Page 37 of Daddy's Girl

Jack's laugh is dark, without humor. "Baby girl, I spent fifteen years planning ways to kill men more dangerous than your doctor ex." His hand slides possessively across my stomach, pausing just below my navel. "Let him try to take what's mine."

Ten

Jack

"Jack!"

Delaney's scream cuts through the morning air, yanking me from sleep like a physical blow. I'm on my feet before my eyes fully open, grabbing the Glock from the bedside drawer, bare feet silent on the wooden floor as I move.

"Jack, he's here!" Her voice breaks on the last word, high with panic.

I streak through the cabin, weapon raised, finding her backed against the kitchen counter. Her eyes are fixed on the window, face drained of color. She's wearing just my t-shirt, the gray fabric hanging to mid-thigh, hair wild from sleep.

"Where?" One word, deadly quiet as I reach her, pushing her behind me with one arm.

"Black car," she whispers, fingers digging into my back. "Coming up the road."

My jaw locks, fury pumping through my veins. The fucker's watching my woman.

But she called for me. Didn't freeze. Didn't hide. Called for her protector, her Daddy, her mountain.

I press my lips to her forehead, gun still ready. "Good girl for getting me right away. Stay here."

"No." She grips my arm, those big eyes finding mine. "Don't leave me alone."

The fear in her voice stokes something primal in me. I slide my flannel from the hook by the door, wrapping it around her shoulders. "Behind me. Every second. No arguments."

She nods, slipping her small hand into mine as I pull her toward the front door. My body's on high alert, combat instincts kicking in—assessing, planning, scanning for advantage points. Fifteen years of special ops taught me how to hunt. How to kill. How to protect what's mine.

The morning sun blinds me momentarily as we step onto the porch. I feel Delaney press close, her breath warm against my back, trembling but not running. Not anymore.

Blood in the water. That's all I can think when I see the shiny black Audi creeping up my mountain road, moving slow like it's stalking prey. My prey. My woman.

"Jack, I ran once. I'm not running again." Her voice trembles, but not with fear—with fury. "Not from him."

Every protective instinct in my body roars to lock her inside, but the look in her eyes stops me. Something's shifted in her since yesterday. Since I made her crawl, since I put my cock in her mouth and told her that's where safety lives. She's standing straighter. Chin up. Eyes clear.

Mine. But stronger.

I don't have time to process it because the car door opens, and he unfolds himself like some bargain-basement Ken doll. Pressed khakis, polo shirt, designer sunglasses. The kind of man other men instinctively want to punch just for existing.

My fists clench at my sides, knuckles popping loud enough to hear over the engine's dying purr. Every combat-honed sense in my body calculates distance, identifies weaknesses, plans the most efficient takedown. Fifteen years in special ops taught me exactly how to make a man disappear.

But Delaney steps forward before I can move, her voice carrying across the yard, sharp as a blade.

"You have exactly five seconds to get back in your car, David."

He smiles—smug, practiced, the smile of a man used to getting his way—and holds up a folded paper. "Now, Laney, is that any way to greet your doctor? I've got the paperwork right here. Sheriff's waiting down the road." He taps his temple. "Psychotic break. Grief-induced delusions. Dangerous flight response. It's all very tragic."

I feel her tremble beside me, but her voice stays steady. "Did you show them the videos you took without my consent? The ones where you recorded me in the shower? Or did you leave that part out of your diagnosis,Doctor?"

That wipes the smile off his face. "You erased those."

"The copies on my phone, yes." Her smile is cold, nothing like the sweet curve I've tasted every night. "But cloud backups exist for a reason, don't they? Every threatening message. Every illegal recording. All safely stored where even you can't delete them."

The stiffening of his shoulders tells me she's hit a nerve. Good girl.

"You're coming with me, Delaney. This little mountain vacation is over." He takes a step forward, and that's when I move.

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