Chapter Ten

Nate woke the second his phone buzzed. He'd connected it to the security system the night before. Any disruption would send an alert.

Someone had turned off the alarm and then reset the sucker in under thirty seconds.

He'd been plain. Anyone coming in or out of Sanctum when the club wasn't open was supposed to send him notification. There had been no notifications.

So either the elders were testing him or they had an assassin who happened to know the ever-changing code to the security system at Sanctum. One of those was hard to believe, and the other not at all surprising.

He should have expected it. He'd heard rumors about all the bodyguards getting wild tests of their skills when they signed on at McKay-Taggart. He was literally guarding one of the founder's beloved daughters. There was zero chance they wouldn't try to fuck with him and prove he couldn't do it.

Daisy shifted in bed when he moved away from her, like she was a heat-seeking missile. It was dark without the light from his phone, but the illumination coming from the jukebox gave everything a low glow. Yeah, there was an old-school jukebox. He hadn't played anything off of it because it was all old stuff, but it had been exactly the right height to fuck Daisy against.

"Wake up, love. We've got incoming."

She shot up in bed, her hair wild around her shoulders. "Holy shit. You think the bad guys are here?"

Damn, but she looked good enough to eat. He eased out of bed, reaching for his boxers. If he knew Taggart and the crew, they would move quickly in the hopes of catching him in bed. Unfortunately, catching him in bed meant catching Daisy, and he didn't want her embarrassed. "Nah." He grabbed his SIG. "I think this is more about me than you. Your da is testing me. Lock yourself in the bathroom just in case, and call the MT building. Let them know someone used the security code to enter Sanctum unauthorized."

Daisy moved swiftly, dragging the sheet around her. "You're sure it's Da?"

"Whoever it was, they knew the alarm code," he replied. "It runs on a constantly shifting algorithm Hutch created. As it can only be accessed by a few phones, I doubt it's our bad guys. Now hurry because they'll try the apartment first, but they'll figure out quickly we're not there. If they catch me, your da will try to get me replaced."

She held the sheet around her with one hand and her phone in the other. "Just remember he has a bad back. They all do, and they all think they're still twenty-five and in perfect military condition. Be nice."

She kissed him and moved to the bathroom, already on the phone. "Hey, I needed to let you guys know we're apparently being invaded by cartel members down at Sanctum. It's okay. Nate is taking care of them. I'm pretty sure he's already taken most of them out. It was a lot of blood. I was hoping Aunt Charlotte would give me some cleaning tips."

He loved her.

Damn, he loved her. There was no real time to deal with the revelation because if he got caught, there would be all kinds of hell to pay.

Or he could be dealing with a very well-prepared assassin.

The minute he eased out of the privacy room, he realized he was definitely dealing with the big bosses, and they didn't even respect him.

"How long should we wait?" Devi Taggart was in the lounge below, standing with Brianna Dean-Miles and… Damn, they'd brought Avery with them.

"I don't know," Avery said quietly. "I don't like this. He was in Aussie Special Forces. How much should he have to prove?"

"I think it's kind of exciting." Brianna had a water bottle in her hand and looked like she'd come from a yoga class. Or was going to one. She stood beside one of the tables which was covered in bags, some luggage-like and others from a local grocery store. "Also, do you think they'll drag him out here naked?" Bri gasped as Devi punched her arm. "Sorry. I can look, right? I mean the dude is hot. Do you think Daisy's sleeping with him?"

"From what I can see, there's probably not a lot of sleeping," Avery said with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure that's Daisy's skirt on the dungeon floor. I wish they'd picked up after themselves."

Well, he'd meant to tidy up this morning.

"Good for Dais because Bri's right. I got a closeup look at him and he's hot," Devi announced.

He moved down the stairs. It was good to know he still had it. They weren't looking his way, so it was easy to maneuver around them. The apartment was on the other side of the building, over the locker rooms and the security office. It was where they would look because they were supposed to stay in those apartments. Like the good boy and girl they were. In two separate rooms.

It was exactly what he would have done had the client been anyone but Daisy O'Donnell. He could be attracted to a woman and stay professional. Hell, he'd worked with women he would have been more than happy to sleep with and never once made a move on one.

He couldn't keep his hands off that gorgeous ball of trouble. Not for anything.

He caught sight of a big guy slipping down the stairs, moving toward the first floor. It was obvious he'd already checked the dungeon and was moving through a predetermined sweep.

"What do you mean the apartment is empty?" the man questioned quietly over the comm he was using. They'd brought in actual comms. Like this was a real op. Nate wasn't sure if he was flattered or offended. It wasn't like these men hadn't known him his whole bloody life. "No. I don't know where the fuck they are. Well, I know where they've been. There's a trail of clothes all over the dungeon. Li's going to lose his shit. I told you this was a bad idea."

