Page 38 of Arrow

“It's been a long day, sweetheart. How about we get ready for bed?”

Emilee nodded; exhaustion evident in her slumped shoulders. Arrow scooped her up effortlessly, carrying her to the bathroom. As he set her down, he turned on the shower, steam quickly filling the room.

“It’s too late for a long bubble bath, so a shower it is. I promise not to take up too much room,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

Emilee snorted. “As if you'd let me shower alone, Daddy.”

They undressed and stepped under the hot spray together. Arrow's hands were gentle as he lathered her body, his touchmore comforting than sensual. He massaged shampoo into her dark locks, his fingers working out the tension in her scalp.

“Mmm,” Emilee hummed, leaning back against him. “Keep that up and I might fall asleep standing up.”

Arrow chuckled, rinsing her hair. “Can't have you falling asleep in the shower. Bedtime it is, Kitten.”

After drying off, Arrow helped Emilee into her favorite pajamas – a soft, oversized t-shirt with cartoon motorcycles printed on it he’d bought her two weeks ago. He sat her down on the edge of the bed, carefully brushing out her damp hair.

“You know,” Emilee murmured, her eyes half-closed, “for a big, bad biker, you're pretty good at this whole nurturing thing.”

Arrow's hands stilled for a moment. “Only for you, baby. Only for you.”

He braided her hair with practiced ease, tying it off with a small elastic. Emilee yawned widely as Arrow tucked her into bed, sliding in beside her and pulling her close.

“Sleep now, Kitten,” he whispered, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. “I've got you.”

Emilee nuzzled into his chest, her breathing already evening out. As she drifted off, Arrow pressed a kiss to the top of her head, silently vowing to always be her safe place to land, no matter what happened outside of these walls.

CHAPTER 16

EMILEE

Emilee's eyes fluttered open, sunlight streaming through the curtains. She reached for Arrow, finding only empty sheets and a folded note on his pillow. Her heart sank as she read his neat handwriting:

Gone to the clubhouse. Back soon. Stay put.

“Damn it, Daddy,” she muttered, crumpling the paper. “I'm not a dog you can order to stay.”

But as memories of the surveillance footage flooded back, a chill ran down her spine. She needed to talk to someone other than Arrow about what was going on. Grabbing her phone, Emilee fired off a group text:

Emilee: SOS. Need to talk. Coffee?

Trinity replied first: Working at D&N. It’s quiet. Come here?

Emilee: Perfect

Twenty minutes later, she pushed open the door to Day & Night, the familiar scent of coffee beans enveloping her. The place was mercifully quiet, only a couple of regulars hunched over their laptops.

“Hey, Em!” Trinity called from behind the counter. “Usual?”

“God, yes,” Emilee replied, sliding into a booth at the back. “And keep 'em coming.”

As Trinity brought over her caramel latte, Emilee's phone buzzed. Makenzie and Delilah were on their way. She sipped her coffee, trying to calm her nerves.

When her friends arrived, Emilee couldn't hold back anymore. “You're not gonna believe this shit,” she blurted out.

Delilah raised an eyebrow. “With that kind of language coming out of your mouth, it better be good. Spill, girl.”

Emilee took a deep breath. “Last night, Arrow showed me the actual footage from that night… you know… the one where Catie was kidnapped, and Mills ran me over? Here’s the thing, he talked about it with someone before he did it. He was ordered to hit me. It wasn’t an accident. All this time, I thought he accidentally ran me over and had to make up a story to protect himself. In reality, he hit me on purpose! He could have killed me! And he never followed up on Catie being kidnapped!”

Makenzie gasped. “What the actual fuck?”

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