Daddy’s Little Surprise (Missouri Daddies #6)

30. Chapter Twenty-Eight

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RAINEY

R ainey had taken her nap and woke up feeling refreshed. Maybe Daddy was right that she needed a nap, but she wouldn’t tell him that. Then he would make her take a nap every day, and she really didn’t want that.

Daddy had left the coffee shop a coupleof hours ago, leaving her to her thoughts. She had tried working, but Echo texted her after Daddy left, saying the meeting was on for tonight.

What was she going to do?

She giggled. She knew what she was going to do, talk to him, but it was so nerve-wracking. Deccan could probably kill her in so many ways.

Would that happen? Would he knock her out first? Take her to a secure location and torture her for information?

Echo told her he didn’t hurt innocent women, but that was kind of hard to believe. With all his tattoos and menacing look, she figured if someone pissed him off, they would be done for.

Rainey didn’t want to be the first pregnant woman he hurt.

Had he done it before?

She shook her head. Rainey didn’t need to be thinking about this before she met up with him. They weren’t even meeting in the dead of night. It was almost time to close her coffee shop, and then she was heading straight there, the sun just starting to set.

“Why don’t you go home?” Grace suggested. “We have a little more to clean up. You’ve gotten your part done.”

“I’m the boss.”

“So? You’re also pregnant and have been on your feet for several hours. Go home to your Daddy and have a good time.”

Rainey sighed. Her feet were killing her. It felt like a thousand sharp needles were sticking into the bottom of her feet with every step. Excruciating pain, but she had to push through it.

“If there are any problems, I’ll call you immediately. Pinky promise.” Grace held out her pinky.

Wrapping hers around, Rainey nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Welcome, and I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to make you annoyed or angry.”

Rainey waved her hand. “You’re okay. I was tired. Daddy and I needed to work out some things.”

“Well, as much as I didn’t like it, I’m glad you guys could work things out. ”

“Thank you again.”

“Maybe call your Daddy on your way home so when you get there, he can carry you in. I can see the pain flashing across your face every time you walk.”

“Don’t tell him. I will.”

She locked her lips with her fingers. “Your secret is safe with me as long as you tell him. If I find out you didn’t, I will say something. Sorry, but I don’t want you to close permanently because you aren’t taking care of yourself. Everyone loves this coffee shop.”

“I promise I’ll tell him.”

She would tell him after she met up with Deccan. If she did it before, there was no way he would allow her to go out again. He thought she was hanging out with Echo, and she needed that to stick.

What was Deccan going to say?

Rainey hoped she had only imagined Pete being next to Deccan the other day. She hoped the note was for someone else, and she didn’t have to worry about a thing. But what if she had? How was Daddy going to react?

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Rainey yelled as she walked out of the coffee shop.

It felt so weird to leave before her employees did. Even after a little over than a week, it was still weird walking out of the shop and not sleeping there. Rainey was so thankful for Daddy taking her in.

She knew she wouldn’t have enough money to get a place before she delivered her baby. What would have happened if Daddy hadn’t rescued her? Would she have lived in her office, and everyone found out when the baby started to cry?

Rainey hadn’t thought that far in advance. She probably should have, but she was worried about the present; how she was going to afford things for herself and the baby, trying to keep food down, and being a good boss.

Now, she didn’t have to worry about much of that. Daddy was taking care of the food. Her employees told her she was a good boss, but she was still worried about affording everything for her and her baby. She didn’t have any insurance to deliver the baby, which meant things were going to be expensive.

I’m going to take care of everything, Daddy’s voice in her head said.

The guilt festered in her stomach. She had lied to Daddy several times, and it was getting to her. He thought she was safe with Echo, hanging out, but she was getting in her car andabout to drive to some location to meet Deccan, the president of the Springfield Sinners.

Was she going to die tonight?

Rainey hadn’t told Daddy she loved him before he left because she wanted to believe she would go home to him tonight. But what if she didn’t? The last thing she said to Daddy was she was okay, and he told her to have fun with Echo.

Taking a shaky, deep breath, she gripped the steering wheel and pulled out of the parking lot. She was really doing this. She was going to be meeting a dangerous man. Echo told her to be careful and not say anything that could insult him.

How did Rainey know what was going to insult him? She thought Echo said Deccan wouldn’t harm her friends.

Her mind raced as she drove to the location. What if her ex was part of the club? What if they were all loyal to each other, and Deccan hurt her? What if Pete came after her later this week and tried to kill her or the baby?

Rainey’s free hand rubbed her stomach. She didn’t want to lose the baby or her life. She wanted to live and raise her boy or girl and see them grow old, find love, have children, and have a happy life.

You will never give anyone a happy life, Pete’s voice snuck into her head.

At a red light, Rainey closed her eyes and let out a breath. She was going to puke if her nerves continued like this. Would that set Deccan off? Throw her in the back of his trunk and torture her when he felt like it?