Alex McKay was almost to the stairs. Nate put his back to the wall and shuffled against it, keeping to the shadows. Fuckers had turned on some of the lights. Guess night vision degraded with age. The club didn't have windows for obvious reasons, so the fact that it was morning didn't change the situation. It stayed pretty dark, with only ambient lighting on.

"I don't know. They're young and clearly into each other. You put them in a freaking sex club and you're surprised they played?" Alex asked. "I'm checking downstairs. Someone go check the privacy rooms, but I have to assume he's asleep. Probably because he was awake most of the night. And no, I'm not telling Liam. I'll contact you when I get down to security."

Nate rounded the corner and put his SIG to the back of Alex's head. "Or I'm awake because I'm also on a job. Do I need to incapacitate you or is it enough that I could have killed you? "

"Fuck." Alex's hands came up. "Nope. I'm out. I'll go join the ladies if you'll let me. And no, I won't be informing anyone. I'd like to see how you handle them."

Hopefully the same way he'd handled Alex. "Yeah, I'll take the comm unit. You go tell Avery that Daisy is perfectly safe but her husband might not be."

Alex handed over the comm unit. "Good luck, man. And dude, couldn't you have put on some clothes?"

He would have if they'd given him time, but this was exactly what they'd wanted. Him with his pants down. So they could deal with his dick barely encased in his boxers. Nate settled the comm unit into his left ear.

"Alex, I asked you a question." Ian's voice came over the line.

Nate kept quiet. He glanced up. He'd made a pretty thorough inspection of the place when they'd first gotten here. The apartment could be accessed only by the stairs at the west side of the dungeon floor. Luckily that part was still pretty dark and there was only one sniper position, and he'd just come from it. He moved through the shadows to the edge of the stairs, kneeling down.

"Fuck, Li. Alex isn't answering which means Nate got him. Can we call this off now? I told you he's solid, and I hope he didn't think we were actually here to kill his sweetheart." Ian sounded irritated as hell.

"Solid? The fucker apparently spent the whole night ripping off my poor Daisy's clothes." Liam sounded way more irritated.

The ripping off portion had been a small part of the night, and she'd done her fair share of damage, too. He was pretty sure he had some nail marks on his back. His baby could get wild.

Wild was exactly how he liked her.

Ian jogged down the steps and moved right where Nate needed him to be.

"Hold on. Charlie's calling." Ian put his cell to his ears. "Hey, baby…wait…what? No. No one is dead. Don't call the police. Don't…"

His baby had given him the chaos he needed. He put the SIG to the back of Ian's head.

"Fuck me," Ian said, dropping his cell and holding his hands up. "Nate, this was not my idea."

"No, it was mine," Liam said.

And that was when he realized Li was behind him. Damn it. "Ian, I need some advice."

A low chuckle came from the big boss. "Well, Nate, my advice is to not shoot me in the back of the head. Are we in some weird standoff? I can't see, and honestly, I'm too old for this shit. Are you sure you don't want one of the twins? I'll hand either one off no problem. I'll even throw in a new truck. Don't discount that. One of the reasons we're here is I picked up your rental. It's a Fiat. I had to get Bri and Devi to drive it over because none of the rest of us fit."

"I suggest you put the gun down now, Nathan," Liam threatened.

Nate hadn't gotten the advice he so needed. "Do I take him out or let him shoot me? Because I'm torn. Daisy told me he's got a bad back."

"A bad back my arse," Li bit out.

"She didn't say anything about your arse," Nate allowed. "Just your back. I'm supposed to be nice to you."

Ian snorted. "Take the old guy down. It's the only language he'll understand."

"As if he…" Liam began.

Nate turned, his arm coming out to knock the gun away, and then he shifted, one leg sweeping under Liam's and putting him on the ground. Nate was on one knee, his hand around his future father-in-law's throat before Li could take another breath.

He could suddenly see exactly how amped Daisy's father was.

"Charlie, baby, I'll call you back. No. I'm going to assume Daisy wanted to give Nate some cover so she called in and told a whopper of a story and it worked," Ian was saying. "However, Nate's trying to decide if he's going to kill Li. I know. I already offered him one of the twins. He seems intent on Daisy."

"Nate, what are you doing to my da?" Daisy was out on the stairs leading from the privacy rooms down to the lounge, still dressed in the sheet she'd taken from the bed. "I told you about his back."

Nate stood, holding his hands up. "He put a gun to the back of my head."

"Yes, and I could have killed you if I wanted to. Well, if I'd thought I could get away with it." Liam sat up and groaned when he looked over at his daughter. "Girl, where the hell are your clothes?"

Avery rushed over. "Liam, are you all right? Did you hurt your back?"

Liam stopped looking angry long enough to reach for his wife's hand. "I'm fine, my darlin." The frown was back when he looked at Daisy, who'd made her way down the stairs and was joined by her friends. "I'm still wondering where our daughter's clothes got to. Did they run away from you, girl?"

