Page 58 of Big Daddy Firemen

It was all a bit difficult to see through the blizzard, but Daisy could make out enough to know what was taking place.

Walker punched Jason in the jaw. Hard! So hard, in fact, that the man started to fall back, nearly colliding with her, Alyssa, and Grace as they backed against the railing as far as they could. But he was stabilized at the last minute by Cane and Austin.

“Walk the plank, buddy,” Austin said with a chuckle.

“No! You can’t!” Jason screamed, the terror he was feeling obvious in his panic-stricken voice.

Those protests fell on deaf ears, though.

The guys held him on both sides and shoved him in the tube headfirst.

“Down you go,” Cane said before stepping back and literally kicking Jason’s ass to push him forward.

Jason screamed all the way down the slide. A moment later, a loud splash reported that he’d reached the pool.

Cane held up the gun he’d stripped off the criminal and grinned. “Managed to grab this first.”

“Is he okay?” Daisy asked, only half caring.

“Turns out, there’s water beneath those pool covers,” Austin explained. “The pools are heated and open in early spring. That heater isn’t on now, though.” He laughed. “He’s going to be cold as hell.”

“Reckon we should go fish him out,” Walker said enthusiastically. Though no one seemed particularly in a hurry to do so.

“As for you,” Cane said to Selena. “I won’t hit a woman unless she’s threatening someone’s life. So be smart and don’t give me a reason.”

“Come on, girls,” Walker said. “Let’s get you inside. It’s too damn cold for y’all to be out here.”

“Careful going down,” Theo said.

“I’ll go get Jason… or whatever the hell his name is,” Quinn told the group as the sounds of the man thrashing, splashing, and calling for help could still be heard.

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief as she followed her Daddies closely down the snow-covered steps.

One thought kept going through her mind as they hurried into the casino: Her Daddies had rescued her.

They always would, too. No matter what.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Inside their suite, Daisy was warm and wrapped in a soft terry robe.

Her Daddies hadn’t stopped doting on her, and she was starting to grow embarrassed but had to acknowledge that she also loved the attention.

“So this whole thing was a scheme?” she asked.

Walker downed a measure of the beer he held, having secured some drinks from downstairs, before answering. “Yep. Thatsmall manwe didn’t recognize at all wasn’t a man at all.”

“It was Selena,” Cane revealed. “That whole thing was a setup to throw us off their trail.”

“And it was all about getting land?” Daisy wondered aloud.

It was Austin who gave her the answer. “Uh-huh. They wanted to simultaneously drive the value of the land down and force the owners to sell. Figured creating some arsonist panic would do the trick. They had dreams of building vacation rentals and renting them to tourists. Thought they’d get rich.”

Daisy took a sip of her Mai Tai—a tropical drink she’d ordered to try and take her mind off the bitter cold she’d been trapped in outside—and then said, “Is Selena even a Little? Is he really a Daddy?”

“Who knows,” Walker told her. “But my guess is no. It’s all a lie. They saw a trusting community in Big Cedar, along with beautiful, valuable land, and they conned us all. Or tried to. But they’re in jail now, and they have a lot of crimes to answer for. The authorities will have to sort out the charges and who has jurisdiction. But the good news is that he’s locked up and probably will be for some time.”

“That’s right. And the important thing is that they didn’t get away with it,” Cane said as he sat down on the bed next to Daisy. He put his arm around her shoulders, gently pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. “And most importantly, our little girl is safe.”

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