Page 1 of Paying Daddy's Debt Collector

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CHRIS

Another day, another pathetic piece of shit to deal with.

The boys bring the sniveling, middle-aged man into my office. By the looks of him, they roughed him up a little on the way upstairs. Not too bad, just enough to let him know that defaulting on a debt with me is not good for your health. Killing him doesn’t pay the bills so, for now, he’s not going to suffer anything more than a few bruises.

“We had a deal, Jimmy. You owe my casino a substantial amount of money for covering your debts, with interest of course. You asked for my time and I gave it to you, but now your time is up. Where’s my money?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cassella. I don’t have it…”

I slam my fist down on my desk, making him flinch and snap his eyes shut. “What did you say?”

“I…I don’t have it yet. I’m working on it. I just need some time. Some more time. I’ll pay the extra interest if you just let me…”

With my hands clasped behind my back, I begin pacing the floor and narrowing my eyes on him. “Jimmy, you’re untrustworthy. You’ve already made promises you knew you couldn’t keep. Why should I…”

I look out the window and see his old, beat-up pickup parked under the street light. There’s someone out there beside it. With my senses suddenly on high alert, I raise my arm, prepared to tell my men that old Jimmy here might be trying to stage an ambush.

The words die in my throat when she steps out from under the light. There’s a little, white kitten chasing bugs, and she bends down beside it, beckoning it to her. She picks it up and rises to her feet with it in her arms. Something about her makes me momentarily forget the scumbag behind me, and I step closer to the window and squint, my interest thoroughly piqued.

Just then, the light hits her face, and I feel the floor drop out from under me. Jesus Christ. Even all the way from here, I can tell she’s beautiful. Too damn beautiful to be out there, alone and vulnerable. My heart kicks hard at the sight of her, and I’m rooted to the spot, wondering why I’m reacting this intensely to this girl I’m only staring at from a distance.

Wait. No. That’s not right. She’s not just any girl. Down to the marrow of my bones, I know she’s not like everyone else. Right now, I feel like a starved man looking at his first meal in years.

I look back at Jimmy who’s now on his knees and shaking. What kind of man gets on his knees to beg? I have no respect for degenerate gamblers, but even less when they fall to their knees and grovel over a situation they created. I turn back to the window to gaze down at the sweet thing in the yellow dress.

Maybe she feels my eyes on her because she looks up at me and stops my heart for a second. Holy shit. I already knew it, but this just became my confirmation. She really is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. A zap of electricity runs down my spine, and I drag a deep breath. I don’t know who she is or what she’s doing here. But fuck if I’m gonna let her get away.

With the way she’s leaning against the truck and looking down on her feet, I can only assume she’s somehow related to this poor excuse of a man.

I’m supposed to be coming up with a plan for old Jimmy here, but all I can think about is how I can get closer to the vision of perfection waiting for him downstairs. Maybe I’m a little twisted, but I come up with an idea that fixes both of my problems. It’s kind of sick, but then, I’ve never been the most mentally stable guy. If I was, I would suck at this job.

“Get him on his feet.“

They pull Jimmy up by his arms, and I walk back to my desk, already running through how I’m gonna pull this off. “Is that your daughter down there?”

“Short hair? Yellow dress? That’s my girl. She’s my only one. Listen, Sir. I know I can pay you if you just give me…”

I drown out the rest of his bullshit. It’s always the same desperate promises when they know that, short of winning the lottery, they’re never gonna be able to make good. As he rambles, I formulate the idea in my head.

I want her and can easily send my guys down there to take her, but just thinking of them being close to her and touching her makes me see red. They’re loyal to me, but I’m not above hurting my own men—or anyone for that matter—if they dare to even look at her the wrong way.

Besides, I don’t need that kind of reputation. If people think I’m gonna steal their children, they might be less likely to have me cover their debts. No, I need him to give her to me. He’s desperate. And desperate men do stupid things.

“Jimmy, I’ll give you the time.”

He sits up straighter, eyebrows pulled together. “You will? I don’t believe it. Thank you!”

“Not so fast. I want something in return.”

He nods enthusiastically, curling his lips and shaking his head like he can’t believe his good fortune. That alone should have alarmed him. “What’s that? Anything. Anything I have to give is yours.”

“Come here.” I turn my back on him, and my eyes automatically find her.

He inches his way to my side, and I put my arm around his shoulders. He stiffens but doesn’t say anything, and I point to her out the window. “Her. I want her.”

“You want her? M-my k-kid? She’s just twenty,” he stutters.

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