Page 52 of Detective Daddy Next Door

I'm sitting on the bed when he comes out of the bathroom. He's shirtless, his hair ruffled, his face lined with worry. He goes to the mirror to look at himself.

"I was just thinking we should get Ellie out of the house for now."

He sighs and turns to face me. "Where? I hardly know anyone in this city. I was thinking of telling her mother to come get her, you know, take her out of town. But I don't trust Sonya with anything. I wouldn’t trust her with Ellie. Plus, they might start trailing her, and that would put her in danger, too. Before Garcelle left yesterday, I was thinking of putting them in a hotel together. Of course, they'd have security, but how long would they stay there? A hotel is as porous as can be, people going in and out constantly. They could find a way to sneak in."

"I was thinking that maybe we could let my dad and stepmom know what's going on and they could take Ellie."

He shakes his head. "No. I've only met them once, and that was at your sister's wedding. They don't even know I have a daughter. And doing that could also make them a target. I don't want that. I'll take care of things. Like I said yesterday, Ellie will have to stay home for now. That's the best way to keep her safe. Let me go see if she's awake."

I flip the bed cover off me. "No, I'll go do it. If she's awake, I'll bathe her, and we might go get something to eat in the kitchen."

He sighs and goes toward the bed. "Alright. Make sure to keep the curtains pulled together at all times. And stay away from the windows. I need to get a little more sleep," he says as he falls into bed.

He's been so exhausted lately. Last night at intervals I woke up to see him peering through the window curtains with his gun in his hand. He deserves some rest. Even if it's just a little.

"Can I pour the eggs in, please?" Ellie asks from the chair in the living room.

"You want to help?"

She nods and I motion for her to come. I stop whisking the eggs and pull a high stool close to the stove. I pick her off the floor and sit her on the stool. She smells of apricots, the scent of her shampoo. Her eyes are beaming as I hand her the fork and let her whisk the eggs.

"Do it gently so it doesn't spill, okay?"

She nods. I take a nonstick pan and put it on the burner. I pour in a little olive oil. When it gets hot, she picks up the bowl of whisked eggs and, with me guiding her, pours it into the hot oil. She giggles when she sees it forming a blanket. I take the fork and quickly stir the eggs so it breaks up.

She's giggling more and it wiggles the stool.

"Careful. You don’t want to fall down."

She stops moving and looks into the pan of eggs.

"Will you miss going to school today?"

She looks like she's thinking. "A little bit yes and a little bit no."

"Oh really. Can you explain that?"

"Yes, because I'll miss my friends. No, because I like spending time with you and Daddy."

"Aww," I say, and hug her.

She obviously has no idea what's going on and we intend to keep it that way.

Just as I set the food on the dining table and am getting ready to sit down, my phone goes off. I look around. It's on a couch in the living room.

"Go ahead. Start eating. I'll join you."

Ellie nods and takes a bite of the toast I made to go with the eggs.

I reach for the phone. It's Micha. When she called me after I was rescued from Daisy's basement, I'd told her that I was in the hospital. I'd told her that I was sick and had to switch my phone off. That I didn't want to disturb anyone. When she said she wanted to come visit, I'd come up with an excuse. I knew she'd be so devastated by what happened to me. If she knew Daisy was responsible, she'd be shattered. I’ve been thinking of a way to tell her, a way to make it less horrid. But I haven’t thought of any.

"Hi, Micha."

"Hi. I want to come see you. Are you still in the hospital? Give me the address. I know something isn't right. Daisy's not been to work for days now. I need to know what's going on."

I hesitate because I want to ask Myles if it's okay for her to come over to the house. "Can I call you back in a sec?"

She sighs. "Alright. But if you don't call me back, I'll call you again."

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