Chapter Two #2
hair. So many women would look his way even now, but he only ever seemed to see
her mother.
She wanted the kind of love her parents had. Deep and true.
Steadfast.
“We’re not going to let someone kill Daisy,” her uncle said.
Ian Taggart wasn’t related to her by blood. Or rather not the kind that
normally made a family. She’d heard the stories. The men and women of
McKay-Taggart had bled for each other over the years, and they’d formed bonds
as tight as any family. It meant she had a ton of overly protective aunties and
uncles. One of them seemed to finally be getting serious. “Ruby, I would
appreciate you sharing anything you find out with us, but know we’re going to work
this from our end, too, and we’ll obviously handle getting her a bodyguard.”
Ruby seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mr.
Taggart.”
“Yes, my dad will likely chill if he knows you’re handling
it.” There was a bitterness to Harlow’s words. Maybe her relationship with her
dad was worse than she’d thought.
Daisy could work on that. She was good with parental units.
Perhaps Mr. Dawson simply needed to see how competent his daughter was. If
anyone knew how to handle an overly protective father, it was her. She was
already thinking of ways to help out her boss.
“She should probably move home for the time being,” her
uncle said.
She loved her parents, but the thought of leaving her house
made her sad. And there was the issue of her employment. She knew he wasn’t
talking about simply sleeping in her old bed at night. Her da would go for the
full lock-down. “I can’t. I have to work.”
“About that,” Ruby began.
Daisy felt tears well. Not again. She’d tried so hard. She’d
been good at it. Mostly. Sort of good. She could be better, but she needed
time. “But I just started.”
Harlow’s head shook. “Sorry, man. It was a hell of a first
day, so it needs to be your last day.”
Tears pierced her eyes. She’d worked so hard to afford the
down payment on her ramshackle little home. “But I won’t be able to afford my
house.”
She expected her da to tell her to move back in, but he
reached out and put a hand over hers.
“Don’t worry, me darlin’. You’ll come to work right here.
We’ll find you a place,” her da promised.
“I’m getting the Scotch, babe.” Aunt Charlotte was on her
feet in an instant.
Uncle Ian had gone pale, and a distant look hit his eyes.
Like he’d gone someplace else.
It was weird. She often saw that look in men’s eyes.
But her natural positivity was already taking over. This
could be good. Maybe she was too extra for what was essentially a two-person
show. Here at McKay-Taggart she would be joining the big time. “I can help you,
Da.”
Now her da paled. “Or you can work at reception. Or
bookkeeping. We’ll find you a place. Don’t worry about it.”
And she would work her way up.
It would be okay. Although what had they said? “What did you
mean I need a bodyguard?”
* * * *
Nate Carter had been working at McKay-Taggart for exactly
one week, and he was fitting in well. It was good to be around the men and
women of the bodyguard unit, good to feel this brotherhood thing they had
going.
It wasn’t the lightning bolt he wanted, but it was enough
for now.
He was about to finish up his first week on the job, and
tonight was his first night at The Hideout. He planned to spend his weekend
settling into his new space.
“Hey, I thought I’d come down and hang with you while my
sister is being interrogated for her latest adventure.” Aidan O’Donnell strode
up to the desk Nate had been assigned. “It’s a doozy.”
He’d heard a lot about the ball of chaos known as Daisy
O’Donnell. “What’s she up to this time?”
She was a mystery. He hadn’t seen a picture of her since he
didn’t do social media, and Aidan was packing up to move in with his fiancée,
so his part of the house was looking pretty sparse. He hadn’t seen his other
roommates yet since Cooper McKay and Tristan Dean-Miles were… He had no idea
where they were since it was classified.
He’d worked with both young men on a CIA op in Sydney a few
months back, so he was certain he could hang with the guys. Though everyone had
thought Tristan would be moving out with Aidan since they’d been involved with
Carys Taggart since they were kids. For reasons he didn’t understand, Aidan was
marrying Carys in a few short weeks, and Tristan was out of the relationship.
It was a lot of drama, but they were all blokes so they
dealt with it by drinking beer and not talking about anything but sports.
