Page 200 of Daddy, Take Me Away
All of this drama was over an asshole wanting to out her and her wanting to protect me—adorable.
“What did he want in order to not go public?”
She squirmed on my lap. “Do I have to say? It’s embarrassing.”
“Luna. Let’s get one thing clear right now.” I rearranged her to face me. “There is an old saying that if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. In this case, confessing to what happened is everything, and don’t worry, I won’t judge you. Everyone does things they don’t like to share, but I’m on your side and will help you make this right.”
She sighed in resignation but told me the entire story of her accounts and how the first one had been compromised. As she spoke, a plan was forming in my mind on how to bring down her stalker, once and for all.
“When is your deadline for the video?”
“By midnight tomorrow, or he’ll do an exposé on me to the world. It’s not like I have a lot to hide, but I did that for money and it’s only my feet. But I’m betting he’ll say I did a lot more, despite not having any proof. You know how these things go; everyone believes everything that is spoon-fed to them these days.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
“I do understand. Now, I want you to not worry.” I slid my hand along her jaw, gently grabbing her chin between my finger and thumb. “I’ve got this. Do you trust me?”
Her eyes searched mine before she answered, “I do.”
“Good girl. Now, let's get you in a hot bath and get you fed. It’s been a long day.”
Later, after Luna was sound asleep, I researched the guy who was threatening her. He was easy to find, having an amateur podcast. I scrolled through the content and quickly realized the sleazebucket made his money from outing large account holders on multiple platforms.
I had no doubt the moment he had the video he asked her for, he’d use it to bring her down. Although her balletfeetO8 account no longer existed, the videos still did, and going through them, I confirmed Luna had nothing to be afraid of. Her videos were sexy, but innocent for the most part. This guy probably picked her because he could tell she was young and most likely hoped she was also easy to manipulate. That being said, as it was only her feet, how hard would it be to create a false narrative by mixing those videos with others that were not her, doing more pornographic things? Probably not hard, I surmised, which meant this needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
I placed a call to my legal secretary and had her draw up an injunction charge against Reg Reggie’s podcast and him personally. Alfred Jelly, a citizen of the U.K. How perfect! He couldn’t have made it any easier for me.
I hoped that by the time Luna awoke, the piece of garbage would be in jail awaiting his trial which I planned on extending for as long as possible. He’d been frightening my girl for months; it was time he paid for that.
Chapter Seven
Luna
The sun was shining and the air was heavy with the scent of the earth. It was a new day and a new beginning. Artair seemed to be in a fabulous mood and appeared bent on providing me with a positive start to the day.
Graeme was in the driver's seat taking us to Edinburgh, claimed to be the most beautiful city in Scotland. I couldn’t wait to walk the royal mile and see the castle. We parked about a mile outside of Old Town Edinburgh and made our way through a huge park that led us toward the castle. It could be seen from just about anywhere as it sat at the top of a hill. It was a prime location for spotting the enemy and I’d read that long before it became a castle, it had been a fortress during the Roman Occupation and although not proven, thought to be a Pictish fort before that.
It didn’t seem real walking through a park and seeing that up ahead. It didn’t take long for me to get swept up in the magic that represented medieval times.
Of course, it helped being with Artair, who, despite his career, looked like a knight from tales of long ago with his height, trim build, and powerful muscles. I could easily imagine him swinging those ridiculously long swords around.
His hand felt warm and huge wrapped around mine, and I liked how he made me feel safe. He warned me that there was to be no wandering off today or else I’d be having dinner with a plugged and sore bottom, and sitting on the naughty chair. I wasn’t sure what a naughty chair was, but was definitely curious, not that I wanted to find out from being naughty. Mmm, well maybe I did. Like all things with Artair, being naughty, or good, had its perks and rewards, so how bad could it really be?
When we reached the Grassmarket, I came to an abrupt halt. The place had some heavy vibes. This is where Edinburgh met, back in the day, to trade and sell their wares. It was also where witches were sentenced and burned. Currently, it was occupied by a strip of restaurants and pubs brimming with patio traffic. I was in love once again. It was so different from Glasgow, but had that same vibrancy that drew me in.
The cobbled streets were closed to vehicles, leaving plenty of room for foot traffic and outdoor dining. “Wow. Just wow! I love it here. Can we stop and check out the menus?”
“Your wish is my command. Besides, a beer and a snack will fortify us for the long walk ahead.”
We stopped at the third building on the strip called the Black Bull Pub. The place was packed, but a table for two opened up in the corner and Artair looked funny cramped into the tiny space when he took his seat. The inconvenience of the cramped space was soon forgotten and replaced with watching the hustle and bustle surrounding us.
I enjoyed listening to an array of different European languages and a plethora of accents. Not just the highly recognizable Scots, but the Germans, Canadians and Americans. It was interesting to note how different our North American neighbors sounded from us Canadians, and I wondered if this was because we’d been part of the British Commonwealth longer than them. The states had gotten their independence in 1776, while ours was a hundred years later and we didn’t get our own constitution until 1982.
“I think I'm in love," I commented absently.
“Better not be with anyone but me,” Artair growled back.
It was an off-the-cuff remark, but I felt the heat creep up my neck and across my cheeks. In love? With him? I was definitely in lust and something else, but I wouldn't allow it to be love. I had too many issues for a man of his stature, and there was no way I wanted to ruin his life. This trip, with him as my guide and Daddy for a few weeks, would be pure bliss. Memories I could lean on when my life went back to being on my own.
