"Yep."
I wait for Daddy to freak out, but he doesn't. He just looks around, cataloging everything with new eyes, new understanding.
"And Ethan won't dare fire us," I add proudly, "because I'd kill him if he did."
"You can't go around killing everyone who pisses you off, boy."
No, I can't.
But Icankill anyone who threatens or upsets my Daddy.
"Even if you have power here, I don't. And it doesn't seem-"
I cut him off. "Of course you do. Everything I have is yours, physical or not."
"Still, it doesn't feel right to just drop work and have fun in the VIP."
I pout, but eventually agree. There's only one hour left of our shift, and then I'll have Daddy all to myself.
I promise Malakai and Ryker we'll have dinner soon, and then we head back downstairs.
To my surprise, the shift ends quickly. Daddy comes to watch me while I finish cleaning, but when he watches me like that, I can't function properly. So I run up to him and jump into his arms.
"Daddyyy."
He laughs, catching me easily and spinning me around.
"You just can't keep your hands off me?" Daddy teases.
"Nope."
"Good. Because I can't either."
I kiss him thoroughly, melting against him.
"What. The. Fuck?" The anger in that familiar voice makes me freeze.
I swallow hard and slowly turn toward it.
Aziel stands there, shaking with rage. His hands are balled into fists, a muscle ticks in his jaw, and even from here, I can see how tight his body is coiled.
I slip out of Daddy's arms and stand beside him, but I don't touch him.
My heart hammers against my ribs.
This is the moment I've been terrified of. Because Icansee it – the puzzle rearranging in Aziel's mind, the exact second it all clicks into place.
"It was you!" he shouts, charging toward me.
I'm just frozen in place.
Daddy steps in front of me, his voice low and dangerous. "Back off."
Aziel stops a few feet away, trembling with the effort to hold himself back. I can see the urge, the need to get to me. To hurt me.
"It was you," he spits. "You made it seem like I cheated on Ezrah!"
And just like that, the ground disappears beneath me.
