Daddy's Adorable Assassin (Daddy's Little Deviants)

HUNTER

IfrownedwhenI walked into the bedroom and Cosmo was no longer on the bed where I’d left him while I took a shower. He’d already been ready for bed, as I’d bathed and dressed him. Ever since I told him about his family, he’d been quiet and had resorted to little space. I hadn’t pushed him but tended to his physical needs, making sure he ate and was comfortable while he tried to sort out things in his head. Whatever he decided about his family, I would always support him. If he changed his mind and wanted to meet them, I would take him there myself and hold his hand throughout the entire meeting. If he didn’t want to know them, I would love him enough for a whole family.

After pulling on a pair of boxers, I went in search of him. Everything was way too quiet. Where was he?

“Cosmo? Sweetheart?”

He wasn’t on the couch. Neither was he in the kitchen, but the top cabinet was open. The cupboard where I’d hidden all the candy he’d bought, which was now gone.

I placed the chair back under the table. I’d hidden the candy in the top cabinet because he couldn’t reach that high up. Or so I had assumed. He’d found a way, the little devil.

“Cosmo?”

A whimper came from the living room. I found him huddled up in a corner with his head tucked between his thighs, his arms around his legs. The file I’d given him earlier was open at his feet, the photographs I’d printed of his mother and his other living family members scattered around him. The bag of candy and empty wrappers littered the ground.

My heart broke for him.

“Cosmo, sweetheart.” I approached him cautiously, and his sobs got louder. “It’s okay. I swear it’s going to be okay.”

He shook his head. “I ate all the candy. I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it.”

“I’m not mad about the candy. I promise.”

“You’re not?” He raised his head, tears spilling down his cheek. He had chocolate smeared on the side of his mouth. Chocolate covered his fingers too.

“Pinky promise.”

“I didn’t mean to, but it hurt so bad, and I thought candy would help like they do in the movies, but they didn’t help at all, and I think my tummy hurts.”

“I can help with that. Come here.” He got up, and I swept him up in my arms and carried him to the kitchen. “Sit right there. I have a little trick that’ll make your tummy better.”

He slumped at the table with his head on his folded hands, his stomach gurgling. I grabbed some paper towels and cleaned up his face and hands, then wetted a dish towel to get the last chocolate off.

I poured some warm water into a cup and added a teaspoon of baking soda. “Cosmo, can you drink this for me? It’ll make you feel better. I’ll also get you a piece of dried toast.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome.” I kissed his forehead and opened the cabinet for the bread. “It won’t taste good, so it’s better to hold your breath and drink it all down in one go.”

He made a sound of disgust, and normally I would have reprimanded him for eating all that candy, but he clearly had a lot on his mind. I passed him the dry toast. He didn’t speak, and I allowed him to eat without interrupting him.

“I’m sorry,” he said again when he was done.

“Come here.”

He got up out of his chair and curled up in my lap. No sooner had he laid his head on my chest than the whimpered cries started again. Those tears I could never resist.

“Do you want to tell Daddy about it?”

“I swear I didn’t want to know.”

“It’s okay to change your mind.”

“I only ruin people’s lives.” He sniffled. “I’m already ruining yours, and some days I think you hate me for making you fall in love with me.”

“You’re not ruining my life. Everything I’ve done has been my choice. You don’t have to commit to anything right now, but if you want, you can meet your family even once. Take it one step at a time.”

“I read everything in the file. If you’re right, my name is Finn. I don’t like it.”