Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
“It sounds as if Little Trixie is indeed in quite a bit of trouble,” Athena confirmed.
John fought the urge to panic at the admission. He knew that going off half-cocked wouldn’t help Trixie one damn bit. Remembering his own advice to her, he reminded himself to assess the situation.
It was almost always better to gain a fuller picture than to simply act on impulse.
So, despite every fiber of his being wanting to act now, he sat across from Athena in the breakfast nook, and forced himself to be still and listen.
“She says it’s the mafia who’s after her.” Athena took a sip of her hot tea. “Of course, their mafia isn’t just one organization. Could be any number of organized crime organizations. She didn’t specify which one and might not even know the difference.”
John’s fist balled. His neck muscles tightened before that spread and his whole body grew tense.
He hadn’t touched the steaming tea Athena had placed before him.
Her eyes fell to it. “That will relax you.”
“I appreciate it. But it’s too late for me to have caffeine. I’ll toss and turn all night.”
She smiled. “It’s not that kind of tea. It has lavender.”
John almost picked it up but decided against it. What if Trixie needed him tonight? It was best he wasn’t too relaxed.
Maybe caffeinated tea or coffee would be good, after all.
Of course, it was more than likely that the night would pass uneventfully. The Daddy Guard was on the case. And what if Trixie was mistaken? What could that cutie have done to draw the ire of a mob family? That feat seemed pretty tough.
Though, with the way she found trouble, if anyone could do it, it would be her.
“I’m afraid that’s all I really know,” Athena continued. “But I know the Guard. They’re going to help her.”
John knew the guys, too. And he agreed with Athena’s assessment. The Daddy Guard was smart, capable, and somehow had access to some of the best tech around. They were very well funded.
But the mob?
That was a whole other ball game.
They would need John’s help.
Realizing how arrogant that sounded, he silently chided himself.
What could he do against the mob? He wasn’t even a cop.
There were no fighting skills he’d learned or investigative methods he’d studied.
You need someone to bust down a door with an ax and rush inside to save people from flames? He was your guy.
Need someone to keep a cool head as they used the Jaws of Life to tear into a locked car door and safely remove a crash victim? John had done it numerous times and would so again.
But taking on criminals?
That was outside of his wheelhouse.
Yet he still felt he possessed an edge.
He cared for Trixie.
Sure, the Daddy Guard did, too. They cared for all the Littles they were sworn to protect. It was just who they were.
But they didn’t care for Trixie the same way he did.
They didn’t love her.
Are you seriously thinking like that right now, John? You actually believe you love her? You’ve been around the woman twice. Don’t even know her last name or anything about her really. You’re getting way ahead of yourself.
Whatever the case was, special training or not, there was zero chance John was just going to sit back and let someone else help Trixie.
He’d be in that fight. And he’d destroy anyone who even thought about laying a finger on his Little girl.
John was about to ask Athena if she had any more details when Trevon walked into the kitchen wearing a concerned expression.
Turning around, Athena must have noticed it, too, because she said, “What’s wrong?”
The large man stopped near the kitchen’s island. His rumbling voice reverberated off the granite and filled the room. “It might not be anything. But I noticed a SUV pull up to the curb across the street, few lots down, not long after Trixie got here.”
Athena stood. “Are they still there?”
Trevon shook his head. “They pulled out a minute or so after Ace drove away.”
John and Athena exchanged glances.
“Might have just been a coincidence,” Trevon said. “I watched them get out of the vehicle and go up to the house they parked in front of. They were inside for a while.”
Athena nodded. The expression in her eyes made it clear she was mulling it all over. “Perhaps they just happened to arrive at and depart from their destination around the same time Trixie came and went.”
“Did Trixie drive here?” John asked.
“Took a rideshare,” Trevon replied.
John considered it all. “So caught a ride here and then left with Jack and Ace.”
“That’s right,” Trevon confirmed.
“Did you see who got out of the SUV?” Athena asked.
“Two men. Might have been one who stayed behind. Hard to tell, as darkly as the windows were tinted,” Trevon said.
A heavy silence hung over them for a moment. John wondered if the others had as bad a feeling as he did.
He’d often heard police officers talk about a “cop sense.” Sort of a gut feeling when something wasn’t right, honed by spending time on the streets in dangerous situations.
He knew what they were talking about.
While he wasn’t a cop, he suspected every first responder—not to mention military personnel—developed that same sixth sense.
And he was both of those things: a former Army Ranger turned fireman.
Yeah, he had the intuition. And it was setting off alarm bells in his skull right now.
“We could go to the house and talk to the occupants,” John pointed out. “Obviously, we have no legal authority. We’re getting into other people’s business here. Maybe they’re feeling neighborly.”
“Maybe,” Trevon said. A few seconds passed. “Let’s do that.”
Athena followed them to the door. The worried look on her face told John what he’d figured.
She was worried, too.