Daddy’s Little Sunshine

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

D onovan

Beyond telling him what kind of sandwich she wanted, Lainey barely spoke to him the rest of the afternoon. She was lost in her own little world of sorrow, and he was completely helpless to fix it for her. Years ago, when he’d gotten wind of the experiments Rose Corp was conducting on Variants, he’d made the decision to walk away from his family and friends in hopes of keeping them safe. But it hadn’t been so long ago that he’d forgotten the pain of breaking those bonds.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to check the text. It was his contact’s right hand man, confirming their meet-up for the later that evening. Good. That was settled. Now he just had to convince Lainey to stay put while he went out to discuss her future with someone she’d never met.

Piece of cake. “Lainey.” He waited for her to look at him, but her eyes stayed glued to the TV. “Lainey. Look at me.”

Her eyes flicked to the side for a brief second, but she still didn’t acknowledge him. Goddamn it, why did she have to be so stubborn? She could pout or cry all she wanted, but he needed her to listen. He pushed up out of the armchair and stepped over to the couch. Grabbing the remote from beside her, he switched off the TV.

“Hey! I was watching that!” She finally looked up at him, her face set in mutinous lines.

“You were ignoring me. What do you think happens to little girls who ignore people who are trying to talk to them?” The first hint of wariness crept into her eyes, but it was accompanied by a flicker of something else. Excitement, maybe?

“Nothing?”

“Try again, sunshine.”

Her heavy sigh seemed a little too put on for him. “They get spanked?”

That had been his original plan, but there was a hint of hopefulness in her voice that told him she’d enjoy it a little too much right now. Wracking his brain for an alternative, he smirked when an idea popped into his head. “Nope. They put their noses in the corner until they can act like they’re supposed to.” The shock on her pretty face was nearly comical, but he kept his face as stern as he could manage.

“You can’t put me in the corner!”

“If I can whip your ass, I can put you in the corner. Get up and go to the corner like I told you to.”

“No!” Glaring at him, she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin up defiantly. “You can’t make me.”

He never could resist a challenge. Reaching for her, he pinched her ear between his fingers and gave her lobe a little twist.

A shocked squeal escaped her. “Ow! Daddy, let go!”

“Stand up, little girl.” He pulled just enough for her to get the point. Whining the whole time, she stood and followed him to the corner. “Hands on your head and face the wall. You’re going to stand here until your attitude improves.”

“I don’t want to stand in the stupid corner!” Arms crossed again, she stomped her foot.

“Too bad. Hands on your head, Lainey. Unless you want to be standing here with a nice red bottom?”

It was fun to watch the struggle play out on her face. Slowly, she lifted her hands and placed them on the back of her head. “That’s what I thought. Turn around.” With a little huff, she turned to face the corner. “I’m going to pull your shorts down and you’re going to stand here with your bare bottom on display while you think about why it’s important to listen when I’m talking to you. Got it?”

“No.” The single syllable was filled with attitude, but her hands stayed on her head. “This is stupid.”

Donovan tugged her shorts to her knees, and he couldn’t resist landing a sharp spank to each perfect globe. “Stay put, little girl.”

She huffed out another breath, but she didn’t move from where he’d placed her. Satisfied she’d stay put, he went back to the armchair and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels, but he wasn’t really watching. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off his little Lainey, standing in the corner with her hands on her head and her bare bottom sporting his fading handprints.

From the moment he’d met her, something about her had pulled at him. This whole time he’d been focused on getting her out of the city and tucked away somewhere safe by herself. But maybe she didn’t have to go alone. Watching her sigh and squirm in the corner, he let himself toy with the idea of going with her. Just when he was ready to tell her to knock it off, she settled down and stood quietly facing the wall. A few minutes later, her quiet sniffles told him she’d probably learned her lesson. “You can come out now, sunshine.”

She pulled her shorts back up before turning around. Even from across the room, he could read the uncertainty on her face. Donovan held his arms open and she raced over, flinging herself into his embrace.

Still sniffling, she pressed her face against his shoulder. “I’m sorry I was naughty.”

“It’s okay.” Giving her a little squeeze, he pressed a kiss to her hair. “I know you’re sad, sunshine. But it’s more important than ever that you learn to listen to me. Okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

As much as he hated to ruin the moment, he still needed to talk to her. “Sit up, sunshine.” When she raised herself up, his gut twisted again at the shimmer of tears on her lashes. “I’m leaving in a few minutes, and I need you to stay here.”

Her response was immediate and exactly what he’d expected. “I want to come.”

“I know you do. But you can’t.” Pausing, he searched for a way to explain the situation without revealing too much. “These aren’t the type of people to talk to just anybody and they don’t know you.”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “But they know you. How?”

Shrugging, he deliberately kept his voice light when he responded. “I’ve been around, seen some things. I’ve managed to stay under Rose Corp’s radar, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been noticed.”

“What the hell does that even mean? Who noticed you?”

He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy to put her off. “People.”

Rolling her eyes, she shifted so she was sitting up straighter, putting a distance between them he couldn’t help but notice. “I figured it was people and not fucking elephants,” she spat. “What kind of people?”

“That’s all I can tell you for now, sunshine.”

The corner of her lip curled up. “So, I’m stuck hanging out here in the apartment while you go talk to ‘people’ I’ve never met and make decisions about the rest of my life? That’s bullshit.”

