Page 18 of Watch Me, Daddy

His voice was so sincere that I couldn’t help but believe him. For a moment, my frustration subsided, and I focused on learning as much as I could about my situation.

And Aidan’s…

“Do you think they’d be foolish enough to make a move against your family?” I asked.

“From the looks of things, I think so. We don’t know how they’re going to react to your kidnapping, whether or not they’ll just let it go or if they’ll attack several different organizations at once. They have already proven that they are reckless. They ordered a hit on the kingpin of the Kavanagh family. Hopefully, keeping a low profile will keep them off our backs until the threat passes,” he answered. After a long pause, he continued. “I have something for you. I think it will help alleviate your worries and make you feel more comfortable here in my care, for the time being at least.”

He reached over the table and grabbed a manilla folder stuffed full of paper and handed it to me. With a quizzical look, I took it and opened it to see Anton’s face in a photograph. He wasn’t the only one in the picture. There was another woman, and she wasn’t wearing anything at all.

“Your father gathered this evidence and wanted me to pass it on to you. Once things settle, we can arrange for you to see him. I’ll have a burner phone for you very soon, so that you can at least talk to him and verify everything I’m telling you.”

I flipped through the file, looking at page after page of Anton’s illicit activities. There were police reports and picture evidence of women with black eyes and split lips, images of him with more women than I could count, and a report detailing his transactions with a high-end escort service. The farther I went on, the more disgusted I became.

“I appreciate this,” I murmured.

After the tense exchange between Anton and I, I had known that he wasn’t a good guy, but the fact that Aidan was sharing this information with me was touching.

“I thought you might,” he replied. The cockiness to his words touched a nerve and I couldn’t help but scowl at him when he looked away.

“Why not just return me to my father?” I pressed.

“It’s too risky. If the Kozlovs find out your family was involved, they’d most certainly start a war, especially since an alliance was procured between you and them. Their power would have been undermined, and they wouldn’t let that stand. It would put both you and your father’s life in danger, not to mention the rest of us,” he answered.

For a while longer, we discussed the particulars of what went into my kidnapping and how my father and the Murphys had gotten involved together. As much as I hadn’t wanted to, I actually believed his story. The more he opened up about the situation, the more I began to trust him.

When the discussion turned to what happened now, I decided to push him a little bit so that I could see where his head was at.

Did he want me? Did he even like me? Was I just a kid to him?

“So, what now? You’re my babysitter until it’s safe to return me?” I quipped, raising an eyebrow in open challenge.

“Do you need a babysitter?” he asked, smirking.

Infuriatingly, his expression remained smug and maddeningly cool. Promise sparkled within the depths of his dark, piercing gaze, but I didn’t know what he was thinking. Did I want to anger him? Was there something inside of me that wanted to see if he was just like Anton, quick to anger and even faster to strike?

My core squeezed tight, and I took a deep breath, trying to steady the conflicting emotions rushing through me.

I didn’t know why I kept pushing him.

“No. Do you?” I scowled.

He chuckled softly, the sound inexplicably dangerous and full of dark desire. “You’re a sassy girl, aren’t you?” he mused, meeting my eyes, and I watched as his restraint played out all over his face. I noticed that his pupils were dilated as he furrowed his brow, his jawline tensing again with his obvious reluctance.

It made me angry.

“And you’re an arrogant bastard,” I countered, smirking, yet his face never wavered.

He stood up and I stiffened, but he didn’t walk towards me. Instead, he picked up his plate and carried it over to the sink. A tense silence came over the two of us, so palpable that it made me fidget in my chair. I watched as he washed the dishes, dried them, and put them away. When he was done, the kitchen was spotless.

“Be ready early tomorrow morning. We need to move to another safehouse.”

“Got it,” I said, aggravated that I hadn’t been able to get a rise out of him. I had no answers, only a billion more questions.

“Oh, and Irina?”

“What?” I blurted out, making no effort to hide my annoyance anymore.

“Maybe you should play with yourself before bed tonight, sassy girl. Hopefully you’ll be in a better mood when you wake up.”

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