“So my sister recently took a job as a receptionist for a
private investigation firm.” Aidan sat in the chair across from Nate’s assigned
desk. He was in the back of the floor, fairly close to the boss’s office. He
and Aidan had fallen back into an easy friendship. Like the years between them
hadn’t mattered at all. It was comforting to be around Aidan.
“I thought she was going into real estate.” He’d heard many
stories of the chaos that seemed to follow Aidan’s baby sister. She was a
complete mess, but it was obvious her brother adored her.
“Yeah, real estate did not work out. She passed the test and
everything, but then she put the wrong keys in all the lockboxes they use and
mistakenly put in some list prices she said seemed more in line with the
neighborhood.” Aidan shook his head. “She lives in her own world.”
She sounded like a hoot. “So now she’s a receptionist. How
much trouble could she get into there?”
Aidan’s eyes went wide. “She managed to uncover a cocaine
distribution organization.”
Nate felt his jaw drop. “She did what? How? How does
answering the phone lead to exposing criminals?”
Broad shoulders shrugged. “I have no idea how she does it.
She should have a patent or something. Anyway, to hear her describe it there
was a client looking for her cheating boyfriend and the new bosses were out for
lunch, so she took the case.”
“But she was the receptionist.”
“My sister has a confidence only Hollywood stars have. The
men, I mean. Daisy plows through life never understanding how dangerous the
world can be, probably because our da chased after her making sure she never
had to deal with anything. Don’t get me wrong. My sister is a wonderful woman.
She would do anything for a friend. She’ll literally give you the shirt off her
back. She did it one time when this woman she met had been dumped by her
boyfriend at the lake and he’d taken off with her clothes. She was in a bikini
and crying. Daisy told the girl she spends half her life in fet wear, so
walking around in her bra wasn’t a problem.”
Nate tried to wrap his head around the idea. “She’d just met
the girl?”
“Yup, and she managed to find the girl a ride home and talk
her parents down from grounding her because she wasn’t supposed to be out
late,” Aidan explained. “All while wearing short shorts and a pushup bra.”
He was rapidly becoming fascinated with the idea of Daisy.
“So did she get hurt? When she exposed the cartel? I assume she called the
police.”
“No, she was too busy not understanding what she was doing.
She was taking a selfie memorializing her first ‘case’ as a detective.” Aidan
used air quotes around the word case. “Her best friend caught it when
she posted it on Instagram and Brianna called the police. Luckily she’d tagged
her location. So now she’s a material witness against a drug lord. Just another
day in the life of Daisy O’Donnell. Not even her worst day.”
“Is your dad freaking out?” Liam was famous for having a
distorted view of his daughter. He claimed she was a saint most of the time.
When he’d seen the man the last few years, Liam would always announce his Daisy
was the sweetest, most perfect child in the world and Aidan… Aidan was a boy.
Aidan nodded. “Beyond freaking out. It’s why I spent last
night at Daisy’s. Carys and I had to be with her because my da wouldn’t let her
stay alone. Daisy loves her little house. It’s a dump, by the way, but she
bought it for a song, and for some reason she’s obsessed with living on her
own. Though if the meeting goes the way I think it is going to, she’ll be
coming back to our place tonight.”
“Why?” He didn’t mind. In fact, he was curious. If she was
anything like she was when she was a kid, she would be pleasant to be around.
She used to tell him how smart she thought he was, how much she liked being
around him. He’d only been a year older than she was, but he’d been so big
physically the age difference seemed larger. “I thought we were going to the
club. Isn’t there a party tonight?”
“There is, and we wouldn’t miss it. It’s our annual masked
ball.” Aidan’s lips curved up in a devilish grin. “It’s the best night since
everyone’s in a mask and you can pretend to not know you’re playing with the
sub you’ve always wanted to play with. It’s fun.” He sat up. “I mean that in a
watch the drama way. Not in an I participate way. Trust me. I know exactly what
Carys will be wearing. But it’s funny to watch the others fumble their way
through. My cousin Lucas likes it because he can pretend he’s sleeping with
someone new. He has to pretend since he’s gone through most of the available
subs already. Seth will try to find Chloe Lodge because he wants her so bad,
but he wants to pretend like he doesn’t want her at all. Chloe will stay away
because she’s the smart one. I won’t even go into what Kala and Coop would do.