Daisy shrugged. "They're kind of all over. Nate chased me through the dungeon and then we ended up in this weird room with Elvis, I think."

Ian turned her way, his jaw dropping. "You slept in my personal privacy room? And that is not Elvis. Li, you have ruined that girl. Fucking Elvis. That is Axl Rose, you infant."

"Who?" Daisy asked, her eyes wide.

Axl Rose. That's who the dude was. Now he remembered. "Babe, I think he was like a singer in the olden days."

"Don't matter who he was. The fact is this man is taking advantage of my daughter." Liam managed to get off the floor. "And where the hell are your clothes, Nathan? Do you think you're in the bloody Garden of Eden? You are supposed to be a bodyguard not some gigolo."

"Is that an old-time singer, too?" Daisy asked.

It was good to know she wasn't up on all the ways a man could be called a sex worker. He was going to ignore it. He definitely wasn't going to tell Liam he would fulfill his daughter's sexual needs for absolutely no money at all.

"Well, I thought someone might be trying to kill us so I locked Daisy in and came out to save us," Nate explained with a long sigh. "Then I realized it was just the old guard trying to test the new."

"Old guard, my arse," Liam began and put a hand to his lower back.

"Li, are you okay?" Avery stared at her husband. "I told you this was a bad idea. Nate, I'm sorry. He wanted to make sure you were taking the job seriously. I told him you were."

"I was right. Look at him. He's not even dressed," Liam complained. "And I easily got him."

Alex frowned. "I told you where he was because I thought it would be funny to watch him take Ian down. You had no idea where he was, and I only did because he let me go. What the hell, man? Nate, you did a good job. I thought we would catch you sleeping. The alarm didn't go off."

"The uncles made us run through really fast. They were yelling like we were in the Army," Brianna complained.

Liam shook his head. "Well, young lady, you were taking your sweet time."

"She was trying to bring her friend some coffee." It was obvious Avery was not happy.

Damn. This would set Daisy back.

"There's coffee?" Daisy came running in. Not running, exactly. She looked like a princess skipping through some meadow. Except she had crazy sex hair. "Please tell me you got…"

Brianna held out a covered cup. "White mocha nonfat with extra foam. And I got Nate a regular old coffee because I didn't know how he took it. There's also a flat white if you prefer, and I brought a bunch of ham and cheese croissants because I figured the big guy could eat. I asked Mrs. Ward to give us whatever she thought her husband would eat. It was a lot." She gave him a smile. "Hi. You look way different than when you were fifteen, and I kind of thought you were hot then."

"Bri," Devi said.

Daisy waved her off. "No, it's okay. He's a work of art. Look all you like. I can share."

Nate raised a brow.

Daisy blushed. "Not like that. You're pretty and stuff. I don't want you to dim your glow because I might get jealous. We're not going to be like that. Now I told you not to hurt Da. He's delicate."

"I'm not delicate." Liam closed his eyes. "Except when it comes to this. For the sake of all the heavens, girl, put some clothes on."

"She is perfectly covered for a young woman who had her sleep horribly interrupted," Avery argued.

"Well, she needs to get dressed because we're finding another bodyguard. One who doesn't take advantage of her," Liam shot back.

"That room is sacred," Ian said with a shake of his head. "It is a temple to my marriage."

"Then you should have locked it up." Nate didn't see the problem.

"And from what the twins have told me, we suitably honored your marriage, Uncle Ian," Daisy said with a sparkle in her eyes. She'd secured the sheet, and it honestly looked like any number of formal gowns he'd seen. It draped over her gorgeous body. Of course most of those gowns wouldn't smell like sex.

Damn, he wanted her again, and they were standing in a room full of her relatives. His brain was all Daisy all the time.

"The twins have told us many tales," Devi said, her nose wrinkling. "Like whenever they hear that old band playing, they know their parents are going at it. It's horrifying."

Ian's eyes narrowed. "I've got two words for you, niece. Taylor Swift."

Devi gasped. "No. That's just because Dad likes her. It's not…ewww. It ruins so much music for me."

"Ian, everyone's used the jukebox room," Alex pointed out.

"I'm not getting another bodyguard." Daisy got in the middle of her parents. "Nate did a great job. He made me hide, and then I thought it might help him if I called Aunt Charlotte and told her Uncle Ian was about to get sniped. I knew Uncle Ian would be here because he is always in the middle of drama. I was going to call the cops. Bringing in the authorities would have caused more chaos, but Aunt Charlotte begged me to give her a couple of minutes. And then I went to check and I saw that Da was being an asshole."

"Daisy, language," her father admonished.

Daisy shrugged. "Well, you're already mad at me for having a sex life. I don't have to pretend to be some perfect princess so you'll still love me. I can be me. I can be honest. Nate did an excellent job."

