Chapter Two

"Let me get this straight," Liam O'Donnell began, sitting in the big conference room at his place of business. "I want to make sure I've got everything down."

Daisy O'Donnell had spent her whole life coming up to this building where her da worked. She'd played with her brother in the daycare, and later she'd done her homework in her da's office while she waited for him to drive her home. She knew this building like the back of her hand. It was practically her second home.

So why did it feel so weird to be sitting in the conference room? It was probably the fact that she wasn't alone with her da. Her mother was up here, too, looking worried and patting her da's hand from time to time. The big boss, Ian Taggart, and his wife, Charlotte, were at the head of the table, along with Mitch Bradford. She wasn't sure why John's dad was here, but he was a lawyer.

She didn't need a lawyer. Did she?

"I was helping out a client," she began.

"Uhm, Mr. Taggart, I would like to make it clear we didn't hire Daisy as a private investigator." Her bosses were here, too. Harlow and Ruby sat at the opposite end of the table, and Harlow seemed to be the one who wanted to set the record straight.

"She was supposed to answer the phones." Ruby frowned her way.

She was going to have to soothe her bosses. Things had done what they so often did in Daisy's life. They had gone awry.

To top things off, her brother was somewhere in the building. Aidan had been the one to drive her up, and he'd told her he needed to go talk to his newest roommate.

Nathan Carter. Big, gorgeous Nathan Carter, who'd barely known she'd existed past being his friend's obnoxious sister .

She hadn't seen Nate in years. Was he still stunning? He probably had a girlfriend.

"Daisy?" Her mother's voice brought her out of her reverie. "Uncle Ian asked you a question."

Of all the grave faces around the table, it was her aunt and uncle who broke the mold and looked highly amused.

"I asked how you went from answering the phones to taking down a drug cartel," Uncle Ian said, his lips curling up. He leaned in like he was ready for this story.

Her da made a sound and held his heart like it was breaking. "My poor girl."

Her mother got up and moved to the big table where there were drinks and snacks laid out. "I'm going to make you some tea."

"He's going to need something stronger," Aunt Charlotte said. "I brought out the good whiskey."

"Oh, you know what…" Daisy began, but then the look from her sweet mother could have frozen lava in its tracks. Well, she'd had a rough twenty-four hours, too. Still, when her mom looked like that it was best to follow her lead. And she could hit the bar at The Hideout later on. "Tea sounds great. Now, before I tell the story you should know I took every precaution."

"Which ones?" Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing. "Like the one where you pushed in the security code and then didn't ask it to set?"

"There was a green light." It had been an honest mistake. "And I did lock the doors."

"Yeah, well, someone broke in and we didn't get a notification because the light should have been red," Harlow pointed out. "Now Dad Two thinks we should move the whole office. Well, he thinks we should shut it down. Also, I'm still trying to figure out how he found me at the café. I was almost late for my meeting because I was dealing with my dad. Mr. Taggart, do you have like a wand or something? I think my dad LoJacked me."

"I do, actually." Uncle Ian had the biggest smile on his face.

Maybe telling Chase Dawson they were getting sandwiches at a café wasn't the smartest thing. She hadn't told him the name of the café. Weren't there like a hundred in Dallas? "I'm sorry. I thought green meant it was set."

"You totally got the answering machine right," Harlow said.

Daisy sat up straighter. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want to miss a single message. "

"Yes," Ruby agreed. "It was how we knew you were being held by the police as a material witness to federal crimes."

"Just drink." Her mom put the whiskey in her da's hand very quickly.

And he drained it.

Yep, she was driving her sweet da to drink.

"I still don't quite understand what happened," Aunt Charlotte said.

She'd gone over this again and again in the last twenty-four hours. "So the woman came in and she's getting married to this guy but she thinks her fiancé is cheating on her because once a month he goes to this building downtown. She's followed him before but she's never gone in, and she said when he would come out hours later he looked super satisfied. Like when they had sex."

"I'm so glad she can expertly read facial expressions." Uncle Ian looked like he was ready to giggle.

They always underestimated the younger generation. They had good instincts, too, though not in this case. "Anyway, so I thought he probably wasn't cheating because she seemed sweet, you know. Like if some guy's cheating on her then we're all in trouble."

