Page 10 of Daddy's Oath
But the public cared more about who was dating who or who was cheating and stuff like that than they did some tram.
That was what Lana hoped, at least.
She kept telling herself not to worry about it. No big deal. It would pass. Los Angeles was safe. Her apartment was secure.
No one would find her.
Looking around the space, she wondered if she should order dinner. It would be nice to have something delivered. With her anxiety, though, she wasn’t sure she wanted someone knocking on her door. True, they’d just be dropping off a meal. But what if the TV show did air her story? What if the delivery person saw it and recognized her? What if they posted on social media about…
Lana shook her head. She couldn’t go down this road, letting her mind spiral into all the worst-case, what-if scenarios.
Plopping onto her bed, she grabbed her two stuffies and held them tightly. That near-crippling anxiety began to drain a little. The dogs always had that effect on her.
Maybe she should put on a diaper, she thought.
It wasn’t as good as having a Daddy do it. But it might help.
A giggle escaped her lips at the thought of a Daddy. Mmm. She could see him in her mind. Handsome. Strong. Commanding. The type that would take charge, keep watch over her, and protect her from every threat.
Was there a Daddy like that out there somewhere for her? She sure hoped so. She dreamed about him nearly every night.
Whoever he was. If he existed at all…
A growl from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry. She tried to limit how often she ate out. But tonight was a special circumstance. It had been quite a day! Plus, she was running low on groceries. And venturing out to the store was certainly not in the equation. Her nerves were frayed enough as it was.
With that in mind, she grabbed her phone, pulled up her food delivery app, and began browsing. It was hard to focus on the pictures of food, though, no matter how yummy it looked and how hungry she was.
Because she kept thinking about Daddy.
She hoped she found him soon.
Chapter Six
“I never get tired of this place,” Ace announced as he walked into large den in the back of the mansion.
The Daddy Guard’s headquarters was amazing. It had become his home, too, along with the other guys. They’d each traded in their own places, choosing to live where they worked.
The 1920s mansion was certainly big enough to hold them and then some. There were actually bedrooms to spare.
It was a white structure with brown accents. A Tudor built in 1904, the place had seen a lot of history. Ace’s favorite fact was that the silent film actress, Theda Bara, had once lived there. The Littles that frequented the mansion all said it was haunted.
Ace didn’t know about that. He just thought it was awesome.
In the large den that ran the entire back length of the house, the Guard had set up several computer stations, along with posh leather furniture, a pool table, and a fully stocked bar.
Ace’s favorite feature, however, was one that visitors wouldn’t even realize was there upon first glance.
One of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves was a secret door that opened to a small equipment room. The Guard was keeping some pretty cool tech stashed away in there, thanks to oneof their benefactors. Stryker was quite the inventor and his creations were legendary.
The back wall was mostly windows and plenty of sunlight cascaded into the space. The large TV was on, but the sound was down, the evening news silently flickering by without any of the guys watching it.
Isaiah racked the pool balls and then lined up his shot behind the cueball.
Ace watched the other man for a moment.
He was a strong Black man with protruding muscles barely contained by the tight gray polo shirt he wore. His hair was close-cropped, and Ace noted that his friend had never left the military look behind even though it had been years since he’d been in the service.
The same couldn’t be said for Ace. Before he was flying choppers for the LAPD, he’d flown them in and out of various warzones for the United States Army. Then, in the National Guard, he’d flown them into natural disasters, assisting in hurricanes, wildfires, and even tornados.
