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

I smiled. “Daddy does a good job taking care of you, doesn’t he?”

She nodded. “He’s the best Daddy in the world. My other Daddy—he was a very bad man.”

“Why did you stay with him?”

“He was Daddy.” She hugged herself. “I needed him.”

She made it sound so easy, and while I didn’t fully understand it, I appreciated her simple honesty. I couldn’t get her words out of my mind as I drove to the facility. If Cosmo’s Daddy was, in fact, our killer, the boy might have felt compelled to stay with the man because he needed him. I was incompetent as hell at the lifestyle, and that hadn’t seemed to deter him. He’d seemed hungry and desperate for a Daddy.

Nate had filled those shoes for Brianne, and she’d blossomed and become better. Would proper care and guidance from a decent Daddy do the same for Cosmo?

I was no closer to a conclusion when I walked into the facility. The FBI seemed to have cooled somewhat toward me because they’d given me a key to the elevator and access to the ground floor. Knight was already there, talking on the phone. I nodded in acknowledgment and headed for the room Cosmo was being held. Anger surged through me at the sight of the boy huddled on the floor. He was still wearing the filthy overall from yesterday. The bed had been stripped, and the blanket he used to cover up was balled up in a corner. Even from my position, I could see he was shaking.

“Knight!” I bellowed his name, stepping away from the wall so my words didn’t carry inside.

He removed his phone from his ear and slipped it into his pocket. “What’s in the bag?”

“Things I need for today. What the hell is this?” I pointed at the glass.

“What do you mean?”

“Why’s he lying on the ground and is the bed stripped? Didn’t you replace his blanket?”

He shrugged. “We tried negotiating with him this morning. A warm blanket for answers. He wouldn’t respond. We even took his doll’s head off, and all he did was cry. I’m telling you, Neely, I am sick of that boy’s tears. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s any use to us or if we should drop him off at a psych ward somewhere.”

“We had a deal. You did your part yesterday. You going back inside to torture him wasn’t a part of that deal.”

“I make up the rules as I go, Neely.”

“And how’s that working out for you? Because from what I’m hearing, you got nothing out of him.”

He crossed his arms, his jaw clenching. “Let’s just hope you get some results because if he’s still not talking today, we’re done with catering to whatever little side he’s been stuck in. We’re sending in a psychiatrist to handle it.”

“We need more time.”

“We don’t have more time, Neely. The governor needs answers, and I need to provide them. And I will regardless of what I have to do to get those answers. I have to attend a meeting with the attorney general. You do what you have to in order to get him to open up. I’ll be back in a few hours to see if you havemade any progress.”