Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kira
The Griffith Observatory looked just as awe-inspiring in person as it had in all the pictures and movies I’d seen of it.
Standing on top of a mountain, it was a mix of Greco-Roman and Art Deco architecture with white domes, clean lines, and a sense of grandeur that called to me.
But I would have to explore it another time. If I lived through this. And if I ever came back to Los Angeles.
There were plenty of people around, and that increased my odds of getting through this. Of course, that had nothing to do with my odds on Rex and I ending up together, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that right now.
It took me a moment to make my way to the meeting location, because I had to park so far back and hike a little ways. But I finally reached it in time to see a tall, lanky guy with really short, bleached hair standing on the observation deck, overlooking the city.
He wasn’t alone, but I couldn’t tell who was with him, as they were blending in with the crowd, probably holding back in case they were needed.
I approached cautiously.
“Umm, hello,” I said, feeling foolish for not having a better greeting than that.
This was my first—and hopefully only—clandestine meeting with some sort of criminal figure.
He looked at me as I sidled up to him and took in the view. Even under those rough circumstances, I still realized just how mesmerizing and magical it was.
“I’m not Lila Merriman,” I said.
He looked at me. “That’s what I heard. But I didn’t believe it when my guys said you told them that last night.” After looking me up and down, he added, “Yeah. You’re not her.”
Wow. Okay. Maybe this was going to be easy.
“So, uh, are we good?”
Barry laughed, but there wasn’t any humor to it.
“Far from it. Because I think you can tell me where she is. You see, she took a hundred grand from me and she owes me that plus interest. So, until she pays up—or you can provide the money—you’re my collateral.”
His hand lashed out whip-fast and curled around my wrist.
“Hey!”
“Scream and I kill you right now.”
My blood ran cold. Closing my eyes, I thought over my options.
I could scream and pray someone helped me before he could act on the threat. Of course, there was a chance he had a gun and could just shoot me quickly.
So, my other option was to comply and hope Rex and the Daddy Guard found me somehow.
Or I could try to run.
No matter what choice I made, my odds didn’t seem good.
Oh boy. How na?ve could I be? I’d somehow just made my mess even worse!
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. I didn’t know what I was going to do. In fact, I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even realize Barry had let go of me until almost a minute later.
Opening my eyes, I saw Rex.
Daddy was there.
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Where the hell is that Eminem guy?”
“Enough with the Eminem jokes! I’m sick of it! Everyone has them!”
I looked at the source of the whining and saw the rest of the Daddy Guard with a few police officers and a handcuffed Barry.
Rex chuckled. Taking my hand, he said, “Come here, honey.”
He led me away, inside, where we had more privacy—well, as much as we could at the observatory.
Standing under the big dome in the center of the vast room, the beautiful mural stretching into a canopy above us and all the white marble surrounding us, Rex said, “Honey, did you do all this to save me?”
“Yes.”
“But I’m the Daddy. I save you.”
A tear slid down my cheek. “It’s okay if you don’t want to be my Daddy. I understand.”
He shook his head, his brown eyes peering into mine as he gently caressed away my tears. “Of course I want to be your Daddy. Kira, you’re my babygirl. I think all this has shown that nothing will change that. We were made for each other.”
A sense of peace and calm spread over me. There would be so much to figure out—relocating from New York, finding a job, building a new life, and maybe having Carrie join me.
But we had time to figure all that out.
We had forever.
“Rex, I think I love you.”
He chuckled. “I know I love you.”
We kissed there in the Observatory, under the dome.
When we were finished—and the hug that followed ended—he held my hand as he led me away.
We were stepping outside into the sun just as Barry was being put into the back of a LAPD squad car.
As we started walking away from the Observatory, I said, “I’m gonna be spanked, aren’t I? Like in all those Daddy books I read.”
“Oh yeah. That’s one thing those books get right. Little girl, you’re going to be spanked like you wouldn’t believe.”
I sighed.
Such was the life of a babygirl.
The End