There was one problem with what she was saying. He appreciated the support, but she'd disobeyed. "Which you shouldn't have seen because you are supposed to be locked in the bathroom waiting for me to give you the all clear."

"Well, I couldn't hear anything. I think those rooms are like noise canceling or something," Daisy complained. "We should get whatever it is at The Hideout. Sometimes the privacy rooms get real loud, if you know what I mean. Also, do you think we could ask the board to get a room with a jukebox? Because it's the exact right height."

Ian put a hand to his heart. "Not my jukebox."

Alex snorted.

"Right height?" Her father had gone pale. "You shouldn't have been in dat room at all. You were supposed to stay in the apartment, which has two bedrooms."

"I mean, if you think about it, he can probably protect her better if they stay in the same room," Brianna offered. "A lot of my mom's books fall into the only one bed trope."

"I assure you there are plenty of beds in this place, and this ain't one of Serena's romance novels," Liam shot back.

"I don't know. Let's see. Childhood friends take one look at each other after a decade apart and fall madly in love," Avery began. "Sounds like a romance to me."

Liam wasn't finished. "How about this scenario? Asshole can't handle the military and comes to America to find an easier life and takes one look at an innocent girl and sees a meal ticket."

Ian groaned and looked to his best friend. "We can't save him. You want to break into the Scotch? It's going to be a long day. The twins finally dug Zach out of the rubble and they're on their way back, so I have to sit in on them complaining all afternoon. Have you ever listened to a whiny captain yell about how a bomb exploded and he got caught for days in the inevitable landslide it caused? It's a lot, man. And it's not like Lou didn't invent an extremely long straw to keep the fucker hydrated. Kids are soft these days."

Alex slapped Ian's shoulder. "Yeah, Scotch sounds like a good idea. I've never been so happy Coop is mostly transportation."

"Your boy was the smart one," Ian agreed.

"Meal ticket?" Daisy asked, her voice going low.

"Oh, shit," Devi said under her breath. "Dais, you should think about this. You're kind of half naked in front of your parents, and you have that look in your eyes."

Brianna shook her head. "There's no stopping her now. We should go with the uncles."

"This is going to get bad," Devi whispered. "Daisy is super sweet until she gets angry and then… Well, it's bad. But she never does this around her parents."

Avery sighed. "No, she never does this around her father. I assure you I've seen my daughter get really angry. It's odd. Almost like she got it from somewhere. From like DNA or something. I wonder from who."

Daisy's eyes had narrowed. "Nathan, I'm going to need you to hold my coffee. Maybe you should go pour some Bailey's in it. Or whiskey. I'm feeling like whiskey this morning." Her accent changed, and she sounded as Irish as her father. " Táim chun labhairt le m'athair ."

Devi held Bri's hand and started to back away. "She's gone Irish."

Nate took her coffee. "Daisy, it's okay. I told you I don't care what he thinks about me."

Daisy ignored him. "What meal ticket do you think I am, Da? Minigh seo dom. "

"I don't have to explain anything to you, iníon, " her father replied. "I have obviously been too lenient, and that stops now."

"Liam, please," Avery begged.

He shook his head. "No. Avery, you know I love you. You're my world. But she's my responsibility, and I've failed."

He watched Daisy's skin go pale as her father's words hit her.

"I'm a failure?" Daisy asked.

Damn it. "He doesn't mean it."

"I didn't say you failed," Liam replied, a shocked expression hitting his face. Like he hadn't thought those words through. "I said I did. I should never have let you go off to college. I should have known you would run wild."

"Oh, Da." She shook her head. "I started running wild so long before college." She'd gone a bit cold. "You want to know all the reasons why I'm a failure? Let's talk about who stole your whiskey when I was fifteen. You were so sure it was Aidan. It was me. And then when you locked it up, I still got into it. I replaced it with the big jug of iced tea I always made Mom get from the store. The one I kept in my room and everyone wondered how I could drink it without ice. You told me a proper Irish girl wouldn't drink it at all. Well, that's because this proper Irish girl was drinking your whiskey."

Devi held up a hand. "Okay, could we maybe not mention this particular part to my parents?"

Liam pointed a finger his daughter's way. "I knew it wasn't whiskey. I convinced myself it had gone bad."

"It was delicious," Daisy replied, a dark gleam in her eyes. "And the time the school let out because the fire alarms went off? I made good use of the free time, Da."

"Yes, you went to the library."

"I went to the lake with Leo Hall, and you do not want to know what we did in the back of his truck," Daisy taunted.

Liam went pale. "No. You wouldn't."

Avery threw up her hands. "Of course, she would. She is your daughter, Liam. You know I love you, but you have blinders on when it comes to her, and it's not doing either of you any good. She feels like she's forced to lie because you won't love her if you see the truth, and you're trying so hard to not notice she's your mirror image except she's got boobs, and that makes her even better at getting what she wants than you were. And I swear if you wreck her shot at happiness with Nate, we're going to have serious problems."