The sorrow from earlier had vanished, replaced by righteous fury. He was going to get whiplash trying to keep up with her changing moods. “Yeah, it is. But that’s how it has to be if I’m going to keep you safe. I want you to promise me you’ll stay in the apartment and you won’t open the door for a single soul. Got it?”

“I don’t have much of a choice, now do I?”

His patience finally snapped. “Sure, you do. You could walk out the door now and figure this all out on your own. You’re smart, so maybe you’d get a good twenty-four hours in before Rose Corp finds you.”

Her face paled, making him feel like an asshole. But if scaring the shit out of her helped keep her safe, then so be it. Shoulders slumped, she muttered, “Or I stay here and let you make all the decisions.”

“Yeah. It sucks, but that’s just how it is, sunshine.”

“Fine. I’ll stay.” She lifted hopeful eyes to his. “Are you at least going to ask about the church?”

This shit again. He didn’t want to have anything to do with this so-called church, but he had promised. “Yeah. I’ll ask.”

She smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Daddy.”

His cock twitched in response. He needed to go but dammit if he wouldn’t rather just stay locked up in his apartment with her, fucking her senseless. Depending on how his meet-up went, maybe that would be on the table when he got home. With more than a little reluctance, he nudged her off his lap. “All right, sunshine. I have to get going. Don’t forget the rules.”

“I know, I know. I’ll be good,” she promised, with her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling.

“I’ll believe it when I see it. There’s plenty of food, so make yourself something other than ice cream for dinner, would ya?”

Her grin was full of mischief. “But I like ice cream.”

“You can have some ice cream when I get home. If you’re a good girl while I’m gone.”

“You’re bossy.”

“Because I’m the Daddy. I shouldn’t be gone too long.” Drawing her into his arms, he brushed his lips against hers in a kiss far too light and chaste for his taste. “Be good.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Sitting in the dirty, dimly lit bar, Donovan knew he’d made the right call leaving Lainey behind. She’d have stood out like a sore thumb in a place like this, and the last thing he needed was extra attention. He was on his second glass of whiskey when a tall, perfectly groomed man in a suit that likely cost twice Donovan’s monthly rent slid into the booth across from him. “Donovan.”

“Rico. Been a minute.”

Rico Moretti, head of the infamous Moretti crime family and Donovan’s previous employer, inclined his head. “It has. How have you been?”

“Good. How’s the family?”

Genuine delight filled Rico’s eyes when he smiled. “Good. Carla graduates university in May.”

“Fucking really? Goddamn, I feel old.”

“Imagine how I feel,” Rico said with a laugh. “But you didn’t call me to this disgusting joint to make small talk.”

“No. I have a situation.” He explained how he’d found Lainey being attacked in an alley, and the goon squad he’d narrowly escaped in her apartment. “I have to get her out of the city. She’s going to need a new identity, a place to stay, the works.”

Tapping a fingertip against the table, Rico’s dark eyes searched Donovan’s face. “You as well, I assume?”

Donovan shrugged, hoping the gesture didn’t seem as desperate as he suddenly felt. “If you can swing it, but she’s the primary concern. I’ve stayed under the radar this long and I can take care of myself.”

“I’m well aware of your ability to take care of yourself, Donovan. I wouldn’t have employed you to protect my Carla if I wasn’t.”

“I know. Can you make it happen?”

Rico tapped the table again, his eyes carefully empty of emotion. It was a skill Donovan had learned from him years ago. “Yes. It’s going to take a few days to get everything together, but I still have some connections.”

“How much?” Not that any amount was too much where Lainey’s safety was concerned, but he had to consider the extra money it was going to cost to get her set up in a new town. His time with Rico had left him with a nice little nest egg, but new identities and clandestine relocations didn’t come cheap.

Rico’s lip curled with insult. “You think I’ve forgotten that you saved not just my life but my daughter’s as well? I owe you a debt I can never repay. Consider this a small down payment toward that.”

A portion of the weight on his shoulders lifted. “Thanks, man. I could cover it, but if I can avoid any kind of trail connecting me to her, all the better.”

“I’m happy to take care of it, my friend. I’ll have Jimmy contact you when it’s done.”

“Thanks, Rico. I mean it.” He downed the rest of his whiskey. “I better get going. The longer I’m gone, the more time she has to make trouble.”

Rico grinned – an expression Donovan could only remember seeing on the man’s face a handful of times before. “About time you found a woman to keep you on your toes.”

“She’s going to be the death of me, I swear. Oh, before I forget, have you heard anything about this new church that’s starting to make waves? The Church of the Divine Variance or some shit?”

The grin faded, leaving Rico’s eyes flat and cold. “Yes. There are rumors, but I don’t know how true they are.”

Every nerve in Donovan’s body was suddenly on alert. “What kind of rumors?”

“People going to them for help and disappearing. They claim to have hidden them away for their own safety, but I don’t trust them.”

“Yeah. Me neither. If you hear anything else, let me know, would you?”

Rico inclined his head and stood to leave. “Of course.”

“Thanks. For everything.” Because he knew the drill, Donovan waited a full ten minutes after Rico had left before he slid out of the booth and walked out of the bar. He didn’t run, but he came pretty damn close as he made his way back to the apartment. For the first time in years, he had something worth rushing home to.