Page 44 of Daddy's Pursuit
Should she say it? Was it time to tell him how she felt?
Or was it way too early to admit aloud?
It was tough, she thought. So tough.
Because all she wanted to say were those three little words.
I love you.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The helicopter flew around downtown Los Angeles, giving Iris the ride of her life.
She hadn’t said as much, but Jack knew it by the way she laughed and the utter joy he saw in those gorgeous eyes.
Against a brilliant blue sky, Ace ringed City Hall. The famed building’s thirty-two floors, clocking in at 454 feet, made it the perfect structure to circle.
“This is amazing!” Iris cried, pointing to the white tower. “I’ve never seen City Hall this close!” The excitement in her voice registered even over the headsets the three wore.
Talking into his attached mic, Jack said, “Soak it all in, babygirl.”
Ace circled the dominating structure once more before hooking west. “I’ll take you out over Mulholland.”
What Jack saw on Iris’s face was pure, unadulterated happiness. In fact, it was maybe the happiest he’d ever been, too. Seeing his cutie having the time of her life meant more to him than any amount of money ever could.
Unfortunately, though, it appeared as if it wouldn’t last long.
“Jack. We’ve got a situation.” Ace’s voice crackled over the radio.
“What’s up?”
Instead of answering Jack right away, Ace was just nodding and clearly talking to someone else. “Roger that. I’m on it.”
He then spoke to Jack. “Was on the police frequency, too. I’m switching us all over to that now. We have a call and it isn’t good.”
A few seconds later, the drama of the LAPD dispatch was in Jack’s ear. It was a familiar sound to him, but as he looked over at Iris, he saw that she was in awe by what she heard.
It was difficult, but Jack managed to shift his attention away from her and back to the call coming in. The story was easy enough to follow—men armed with assault rifles had committed a brazen robbery in broad daylight, stealing a large quantity of diamonds from a shop in the Jewelry District.
Three words stood out among the others:armor-piercing rounds.
Ace said it before he could. “Frank’s guns! Who else is moving that shit on the streets these days?” The pilot looked back quickly. “Sorry about my language, honey.”
Iris just giggled and waved. She was still clearly mesmerized by the excitement of it all. For her, this was probably like being in a TV show or movie, Jack figured.
“Jack,” Ace continued, “they need me to track ‘em. There’s not enough time to set this thing down and get her off.”
“Just go. We’ll be fine up here,” Jack said.
That was true. They were safer in the air than on the street where madmen were shooting round after round from assault rifles.
“What’s happening?” she yelled.
“It’s okay, honey. Do you trust Daddy?”
“Of course.”
“Then just sit back and enjoy the excitement. We have to chase some suspects from the air. It’s too dangerous for the guyson the ground to keep up the pursuit in their cruisers. They—or worse, civilians—might get hurt. The best option is for Ace to just keep an eye on their location.”