"I did a spot of underaged drinking myself," Nate admitted. "And there's this billabong on the station. I actually lost my virginity in it. Damn lucky it wasn't full of crocs."

"Oh, I can do so much worse, Nate," Daisy promised.

"She can," Bri agreed. "She probably shouldn't, though. Hey, bestie, remember all those ‘we're never telling anyone about this' vows we made?"

"I don't need to hear it." Liam stepped back. "I've got work to do." He pointed Nate's way. "If you get my daughter killed, I swear on my soul I'll take yours. And I'm leaving my wife here, too. I'm going to go fix this for Daisy. Avery…"

Avery's eyes narrowed. "If this is anything beyond a polite ‘will you please stay here while I run off to do something dangerous that will save our beloved daughter,' you should rethink."

Liam sighed. "Avery, would you please stay here for a few days while I take care of this situation for our beloved daughter?"

"I will," Avery promised.

"Daisy?" Liam's voice had gone soft.

Daisy was stubbornly silent.

"I love you, girl. No matter what." He glanced down at his phone. "They're here."

"Who's here?" Nate's morning had gone to complete crap, and now he was probably going to have to deal with more bodyguards. Bodyguards who would question him.

The door opened, and Nate realized it was much worse because Erin Taggart walked in, and she wasn't alone.

"Nate?" His mother rushed into the room. "Are you okay? Sweetie? What happened to your pants."

"Well, hell," his father said, looking at him first and then Daisy. "I suppose that was inevitable."

"Ain't nothing inevitable about it. Come on, Brody," Liam said. "We're going to El Salvador."

"We're what?" His father looked deeply confused.

"You're not taking my jet." Ian was suddenly at the railing of the lounge, a glass in his hand.

"Already pinched it, mate," Liam said, walking out.

His father looked to his mother.

"You should follow him." His mom had her worried mask on. "It's obvious something's going on, and we don't understand. Avery, is everything okay? Li called and said Nate was in trouble and we had to get here as soon as possible."

Avery pulled his mom in for a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, old friend. Come on. Let's join Ian and Alex, and I'll fill you in. By the way, the kids are together now. In a biblical sense."

His mom smiled. "He always had a thing for Daisy."

"I did not. I mean I thought she was sweet and everything," Nate argued and then realized he wasn't this dumb. "I mean. I did. Always."

Daisy's eyes were on the door her father had walked through.

"You did," his mother said. "You just didn't understand at the time, but I knew." His mum moved over to Daisy. "Sweet girl, are you all right?"

Daisy burst into tears, and all the women surrounded her.

His heart ached, and he hoped they could make it through this particular storm.

* * * *

Daisy sat outside on the rooftop section of Sanctum. It was pretty and had a great view, and she hadn't known it existed until today.

They definitely needed something like this at The Hideout. If she was allowed back at The Hideout.

The morning had been perfectly horrible, and she wondered if her father would ever speak to her again. Oh, he'd said he loved her, but that might be habit.

Bri and Devi had brought more of her things. And she'd definitely noticed someone had slipped a box of extra-large condoms in. It was either her friends being cheeky or Uncle Ian being true to form. Her friends had been sending her texts all day, checking in on her. And she'd gotten a surprising amount of texts from the guys at The Hideout asking if she was coming in next weekend. What was up with that?

What she hadn't gotten was an update from her da, who was apparently on his way to Central America.

"Hey, I made you some tea," Nate said as he walked out onto the balcony. The sun was starting to move to the west, and this particular part of the rooftop space faced east. He had a tray in his hands. "I added some pastries Bri and Devi brought. Remind me to thank them for breakfast. Mum is making us a late lunch, but I thought you might be hungry. The moms are taking the apartment, by the way. Do you want to stay in the jukebox room?"

She forced herself to look up at him. "Do you want to stay with me at all?"

Nate had been with Ian and Alex most of the day, or helping his mother get comfortable. They hadn't talked much after he'd held her while she cried. She'd wanted some time alone. Was reality hitting him hard?

He frowned. "Why wouldn't I? Is this about the mess with your father? Love, I never once thought you were some saint. Or a virgin who'd saved herself for her one true love. Though you should know I do intend to be your one true love, and I'll keep you so satisfied you won't look at another man."

She wanted to believe him. "Nate, I wasn't lying to my father. Not this morning. I got into a lot of trouble as a kid. Or rather I didn't. I was good at covering my tracks. I drank and I had sex probably way before I was truly ready. And I can't blame them because they were great parents."

"There's no blame, Dais. You were a kid and you experimented. I was sixteen." He sat across from her. "I shouldn't have done it in the billabong. There was probably bacteria and stuff, but she was seventeen and I was willing to risk a lot."

