Page 28 of Barron

“Daddy,” Yoanni said with a hesitant expression. She had no idea how beautiful she was.

“Yes, Nugget?”

“It’s new.” She held out the overall’s straps. “I packed it hoping you’d like it.”

“I’m glad you did.” He swallowed. “It’s very pretty on you.”

Shifting playfully side to side, she smiled. She’d almost regressed to her Little when a sudden frown twisted her features, and she was back to adult mode. “Oh, heck. I forgot to show you.” She searched in the front pocket, then pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This.”

Unfolding the paper, he studied it with curiosity. The hieroglyphics and circles could be some kind of foreign language. “Where did this come from?”

She moved closer to him, then, looking over his arm, she pressed her finger to one of the circles. “The paper was left on my door. My neighbor Mrs. Miller stopped by in the morning, and she gave it to me.”

“Do you know what the symbols mean?”

“No, Daddy.”

He tapped his forehead, thinking. A pattern that scared the shit out of him was coming together. “At some point last night, someone left this note, but it didn’t happen while I was there.”

“Huh?”

“Might as well tell you everything, princess. Thursday night, after I left Nightshade, I stopped by your house. I parked my bike and sat watching your place. I thought of you sleeping. It had to be around ten at night. A couple of your neighbors saw me, but I didn’t see anyone approach your house.”

“Why did you come over, and why didn’t you knock? What’s Nightshade?”

Stick with the truth.

“I came because I couldn’t help myself. I’ve missed you too much, Nugget. Knowing you were back in town did me in. Thursday night, I had no defenses left.” He breathed out. “Nightshade is a kink club. I want to take you there soon. They have a great room for age play and Littles. Would you like to go?”

Giggling, she leaned playfully against his arm. “Yes, Daddy. I loves fun with you.” Her tone had changed to sweet and young.

Unfortunately, he was about to squash her sweet regression once more. And it couldn’t be helped. He had to put together a timeline. “So, someone left this paper. The next morning, you went to the station after Mrs. Miller’s visit. That same evening, you went to your car to come home and found the missing calculator on the hood of your car. Finally, you came home and found that grotesque thing hanging in your kitchen. Do I have the sequence right?”

She frowned. “You do.”

“Three threatening events in one day.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you don’t know what the circles mean?”

She shook her head.

“Shifter will find out for us.”

“Who?”

“My MC brother Shifter. Don’t you remember him? He’s the Spawns’ computer genius. Tall, long curly hair, with a ton of tattoos.” He laughed. “That describes most of the guys. But whatsets Shifter apart from the rest of us is the handle of a knife he has sticking out of his cut’s front pocket.”

“Yes, I remember… His girlfriend is Ginny. She’s a Little like me. I saw them a few times.”

Cupping her face, he caressed her dewy skin with the pad of his thumb. “You gut me, you’re so cute. How did you know she’s Little?”

She grinned. “We recognize each other. Emily was too. Didn’t you know?”

“Not right away. Eventually, Cutter let me in on the secret.”

“It was no secret.” She giggled for a moment, then pouted, turning serious. “We’re careful. We don’t tell everyone. People have strange reactions to us. They think we’re perverts and freaks.”

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