“Here.” I pushed a keyboard in his direction. “This one isn't turned on. You can push the buttons if you want. Sometimes the clicking sound makes the rest of my brain go quiet.”
“Thanks.” A flush creeped up his neck but he tugged it toward him. “Though I’m not sure anything will distract me from the fact that my husband is about to walk into a room with a man who’s made it his mission to shoot him.”
His face was as pale as the bottom of my foot.
“Would you… like me to get you a puke bucket?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Oh, no. I’ll be alright. I believe in Benji, and deep down, I know he’ll be okay. Loving him just makes me sick sometimes, you know?”
Yes.I did know.
I loved my Daddy, but it was like Thea said. Love gave you something to lose, and the simple thought of that loss made my fingers twitch with an urge to rip the top layer of my skin clear off my body.
“Is this them?” Toby pointed at one of my screens, his finger following the red dot that signaled their location.
“Yes.”
They were only a few minutes away from The Regency. With my hands in my shirt, I waited. Toby clapped at the keyboard I’d given him, and in those few minutes, reassurance washed over me and I felt the dread lift off my chest. My lungs expanded with the extra room, and I felt a smile curl against my lips.
My headphones crackled, and I repositioned them just in time to hear him speak, “Hey, Kitten. Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you, Daddy.”
“Any sign of Ezra yet?”
For the hundredth time since I’d sat down, I swept my eyes across the hotel’s security cameras and clicked through them slowly. Men and women walked leisurely throughout the expansive building, dressed in tuxedos and beaded dresses that made it look as though they were headed to prom. Waiters weaved in and out of the crowd with quiet, trained precision, and there were several journalists asking for interviews and snapping photos.
But there was no sign of Ezra.Not yet.
After accessing the blueprints, I’d learned there were only two entry points via air ducts, and while I couldn’t see them on my cameras, I knew Mr. Thomas had a member of his security team stationed at each entrance.
The security that accompanied him tonight were men employed by Mr. Thomas, the CEO—men the press were familiar with. Ivan and Daddy were the only members of the mob by his side tonight.
The rest of the scary men were standing along the walls of my apartment, looming over Toby and I as though Ezra was a grenade himself, hiding in Marv’s oversized pot and waiting to blow.
They had guns on their hips, blades in their socks, and metal across their knuckles. I knew each one of their names but I suspected they were startled when they learned of my existence, especially when I forbade them from touching any of my plants and complained to Daddy that I didn’t want them here.
They should be withhim—where the real danger was.
Mr. Thomas forced the issue, and much to my annoyance, threatened to lock Toby in a concrete panic room if I didn’t shut my mouth and allow the men to stay.
I shut my mouth… but I wasn’t happy about it.
The town car Daddy rode in pulled up slowly outside the hotel’s entrance, and though I was watching through a wide lens, black and white security cam, the effects of the press cameras going off was still jarring. One flash after another lit up my screen like fireworks. I had to blink several times to stop my eyes from misting.
Ivan stepped out first, standing beside the car, hands clapped at his waist as though he was ready to unsheath his gun at any moment. Through Daddy’s earpiece, I heard people yelling, and I knew the questions were all for Mr. Thomas.
Toby stiffened beside me when he saw his husband appear on the screen. There was a counterfeit smile on Mr. Thomas’ cranky face, and he waved at each person he passed by. Ivan and Daddy flanked him as though they were his bodyguards and not members of the mob escorting him to a possible gun fight.
I hoped there was a gunfight.
Daddy always wins gun fights.
Heavy, automatic doors slid open as they approached, announcing Mr. Thomas’ presence as though he was royalty… and I guess he kind of was, though the only king I saw was my Daddy.
He looked terribly delicious in an all black suit, donning a tie as blue as the flames in his eyes. His hair was pulled back into a tiny bun at the nape of his neck, and I couldn’t wait to tear it apart later.
“Don’t forget about the blind spots.” I said, quickly splitting my screen.