Would Echo find out about it? Would she make a fuss about it, or would she just let him do it?

While Rainey knew Echo, they weren’t close friends. They had only known each other for a week.

Pulling up into the empty parking lot, she sat in her car, waiting for Deccan to arrive. Would he be on time? Would he show up at all?

There was a chance he could not show up, leaving her to wait here for hours, wondering if he would. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Rainey needed to clear her head before she worked herself so much that she vomited or passed out.

She didn’t need that.

Not when Deccan probably thrived off other people’s nerves and weaknesses. Her breath caught in her throat as another car pulled right up in front of her. She figured he would ride his motorcycle, but maybe he didn’t want to be an open target with her?

After turning her car off, she got out, placing her hand in front of her face as the lights continued to assault her eyes. Were they going to turn off the car lights?

She heard the car door open and shut before footsteps came toward her.

“Daddy?” she whispered as he came into the view from the passenger side. “What are you doing here?”

“Echo called me.”

Her mouth fell open. How could Echo have done that to her? She needed to meet with Deccan to figure things out. What if Daddy was in danger from Pete? She didn’t want him to die.

“What?”

“What were you thinking?”

“I…”

How was she going to explain everything to Daddy? Would he listen to the whole thing or just assume things after she spoke a little?

“I’m going to take care of the situation,” Daddy informed her, taking several more steps closer to her.

“You can’t!” She raised her voice. “This is my problem, not yours. I need to do this.”

“You will not be doing this.”

“Marco! Listen to me.”

He took a deep breath and stared. “Yes?”

“This is part of my past. I need to figure out what is going on. I need to do this.”

“No.”

“You aren’t even paying attention!”

“I am, and I said no. You aren’t putting yourself in danger. I’m not going to allow it. What were you thinking, meeting the president of the Springfield Sinners? Do you know how dangerous they are? Do you know what they do?”

“They are an MC. Yes, they are dangerous and sell drugs, most likely. They do bad things, but Echo knows the president.”

“And Echo is careless and reckless. She is an adrenaline junkie who we all love but puts her life in danger. You aren’t, and I don’t want you in danger.”

“But I need to do this. I need to figure this out.”

“Then let Daddy do it.”

“No.”

“I don’t like that word coming from your mouth.”

“Tough. I need to do this, Daddy. I have to do this.”

“When this happens, you won’t be anywhere near it. You are precious to me. You are carrying something precious. Did you think about that when you asked Echo?”

Rainey took a step back, hurt flying across her face.

“Of course I did. I know it was dangerous, and I know the risks, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad mom. I didn’t want you involved in case things got messy and you got hurt. I don’t know if my ex is part of Deccan’s club, but I need to figure out if he is in town. I need to figure out if he gave me the message earlier today and if I need to move.”

“You aren’t moving.”

“If he’s in town, I need to. I can run the coffee shop from a distance for a while. Then, when he leaves, I can come back.”

“No.”

“I don’t like that word coming from your mouth,” she shot his words back at him.

“Too bad. You aren’t leaving Springfield. You aren’t leaving me. You will stay at my house while I take care of everything. End of discussion.”

“This is not the end of the discussion. Far from it!”

“Yes, it is.”

“This is not any of your concern. It’s not about your life. So you can go home, and when I’m done, I’ll come right to you.”

Daddy gripped her chin with his fingers, bending down to eye level. “It is my concern when it involves you and our baby. You are my business.”

Rainey’s eyebrows raised.

“No.”

“Yes. You’ve already landed yourself in big trouble; do you want to get into even more?”

“How?”

Daddy placed his hand on his hips. “How? You lied to Daddy several times today. You put yourself in danger. Those are two serious things, especially breaking a safety rule.”

She kept her mouth shut. Rainey had done both of those things. She felt absolutely awful for it, but she needed to do this and didn’t want to get Daddy involved. Not when he could be in danger. She didn’t know what Pete would do if he saw him.

“I could’ve done it by myself. I could have taken care of myself.”

“What if they hurt you? Threatened you? Kidnapped you?”

“I would have taken care of it.”

How? She didn’t know, but she would have figured something out. She had for most of her life, and she was still alive.

“I bet you could take care of yourself, but you also have to think about our baby. I’m not saying you are a bad mother; that is the last thing I am implying. I’m just saying if anything happens to you, our baby might suffer as well. But you don’t have to worry about that anymore because Daddy is here, and I will take care of everything.”

“But.”

“No buts. What you did was naughty. Lying to Daddy and putting yourself and our baby in danger. You know better. Your rules are in place so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I know you are. When we get home, your punishment will happen after I look you over to check you’re okay. Then all is forgiven once the punishment is over.”

Daddy walked up and wrapped his arms around her. She nodded and cried into his shirt. She knew the punishment was going to be bad, and the thought of the drive back was killing her.

“If she were my girl, I would punish her right here.”