Page 57 of Big Daddy Firemen

Jason seemed intent on getting the women. What would a predator want with a big, silver-haired guy? Ken was most likely safe.

Of course, she didn’t really know why Jason was chasing them and he might be willing to eliminate any threat that got in his way. But she never heard a gunshot, so that was a promising sign.

Maybe Ken had even gotten the gun away and resolved the situation. Or perhaps Jason and Selena had fled upon realizing he’d already called security.

The area opened up into covered pools, closed cabanas, and shuttered tiki bars. There were towering water slides too, and Daisy made a mental note to ask her Daddies to bring her back in the summer.

If she survived this.

Right now, she had more important things to worry about than future vacations. They still had to escape.

“There!” Alyssa panted, pointing to glass doors set into the wall. A sign above them stated they led into the casino. The women ran to them, but rather than sliding open automatically like they should have, they stayed together.

Alyssa and Grace both tried to pry them apart while Daisy watched for any incoming pursuers from behind.

“They won’t budge!” Grace cried, kicking the door in frustration.

It was then that frantic footsteps could be heard crunching loudly in the snow, coming toward them.

“Uh, there. Let’s go there!” Daisy suggested, keeping her voice urgent but as low as possible as to not give their plans away.

The trio ran toward a nearby waterslide, but the ground was starting to accumulate snow, making it a slippery, dangerous trek. And, with all the flakes blowing around at a dizzying speed now, it made it difficult for Daisy to see if anyone was coming.

But that went both ways, she realized, and Jason and Selena would have trouble seeing them, too.

“We can get in the tunnel,” Alyssa whispered. “They won’t think to look there!”

The women scampered up the steps as quickly as possible, but with the snow, it was even more difficult than running had been. And the metal rails they held onto were so cold that Daisy could barely keep her teeth from chattering.

They finally reached the top and she stopped to look down from the high platform. They were difficult to make out with the increasingly furious blowing snow, but she faintly saw two figures cutting a path across the stark white ground below.

Would they notice the footprints and realize where the women were hiding?

A tap on the shoulder got her attention and she turned around to see Alyssa pointing at the entrance to the covered tube slide. While she didn’t speak, the implication was clear: maybe they could hide inside.

It would be tricky, Daisy thought. One person would be easy, being able to hang onto the top rim. But three people? Two would have to keep their legs apart with their feet planted on the slide’s slick sides, ensuring they didn’t go down. There most likely wasn’t any water in the pool at the bottom. They might break a bone, their neck, or even worse!

It might be their only option, she realized. Because footsteps crunching in the snow seemed to be getting closer. A moment later, dark forms appeared on the stairs.

Jason and Selena had figured out where the women were hiding.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Daisy, Alyssa, and Grace couldn’t go forward, but they had to get down one way or another.

“I’ll go first,” Daisy said, not trying to escape before her friends, but wanting to take the brunt of whatever unpleasant fate awaited them at the bottom. If it was a long drop into an empty pool, perhaps she could break the others’ fall. Maybe the snow would soften the blow, too. “Just try to land on me. And brace yourselves!”

There wasn’t time for further instructions. They had to move quickly. They’d reached the breaking point as Jason and Selena completed their climb up the stairs.

Daisy tensed with fear but realized she couldn’t be immobilized. She had to get out of there and find security. It wasn’t just her life that depended on it. She had Alyssa and Grace to think about, too. She loved them. But she also felt protective, knowing that despite being adults, they were Littles. They needed someone to look after them.

Was there anything Daisy could really do to save them, though? It seemed as if all hope was lost as Jason Bennett stalked forward, raising his gun.

She had to move now! But before she could sit down and launch herself through the tube, all hell broke loose up there.

More shapes appeared. It was suddenly very crowded, and the girls were pushed up against the waist-high bars that bracketed the platform.

“Daddies!” Daisy yelled as she gained a clearer picture of what was taking place.

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