Page 18 of Bash

“I’m so interested,” Maverick, one of Jasper’s higher-ups, said. He cocked his head and gave me a theatrical wink. He knew I was straight, he was just a goofy dude.

Laughing, I pretended to do a strip tease and he pretended to throw dollars at me.

He was such a riot.

“I remember how I felt about this particular lifestyle after I met Eloise,” Blade said, bringing us back to the topic at hand.

“Yeah?” I asked, hoping he’d continue.

“Yeah. It was several weeks after we’d killed Billy and his people and that job hadn’t bothered me. I’d do it again given the choice, but I started thinking about future jobs. I didn’t know if the man I was would be the man Eloise wanted or even needed. I thought about quitting, just like I’m sure you’re doing.”

“What made you stay?” I asked.

“I talked to Eloise about it and she wanted me to keep going. She said that I’d saved her from her past because I’d taken down her monsters and she felt like everyone deserved to have someone willing to fight their dragons for them.”

I finished getting dressed as I thought over Blade’s words. I wondered what Allyson would want me to do. She and Eloise had similar backgrounds in that they’d both lived at the shelter, but aside from that and being Little, they were very different people. A cold sweat broke out on my skin and I considered the possibility that she would be too scared of me to be mine the way I wanted her to.

***

I punched in the code to the keypad, and kicked my shoes off as soon as I opened the door. I was exhausted and worried and just wanted to snuggle the Little girl upstairs in my bed.

Kay came from the living room and opened the microwave. “I saved you some pizza. I figured you’d be hungry.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the plate and hugging her.

“How did tonight go?” she asked. Kay was one of the few outside of Smoke, Blade, and I that knew what we did. We’d never planned to tell her, but she was smart and intuitive. She figured out it was something dark pretty quickly and cornered me one day. She’d been surprised, but supportive. I didn’t know about her past, but I felt like she’d related somehow.

“Good,” I answered, taking a bite of cold pizza. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until right then.

“You got the bad guys?”

I chuckled at her directness. “We did. How’s my girl?” I was very careful to never give more information than was needed for everyone’s safety. It didn’t keep Kay from asking, though.

“She’s asleep. Leland, Rouge, and Eloise stopped by. They played some games and ate pizza and donuts. She tired out pretty quickly. She said her stomach hurt before she fell asleep, but she only had one donut and a half a piece of pizza, so I think maybe she was just missing you.”

My heart hurt to know that she missed me, but it pleased me as well.

“Thank you, Kay. I really appreciate you.”

She waved me off. “Don’t go getting all mushy on me, you big oaf.”

Laughing, I opened the door and walked her out to her car while I finished devouring the pizza she left me. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Yes, Daddy.”

“No offense, but you are not the woman I want to hear calling me Daddy, Kay.” I shut her door before she flipped me off.

After she pulled out of the driveway safely, I headed back inside, my mind set on holding Allyson while I still had her. I knew the next day we would need to have a serious talk about our future.

***

Allyson

I rolled over and into a warm body.

“Daddy?” I asked, picking my head up and hoping to see Bash. I flushed when I realized what I’d called him in my excitement. He’d been gone much longer than I thought.

He had his head propped in his hand and he’d been watching me sleep. I lifted my eyes to study his face and was relieved to see he was smiling.

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