26. Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ECHO
F our days had passed since she had talked to Daddy about being followed. The first day was hard. She woke up feeling absolutely exhausted and not wanting to do anything. But she pushed through and got some work done.
Daddy also made her take a nap.
The second day was just as hard. She had woken up several times during a nightmare. A very specific nightmare that happened back in middle school. She woke up feeling their hands on her, gripping her hair, and telling her she was going to please them.
The first time she woke up, she rolled over and vomited onto the floor. Yeah, that wasn’t fun. She had cried and cried as Daddy held her, rocking her back and forth. He had gotten them into the tub filled with warm water to soothe her. When they got back into the room, everything was cleaned up.
She felt horrible for that alone.
No one should have to clean up after her. She should be stronger than that, but she wasn't. Her defenses had come down around Daddy, allowing everything to come flooding back. She finally felt safe while sleeping, which wasn’t doing her any favors.
Echo had officially moved into his house the day she told Daddy about feeling like she was being watched. She ended her lease immediately, and he had men move her stuff. But they had been sleeping in the clubhouse since then. Daddy wanted her to be surrounded and safe.
She’d been to the coffee shop one time; two MC members were with her the whole time. People had stared, pointed, and whispered, but she didn’t really care. She just wanted this dealt with.
Daddy hadn’t told her anything. She didn’t know if Ace had found anything, but she guessed he hadn’t. Daddy was a little stressed, which clued her in that things hadn’t gone like he wanted.
The person was still out there. Was it only one person? Two? Was it a male or female? Did she know the person or was it a complete stranger? Did she run into them that day or were they not related to the situation?
They didn’t know a thing and it worried her.
Made her stick to her stomach.
Daddy was trying to keep her in the dark, but she could read his body language. It wasn't going well. Daddy didn’t want her to go to the coffee shop anymore. She couldn’t stay in the clubhouse all day every day and just watch as life went on.
Echo needed fresh air, chatter of people, and to feel normal, even if she knew everything was far from normal. She needed to feel like she was normal to get through every single day.
With each passing day, it was getting harder and harder. Were they any closer to finding who was following her? No.
Was she having nightmares every single night, multiple times in a night? Yes. Echo and Daddy weren’t getting sleep, and that worried her.
Worried for her Daddy. He needed sleep to do his job, but she was keeping him up. Echo tried to leave one night to sleep in his office. Although, when Daddy found her, he wasn’t happy. She had gotten several spanks right then and there.
She wasn't going to do that again, even if she wanted to. Echo thought about taking sleeping pills, but if something happened in the middle of the night, she worried that she wouldn’t wake up to it.
“You’re okay,” she whispered to herself.
She sighed and looked at her computer screen. Echo was trying to get work done while she was there, but it wasn't exactly working.
“Here you go; I thought you could use a cup of coffee,” Flemming offered as she placed the cup down.
Echo blinked several times. “I’ve already had one today.”
She waved her hand. “I had one of the guys ask Deccan to see if it was okay. He said it was fine.”
Her eyebrows pinched as she looked at the two Springfield Sinners sitting in the corner. They looked at her and smiled. Huh . That was weird. She didn’t think Daddy would budge on her having a second coffee.
“Thank you,” Echo replied, looking at Flemming. “I really appreciate it. I need it. I’ve got a bad headache.”
“Well, drink it slowly. Do you need any food to help with the caffeine?”
Echo shook her head. “No, this is fine. Thank you so much..”
Flemming smiled and walked away. Echo wasn’t an emotional person, but she felt like she might cry. Everything was getting to be too much, and Flemming was being kind. Well, she was always kind, but she had seen that Echo was struggling.
Echo took a sip of her coffee and relaxed into her chair. Hopefully, her headache would go away as she drank more. She needed it so she could get work done.
Maybe she could contact her authors and let them know she needed to take a couple of days off. They would understand, but Echo hated doing things last minute, even if she was caught up on everything.
She felt like she was doing a bad job if she suddenly took days off. Daddy had tried to get her to email them to let them know something was going on, but Echo had refused. The first couple of days, she actually had important things to do. Now though, it was just things the authors needed done without a time crunch.
Maybe she should take Daddy's advice. It would be one less thing to worry about.
Echo sighed and took several more sips of coffee. It was not helping with her headache. If anything, it was getting worse as the seconds went on.
“We’ll be right back,” one of the men said. “Need to go do something. Don’t leave until we get back.”
She nodded and looked back at her computer. She had wanted to go home but knew Daddy wouldn’t be happy about it. Echo didn’t want a spanking.
Looking back at her computer, she started to scroll to see what she could do that wouldn’t take much concentration or thought. She needed a brainless task, but there was nothing. Okay, she could read and pull quotes, though that needed her to actually pay attention to the words, which she couldn’t do.
Echo pulled up her email and started letting her authors know she wouldn’t be able to work for the next two or three days. She knew they would understand, especially when she had everything important done.
“You doing okay?” Flemming asked.
“Headache is still there. Waiting on the guys to come back so I can go home,” Echo sighed.
“Are you safe?” she blurted out.
Echo gave an uneasy smile. “I am. Deccan just wants them here as a precaution.”
She hated lying, but Daddy told her she couldn’t let anyone know someone was watching her. It could put everyone in even more danger. Something she didn’t want to do.
“So you technically aren’t safe?” Flemming pointed out.
