SEAN
Chelsea was lying to me.
She kept glancing at her phone, biting her lip and looking in my direction with a frown between her brows. She wanted to tell me something but felt conflicted. Poor girl didn’t know how to lie. At that rate, she was going to chew off her bottom lip.
“Princess,” I said, closing the law book I had picked up to read to Noah. He was stubborn like his elder sister and wanted me to read him to sleep in a guest room. Fortunately, he got bored easily and fell asleep. “Is there something bothering you?”
I went towards the armchair she was curled up in, her blue eyes full of worry. I wanted her to tell me so I could help her.
I didn’t want the person I loved to be scared.
“There is… something,” she started, her nervous eyes looking everywhere but at me. She fidgeted with the charm on her phone and murmured, “But I’m scared of you getting hurt.”
I kneeled on the floor and held her hands, squeezing them. “Do you know I used to be in the military?”
Her eyes widened. “No way.”
“Yes way.” I smiled. “Cillian and I used to do our daily drills together. I left once my service was completed and continued pursuing my education.” I leaned closer, kissing her knuckles, and said, “My point is, there’s nothing that can hurt me as long as you’re safe. You understand me, Chelsea?”
She swallowed, her eyes turning glassy. She held her arms out and said in a small broken voice, “Can you please hold me, Daddy?”
My features softened and my heart threatened to combust in my chest.Thiswas all I had ever wanted. For someone to rely on me completely. To keep them safe in my care and spoil them.
I just fell a little harder for her.
“Of course, Princess,” I said, holding her in my arms and standing up. Since Noah had fallen asleep, I walked us to the master room, hoping she could not hear how fast my heart was beating for her.
I wanted to confess again. But I felt I needed to do something more. Solve all her problems andbe morefor her.
She settled on my lap, her bottom lip jutting out in a small pout. I resisted the urge to bite it and rubbed her back. “Are you comfortable?” I forced my dick to remain soft, clenching the muscle on my inner thighs. I knew whatever thing she was worrying about was serious, but just seeing her made me hard, so having her soft curves press against my body posed a challenge for my cock.
Chelsea pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “I… I received a message from someone this morning,” she started, her eyes pinned on her lap. “I thought it was a prank at first, but the person told me they would hurt my dad if I didn’t meet them at the given location tomorrow.”
Oh.
That’s it?I didn’t want to scare her, but I already knew about the anonymous person texting her. Being a son of one of the richest families in the country came with many benefits.
I had installed an app on her phone to give me her location and send me alerts if someone suspicious sent her any message. Including her social media.
“Who’s that person?” I asked, knowing it was one of the loan sharks. I had tracked the abandoned factory they were working from and already asked Cillian for his help.
I didn’t want her to worry about anything, so I had people keeping tabs on her mother. I had tracked down her father, the useless piece of shit. He had spent all his money on his gambling addiction and getting drunk. He had a severe alcohol addiction. I had ordered my guards to kidnap him and put him in a rehab. Hopefully, he would come out as a better man if he wanted to get better for the people he loved.
David had let his daughter take the load of taking care of his family. Neglected Noah and dated other women, stealing their money to pay for his addiction.
If he wanted to be a part of Chelsea’s life, he needed to be a better person. Or I’d make sure he would never see her again.
Chelsea
My palms turned sweaty, feeling the warm gaze of Sean on my face. I shook my head. “I-I don’t know who it is, but I think it’s the loan shark.”
“Oh, Princess.” He hugged me, my eyes closing shut and breathing in his familiar, comforting cologne.
“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling back. My throat was burning as my vision blurred. “I should have told you earlier, but I was scared.”
The constant messages of threatening my dad by hurting him pushed me to confess everything to Sean. They had even ordered me not to tell anyone, especially the cops. But I couldn’t hold it in.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Maybe I can go to the police and?—”