They won’t be here because they’re saving the world or something. But it will
still be a crazy night.”
He was looking forward to it. Not because he would play
tonight. He intended to take it slow, to get into the groove of the club before
looking for a play partner. He would put on his leathers and the mask Aidan
supplied him with and sit in the lounge for most of the night. He might watch
some scenes. “So what’s Daisy doing while we’re playing?”
“She usually sits in the locker room,” Aidan explained. “She
doesn’t mind. She’ll grab a bottle of wine from the lounge and pop some popcorn
and watch bad reality shows on her tablet. You need a ride? I was planning on
going home and grabbing my kit and Carys before picking up baby sis.”
It seemed like Aidan had a lot on his hands. “I’ll drive
myself. No worries. So is she going to be hanging around the place for a bit? I
take it you’re worried about Daisy’s safety. Is there a plan?”
“There’s always a plan and it always goes awry. I think Da
wants Brian Langton to shadow Daisy for a couple of weeks,” Aidan explained.
“They’re friends, and he’s married with a couple of kids so he’s pretty sure
Brian won’t perv on her. Da will probably try to get her to move back home for
a while, but my sister can be stubborn. We don’t know a lot about the people
she exposed, so we don’t know how serious it is yet. If Daisy runs true, I
would bet the head of the cartel will try to blow us all up.”
Now some things made sense. “Brian’s on assignment and
doesn’t get back in until Monday.”
“So we’ve got Daisy watching this weekend. She’ll probably
spend most of it with Brianna at her parents’ house. Having Brianna’s dads
around means mine won’t freak out about her safety. And I’ve got a double shift
this weekend, so you’ll have the place to yourself.” Aidan studied him for a
moment. “You going to be okay on your own?”
He would have told anyone he would love being on his own,
but he wasn’t looking forward to the quiet. The quiet reminded him how alone he
felt. But then he’d felt alone even when he was surrounded by a loving family.
Even when he’d known he wasn’t. “Yeah, I’ll probably hang out at the club
Saturday night, too, but otherwise I’ll be chilling at home. Leave me a list of
whatever I need to do.”
“We’re pretty low maintenance,” Aidan replied. “Coop and
Tristan are always on the road, and I work constantly. I have no idea how Carys
is planning this wedding. Even with help from the moms, it’s a lot. I’m lucky I
know when to show up.”
“You’re going through with it?” Nate wasn’t sure how to
bring this up, wasn’t sure he even should. It was weird to think of Carys and
Aidan without Tristan. They were a threesome. Always had been. He’d thought
they always would be. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d put off the wedding
because of Tristan’s job.
A grim look came over his friend’s face. “I’m going through
with it no matter what this time. I’m not letting her down again. If Tristan’s
work is more important than our wife, then he’s made his choice.”
Somehow he thought there was more to the situation, but he
didn’t think he was the guy Aidan was going to talk to. “Well, I’ll be there.”
“Of course you will. You’re one of my groomsmen.” Aidan got
a wistful smile on his face. “We’ll go get our tuxes fitted next week. It’ll be
fun.”
“You let me know and I’ll be there.” And he would be there
tonight. Maybe he would even meet Daisy again. It would be fun to see how the
pixie had grown up. She’d been an awkward child, all gangly and skinny, with
braces and untamable hair.
She would remind him of his childhood. Remind him of when he
thought he knew what he wanted to do with his life.
Maybe a friendship with her would be good for him. And
apparently amusing since she was a ball of chaos.
Aidan glanced down at his watch. “They should be done soon.
I’m going back upstairs. I bet I get to either babysit my sister or come back
at five and pick her up. Either way, my father will lecture me on how it’s my
sacred duty to ensure no harm befalls Saint Daisy. The man’s blinders are
strong. See you at the club tonight.”
He waved and then got back to work.
Tonight he would figure out if he could reconnect with a
lifestyle he’d once loved.
Or he would sit and drink in the bar. Yeah, that was
probably how his night would go.