Page 65 of Her Hero Daddy

He disappeared and returned quickly, reaching under the blankets and cleaning her up with a warm washcloth. She should have been surprised at his sweetness, but somehow, she wasn’t. Kane was different with her than he was around other people. Not that she had seen him around a lot of people, but she could tell that his rough, tough alligator-wrestler persona was how he was with everyone else except her. And she liked that thought. Man of steel to the world but soft with her.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said sleepily as he straightened her nightgown back down her.

Kane chuckled and climbed under the covers next to her, pulling her close to him.

“It’s my turn to take care of you,” she said, trying to wiggle from his grasp.

His arm tightened around her, and he kissed the back of her head.

“Not tonight. It’s time for my Little Haylee to go night-night,” he said sternly.

She pouted until he reached down and tapped on her bottom. Even she knew that was a warning to behave and do as he said. She settled back against him, feeling light and very sleepy. Kane reached back to the nightstand and brought his hand to her mouth, pressing the pacifier between her lips.

“Sleep tight, baby alligator,” he whispered.

26

KANE

Kane was an early riser but waking up with Haylee pressed up against him had given him the incentive to stay in bed a little longer. When he finally got out of bed, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her with her wild hair spread across the pillow as she sucked on her pacifier and had Virgil clutched in her arm. She was absolutely perfect. He took a cold shower before making his way downstairs, leaving Haylee still snuggled up under the blankets, sleeping soundly. He was glad about that. She needed as much sleep as she could get.

Damian sat across from him at the dining table, drinking coffee.

“I like your house. Sorry I haven’t been down to see it yet.”

His brother was always busy with work. He buried himself in the job and rarely took any time for himself. Damian was one of the best men he knew. Kane wished that he would take a break and focus on finding himself someone special. Despite being a total control freak, he would be an amazing Daddy for someone. His need to protect was intense at times, and that’s why he was so good at his job.

Kane nodded, taking a drink of his own coffee.

“You really didn’t need to come down. But I’m glad you’re here,” he told him.

His phone rang, the caller ID showing Ian’s name. Ian was also a friend of Damian’s, and they did business together. Kane answered and immediately put it on speaker.

“Hey, Damian and I are both here. You’re on speaker.”

“Morning,” Ian said, his voice cold.

He didn’t like that sound. Ian wasn’t a cold kind of guy.

“Another text came through this morning. He’s in Pinebrook. The text said that he would find her, even if he had to burn the whole town down to get her to come out of hiding.”

Both Kane and Damian began swearing angrily.

“That motherfucker is going to die,” Kane growled.

A gasp from the bottom of the stairs snapped his attention to his sweet Little girl. She was white as a ghost, her eyes wide and terrified. Kane went to her while Damian picked up the phone and took it off the speaker, talking directly to Ian.

“He’s here,” she said in a haunted voice.

“He’s not going to find you. I am going to protect you.”

Her breathing became labored, and it was scaring the shit out of him. Kane picked her up and carried her to the couch. She began to fight to break free of his arms.

“He said he’s going to burn down the town. He can’t do that! He can’t do that, Kane! I need to see him! I don’t care if he hurts me, but he can’t hurt everyone else here!” she screamed as she clawed free from him.

Kane felt his blood turn cold. His anger boiled to the surface, and he forced himself to breathe in and out several times before he opened his eyes to see Haylee holding on to the edge of the couch to keep herself from collapsing. He reached out and picked her up again, pulling her into his lap. She didn’t fight him; instead, she went limp, and her face turned blank. Damian hung up the phone and came over to the couch, sitting across from them.

“Haylee, look at me.”