Page 35 of Seducing Daddy

Luck was on my side as I pulled into a parking spot directly in front of the old-fashioned postal service building. It was the color of dandelions, only I was feeling none too cheerful at the moment.

“Yes!” I punched a fist in the air upon seeing I had five minutes to spare before closing time. I remembered my box combination, a mystical numerical code that I normally had to look up in my phone’s notes, and I took it as a good sign. The box tumblers were a relic from a couple of centuries ago and one of the most photographed features in town. Today was not a day for trespassing tourists. I had business to conduct.

Swinging open the small brass door and peering inside, I let out a huge breath, flung my head back so my eyes went up, looking heavenward. “Oh, thank God.” A parcel slip.

And that’s when I heard it, the sound that lifted the hair on my nape and arms. “Not even a deal with the devil could save you now.” My leg muscles tightened, ready to run. “Don’t even think about it, darlin’.” The cold muzzle of what I knew to be his .44 magnum pressed against my spine. We were alone in the small hallway where the personal mailboxes were located, with room enough for only two people to stand. Baby Carrot turned me so my back was to the entrance, and I realized his plan. He’d march me out the back to the parking lot, his good, little soldier again, and no one would be the wiser. Just my luck, today of all days, the place was empty.

My heart raced, nearly exploding, and it felt like I might pee. I had to stall him. “How did you find me?”

“Not as smart as you think you are doing an interview for the local rag. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? God, Jolene, you always were a slut, but selling pornographic products? That’s a new low, even for you.” It wasn’t the lack of hostility in his voice that freaked me out, though it should have. There was always calm before his storm. What scared me was how he whistled softly, “Under My Thumb,” the song he always said reminded him of me.

As if it were a love song instead of a hate song. God, how I hated that fucker. I tried so hard to let go of hating him, but as soon as he entered my personal space, the loathing was back.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing away the sudden frost that froze my core. This couldn’t be happening, not here, not now, in the place where I finally felt safe.

“You don’t deserve a warning, but I’ll give you one, anyway. Drop it.” The barrel of the gun left my back when Baby Carrot lunged at Nonna, and there was a loud click like a rat trap going off. My would-be kidnapper dropped to the floor. Nonna delivered another shock to his general nut sack region, shouting. “Vattela a pigliare in culo!”

The blue sparks didn’t knock him out, and my friend made a going-for-it motion as if to shock him yet again.

“Enough, please. Nonna, I’ll take it from here,” Sheriff Pepper said with quiet emphasis. His gigantic frame filled the entire doorway of the U.S. Postal Service premises, his hands nearly the size of fuckwit’s head when he reached down to pick up the .44 he’d dropped. A deputy came inside and cuffed F.W.’s sorry ass, and much to mine and Nonna’s disgust, we saw he’d wet himself.

“Ewww,” she said, and I felt giddy from adrenaline. “Gross AF.”

I slapped my hands against my cheeks, then gave her a hug. “Shoot! Almost forgot!” I went to the counter and handed Kurt, the Postmaster, my yellow package slip, and he gave me the box I’d been waiting for. I walked outside with Nonna, and we sat down on a bench between potted flowers.

A warm hand patted my shoulder, and I flinched. “Sorry, Jolene. I didn’t mean to startle you. Should have known better. Listen, Nonna filled me in about this guy. Let’s just say she used her family connections to keep tabs on him in case he ever came after you again. No need to take your statement now. Let’s do it after the holidays, shall we?” the sheriff asked.

I jerked my head back and stared at him, dazed. “I can do it now.”

“I know you can, but I’m saying you don’t have to. Because the defendant violated a restraining order, I’m required to arrest him,” he repeated in the same cool tone.

“How did you know about the abuse prevention order?” I asked. Now, everyone in this town would find out about my business. I crossed my arms and pointedly looked away.

“Nonna has some of the best private detectives in the state at her disposal, and she had them working to protect you.”

I hesitated, blinking with bafflement. “How can I ever thank you, Nonna?”

“I put the Pezzo di merda on notice, but he ignored it. Now he knows what happens when you don’t listen to a Drago.”

The deputy got F.W. on his feet and led him towards his patrol car. As he shuffled past, Nonna hopped off the bench and clocked him one more time in the head with her gigantic purse. F.W. emitted a pathetic grunt, and I didn’t feel one bit sorry for him.

Nonna’s face hardened like I’d never seen before and warned, “You’ve got more than a dozen Drago men carrying pictures of you in their wallets, so if you ever get out of jail, I suggest you don’t come back here. Ever.”

“Okay, Nonna. You’ve done more than enough for today. We’ve got it covered now,” Sheriff Pepper reassured, not making the slightest mention of aggravated assault.

A lump at the back of my throat made itself known when my fierce friend stiffened her aged and crooked spine in indignation, watching the sheriff’s department vehicle drive away. “Next time, fuck a restraining order. We’ll restrain him ourselves,” she gritted out.

Nerves fluttered in the pit of my stomach at the welcome sound of his voice, and I wondered just how many feelings a person could stand before turning into a blob of Jell-O. “Jolene? Did he hurt you?” asked my Daddy.

I lunged off the bench, flinging myself against his chest and into his arms. Rex lifted my chin with two fingers and brushed the tears from my cheek, saying, “Thank you, Nonna. I heard what you did.” He trembled with emotion. It was unclear which one until he leaned down, a flash of temper lighting his eyes, and whispered, “You are God’s good and perfect gift to me. If that piece of dog shit ever shows his face in this town again, it is mine to avenge. I will repay for all he’s done to you.”

I rigidly held my tears in check.

The words seemed to purr from his throat. “Don’t you dare hold back on me, angel. I’ve been in agony these past few days, waiting for you to come around. Please tell me I’m your Daddy.”

With that plea, I felt the last traces of resistance vanish. I wasn’t a religious person, but God help me if I couldn’t read today’s writing on the wall. I’d found my people, my place on Earth, and the one I was meant to walk through life with. No matter how short the time we’d known each other, I just knew. Rex was mine. Good men like him didn’t grow on trees, and I’d be a fool not to take him up on what he offered just because a snake like Baby Carrot poisoned me with his venom.

I was damaged, not broken.

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