Daisy couldn't help but smile. And realize there was zero jealousy because this was his past and she wanted his future. "I was nineteen. Though I'd done a lot of sexy stuff before that, it was my first penetrative sex. It wasn't great, but I knew I was just missing something. I've read a lot of romance novels. I know I should say I never had decent sex until I met the man of my dreams."

There was a dimple in his chin when he smirked that made her heart beat faster. "Well, you met me practically at birth."

She was so crazy about this guy, but she had to give him every out. "I'm trying to be honest with you."

"No, you're letting guilt seep in, and it could ruin everything. There's no reason to feel guilty about having good sex. I had some good sex, and I hope it was good for the women I was with. Now I'm only going to have sex with you, and it's going to be the best," he said. "I love your past because it made you who you are."

She sniffled and stood up, moving into his arms. "Thank you, Nate. I wish my father felt the same."

She moved back and looked down at what he'd brought her. A tea setup with a couple of mini sandwiches and some cookies. She poured the tea into one of the cups.

"He'll come around. I assure you my father's working on him," Nate said, standing over her. "What do you think your father meant about saving you?"

She was sure her da was doing something ruthless. Her father was incredibly smart, and he could handle things when the going got rough. She'd been thinking about this all afternoon. "He'll probably figure out a way to start a war between cartels so the guy who wants me dead gets killed in prison. It's what I'd do."

Nate huffed, but he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Now I understand what your mum meant. You think a lot like him."

Daisy pointed to the second cup. "Do you want me to pour you one?"

He shook his head. "Can't. I'm hopping on a call with my boss. I'm supposed to report in. It shouldn't take too long. Then I'll check on Mum and come back and hang out with you. Besides, you have other company." He nodded as her mother stepped outside. "Avery, you should try the lemonade. The tea is… Well, it's for my proper Irish girl."

"Oh, then I'll definitely have some of that. It's been a day." Her mother sank down on the sofa opposite her. "Thanks for this, Nathan."

Nate tipped his head and strode for the door. "Anything for the O'Donnell ladies. I'll see you in a little while, love. Listen to your mum."

So this was going to be a lecture. She took a sip of the "tea" that was really whiskey. And then another. "This is so much better than what Da used to keep."

Her mother smiled wryly. "Well, your uncle has far more elevated tastes than your father." She poured herself a cup and took a sip. "I'm afraid in so many ways your father is still the poor Irish kid who had to find a way to put food in his brother's mouth when his mum was off doing her important work."

"You mean trying to drive the English out of Belfast?" She knew her family history.

"That's what I mean." Her mother took one of the sandwiches. "Your father had a rough life. Unlike me. Or you. I need for you to think about that while he's gone and think about forgiving him for acting like an ass. He loves you."

Daisy wasn't sure. "He loves the idea of me."

Her mother's head shook. "No. He loves you. He loves the Daisy O'Donnell who's always been a walking ball of chaos. And who's also always been kind and loyal to her friends. Who's been a good daughter, despite the experiments with teenaged drinking."

"Aidan always covered for me," Daisy admitted. "And he would mostly be there. He and Tris would hang out with us, but we knew what they were really doing. Supervising."

"Yes, and he never said a word to me or your da. So you should think about forgiving him, too."

"I already did, though it was mean. He came very close to ruining my positive self-image. I thought maybe I was losing my mojo or I wasn't attractive to Doms, which was sad because I like a top."

Her mother took a long swig. "See, I think this is what your father has been avoiding."

"Knowing I like sex?"

"Knowing how much like him you are," her mother pointed out.

"Well, I would say I would hope I'm like you, too. I know all my friends get the icks when their parents get affectionate, but you should be having great sex. I want to have great sex when I'm your age. You and Da love each other. That love is physical, too."

"My darling, I am talking about who your father was before he met me," her mother said.

Daisy suddenly wasn't sure she was ready for this conversation. "He was Da. Just without you. So I bet he was sad. A little lonely."

"Oh, loneliness was not his problem, child." Her mother sighed like she was remembering something.

Daisy was now certain she didn't want to know. And yet she asked the question. "What do you mean? Like he had friends?"

A wry smile crossed her mother's face. "My darling, he was friends with every waitress in the hot wings business. I'm not sure why hot wings in particular, but it was his thing. And I mean it. I'm pretty sure it was all of them. Like he was a rite of passage."

"My daddy was a ho?" Her brain couldn't grasp the concept. Her father was attractive, of course. But he…he was Da.

Her mother laughed. "I don't think we're supposed to use that word."

Daisy waved her off. "We all have a phase. I mean now we do. I didn't think like you did."

Her mom's head shook. "Oh, I didn't. I had a teen pregnancy phase and then a mourning phase and then I was in the hospital for a long time. Then I met your dad, who changed everything for me. But he did have a phase. A very long and storied one sweeping across two continents. I know you think you're a bad girl, Dais, but you got nothing on your da. And guess what—he turned out fine. Well, until today."

