Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Wyatt followed Lark and shut the door behind him. He still looked concerned and confused.
Kiki felt the same confusion. “What are you doing here?”
Lark set her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “Daddy was worried about you, and I didn’t want him to come stomping into your apartment without a female touch. I told him he was overreacting to be so concerned.” She shifted her attention to Wyatt. “See? She’s fine.”
Wyatt shot Lark a hard look. “You’re not going to be fine, Kitten. Eye rolling? Sassy attitude? Disrespecting your Daddy?”
Lark lowered her gaze. “Sorry, Daddy.”
“We’ll discuss your punishment later.” He turned his attention back to Kiki.
Kiki took a step back at the look in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to spank her too, and he wasn’t even her Daddy.
“What are you doing here, Little one?” he asked.
“Me?” She glanced around. “Uh. It’s my apartment.”
He frowned deeper. “Your Daddy called me this morning. He said you’d been staying with him at his house. He was worried because he hadn’t been able to get ahold of you. When you weren’t there, he gave me this address.” Wyatt pulled out his phone.
Kiki winced. “Oh. Right. Well, I came here last night. I’m fine.” She didn’t want to discuss her concerns with Wyatt even if he was a police officer.
“Where’s your phone, Little one?” His voice was calm enough, but his brow was still deeply furrowed.
Kiki glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen table. “In my purse, I guess.” She hadn’t checked since she’d left Terry’s house. Uh oh. Was her Daddy looking for her? Apparently.
Wyatt tapped his phone screen.
Oh, crap. He was calling Terry. He brought the phone to his ear and started speaking two seconds later. “I found her… Yes, she’s right here. Hold on.” He held out his phone.
Kiki’s hand was shaking as she reached out to take it from him. She didn’t feel like talking to Terry right now, and she sure didn’t want to do so in front of other people.
“Bumblebee?” Daddy’s voice sounded even deeper than normal and stressed.
Kiki flinched. “Yes,” she murmured.
He released an audible sigh. “You had me worried sick, Little one. Why aren’t you at home? And why haven’t you answered your phone?”
She licked her lips as she glanced at both Lark and Wyatt.
Wyatt pointed toward her bedroom. “Go in your room to talk, Little one. We’ll give you some privacy.”
She turned around slowly. She didn’t really want to talk to Terry in her room either. She didn’t know what to say. But she shuffled toward privacy anyway, shutting the door behind her.
“Kiki? Are you still there?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered, unable to speak to him with less respect.
“Sir? Kiki, what’s going on? Why are you at your apartment, Bumblebee? You’re making Daddy nervous.”
She was making him nervous? For some reason, his words struck a nerve and she straightened her spine and set a hand on her hip. “Where are you?”
“I’m in Chicago, Little one. I left you a note. Didn’t you get it?”
“Yeah, I got it.” She sounded sassy and cocky even to her own ears. “I just didn’t understand it.”
“I’m sorry I had to leave before you got home from work, Bumblebee, but it couldn’t be helped. Sometimes I get called away for work. I should have warned you, but this was unexpected.”
Kiki chewed on her bottom lip. She didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t said a single thing to make her feel better or restore her trust in him.
“Kiki?”
“I thought you said you were an accountant,” she blurted.
Terry drew in a deep breath. “I am, Bumblebee.”
“Accountants are boring. They don’t have emergency trips to Chicago.” Oh, yeah, she was full of sass. She didn’t really care. “Besides, I know you’re not being entirely truthful because I went to see your sister last night and she acted all strange and wouldn’t tell me what you do. She said you had to be the one to tell me.”
“Ahhh.” Terry sighed. “Will you do me a favor, Bumblebee? Give Wyatt his phone back so he and Lark can go start their day and facetime me on your phone after they leave. Can you do that for me, Little one?” He was practically begging her.
She chewed on her lip again. She felt contrary, but she at least owed him the courtesy of hearing what he had to say. It seemed unlikely his omissions about his job would be nefarious. After all, everyone she knew loved and adored him. He surely wasn’t a bank robber or wanted in three states for espionage or something. Was that even a thing?
Suddenly she felt kind of bad about her behavior. Had she overreacted? “Okay, Daddy,” she murmured.
“Good girl. Call me right back.”
She ended the call and headed back to the living room.
“Is everything okay, Little one?” Wyatt asked.