"Yes, we are all in trouble," Harlow agreed.

"So I thought we would go down and maybe he was planning a surprise for their wedding," Daisy explained.

Her da shook his head as her mom passed him another glass. "My poor, sweet, na?ve girl."

She wasn't na?ve. "Well, he wasn't cheating. Turns out he was checking on a shipment from his employer."

"A shipment of what, Daisy?" Ruby asked.

As a boss, she was going to be the unrelenting one. "At first I thought it was maybe, like, powder."

She could have sworn her da had tears in his eyes. "She wouldn't know what cocaine is, much less what it looks like. My god, girl, you could have been killed."

"I mostly kept my distance, but then my client was angry and she rushed out of the spot where we were hiding," Daisy continued.

"You went into the building?" her da asked, horror evident in his tone.

"Of course. How else would I have gotten the pictures of her fiancé meeting with the head of the cartel? They were good pictures, too. Who says cell phones can't take excellent pictures? When I realized this was like my first case, I even thought to get a selfie with the drug lord in the background." It had been an excellent picture. "But the police made me take it down. I was getting good reach and everything."

Now her uncle simply laughed his ass off. "She put it on Instagram."

"You looked good, sweetie," Aunt Charlotte said. "You got a great angle."

"Do not encourage her." Her mother was not amused.

"Like I said, I kind of thought it was all okay until Bri texted me. She told me she thought it was probably cocaine and I should get out of there before the cartel people killed me." Her friends always looked out for her. She'd gotten several you're about to die texts, and Cooper McKay had shown up with her brother in tow just in time to watch her get carted off by the police.

Law and Order made interrogations look glamourous. They had kept her there for hours, and the snacks had been terrible.

"It's me fault," her da was saying. "I should never have let her out in the world alone."

He didn't understand. "Like I said, Da, I wasn't alone. The client was with me. And she got upset and yelled, and that was how the people figured out we were hiding. I got into the building through a window they left open. I didn't think I could wriggle through, but I totally did. I think I'm truly cut out for this line of work."

"I do, too, kiddo," Uncle Ian said.

It was good to know at least one person believed in her.

Mitch Bradford had been quiet the whole time, but he leaned forward now. "Ian, this is serious. I don't want to think about what would have happened if she hadn't posted a dumbass pic to social media. Her friends figured out where she was and called the police immediately."

"Oh, I had a locator on. It can help with engagement," she explained.

Which Ian thought was hysterical, but her da simply went even paler. Not even Irishmen should be able to go so white.

"We're all thankful for the quick thinking of her friends." Her mother sat beside her father, and she'd poured her own whiskey. "The question is what happens now? Was everyone arrested? Is my daughter in trouble?"

Mitch sat back. "Daisy is not in any trouble with the police. She is a material witness, however. Everyone was arrested, and they're being held for questioning right now. The problem is if they make bail, Daisy is technically the only witness they can count on."

"But the client was with me," Daisy argued. She'd been the one to cause all the trouble when she'd revealed their hiding spot because she was pissed at her boyfriend .

She'd gone from crying because he might be cheating to yelling because he was obviously withholding funds from his secret job.

"Heidi Groverson is now claiming she believes her boyfriend when he says he got sent to the address to deliver a lunch order and had nothing to do with the operation ongoing there," Mitch explained.

"So she's lying," her da accused.

"I think she's trying to protect her boyfriend," Ruby added. "I'm already working on it. Ronnie Wilson is registered with a company called Meals To You. They're a group of gig workers who run food. I think I might be able to prove it's also a front for moving drugs. According to Daisy's account, Ronnie went once a month. I think he's likely the go-between for the cartel and their lower-level dealers."

So she'd busted up a dangerous drug ring on her very first case. "We can take them all down."

"Very likely," Mitch agreed. "But first you have to go to trial. With Heidi changing her story, you're the star witness."

"A cartel is going to want to kill me darling girl." Her da always sounded more Irish when he was emotional. He'd been born in Dublin but had lived most of his adult life right here in Dallas. Not that his accent showed the time he'd spent here. He was a handsome man with green eyes and dark hair. So many women would look his way even now, but he only ever seemed to see her mother.

She wanted the kind of love her parents had. Deep and true. Steadfast.

