Page 48 of Daddy's Pursuit
Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Why do you want to know that, honey?”
Smiling up at him, she answered, “Because I’ve heard a lot about him. I think he’s a bad man who’s selling guns or something. And I think it’s been keeping you busy and stressed the last few days, the way you have to step out and take calls and, of course, that whole helicopter thing today.”
Jack grinned and nodded. “My Little girl is too smart to keep anything from, huh?”
“Yep!” she replied with an emphatic nod.
He laughed, bent down, and kissed her forehead. Standing upright again, he said, “Okay. You’re right. Frank is a bad man who sells guns. But it’s more than that. You see… he used to be one of us.”
The admission took Iris by surprise. Once she’d recovered, she said, “You mean like a cop?”
“That’s right. And… one ofus. This group here tonight. The Daddies from the precinct. He was… my best friend.”
Iris stood and put her hands on Daddy’s arms. “Your best friend turned into a criminal?” She was talking to herself more than him, trying to make sense of it all.
She had naively assumed that all Daddies were good. But it stood to reason that such wasn’t the case. They were humans, after all—some good, some bad, and some in between.
“He stole these guns he’s selling from right under the LAPD’s noses. These are all ones we fought hard to take off the streets. Decades worth of dangerous work. And that asshole just—” Jack’s nostrils flared as his fists balled, but a moment later, he smiled.
Iris was glad to see it and she wondered if it was her presence that was calming him down.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I need to watch my language. And you don’t need to worry about all this. I’d never let Frank hurt you. Soon enough, he won’t be hurting anyone. He’s going to go down hard and answer for his crimes. Me and your Uncles will make sure of that.” He playfully bopped her nose. “Now, come on, cute stuff. Lay down. That soggy diaper needs to come off and a dry one is going on. If I don’t get you back outside soon, I’ll have a riot on my hands. They all want turns holding you.”
Iris giggled, but inside she still felt a bit worried.
This Frank character sounded dangerous. And tough. But she knew one thing that gave her hope.
Her Daddy was tougher.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Auntie might be mad at me. I’m stealing you from her tonight,” Jack announced.
Holding his hand as they entered his townhome, Iris laughed. “What if she tries to paddle you?”
Jack snorted. “Hardly. I’m a Daddy. I do the paddling around here.”
Boy, don’t I know it!Iris thought. Her bottom still stung from the spanking she’d taken earlier at the helipad. That belt was bad enough. She didn’t want to find out what Daddy could do with a paddle.
The lights were already on, revealing a clean, but somewhat sparse living space. Benson was sleeping on the couch and continued to snore, his chest rising and falling.
“Hey, buddy. Don’t worry. We aren’t burglars or anything.” Jack looked at Iris. “Some guard dog, huh?”
Finally, the retriever lifted his head, shook it a bit, and then huffed as if annoyed by the interruption. It took him another few seconds before he got off the couch. Slowly, he made his way toward them but stopped to stretch halfway there.
When he went to Iris first, Jack said, “Hey! Traitor.”
Benson just craned his neck while Iris scratched behind his ears.
“Who’s the bestest boy in the whole wide world? Benson is!” she told him.
He seemingly ate it up, his tail wagging, his mouth open as if smiling.
After Iris and Jack finished petting him, the dog ambled back to the couch where he climbed up, pawed at the cushion a few times, and then laid down with another sigh.
“Well, I don’t think we’re bothering him,” Jack noted. “Come on, honey. I’ll show you around. There’s not much to it.”
He was right, Iris found. The place was nice but not huge. Still, it was more than enough space for a single guy living by himself. The living area was big and seemed even more so thanks to the open-air floor plan that led right to the kitchen and dining area.
