Chapter 7

7

Roark

A fter a couple of hours, Penny is still asleep. My back is fucking killing me where I lean against the wall, but no force in heaven or hell can make me let her go.

When the three of us were fucking, something flipped in me—a switch, or a mindset, I don't know. When she called me Daddy , I felt like I'd truly become who I was meant to be all along.

Not just any daddy. Penny's daddy.

Everything I do now, from this moment until the day I die, is going to be for her. Penny's safety and happiness are paramount in my mind.

"Hey," Cameron whispers.

I shoot him a glare, annoyed that he's interrupting my realization. I also don't want him to wake up Penny before she's ready.

"Roark, I love this girl," he says.

My expression must be murderous, because he holds up both of his hands.

"Dude, relax." He keeps his hands up, but his gaze moves lovingly over Penny's sleeping face. In his eyes, I see the same love I have for her.

"I'm not giving her up," I say.

"I'm not asking you to. If she'll have us both in a relationship in the same way she had us both with sex…maybe we could share?—"

Before I can agree or disagree, Penny squirms and her eyes flutter open. "Are you guys talking about me?"

Sending Cameron a dark look, I say, "Not really, sweetheart. Just trying to get more comfortable."

Cameron takes the hint. "I'll give you two some space."

"Don't go far, Daddy," Penny whispers as she closes her eyes.

Glaring at me, he says, "I won't, baby."

Could we share her, like Cameron was starting to suggest? No lie, I fucking love dominating a woman with another dominant partner. Nothing hotter. But I've only shared a woman's body, never her heart.

And with Cameron? While my respect for him has grown over the past twenty-four hours, he wouldn't be my first choice.

Eventually, my brain's unanswered questions quiet to nothing, and I sleep.

I wake up when morning light streams through the windows. Penny is still naked and sleeping in my arms with a peaceful expression. Cameron sits against the door with a frown on his face.

"Morning," I say.

"Yeah," he says. "Morning."

This is an odd look for Cameron. He's usually up and eager, in motion. Is he sick or something?

Then I realize—he's staring at Penny and me.

He's jealous.

I would be, too, if the situation were reversed. I never want to let go of this girl. I want her in my bed, cot, futon, hammock—wherever I sleep—forever.

He offered sharing a relationship with her, if she's willing.

Could I do that?

As I watch her long lashes flutter over her cheeks and mentally trace the pout of her lips, I think I could. I think I'd do anything to keep her, even if that means sharing.

She stirs, stretches. Her plump bottom rubs against my morning wood through my pants. I want to take her again, Cameron dominating her alongside me, but it would be so much better in a nice, clean bedroom where I don't have to worry about her getting splinters in her knees.

"Good morning," she says to me, then turns to face Cameron. "Hey, what are you doing all the way over there?"

"Not enough room for me on the cot," he says.

"So you didn't get cuddles last night."

"Nope."

She pulls out of my arms. I don't want to free her, but no denying her naked ass as she walks to Cameron is a beautiful sight. His mouth falls open in surprise as she drops, fully naked, onto his lap.

"You should get cuddles, too," she says, resting her head against his chest.

He opens his mouth to say something, then quickly closes it.

Maybe I wouldn't mind sharing her with him. Again, I have no idea if she would like that or not, and we're pretty early on in our acquaintance to ask such a thing. We've known each other for less than twenty-four hours. We should still be casual, right?

Fuck, I don't know how to do relationships. I stand up, pull on my shirt, and gather Penny's clothes.

"Here you go, little girl. It's time to leave," I say. "We'll walk out far enough to where we have reception so we can call Ironwood."

Penny shakes her head and stubbornly remains in Cameron's lap. "I don't want to. They're going to hurt me."

"We will never hurt you," I say. "I wouldn't allow it. Never."

"No? But you want to turn me in."

"We're not giving you to Oberon," I say. "We're taking you to Ironwood. And we don't hurt people at Ironwood, we help them. It's the whole reason I wanted to work there."

"Really?" Cameron says, looking interested. "You never did tell me your origin story. I only know you were in construction before you joined Ironwood."

"Construction? How did you go from construction to security and bounty hunting?" Penny asks.

I make sure everything I brought is in my duffel. "The only reason I was in construction was to work with my brother. He owned a company. It fell apart, so I left."

There's so much more to the story than that, and Penny seems to sense it.

"Roark," she says softly, "what really happened?"