"We're not going to let someone kill Daisy," her uncle said. Ian Taggart wasn't related to her by blood. Or rather not the kind that normally made a family. She'd heard the stories. The men and women of McKay-Taggart had bled for each other over the years, and they'd formed bonds as tight as any family. It meant she had a ton of overly protective aunties and uncles. One of them seemed to finally be getting serious. "Ruby, I would appreciate you sharing anything you find out with us, but know we're going to work this from our end, too, and we'll obviously handle getting her a bodyguard."

Ruby seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Taggart."

"Yes, my dad will likely chill if he knows you're handling it." There was a bitterness to Harlow's words. Maybe her relationship with her dad was worse than she'd thought.

Daisy could work on that. She was good with parental units. Perhaps Mr. Dawson simply needed to see how competent his daughter was. If anyone knew how to handle an overly protective father, it was her. She was already thinking of ways to help out her boss.

"She should probably move home for the time being," her uncle said.

She loved her parents, but the thought of leaving her house made her sad. And there was the issue of her employment. She knew he wasn't talking about simply sleeping in her old bed at night. Her da would go for the full lock-down. "I can't. I have to work."

"About that," Ruby began.

Daisy felt tears well. Not again. She'd tried so hard. She'd been good at it. Mostly. Sort of good. She could be better, but she needed time. "But I just started."

Harlow's head shook. "Sorry, man. It was a hell of a first day, so it needs to be your last day."

Tears pierced her eyes. She'd worked so hard to afford the down payment on her ramshackle little home. "But I won't be able to afford my house."

She expected her da to tell her to move back in, but he reached out and put a hand over hers.

"Don't worry, me darlin'. You'll come to work right here. We'll find you a place," her da promised.

"I'm getting the Scotch, babe." Aunt Charlotte was on her feet in an instant.

Uncle Ian had gone pale, and a distant look hit his eyes. Like he'd gone someplace else.

It was weird. She often saw that look in men's eyes.

But her natural positivity was already taking over. This could be good. Maybe she was too extra for what was essentially a two-person show. Here at McKay-Taggart she would be joining the big time. "I can help you, Da."

Now her da paled. "Or you can work at reception. Or bookkeeping. We'll find you a place. Don't worry about it."

And she would work her way up.

It would be okay. Although what had they said? "What did you mean I need a bodyguard?"

* * * *

Nate Carter had been working at McKay-Taggart for exactly one week, and he was fitting in well. It was good to be around the men and women of the bodyguard unit, good to feel this brotherhood thing they had going.

It wasn't the lightning bolt he wanted, but it was enough for now .

He was about to finish up his first week on the job, and tonight was his first night at The Hideout. He planned to spend his weekend settling into his new space.

"Hey, I thought I'd come down and hang with you while my sister is being interrogated for her latest adventure." Aidan O'Donnell strode up to the desk Nate had been assigned. "It's a doozy."

He'd heard a lot about the ball of chaos known as Daisy O'Donnell. "What's she up to this time?"

She was a mystery. He hadn't seen a picture of her since he didn't do social media, and Aidan was packing up to move in with his fiancée, so his part of the house was looking pretty sparse. He hadn't seen his other roommates yet since Cooper McKay and Tristan Dean-Miles were… He had no idea where they were since it was classified.

He'd worked with both young men on a CIA op in Sydney a few months back, so he was certain he could hang with the guys. Though everyone had thought Tristan would be moving out with Aidan since they'd been involved with Carys Taggart since they were kids. For reasons he didn't understand, Aidan was marrying Carys in a few short weeks, and Tristan was out of the relationship.

It was a lot of drama, but they were all blokes so they dealt with it by drinking beer and not talking about anything but sports.

"So my sister recently took a job as a receptionist for a private investigation firm." Aidan sat in the chair across from Nate's assigned desk. He was in the back of the floor, fairly close to the boss's office. He and Aidan had fallen back into an easy friendship. Like the years between them hadn't mattered at all. It was comforting to be around Aidan.

"I thought she was going into real estate." He'd heard many stories of the chaos that seemed to follow Aidan's baby sister. She was a complete mess, but it was obvious her brother adored her.

"Yeah, real estate did not work out. She passed the test and everything, but then she put the wrong keys in all the lockboxes they use and mistakenly put in some list prices she said seemed more in line with the neighborhood." Aidan shook his head. "She lives in her own world."

