Possessive Daddy Next Door

I nod. “And Delia?”

He lets out a breath. “I doubt it. Maybe she does, I don’t know. I’m not sure how much the mother shares with them.”

“All right,” I say. “Okay. I can believe that the family is well connected, even with mobsters. But would Mrs. Lofthouse help me?”

“Maybe,” Patricks says. “I don’t know her well enough to say. I’m curious why she’d let you stay here, though. No offense, but you’re not exactly the type of man she wants her daughters to marry.”

I snort. “None taken. That’s obvious.”

“Still, she let you in here for a reason.”

“I need to talk to Delia first. I can’t go behind her back on this.”

“That’s fine. I think we’ll need her either way. I doubt Sylvia Lofthouse will do anything we ask, but she might listen to her daughter.”

I close my eyes for a long moment. “You have no clue how much I hate this.”

“I can imagine.”

“Going to her for help. Fuck, having to be here at all. I was content in my cabin with a rifle and some floodlights. But I have a daughter now.”

“You can’t always have violent solutions. Even to violent problems.”

“I’m a father. I have to do whatever’s necessary to keep my daughter safe, even if it goes against my own fucking pride.”

“Good for you.” Patricks grins and crosses his arms. “And here I was, starting to think you’re a total moron.”

I give him a look. “Go make yourself useful and dive in the pool, will you?”

He laughs. “Go talk to Delia. Give me a call when you’re done.” He turns and walks off without another word.

I shake my head, grab the baby monitor from inside, then walk down the hall to Del’s room. I knock and wait a minute before she answers, looking tired, her hair a mess. “Hey,” she says. “Didn’t you just leave me, like, two minutes ago?”

I smile. “No, you’ve been asleep for a few hours.”

“Oh, good. That’s good. I think I could use a few more though.”

“Let’s talk first, okay.”

She nods and lets me inside.

We sit down on her couch and I put the monitor between us. She curls her legs up and tilts her head. She looks so fucking cute with her messy hair and her baggy pajamas. Despite the baggy clothes, I can still see those supple curves and full, gorgeous breasts. But I need to keep focused.

“I just talked with Patricks.”

“Glad to see you two getting along.”

I grin and stretch my legs. “Despite my best efforts.”

“He’s not so bad.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Just overly loyal.”

“What does he think?”

“He’s pissed about what happened. But I think he’s happy I took care of it and nobody got too hurt.”

“Except for that poor staffer.” She turns white and her eyes go wide. “Oh my god, I don’t even know his name.”

“Samuel,” I say, “and he’s fine. Knocked around, but he’ll be okay.”

“Okay, okay, good.”

“He mostly wanted to talk about a real solution to our problem.”

She leans toward me. “It’s not over?”

I reach out and touch her cheek. I can’t help myself. “I’m sorry. It’s not, not even close.”

She groans. “Oh, shit.”

“The mafia isn’t going to stop just because one of their guys got arrested. They’re going to keep coming and we need to be prepared.”

“What do we do?”

“Well, Patricks thinks we should talk to your mother about that.”

She sits up straight. “Really?”

“He thinks she has connections. You know, mafia connections.”

She stares at me. I expect her to flip out and deny it, but she doesn’t say anything for a long moment. I watch her carefully for signs of being upset or in denial… but there’s nothing.

“Okay,” she says.

“That’s it? Just… Okay? I tell you that your mother might have mafia connections and you just say okay.” I shake my head and laugh. “This family.”

“Look, I know what she is. I know what she does out there. I’m not really surprised she knows people in the mafia, and anyway, we’re not completely sure, right?”

“True,” I point out.

“And even if she does, so what? She knows plenty of rich and powerful people. The mafia is just another congress.”

I grin. “You’ve got that right.”

“I’m serious though. They’re just another powerful group. She wants to keep the Lofthouse family relevant, and I think courting power is her way of doing that.”

“And making money.”

“Right. That’s mostly Jacob’s job these days, though. He owns a hedge fund and that’s all he does.”

“Turn money into more money.”

“But she does political lobbying all the time. Gives to charities. Invests in building projects. I bet she knows some of these mafia guys from that stuff.”

“So you’re okay with us going to her for help?”

She shakes her head. “I hate it.”

“I do too,” I admit. “I really fucking hate it. I want to go out there with a gun and my fist and solve this myself. But I know that won’t work, not long-term. This is going to take a little more finesse than I think I’m capable of.”