Chapter 30
KYLIE
“It is okay with me if it’s okay with them,” Josh answered. Kyler nodded. “Rayna, why don’t you take the girls to your playroom?”
I knew the playroom was monitored, which was why he suggested it.
I didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to give us complete privacy with something that might upset the girls.
To be fair, there wasn’t anything I needed to say that couldn’t or shouldn’t be said in front of their daddies.
It just made it a lot easier without their stern daddyness sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
“Okay.” Rayna took Tinley’s hand. “Come on!”
“Oh, can we bring the snacks?” Tinley picked up a cracker and nibbled on it.
“I’ll bring it.” Patrick followed, carrying the platter of food. Tinley made a beeline for a white, fluffy chair that she dragged near the small sitting area in the corner. The table and chairs were painted white as well.
Patrick set the food on the table and pulled out the two other chairs for Rayna and me. He squeezed my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. Rayna averted her eyes.
“You ladies need anything, let me know.”
“Thank you, Uncle Patrick.” Tinley waved.
He waved back, and she smiled and then concentrated on finishing her cracker.
I was hesitant to speak, fearing I might pull her out of her little space against her will.
I admired how comfortable she was in that headspace.
Josh must be a great daddy to create an environment where she feels comfortable being little all the time.
Full-time littles happened in books, not in real life.
I imagined there were places in the world where people lived that way: on BDSM cruise ships and maybe some remote islands somewhere.
Maybe right here in Las Vegas. I had heard of communities all over the country where the residents lived similar lifestyles and communed together.
To an outsider, it might look like a cult, but I’ve seen the watch list for cults in the United States, and Daddy/Little relationships weren’t part of that world.
All those alpha daddies in one place would be hard-pressed to agree to one supreme leader.
But maybe it’s something I’d have to investigate.
“Kylie.”
Tinley pulled me out of my internal rabbit hole.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry.” I grabbed a vanilla sandwich cookie from the tray, broke it apart and nibbled on it.
The snack plate contained three of each small treat.
It made me smile. It was nice to be included.
“First, I want to apologize for my behavior after the Wizard of Oz. I got the wrong idea about something, and when my brain is stuck on one path, it’s hard for me to redirect.
Even when the opposite is staring me in the face. ”
“What idea did you have?” Rayna asked. She grabbed the other two cookies and handed one to Tinley. Maybe getting these girls to trust me was going to be harder than I thought.
“I wanted to know what happened to the women after their rescue. I mean, hopefully they get reacquainted with their families or go back to their lives, but I also knew not all of them had a life to go back to.”
“Or a life they want to go back to,” Tinley added. She crossed her legs and leaned forward.
“Yeah, and so I did some research, and discovered a few of the survivors seemed to vanish. Like they had disappeared off the face of the earth again, and it got me worried. Then when I realized both you and Tinley were here with Kyler and Josh, I jumped to conclusions.”
“What conclusions?” Rayna asked. Her eyes cut to Tinley.
“That maybe you were being held here against your will.”
Tinley’s eyes grew wide.
Rayna's mouth spread into a thin line, but neither of them spoke.
“And I got in my head that the two of you and probably others needed to be rescued again.” I wrung my fingers together. “Like maybe Kyler was running his own sex trafficking ring and worked with the FBI to shut others down so he could steal their territory or their operation.”
“And the women, too?” Rayna asked.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think he was…” I didn’t quite know how to describe it, “loaning you out.”
Tinley's face turned a sickly shade of green. She set down the piece of cheese she snagged and held her stomach.
Rayna huffed, opened her mouth, but then closed it and crossed her arms over her chest. She rocked back in her chair. The legs came off the floor, and she dropped back down with a thud. Her face scrunched together, but she was also able to cast a serious eye roll in my direction.
“I am really sorry. I don’t think that anymore,” I said.
“How could you ever think that about my daddy?” It was Tinley who was quick to defend. “And I want to be here with my Daddy. Right, Rayna? Don’t you want to be here with your Daddy? I mean you tried not to be, and you still chose him. And I had a choice, too. Tell her.”
“Tinley.” Rayna dropped her hands and stepped around the table to comfort her friend. “She knows her theory was bullshit. Our daddies don’t share.”
Tinley gasped and looked at Rayna, and then at the door. Like her cursing might conjure the daddies through the door.
“I don’t think that anymore, Tinley.” I reached out, but Rayna blocked my hand. “I promise.”
“Our daddies don’t force us to be their littles.” Tinley pushed Rayna’s arms away. “We choose to live this way, and it is with mutual consent. Ever heard of it.”
Tinley was getting sassy, and I was proud of her for standing up for herself, but it made me feel awful. Tears pooled in my eyes. Staying strong and adult to finish this conversation was a struggle, but I had to explain.
“Tin, it’s okay.” Rayna sat on the fluffy chair and pulled Tinley down next to her. “She didn’t know us yet.”
“Well, I don’t like her talking about my daddy like that, or Uncle Kyler.” She huffed. “They love us and would do anything for us. I thought you were a little. If you were, you would understand.”
“I am little.” My face formed a pout. “I know all about consent, but in my job, I see too much how powerful men take advantage of vulnerable women, and it got into my head.”
“What gets me is that you never even asked.” Rayna spoke up. “It’s like you were ready to snatch us from our lives without explanation. Been there, done that, didn’t like it one bit.”
“I know. You’re right.” I wiped my eyes. “I am so sorry to have doubted either of you. To be honest, I have never felt safer and more seen in my life than I do here. But then, I think about my sister and I don’t know. Logic gets away from me.”
