Chapter 21
Miles
“Hmmmm,” I say, my frustration threatening to boil over. “Pfffft.”
My restlessness aside, the safehouse is quiet, save for the faint creak of the cabin settling and the distant hoot of an owl in the woods outside.
I’m in bed, the soft flannel sheets tangled around my legs, Bean clutched tight under my arm, his button eyes glinting in the moonlight streaming through the window.
But sleep won’t come.
My mind’s racing, spinning with thoughts of Travis, Cole, and Max in the study, hunched over Cole’s laptop, cracking open that flash drive I stole from Kyle Knox’s office.
The weight of it—those secrets about Obsidian Ventures, the cartel, the death threat—sits heavy in my chest, keeping me tossing and turning. I want to know what they’re finding, what Kyle’s hiding, how deep this mess goes.
I’m part of this, and lying here, staring at the ceiling, feels like being sidelined.
I sit up, my romper rustling. Bean in hand, I slip out of bed, my bare feet silent on the cool hardwood. The cabin’s dark, the glow from the study’s closed door the only light downstairs…
I creep to Richie’s room first, tapping softly. He’s awake, his curls a mess, his bumblebee romper askew.
“Can’t sleep either?” Richie whispers, grabbing his stuffy.
“Nope,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Let’s get Billie. We need a Littles Meeting.”
Billie’s in the next room, already sitting up, his star-patterned romper glowing faintly in the dark.
“I knew you’d come,” Billie says, snatching his stuffy.
We tiptoe to the kitchen, the heart of the cabin, where moonlight spills across the butcher-block island.
I grab a carton of milk from the fridge, pouring it into three pastel mugs, while Richie rummages in a tin for chocolate chip cookies. We settle at the island, our stuffies propped beside us, the cookies crumbling as we dip them in milk.
“Okay,” I say, licking crumbs off my fingers. “They’re in there, working on the flash drive, figuring out Kyle and the cartel. I can’t just sit back. I stole that drive. I’m in this.”
Richie nods, his eyes fierce despite the milk mustache on his lip. “Same. Cole’s all ‘leave it to us,’ but we’re not helpless. We can help.”
Billie sips his milk. “Max says it’s too dangerous, but we’re tough. Miles, you’ve been digging into Knox & Rain forever. You know stuff they don’t.”
I smile, their support warming me.
“Exactly,” I say. “I’m done being the good Little who waits. I say we march in there and demand to be part of the mission.”
“Agreed!” Richie says, slamming his mug down, milk sloshing. “Littles unite!”
We giggle, stifling the sound, and clink our mugs in a mock toast.
With Bean and the other stuffies in tow, we creep to the study, the door cracked, a sliver of light spilling out.
Inside, Travis, Cole, and Max are huddled around the laptop, cigar smoke curling in the air, whisky glasses glinting. Travis’s in a black t-shirt, his jaw tight, his eyes locked on the screen. My heart skips—he’s so intense, so Daddy, and I’m hit with a rush of pride and want.
I push the door open, Richie and Billie at my back, and stride in, my chin high.
“We’re not sitting this out,” I say, my voice firm despite the flutter in my stomach. “I stole that flash drive. I need to see what’s on it, and I’m willing to disobey you, Daddy, if that’s what it takes.”
Travis’s head snaps up, his eyes narrowing, but then a chuckle rumbles out, low and warm.
“My Little lawyer, I was just about to come get you,” Travis says, leaning back in his chair. “No way I’m leaving your perspective out of this. You’re too damn sharp.”
My cheeks flush, joy bubbling up.
He respects me—not just as his Little, but as a partner. Richie and Billie grin, nudging me, and I step closer, Bean still under my arm.
“What’s on the drive?” I ask, my voice steady now.
Cole taps the laptop. “Just cracked it. We’re scanning files now—financials, emails, meeting logs. Looks like Knox is funneling cartel money through Obsidian Ventures, straight to Los Lobos’ new front. Your screenshots helped us know what to look for.”
I nod, my mind racing back to Knox’s office, those photos of yachts and sports cars.
“He’s not who I thought,” I say softly, melancholy in my voice. “He’s all about money, not justice.”
Travis pulls me to his side, his arm warm around me.
“You did good, darling boy,” Travis says, his voice full of warmth. “Let’s dive in.”
We huddle around the laptop, Richie and Billie peering over our shoulders, as Cole pulls up files—spreadsheets of transfers, coded emails, enough links for us to build a case.
It’s damning, a web of greed and crime, and my stomach twists, knowing I worked for this man.
We work late, piecing it together, until my eyes burn as the cabin’s clock ticks well past midnight…
Dawn breaks, painting the sky pink through the study’s window.
I’m back in the kitchen, brewing coffee, my romper swapped for star-patterned pajamas.
Travis’s slumped on the couch, eyes heavy from our three hours of sleep, but I nudge him awake, handing him a steaming mug.
“Rise and shine, Daddy,” I say, grinning. “We’ve got work to do.”
