He laughed, and the sound of it made my belly turn over. Fingers still in my hair, he smiled as he pushed the wet strands off my face, kissing the tip of my nose. “It’s not that gory of a story, Kitten. I hope the staleness of it doesn’t disappoint you.”
“Facts never disappoint me, Daddy. Especially ones involving violence. I find them terribly fascinating.”
He kissed my nose again. “Should I start at the beginning?”
“Yes, please.” I rested my cheek against his shoulder, wrapping my arms around his middle while I curled against his still soapy chest. “Will you play with me while you tell it?”
“Does my past make you horny, baby?”
I shook my head. “Your voice does.”
“Sweetheart, I think we both know the minute I stuff your ass with my fingers, your brain is going to short circuit. So, if you want your answers, you’re going to have to wait.”
Ugh.“Fine. I’ll wait.”
He laughed again, and he didn’t tell me to stop when I sucked a patch of his skin into my mouth.
“Ezra and I used to be friends.Best friends.”He said, voice suddenly low and far away. “Our mother was always transparent regarding our fathers and the fact that she didn’t know who the fuck they were.”
The sounds in the room dwindled down to nothingness until only his voice remained. He kept his fingers on me as he spoke, tracing lines against my shoulders and spine. “I didn’t care about having a father, but Ezra did. I think the uncertainty of it all really bothered him, almost like a piece of him was missing or something.”
Daddy almost sounded like he felt bad for Ezra, but I knew that couldn’t be true.
“When he got old enough, he started searching for him. He had little more than my mother’s stories and his own DNA to go on, but he was a determined little shit. Each year that went by with no real answers, he got more and more pissed off. Eventually, I left for the service. He stayed behind, unleashing his anger out on cheap punching bags and a borrowed weight bench. When that wasn’t enough to curb his rage, he started fighting and used most of the money he made to hire PIs. The short list of men my mother gave him burned out quickly, and then there was one man left.”
“His father?”
“Yep.” Daddy made a noise. “Or so Ezra suspected. To this day, we still don’t know the truth, and I thinkthat’swhat caused him to blow.”
My nose scrunched. “Can’t Ezra just do a DNA test? Wasn’t that his plan?”
“It was.” Daddy said. “Until Ezra’s dad dropped dead.”
Oh…“He… died?”
“A single shot to the dead.” Daddy hummed. “And Ezra thinks it was Ben who took the shot. That’s why Ezra was so pissed when he found out I was working for him.”
“Because he thinks Mr. Thomas killed his father?”Holy shit.“That… makes so much sense.”
His fingers danced along my nape, toying with the ends of my hair. “Ezra saw my job with Ben as a betrayal to him, and in retaliation, he jumped me.”
My lungs tightened. “He didwhat?”
“He waited in the shadows of my building's parking garage and put me on the pavement with one swing of a crowbar. I was unconscious before I even knew he was there. I was fucking lucky I only walked away with a concussion and twelve stitches in my scalp.”
Lucky?
My heartdropped,and it felt like it was sinking into the very depths of my soul when I sat up and started digging in the strands of his hair, searching for proof of his injury.
“Daddy.” I choked a little, and I didn’t realize I was shaking until he put his hand on the back of my head and started whispering into my ear.
“My baby doesn’t like violence so much anymore, huh?”
I shook my head. “Not when the blood belongs to you.”
“I know, sweetheart. That’s why I wasn’t eager to tell you the story, but I’m fine now. I promise. He didn’t even crack the skull, that pussy.”
I gasped. “Daddy, that’s not funny! You could havedied!You’re supposed to be the killer, not be killed.”