“I didn’t say that,” she sighed. “Deccan is very protective of me. He wants me safe at all times when I’m out without him.”
“You know you can call him Daddy in front of me. I know Rainey is a Little. I’m also one. I just didn’t want you to get in trouble ‘cause I know some Littles aren’t allowed to call their Daddy by their first name.” Pink rushed up Flemming’s cheeks as she spoke.
“Oh,” Echo relaxed. “I…Okay. Sorry, I totally wasn’t expecting you to say that. I know there are a lot of Daddies and Littles in Springfield, but I try to be respectful and not just say ‘my Daddy did this’ or yeah,” she rambled. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I didn’t know if you knew about Rainey.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. I just wanted to let you know in case you did want to call him Daddy.”
Echo smiled. “Thank you, that means a lot.”
“Soooo, are you in trouble? Do I need to be looking out when I leave work or my house?”
She shook her head. “No, but you should anyway. While nothing has happened to me in Springfield, it’s better to be cautious and be vigilant about things. I would hate for something to happen.”
“I am safe. I have pepper spray and knives in my bag. I mean, it doesn’t really help me if they have a gun, but it’s something. I don’t trust myself to carry a gun. I know there is safety and all, but it would be my luck that I would think it’s on safety and shoot myself.” Flemming shivered. “Yeah, no thanks. I would rather not.”
“I totally feel that! I wanted to get knives ‘cause I took a knife-throwing class earlier this month, but Daddy banned me from getting any. Said something about hurting myself. Which I understand, but like still.”
“Mine are throwing knives!” Flemming sat in the chair opposite Echo. “Oh, my goodness. I didn’t know any other girl was into this.”
“I was until Daddy said I couldn’t do it anymore,” she mumbled.
“Maybe you can convince him to let you do it if he is around. Then we could go out together and throw knives at trees or other things.”
Echo’s mouth moved into an O shape. “I didn’t think about that. Hmm. I’ll have to ask him about this. Let’s exchange numbers, so if he says yes, we can do it. If he doesn’t, then we can still hang out. That’s if you want to hang out with me, but don’t feel pressured to,” Echo rushed out.
“I would love that! I have honestly been meaning to ask if you wanted to hang out, but it’s so intimidating. I didn’t know if you wanted any more friends, so I’ve been keeping it to myself,” Flemming sighed.
“Well, now we’re friends. I don’t know how the next week is going to look with work, but I’ll ask Daddy and message you.”
Echo handed over her phone and started to rub her temple. Her headache was only getting worse as each minute passed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Flemming asked, handing her phone back.
“Yeah, this headache isn’t going away. I’m going to wait for the guys to come back. Then I head home.”
“Well, let me know if you need anything. And if you need someone to walk with you, just let me know and I’ll tell Rainey I need to go for a few minutes.”
“Oh no, it’s okay. I can wait for them. They said they weren’t going to be long,” Echo explained.
But how long ago was that? How long had Flemming and she talked? Surely, they should have been back by now. But maybe they got caught up doing something and needed a bit more time.
“Well, my offer still stands if you need me. I’ll leave you for now.”
“Thank you,” Echo smiled.
She sighed and relaxed in her chair. How long was she going to have to wait here for? She hoped it wasn’t long because her head was starting to pound. Echo’s phone went off, and she looked down, smiling.
Daddy .
Daddy
Come to the clubhouse.
Echo
The two guys just left so it’ll be a couple minutes.
Daddy
Come to the clubhouse now.
She looked at her phone and blinked several times. Daddy had made sure she knew never to walk without them.
Echo
They said they were coming back in a couple of minutes. I’ll walk with them.
Daddy
I’ll be outside the clubhouse. Come now.
Unease went through her. Was something wrong and Daddy needed her there now?
Echo
Are you sure? You want me to walk alone?
Daddy
Yes, it’s okay. I’m outside the clubhouse waiting for you.
Echo pulled up his contact and hit call, waiting for him to answer. It was so unlike him to tell her to come on her own. He wanted her safe; her walking out without them wasn’t safe.
Her phone beeped.
Daddy
Can’t answer the phone. Come now or you’ll find yourself over my lap for disobeying.
Echo sighed and packed up her stuff. She wanted to go home anyway, and Daddy just told her she could walk without them. Was she okay with that? Not really, but Daddy said he was outside the clubhouse. It wasn't far from the coffee shop.
Echo
I’m leaving.
She had a bad feeling about this, but Daddy told her to leave okay. Maybe she’d ask when she got there why it was okay now, but she couldn’t walk to the coffee shop alone.
“Daddy wants me to go. I’ll see you later,” Echo called out to Flemming.
Flemming gave her a worried look. “Are you sure? What about your two friends?”
“He said it was fine. I have to go. I’ll message you when I get there.”
Echo exited the coffee shop and started her journey to the clubhouse. It had just hit afternoon, and Echo was a little confused about why Daddy wanted her back so soon. Not that she was complaining, but it was weird. Normally, she went back around two or three in the afternoon, when she’d got all of her work done.
“I’ve got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine,” Echo mumbled, not paying attention to her surroundings. “Take me away. A secret place.” She skipped along with the lyrics.
Maybe she could take medicine and snuggle up to Daddy when she got to the clubhouse.
“Oh, please,” she whispered, wanting nothing more than to snuggle into his embrace.
Suddenly, hands wrapped around her hair, yanking her back. “I’ve got you now.”