I don't want to get into it, or admit my part in how it started, but I also refuse to lie about or sugarcoat what my sister-in-law went through. "We started drinking a lot after work. It didn't seem like much, but he was also drinking at home. He was drinking way too much, and he started abusing his wife."

"Oh," Penny breathes. "That's awful."

"Yeah. And I didn't see it. I'd see the odd bruise here and there, but nothing that raised suspicion. It should have."

"You couldn't have known," Penny says.

"She's right," Cameron adds.

My attention snaps to him—I'd forgotten I was talking to both of them. It doesn't bother me that he's here, though. For some reason, I like that he's agreeing with her and adding weight to the reassurance I desperately need.

"Where is he now?" Penny asks. "And how's your sister-in-law doing?"

"She's better. She's living with her brother and his family. And my brother is getting sober in jail. I haven't forgiven him yet. Don't know if I'll be able to."

Cameron cocks his head. "Did you know Ironwood is setting up a domestic violence division, to help victims and survivors?"

"It's what drew me to the company," I say. "Helping people, not hurting them."

"All of this is real?" Penny asks thoughtfully, looking between the two of us.

"Yes," we both say.

"Upsie-daisie," Cameron says, nudging Penny to get up.

She clambers to her feet, but it's cold and she dresses quickly. Her hoodie isn't dry yet, so I offer her my rain jacket. Now that she isn't in handcuffs, she can put it on properly, although the bottom hits just above her knees.

Cameron gives her an affectionate smile, mirroring the one I'm probably wearing.

We're both so far gone for Penny…I wonder if she can tell.

Penny

The forest floor is soft beneath our feet. Although it stopped raining a while ago, drops of water fall from the pine branches over our heads.

"That ridge up ahead," Roark says, pointing through the trees. "If we can get on top of that, we might find a signal to call Ironwood to pick us up."

"Is there a reason we aren't going toward town to make the call there?" I ask.

"We want to stay out of sight if possible," Roark says. "Oberon not only hired us through Hunter's Guild—a bounty hunting firm partnering with Ironwood, but he also announced that you're missing and is offering a reward."

"So that's why I was getting the attention from the clerk," I say.

Roark nods.

I move closer to him and Cameron. They're walking on either side of me. It could be that they're afraid I'm going to bolt, but I hope it's because they're trying to protect me. I'm not going to run. Not anymore.

"Why are you so scared of Clive, anyway?" Cameron asks. "Seems like you can just turn in your evidence, he goes to jail, and you don't have to worry about him anymore."

I shiver, but it doesn't have to do with the chill in the air. "He's so well-connected, I'm not sure who I can trust to give the files to. And…"

"And what?" Roark asks in a low voice.

I stop walking, unsure. I want to pretend I never saw it, that it never happened.

Roark and Cameron stop walking, too.

"You can tell us, Penny," Cameron says, tilting my chin up so I can look at them both.

"He killed someone," I say.

"He—you saw this?" Roark's voice is sharp.

I'm putting a lot of trust in them by admitting this. If Clive sent these men specifically after me, they could kill me right now to shut me up. But I've seen the way they look at me. I don't think the affection I see in their eyes can be faked.

I hope I'm not wrong.

"Yeah," I say. "I saw it. He was at a construction site with this guy—I think he worked for John Parker."

"The mayor of San Esteban?" Cameron says.

"Yeah."

Roark rubs my arm, his touch reassuring even though it has to travel through several layers of fabric. "It's okay, sweetheart. You can tell us. But you don't have to if you want to wait. We'll take you wherever you want to go."

Their patience with me is why I trust them.

"I was supposed to meet Clive for dinner," I say, "but I was early and I wanted to see how far the building was coming along. Clive didn't know I was there. I went up eight stories before I saw him. They were standing next to this railing. They didn't see me. The guy said something…I guess Clive didn't like it, and he just…he shoved the guy over the railing. The drop went all the way down to the first floor of the building. I can still hear how he screamed."

"Shit," Cameron says. "I'm sorry, baby."

I take in a deep breath. "I hurried back down the stairs. Eight flights. Then I waited outside the building like I should have done all along. A few minutes later, Clive came outside, talking on the phone and telling the crew they needed to finish filling the concrete within the hour."

"Shit," Cameron says again.

"I don't think anyone knows that man is dead," I say. "There was nothing in the news. Everyone's covering it up. And they'll do the same to me if they catch me."

"They aren't going to catch you." Roark's voice is firm. "You have us now."

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than a gunshot sounds. Bark splinters on a tree two inches to the side of Roark's head.