Daddy’s Little Surprise (Missouri Daddies #6)

18. Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MARCO

B efore Marco could hold on to her, Rainey got off his lap and walked toward the door.

“Stop!” he commanded.

Two people were fighting, and he had a suspicion it was going to be men. Grace looked like she was able to handle people, but two men fighting was a different story.

Rainey turned around and cocked her hip. “I don’t have time for this.”

“You will not be walking out there alone.”

“I need to go deal with this. I can’t have fights breaking out in my store.”

“You will be staying behind me the whole time. You will let me deal with it. Understand?”

She huffed and glared at him, clearly annoyed. Marco wasn’t going to budge on it, though. Her safety was a priority, and he wasn’t going to have her walking up to two men fighting. She would not only be putting herself in danger,but she would also be putting the baby in danger as well .

“I’m a big girl, I can deal with two customers. I’ve had to do it before, and I’m going to do it again. So, if you would please excuse me, I need to go deal with them before they run all my customers off.”

“Don’t you dare move.”

Rainey glared at him again but obeyed him. A small victory in his book.

He got up from his seat and walked toward her. Grace was now long gone, no doubt giving them privacy but also to see how things were going in the store.

“The longer we stay in here, the longer it’s going to take to get them to stop. They could be harming each other or somebody else,” she said, exasperated. “This is bad for business. I need to get out there and stop them.”

Marco cupped her face in his hands. “I’m not jeopardizing anything. I will be handling it.”

She exhaled a breath, exasperated, and he had to hold his smile back. It was cute seeing her get all annoyed and let out these little huffs. He so badly wanted to smile but knew it wasn’t the right time or place.

“But.”

“No buts. Safety rule. If you are going to come with me, you will stay behind me the whole time. If you get in front of me, there will be consequences. I take safety very seriously. You will listen to everything I say without any complaints. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.”

Marco walked around her and slipped through the door. If he had it his way, she would stay in the office, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t, so this was the next best thing.

“You fucking bitch!” a man yelled, his words slurring together.

Marco looked back to see Rainey’s eyes wide.

“Who are you calling a fucking bitch? You’re the one who spilled fucking hot coffee on me!”

“Maybe if you weren’t in my way, I wouldn’t have!”

Both of them sounded drunk, and as Marco walked further into the main room, he could see two men at a face-off. Hands were swinging, some landing on the other person, but a lot were missed.

“Break it up!” he yelled.

But they continued to fight. He surveyed the room, seeing another burly man standing on the other side of the men. This was bad.

“I tried to tell them to take it outside, but they wouldn’t,” Grace gently spoke as she stood next to him. “They just kept getting louder and louder. They came in together, clearly drunk, but it all broke out when one of them slipped and spilled coffee on the other person.”

“Get behind the counter and stay there,” he commanded before turning to Rainey.

She was frozen in place. Her eyes were wide as she watched them throw punches at each other. And she thought she would be able to take care of this. He needed to handle this, but he didn’t want her in the room.

“Little girl?”

Her eyes stayed on the men.

“Eyes on me,” he commanded .

Her eyes found his, and she took a deep breath.

“Good girl. I need you to go into your office, get my phone, and call the sheriff. Can you do that for Daddy?”

Her gaze went toward the men once again.

“What about you?” she whispered.

“Daddy is going to take care of this until the sheriff comes.”

Her eyes found him again, and she shook her head. He knew she wasn’t going to like it, but he needed her safe so he could take care of this. If she wasn’t, his attention would be split, and he would be no good to anybody.

“Now, Little girl. Go call the sheriff.”

She turned around and made her way toward the office. He waited until she was in the office before he turned around and made eye contact with the other man. They both nodded at each other and walked closer to the two fighting men .

There were fists swinging every which way, making it nearly impossible for him to stop one of them without getting hit. Right as he saw an opening, he moved forward, grabbing the man’s arm, but was unable to grab his other arm in time.

Pain flashed across Marco’s face as the man’s fist connected with his jaw. He groaned in pain but held on to the first drunk man. He wrapped his arms around him, making him immobile.

Marco’s jaw continued to ache as he held onto the moving man. For being drunk and not having a good balance, he had an amazing punch.

“You good?” the burly man asked as he held the other drunk person.

“Yeah. You? ”

“Yes.”

Marco held on tighter as the man tried to get free. Hopefully, he would realize he wasn’t going anywhere and stop fighting. Marco also hoped Rainey didn’t catch the punch or that his face wouldn’t show it. He didn’t need her worrying about him.

“The sheriff should be here any second!” Rainey yelled.