Guilt swamped her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come between the two of you."

Her mother's head shook. "I think we've been moving toward this moment for a long time. It was different when you were in college. Your father could keep fooling himself then."

"That I wasn't a…"

Her mother's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare use that word. It's kind of funny when it's him. But he would never think that word about a woman. He could pretend you weren't as active as you were."

And there was the shame. It wasn't something she normally felt. Her sex life felt normal to her. She'd gone a little crazy in college, but she'd settled a lot since then. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay pure."

Her mother sighed. "Daisy, this is a hard conversation."

"I don't understand why. If it had been Aidan having a good time, I doubt Da or you would be upset."

"I'm not upset at all, baby," her mother explained. "Please don't take my frustration with your father to mean I'm angry with you. I'm not. I'm so happy for you because I think you and Nate are going to be good together. And I don't care what you did in college as long as you were safe, and you seem to have been. I'm frustrated because your father can't look past his own issues to see it."

A sense of her own weariness hit. Nate liked her now, but what if he turned out to think like her father? "I like him. But I'm sure it won't last…"

"Why wouldn't it last?" her mom asked.

"Because it's me, Mom. Some guys might think I'm attractive for a while, but they usually go away. They think I'm high maintenance or something. I don't know. I've kind of gotten used to the idea I won't find anyone. Why do you think I want a career so badly? I'm pretty sure I'm not going to have a family." She didn't like to wallow, but she was feeling raw right now. "I mean, I'll be a great aunt to Aidan's kids and to my friends' kids. So I know it won't last because no guy wants to put up with me."

Her mother's face fell. "Baby, what made you think that? Daisy, you're a beautiful, smart, funny young woman. Everyone adores you."

"Really?" Daisy could hear the disbelief in her own tone. "It feels like they tolerate me most of the time. I'm merely Aidan's kid sister. Da has always been the one who supported me no matter what, and I know that's because I hid a lot from him. But now he's starting to see who I truly am, and he's got a problem with me. Nate will, too."

"Your father has some blinders on when it comes to you, sweetie. Like I said, it was inevitable they would come off at some point. The way he treats you has a lot to do with his past." Her mom sat back, considering her. "Your father's family was complicated. His mother, from what I can tell, was a hard woman. He didn't have a sister growing up. He only had a brother and a mom. His mother was bitter, to say the least, and so he took care of his brother."

"The one we don't talk about?" She'd always thought it odd since there were pictures of her mother's family—including her first husband and Daisy's half-sister, Madison. They were all gone now, but there was a place for Mom's family in their home. But nothing for her da's family. He'd taken them to Ireland, shown them around Dublin, and every now and then he would mention his brother. He would show them a building and say this was where he and Rory used to hide when the bullies would come for them. Or that's the church where his mum took them every single Sunday. But no real information beyond what they'd passed, and that was that.

Her mom nodded. "Because he betrayed your father in the worst way. Your dad put a lot of his soul into Rory, and it turned out so badly. He watched him die, would have been the one to pull the trigger if he'd been given the chance. He was trying to save me at the time."

Daisy felt her eyes go wide. Her parents seemed to have perfect lives. "Da's brother tried to hurt you?"

"Yes," her mother agreed. "You know your father and I met during an investigation, but what we don't talk about is the mission itself. He was investigating a man who turned out to be his own brother. It's a very long story. Serena did a good job with it. A Soldier is Forever ."

Now she felt her jaw drop. "The one where Amy works for the dude who stole a billionaire philanthropist's identity, and Leo has to romance her to get close only to discover it's his long-lost brother who is using the charity as a front for an arms dealership?"

Her mom winced. "Yup."

Daisy felt her stomach roll because she'd read the book. Several times. And not merely for the plot. "But that's the kinkiest one."

She'd never seen that shit-eating grin on her mother's face before. "Like I said, she did an excellent job with it."

"I know I said I thought it was awesome you and Da still do those things, but I'm a little disturbed right now."

Her mother pointed her way like Daisy had made her point. "Exactly how your father is feeling. All I'm trying to say is that your father loves you, and he's doing the best he can."

"My father doesn't know me, and I'm not sure he wants to." Daisy sat back. "I'm very tired of pretending to be something I'm not. I hide a lot of myself because I know I can never compete with Aidan."

