Page 34 of Play Fast (Brooklyn Dawn 2)

Such as the woman sitting beside me, her chin held high and her hands steady in her lap. Her strength staggered me.

More than anything, being with her reminded me exactly why my sister had loved her so much.

“Osmond?” Lila asked. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

Behind her, the sounds of children’s laughter and a lower, more even voice I recognized as Nick’s made me grimace. “Sorry if I’m interrupting.”

“We’re at Disneyland, about to eat giant Mickey Mouse ice cream heads. Interrupt all you want.” I hit the speaker on the phone so Daisy could hear too just as Lila added, “No, I’m still not giving you Daisy’s number.”

Daisy coughed into her fist.

“About that. I don’t need her number. We’re together at my place near Lake George.” At the silence that suddenly descended over the line, I cleared my throat. “Look, we go way back and—”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that,” Daisy interjected. “We’re just friends.”

For probably the first time in my life, I wanted to argue that we were something more. And remind her that I’d had my hand in her panties last night. I could still feel her warmth on my fingers as she shook and cried out.

Was that what it meant to be just friends in Daisy’s world? If so, did I really want to think about it?

Hell no, I did not. Now was not the time and definitely not the place.

Before she could elaborate—or worse, before I corrected her—I got to the point. “There was an incident. Well, two.”

Daisy pinched my thigh and rapidly shook her head. Guess she didn’t want me bringing up my dream-induced swing. Too bad. People would ask questions, and I would rather be embarrassed about my actions than pretend the fucker who had broken in had done it to her. I wasn’t going to deny my actions.

I’d denied far too much over the years.

All at once, the sounds around Lila lessened, and I imagined her shooing away her family so she could go into full business mode in some alcove at Disneyland. Although I had no clue where that might be.

“What happened?” Her voice was sharp.

Briefly, I ran through the break-in. Daisy filled in the parts before I’d arrived. Before Lila could reply, I added, “Something else happened too, earlier today. I was having a bad dream. Daisy woke me up, and I clocked her.”

“Excuse me?” Lila’s tone dripped frost.

“It was an accident.” Daisy narrowed her eyes at me. “He freaked out and apologized and ran off, but it was totally an accident. He even bought me ice cream and cold cuts, so you know he feels guilty.”

“Not ice cream and cold cuts. Why, that’s practically a diamond. Are you okay, Daisy?”

“I’m fine. Just a small bruise. He didn’t even have to mention it. That’s completely irrelevant to the break-in.”

Small bruise, my ass. The thing encompassed her cheek. Thank fuck I hadn’t hit her eye.

I shut mine and let out a long breath. I didn’t know when I’d be falling asleep again. Probably not anytime soon. If I had another one of those dreams, there was no telling what I’d do. And after the shit that had gone down with the would-be robber, I wasn’t exactly relishing closing my eyes and imagining Daisy on the other end of a knife.

“Have you seen a physician?”

“No, it’s not needed,” Daisy said before I could answer. “The wound isn’t large. It was more of a swipe than a cut. Oz bandaged me up.”

“Oh, does he have a medical degree and I missed it?”

“She’s as stubborn as a mule, so she won’t go. I told her I’d take her, but she refused. She’ll be fine, trust me. I’ll be watching her, so if she isn’t, she’ll go to the damn hospital.”

“Excuse me? You’ll be watching me? What am I, six?”

I could tell Daisy was glowering at me, but I didn’t give her the satisfaction of looking her way. On this point, I wasn’t backing down. If she thought I wouldn’t do everything possible to ensure her safety after what had occurred today, she was sorely mistaken.

“Whatever age you are, Daisy, I’m glad Osmond is there with you, although I don’t doubt you are quite capable yourself.”

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