponents.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Heard you tell Lana this wasn’t dangerous,” Jack said once they were back in the van and heading toward their destination.
Ace shot him a wry grin. “It isn’t. For us. We can do this sort of thing in our sleep.”
He wasn’t projecting a false sense of bravado. Ace truly believed the Guard was capable of just about anything.
Apparently, Jack wasn’t as confident. “We can?”
“Remember when we saved Iris and took down Frank?”
“Oh yeah. We did that. But each case is different. I’ve been doing my research. This is a bad gang we’re up against. Not that there are any good ones.”
