Page 5 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

2

Wolf

St. Louis, Illinois

Present Day…

Miranda sat on the floor, scribbling across the page with a waxy purple crayon. She switched from one color to the next with dizzying speed, not yet aware that I was watching her. That was okay. I enjoyed being able to watch her play and color and just be a kid. Every movement she made was so innocent and filled with wonder and a deep child-like concentration—as if the whole world came down to what she was drawing and coloring.

For a long while, I stood there, taking in the golden curls that stuck to her rounded cheek. It was hypnotic and made me wonder if other people out there—other parents—just stood and stared at the innocent life they had helped create. Shit, it was insane to fucking think I was a father. That this little girl was a part of me. Even three years after she came into this world, I couldn’t help the urge to just stare at her in shock and awe.

“Mirry!” As one of the other kids that lived here called out for her, Miranda’s face lifted and she finally caught sight of me. Her big, blue eyes widened in surprise and then glee. A blindingly bright smile appeared and she jumped up. “Daddy!”

“Hey, babygirl,” I murmured, kneeling and scooping her up as she ran toward me. “You having fun?” Her blonde curls bounced with each ecstatic nod of her head.

“Wanna see?” she asked, but before I could answer she was already moving—squirming to be put down. “I drawed us!” she said excitedly, turning and shoving the paper in my face. “Do you like it?”

I chuckled, taking the paper and pulling it away from my face so that I could see it as I sat fully onto the hardwood floor of the playroom. Shifting back as she clambered into my lap again, I took in the picture. Green grass, bright sunny day, two stick figures, and a swing set filled the page.

“I love it,” I said honestly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“We’re at the park,” she told me. “See? Dere’s the swing set.” She pointed to the image on the paper.

I nodded, holding the picture up even higher as I admired it. “Maybe we can go visit again sometime,” I suggested. “Would you like that?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she exclaimed, turning in my arms and throwing her arms around me. “Let’s go today!”

I chuckled and lowered the picture down to the floor as my arms closed around her. “Not today, sweetheart,” I said. “It’s too rainy to go to the park.”

“What ‘bout a book?” she asked, pulling back slightly. Wide, beseeching eyes bore into me. It was so fucking hard to tell her no, especially when I didn’t get to see her as often as I wanted to. My hands contracted against her small back. She was so goddamn fragile, it terrified me. The things that I did—the man that I was—I wasn’t good enough for this little life. And if I was a better man, I would have left her with someone else. I would’ve made sure she found a happy, loving home with a different man who she’d call Daddy and a woman who would cherish her. But I was a bastard through and through. The second those eyes had opened, she’d been mine, and there was no saving her now.

“If you pick out which one you want me to read,” I bargained, dropping another kiss on the top of her head.

She didn’t have to be told twice; she jumped up and sprinted out of the room.

I loved my daughter more than life itself, but what I did, who I was, was dangerous. I saw her multiple times a week, often for hours at a time; but the life of a mercenary wasn’t the place for a three-year-old no matter how much I wanted her with me. Thankfully, Eudora Perkins was known for taking care of children. Her own as well as foster kids, including Miranda.

“’Dis one, Daddy!” my daughter exclaimed, skipping into the room with a colorful book in hand. She flopped back onto my crossed legs, ready for story time.

“Once upon a time…” I started, flipping from one page to the next. The story was about a princess and her journey to happiness, short and sweet but Miranda loved it and that was all that mattered to me.

“Again?” she asked sleepily, her eyes starting to droop.

Chuckling, I nodded. By the time I was finished with the second read through, she was curled in my lap, soundly asleep. Placing the book down on the nearest table, I stood carefully, making sure not to wake her.

“Oh, Mr. Bennington,” Eudora whispered, a soft maternal smile lighting her face as she caught sight of Miranda sleeping peacefully in my arms. “Once you’ve laid her down, I have something for you.”

“Sure.” I nodded toward her as I passed and made my way up the staircase to the room where Miranda stayed with a few of the other girls. “Sleep tight, kiddo,” I murmured, laying her down on the small children’s bed in the corner. As soon as my hands left her, Miranda flipped over and burrowed into her pink polka dotted bedding, making me smile before I snuck back out of the room and headed for the lower floor.

I met Eudora in the kitchen. “You said you had something for me?” I prompted as I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a few hundreds, handing them over.

Eudora took the money with a frown but didn’t say anything as they tucked into her pocket. She was far too proud for her own good sometimes and it had taken me ages of passing her the cash for her to get to this point. So, I’d take the looks and be grateful she was a good caretaker.

“Yes,” she said as she moved around the room, opening and closing drawers and cabinets as she muttered to herself. “It was a—I had it not too long ago. I was surprised to get something for you. Have you been using this address?” I blinked at the question, confusion sliding through me, but before I could answer she cried out. “Here it is!” She had yanked open one of the island drawers and now withdrew a long yellow envelope sealed at the top and bottom. “Sorry, I knew I put it away so one of the children wouldn’t get to it. Thought it might be important.”

I took the package with growing perplexity. “It came just the other day,” she repeated, gesturing to the envelope. “Addressed to you.”

“I can see that.” I took it from her as I felt its weight. It was rather light, nothing rolling around inside of it but what sounded like papers as I shook it a bit. It was unopened.

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