Her mother leaned in. "You don't have to compete with your brother. There's no competition. This is a family not a race. I need you to understand I see you, Daisy. I see who you are, and I'm very proud of the young woman you've become. You don't have to be a doctor to be a good person. And I'm happy you've explored the world. Your father is worried the world will hurt you. I happen to know it will happen whether we protect you or not. That's the way life is, my baby. It's how we react to the hurt that matters, and you get up every single time. That's what your dad isn't taking into account. He's so busy trying to pretend you're perfect he doesn't see how gloriously beautiful your imperfections are. Perfect is boring and it's not real. I'm going to tell you something I won't admit to anyone else. I'm worried about Aidan. I'm worried if this thing with Tristan doesn't work out it will break him because he's never had a damn doubt in his life. But you, my sweet girl, have had all of them, and you keep going. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not the strong one. You're more than strong. You sway. It's the most important thing you can learn to do. To not let the bad times break you. You bend in the storm and you survive, and when the sun shines again, you are stronger than you were before." Her mother reached out and put a hand over hers. "I don't worry about you because you are a tree that sways. One day when you have children those magnificent branches you're growing will protect them from the worst of the storms until they've learned how to be like their mother."

Like she had.

Tears pierced her eyes because the words were a balm to her soul. "You're really okay with me trying this thing with Nate?"

"Of course I'm okay with it. You fell for a boy. Baby, I did that, too, and it was the best decision of my life. And no matter what your da says, it was fast and furious, and I was scared out of my mind," her mother said. "This is when you need to be Daisy O'Donnell. Toss the fear out and do what you need to do."

She wanted to do nothing more. "And if it all goes wrong?"

A smile crossed her mother's face. "Then you'll get up off the floor, dust yourself off, and do what you do magnificently. You'll try again. You'll do it with a whole heart because nothing can break you. I'll handle your father."

"I think it's going to be harder than it sounds." Nate stood in the doorway, another tray in his hands. "Sorry to interrupt but Mum is cooking up a storm, and she asked me to bring these out to you. I think Liam doesn't want anyone around his daughter, but he has to see she needs someone. I'm not going to apologize for what happened between me and Daisy, but I will tell you I'm sorry it's caused a riff."

"Nathan." Her mother stood and held her arms open. "I'm happy you're here. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was distracted. Of course that's not entirely my fault. You didn't come by the house when you got into town."

He shrugged. "Well, if I had, things might not have gone the way they did."

"Oh, do you mean I wouldn't have tried to seduce you?" Somehow the minute he was in her presence she felt less guilty, less worried. Being around Nate made her feel more like herself. He centered her and allowed her to be who she truly was. "Because I still would have. I just might have put on a better disguise."

Her mother chuckled, but her cheeks were stained pink. "I don't know if a disguise would work, sweetie. I'm afraid the kink version of a masquerade is like everything else—just play. I'm glad you had fun. I know it's been frustrating for you."

Beyond frustrating, but mostly because she'd been looking for something real.

Nate set the tray on the table. There were two beers on the tray along with cookies and more sandwiches. "Mum hasn't been able to get in touch with Dad. Any idea what Liam's planning?"

"My husband is planning on saving his daughter," her mother explained. "I believe he's going to try to find a way to get rid of the head of the cartel by starting a war. Yeah. I wish I still didn't find that sexy."

"Mum is worried," Nate said.

"Am not." Steph Carter stepped out with a bowl of what looked like fruit salad. "I would like updates, but I think this could be good for Brody. He's been missing his old job."

"Well, I'm glad Liam's not alone. He'll be a good influence on Li. Brody is excellent at talking an unreasonable person down," Avery said as she looked over the now expansive spread on the table. "You have made enough to feed a small army."

Steph shook her head. "Nope. I'm hoping I made enough. My boy can eat."

Daisy looked over, and Nate already had a plate piled high with food. Like more food than she could have imagined.

He flushed and started to put his plate down.

Nothing had changed. She was still all in with this man. And her mother was right. If the cat was out of the bag, then she was going to be herself. She picked up a cookie and moved over, placing herself right on his lap, her arm going around his shoulders.

Nate's lips curled up as she put the cookie to them, and he ate it up in one bite, gently nipping at her fingers. She lowered her mouth to his.

"Oh, I… Well, we should probably get used to it since we're stuck here for a couple of days," Steph said.

Her mother chuckled. "It's kind of nice to be around young love." There was a pause. "Daisy, we are still here. We do not need to see that."

It was just a little tongue. "We're in a club, Mom."

"A club that is not open," her mother replied primly.

Her cell went off again. Another text. This one from Hunter McKay.

Hey, Dais, hope to see you at play night next weekend .

Maybe her da could fix all of this before next weekend. It would be fun to show off her gorgeous Dom. It would be awesome to try to find some normalcy.

"How about we have a nice tea?" Steph said. "Daisy, tell me all about what you've been doing lately. It's been so long."

Well, mostly the last few days she'd been doing her son. But she probably shouldn't say that.

Nate snorted and kissed her cheek, like he knew what she'd been thinking. "Be a good girl, love," he whispered as she moved off his lap.

She could be his good girl. And his bad girl. As long as she was his girl. "Well, I've been thinking about my future career. I'm still not sure I gave private investigation a real chance."

Her mother groaned and so did Nate. But they were both smiling.

Daisy let herself smile, too. She could win her da back. She just knew she could.