Possessive Daddy Next Door

“I’m wondering about you,” Patricks says after a long silence.

“Yeah?” I ask. “What are you wondering? I’m an open book.”

He snorts. “I doubt that very much. I’m pretty sure you’re hiding something from us. Probably more than I realize.”

I keep my expression neutral. For all his bullshit and bluster, Patricks does have a very strong ability to read people. He’s been on my case from the start, and I think he sniffed me out the moment he came across me. He’s basically an undercover agent’s worst nightmare.

Good thing he’s on my side, even if he doesn’t know it.

“I’m just a guy living with his daughter,” I say. “There’s not much else you need to know.”

“Okay, fair enough. But I checked in on you.”

I go very still. “Did you now?”

“Your reference checked out. It seems like you really were a cop.” He pauses. “But you don’t exist.”

I arch an eyebrow. “I feel very weighty and meaty. So I think I’m real.”

“The name you’re using now doesn’t exist in any law enforcement databases I know of.”

“And you have access to those… how?”

He smiles and shrugs. “You’re not the only one with secrets, Max.”

I stare at him for a long moment. “What do you want?”

“I want to know that the Lofthouse family is safe with you around. But I really don’t think they are.”

“I’m telling you right now, I want to protect them almost as much as you do.”

He smirks. “Maybe just the one.”

I roll my eyes and don’t try to hide it. “Yes, just the one. But letting any of them get hurt would hurt her. And that’s something I’m going to avoid.”

“What is your connection with Delia?” He pushes off the wall and steps into the hall. He doesn’t come closer, but he paces. “I find it hard to believe that you really just ran into her like that.”

“Believe what you want. But our little meet-cute was real.”

“I’m sure.” He strokes his chin. It’s such an arrogant thing and I almost want to shove him down just to soften him up a bit. “And you just so happen to need a job.”

“That’s right.”

He stops and turns to me. “Who were those men the other day?”

“Who knows. Probably just some bored locals.”

“Liar.” He stares at me. “I saw the way you looked at them. You didn’t seem surprised at all.”

“You’re right, I’m not surprised men want to hang around this place. It’s a goldmine.”

He dismisses that with a gesture. “That’s not it,” he says. “No, you seemed like you knew exactly why they were here. And you made no real effort to catch them.”

“That’s not true,” I growl. “I was the only one trying to catch them.”

He gives me a flat look. “I doubt it. Be straight with me, Max. I don’t have any power to fire you, even if I want to. Delia won’t let me and unfortunately, I have to listen to the core Lofthouse family.”

“It sounds like you’re telling me that I don’t need to talk to you at all,” I say.

“I’m telling you that I’m on your side, or at least I can be. Just tell me what’s happening and I can work with you.”

I’m tempted. I really, really am. Getting Patricks on my side could go a long way toward making things right.

But he could be lying. There’s no telling what’s true here. He could be able to fire me at any time, but he might just need a reason. I need to avoid giving him that reason.

I need to be as close to Delia as possible right now. And not just because I want to taste her, although that helps. I need to be here in case the mafia decides to use her against me. Having her out of the house right now with her sister makes me anxious, even if I have no control over that at all.

“Nothing’s happening,” I say and almost wince at the look of disappointment on Patricks’s face.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He lingers for a long moment. “Look, I get it. You don’t trust me. But you have to understand, what’s best for the Lofthouse family is my priority. If you can’t be straight with me, I can’t be straight with you.”

“I’ll tell you that we have a similar goal,” I say. “We both want to make sure this family stays safe.”

“The problem is, you seem to know what we’re protecting them from. And I’m just here guessing.”

I give him a long, flat look. He shakes his head and turns, walking off down the hallway. I watch him go and let out a long breath.

I don’t know what he did to end up here, but that man is wasted in private security. He read the situation in almost terrifying detail, all without having been told a thing.

I shake my head and continue on my rounds. I can’t get that conversation out of my mind though, and I’m still thinking about it when Delia hunts me down later that night. I’m just outside of the kitchen when she comes walking down the hall, a smile on her lips.