Possessive Daddy Next Door

She gives me a look and laughs. “Oh, yeah. So much fun.”

“You’re good with her.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. It’s really nice. I think she really likes you.”

“Del!” Tab shouts. “Del! Del!” She runs around in a circle then falls again, laughing her little head off.

“You think so?” Delia asks, grinning.

“Do me a favor,” I say. “Go entertain my daughter some more while I take a nap.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“You love it.”

She grins at me and stands up. She bends down and grabs my hand, tugging me to my feet. I groan and stand up.

“Okay, Tab,” Delia says. “Time to chase Daddy!”

I grin at them. “No way you can catch me.”

And so my daughter runs after me while Delia cheers her on. I smile and run around until I let her catch up, and we end up on the ground in a tangle. I tickle her, make her laugh, and grin up at the sky.

I’ve never felt so damn content in my life.19DeliaSince my room is right next to Max’s, I agree to take Tab’s monitor overnight. “Don’t worry,” he says. “She’s a good sleeper. But if she wakes up, just call down and I’ll come check on her.”

“Okay,” I say. “Not like I have anything better to do.”

“Oh, right, I forgot. You like to sneak around at night.”

“Sneak into strange men’s rooms in very revealing bikinis, you mean.”

He grins and kisses me. “Exactly.”

“No, I’ll just be here, bored, staring at your daughter.”

“Maybe don’t stare. You can just turn the volume up.”

I laugh and put the monitor on the coffee table. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

He nods once. “Thanks, Delia. I really appreciate it. I hate asking someone on the staff to do it, you know?”

“Honestly, it’s no big deal.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Have a nice shift.”

He grins and waves, heading out into the hall. I linger in the doorway and watch him go, and feel strangely content. I never thought watching a baby monitor all night would sound like a good time to me, but here I am, sitting in my room, watching a movie and occasionally glancing at the little screen.

Tabitha sleeps soundly. I stay up until about midnight before I start to get tired. I stretch and yawn, and for a second, I have this strange urge to look out in the hall. I want to see if I can spot Max and wave him down. I walk over to the door just as someone bangs loudly on it.

I jump and let out a scream, surprised as hell.

“Delia!”

I hurry to the door and throw it open. It’s Max, his eyes wide. “Max?” I ask. “Holy shit, you scared me. I was just coming to look in the hall. I don’t know why, I guess I wanted to see if I could spot you and let you know I was going to sleep or something, and you just—”

“Delia,” he says. I can hear the anxiety in his voice. He steps into the room and takes my hand. “Come with me.”

“Why are you being so weird?” I ask.

He looks back and puts a finger to hips lips. “Quiet.”

I frown and follow him. He leads me down to his room and opens the door. We step into the room and his closes the door silently behind us.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“I have to get Tab,” he says. “You need to hide in the back rooms.”

“What’s happening?”

“They’re here.”

I stare at him, heart racing. “What the hell?”

“I saw them on the security camera. Patricks isn’t in the house right now, he has the night off. I’m the only security guy on duty right now. I woke up some staff and let them know something might be happening, but you need to hide with Tab.”

“You have to call the police,” I push. “Right now.”

“No,” he says. I can hear the anger in him. “No, I’m dealing with this.”

“Max—”

“Help me,” he says. “Help me hide Tab. I promise, I’ll finish this. I’ll finish it tonight.”

I stare at him and slowly nod. I know this is insane. We need help. We need to call someone. But his eyes are hard and he’s tense with rage and pent-up violence. I know he can handle himself, so I have to trust him.

I go back to Tab’s room and gather her up. She stirs and frowns up at me, half asleep. I cuddle her close. “It’s okay, baby girl,” I whisper. “I got you.”

“Del,” she whispers and snuggles against me.

I carry her out just in time to see Max slide a clip into a pistol. He nods at me and we leave the room. He leads, gun in his hand, held like he was born to hold the thing. Fear washes over me as we sneak across the hall.

I know where he’s taking me. We go down a flight of stairs and down another hall. We’re headed to the music room when I hear a voice.