“Wait.” Tinley sat up. “What happened to your sister?” She blinked her eyes rapidly.
“Uhm, she went missing a few years ago.” I exhaled and held my stomach. “She was on a trip in Colombia and left her hotel room one night with some friends and never returned. I never knew what happened to her; she just disappeared.”
“The police or the FBI couldn’t find her.” Tears streamed down Tinley’s face.
“No, I’ve accepted the fact that she is just gone.” I took Tinley’s hand. “When you returned, I had this burst of hope, but her situation wasn’t the same. I just wish I knew what happened to her.”
The door to the nursery cracked open. A knock followed, and then the door opened wide. Josh walked in. Tinley pushed off Rayna, dropped my hand, ran, and leaped into his arms. He caught her and held her tight. He sat down on her bed and rocked her.
Kyler came in second. He sat on the other bed and Rayna came to him. She turned and sat on his lap, keeping one eye on me. She didn’t trust me.
Patrick was the last to file in. He stood near the door with his arms crossed over his chest, biting his bottom lip. I wanted to leap into his arms as well, make this whole thing go away, but if I was going to be a part of this family, I had to make things right. It wasn’t Patrick’s fault.
“Patrick,” Rayna said. We all noticed the lack of Uncle in her addressing him. “If you knew Kylie’s true intentions, why would you allow her around us?”
“Rayna!”
“No, Daddy. It’s a legitimate question.”
“But not in an appropriate tone,” he growled. “I know you are upset and have every right to be, but Patrick is family and he would never knowingly put us in danger.”
“Sorry, Patrick.” She mumbled.
He walked over to me and squatted down behind me.
Tinley turned and sat on Josh’s lap. “I would never let anything or anyone hurt you two.” He blinked away his own tears.
“You two are important to me, and I wouldn't jeopardize your safety for anything. But,” he grabbed my hands.
They were already aching from how much I had been squeezing my fingers.
“I noticed Kylie when she joined the FBI task force. Being around you all made me want to give finding my little another chance, and when she showed up here, I took it as a sign. I also knew her knowledge and expertise would be a great asset to the company and allow us to help more people. Her work has already paid off. We saved eighteen people at a party in LA a few days ago based on her intel.”
Eighteen people. The number landed in my chest with the force of a punch.
“It’s her passion, too.” He smiled down at me.
“I knew about her sister and had Randall investigate it, but in doing so, I discovered her real reason for being here. And, yes, my first instinct was to send her away, but deep down, I knew her main goal was to protect you girls, and I can’t fault her for that. ”
“She tried to convince us that our daddies were bad.” Rayna stood up. “She tried to take us away from here. You let her try.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she curled back into Kyler’s arms, hiding her face against his chest.
“But would you have gone with her?” Josh spoke up. He nudged Tinley. “Would you, Sweet T? If some woman you barely knew came and told you all these things about your daddy, what would you have done?”
“Tell you.” She looked up at him. “Run away from danger and tell you.”
“That’s right.” He kissed her on her cheek and she blushed. “You and Rayna know what to do if you’re ever in danger. We trust you in that regard. And we trust Patrick.”
“Yeah, Rayn drop.” He gripped the back of her neck. “Patrick asked us to allow him to handle it and we did.”
“You don’t think bad things about our Daddies anymore?” Tinley asked.
“I mean, they aren’t saints,” I said honestly.
Kyler scoffed.
“But I don’t think they brought you here without your consent, and I don’t think they are running some secret sex trafficking ring.”
A smaller hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to find Tinley kneeling next to me. She wiped the tears from her eyes and. “I’m sorry about your sister.” She laid her head on my shoulder and hugged me.
Rayna joined us on the other side. We were really testing Patrick's strength; he was being overtaken by three blubbering littles.
I peeked at Kyler and saw his own eyes were glistening. Josh, who I knew was already a big softy, rubbed his eyes.
“We forgive you.” Rayna said and hugged me tighter.
“Really?” Tears were falling freely. I didn’t care anymore. Rayna and Tinley were also crying. “Th–that’s so nice.” I got out before I burst into tears.
Patrick scooped me into his arms and sat down on the floor. He said nothing. He just held me against his chest, one hand pressed flat against my back, and I could feel his heartbeat. I closed my eyes and went still.
They both shifted onto the floor. Rayna leaned against Kyler’s knee. He began stroking her hair. Tinley tucked herself against Josh’s side, and his hand came to rest on her shoulder, a simple, grounding touch.
“So, what happens now?” I said through hiccups.
It was Josh who answered. “I think we’ve had a lot of big emotions for one day. And if you all have more questions, we will talk about it. No secrets in this family, remember?”
“No secrets,” I repeated.
“But I think we have a party to get to.” Josh tickled Tinley, and her giggle broke through all the gloom and doom.
“Yeah,” Rayna looked down at herself. “We’re all dressed up. We must go.” She looked up at Kyler, who bent down to kiss her. She blushed, but kissed him back.
Patrick turned my face to his. “You still up for a little adventure?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I nodded.
“Great, let’s go, ladies.” We all stood up.
The girls smoothed down their dresses. Kyler and Rayna exited first, Josh and Tinley close behind.
We walked, nearly six across, through the underground walkway.
Our voices bounced off the low ceiling, coming back to us louder than we expected, and we laughed at ourselves, easy and free.
I thought of the group of friends in the last room at the Arte Museum—the way they had looked and laughed.
They were a family; maybe I had finally found my own.
But maybe I was delusional and it would all somehow disappear, like my sister.