He groans, taking the coffee, his fingers brushing mine. “You’re lucky this is important, Little, or I’d have you over my knee for waking me this early.”
I chuckle, my cheeks warming. “Save it for bedtime, then. I’ll be ready.” I wink, and his eyes spark, a mix of amusement and heat.
We head to the study, still in our pajamas, the cabin quiet except for the soft snores of Richie and Billie down the hall. The laptop’s waiting, its screen glowing with the decoded files.
“Today’s the day,” Travis says, his voice firm. “We start the final phase—nailing Knox, exposing the cartel, ending this threat.”
I nod, clutching Bean, my heart pounding with purpose.
We’re a team, and today, we take down the man who betrayed me, who threatened my life.
This ends. And I’m going to play my part making sure it ends the right way…
The sedan hums along the winding forest road, the safehouse fading into the pines behind us as Travis steers us back toward the city.
Early evening paints the sky in streaks of orange and pink, the light filtering through the trees and glinting off the windshield.
I’m curled up in the passenger seat, Bean clutched in my lap, some warmth left in his tummy after I heated him up just before we left.
The flash drive’s secrets—those damning files linking Kyle Knox to Obsidian Ventures and the Los Lobos cartel—sit heavy in my chest.
I don’t know for sure if Knox orchestrated the break-in at my apartment or the death threat scrawled on that note, but my gut screams he’s connected, at least on some level. The thought twists my stomach, and I stare out the window, the passing trees a blur.
I curse myself silently, my fingers tightening around Bean.
How could I have been so blind?
Knox & Rain was my purpose, my way to fight for justice, to honor my grandfather’s memory after Horizon Agro stole his land.
But it was all a front—Knox’s sleek office, his yacht photos, his greasy charm hiding a money-hungry traitor.
I fell for it, poured years of my life into a lie, and the betrayal stings like a slap.
I’m angry, ashamed, and scared, the weight of it all pressing down as the city looms closer, where tomorrow we’ll put our plan into action to take him down.
Travis’s quiet beside me, his hands steady on the wheel, his jaw tight.
I glance at him, his profile sharp in the fading light, and my heart aches in a different way.
He’s been my rock through this—his Daddy voice, his protective grip, the way he trusted me in the study last night, valuing my perspective.
The flash drive is in his pocket now, our ticket to ending this, and I know he’s carrying the same weight I am, maybe more with Mr. G’s warning hanging over him.
But there’s something else between us, unspoken but tangible, like a current humming in the air.
I’m falling for him, hard, and the way his eyes soften when they meet mine tells me he feels it too.
I want to say it, to tell him I’m in love, but the words stick in my throat, too big, too soon.
Travis glances over, catching the furrow in my brow, and his voice breaks the silence, low and gentle.
“Hey, boy,” Travis says, his voice clam. “Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, don’t let it eat you up. Nothing changes the good work you’ve done at Knox & Rain. You fought for people who needed it, made a difference. That’s real, no matter what Knox was hiding.”
My Daddy’s words are a balm, soothing the raw edges of my guilt, and I feel my shoulders relax.
“Thanks, Daddy,” I say, my voice soft, a smile tugging at my lips. “You always know what to say. You’re… the perfect Daddy.”
I watch his eyes spark, a mix of pride and something deeper, and for a moment, the air between us thickens, charged with that unspoken love.
I want to reach for his hand, to tell him everything, but I hold back, my heart pounding.
Travis feels it too—I can see it in the way his grip tightens on the wheel, the way his gaze lingers. We’re falling, both of us, and it’s thrilling and terrifying all at once.
Suddenly, Travis clears his throat, breaking the ice with a grin.
“How about a pit stop? There’s a diner just off the next exit,” he says. “One last moment to relax before we dive into the shitstorm tomorrow. Pancakes sound good?”
My eyes light up, and I giggle, the tension easing.
“Yes, please!” I hum happily. “But only if we can get extra pancakes. Like, a stack so tall it blocks the sun.”
Travis laughs, the sound warm and rich, filling the car.
“Deal, sweet one,” Travis replies. “Extra pancakes it is.”
Travis takes the next turnoff, the sedan rolling into the gravel lot of a cozy diner, its neon sign buzzing with a retro glow.
Cole, Max, and their boys—Richie and Billie—are in another car behind us, probably heading straight to the city, but this moment is ours, a stolen slice of calm before the storm.
We slide into a booth inside, the diner’s warmth wrapping around us, the smell of coffee and syrup making my mouth water.
I clutch Bean, setting him beside me, and Travis orders us a ridiculous stack of pancakes, dripping with whipped cream and strawberries.
As we dig in, sharing bites and laughing when syrup gets on my chin, I feel it again—that sense of belonging, of us against the world.
Tomorrow, we’ll face the music.
And as scary as that thought is, I know that I’m doing it alongside the most special man I’ve ever met in my life.
Travis is my Daddy—I just hope I’ll still be around to say that after tomorrow.