She sounded like a hoot. "So now she's a receptionist. How much trouble could she get into there?"

Aidan's eyes went wide. "She managed to uncover a cocaine distribution organization."

Nate felt his jaw drop. "She did what? How? How does answering the phone lead to exposing criminals?"

Broad shoulders shrugged. "I have no idea how she does it. She should have a patent or something. Anyway, to hear her describe it there was a client looking for her cheating boyfriend and the new bosses were out for lunch, so she took the case."

"But she was the receptionist."

"My sister has a confidence only Hollywood stars have. The men, I mean. Daisy plows through life never understanding how dangerous the world can be, probably because our da chased after her making sure she never had to deal with anything. Don't get me wrong. My sister is a wonderful woman. She would do anything for a friend. She'll literally give you the shirt off her back. She did it one time when this woman she met had been dumped by her boyfriend at the lake and he'd taken off with her clothes. She was in a bikini and crying. Daisy told the girl she spends half her life in fet wear, so walking around in her bra wasn't a problem."

Nate tried to wrap his head around the idea. "She'd just met the girl?"

"Yup, and she managed to find the girl a ride home and talk her parents down from grounding her because she wasn't supposed to be out late," Aidan explained. "All while wearing short shorts and a pushup bra."

He was rapidly becoming fascinated with the idea of Daisy. "So did she get hurt? When she exposed the cartel? I assume she called the police."

"No, she was too busy not understanding what she was doing. She was taking a selfie memorializing her first ‘case' as a detective." Aidan used air quotes around the word case . "Her best friend caught it when she posted it on Instagram and Brianna called the police. Luckily she'd tagged her location. So now she's a material witness against a drug lord. Just another day in the life of Daisy O'Donnell. Not even her worst day."

"Is your dad freaking out?" Liam was famous for having a distorted view of his daughter. He claimed she was a saint most of the time. When he'd seen the man the last few years, Liam would always announce his Daisy was the sweetest, most perfect child in the world and Aidan… Aidan was a boy.

Aidan nodded. "Beyond freaking out. It's why I spent last night at Daisy's. Carys and I had to be with her because my da wouldn't let her stay alone. Daisy loves her little house. It's a dump, by the way, but she bought it for a song, and for some reason she's obsessed with living on her own. Though if the meeting goes the way I think it is going to, she'll be coming back to our place tonight."

"Why?" He didn't mind. In fact, he was curious. If she was anything like she was when she was a kid, she would be pleasant to be around. She used to tell him how smart she thought he was, how much she liked being around him. He'd only been a year older than she was, but he'd been so big physically the age difference seemed larger. "I thought we were going to the club. Isn't there a party tonight?"

"There is, and we wouldn't miss it. It's our annual masked ball." Aidan's lips curved up in a devilish grin. "It's the best night since everyone's in a mask and you can pretend to not know you're playing with the sub you've always wanted to play with. It's fun." He sat up. "I mean that in a watch the drama way. Not in an I participate way. Trust me. I know exactly what Carys will be wearing. But it's funny to watch the others fumble their way through. My cousin Lucas likes it because he can pretend he's sleeping with someone new. He has to pretend since he's gone through most of the available subs already. Seth will try to find Chloe Lodge because he wants her so bad, but he wants to pretend like he doesn't want her at all. Chloe will stay away because she's the smart one. I won't even go into what Kala and Coop would do. They won't be here because they're saving the world or something. But it will still be a crazy night."

He was looking forward to it. Not because he would play tonight. He intended to take it slow, to get into the groove of the club before looking for a play partner. He would put on his leathers and the mask Aidan supplied him with and sit in the lounge for most of the night. He might watch some scenes. "So what's Daisy doing while we're playing?"

"She usually sits in the locker room," Aidan explained. "She doesn't mind. She'll grab a bottle of wine from the lounge and pop some popcorn and watch bad reality shows on her tablet. You need a ride? I was planning on going home and grabbing my kit and Carys before picking up baby sis."

It seemed like Aidan had a lot on his hands. "I'll drive myself. No worries. So is she going to be hanging around the place for a bit? I take it you're worried about Daisy's safety. Is there a plan?"

"There's always a plan and it always goes awry. I think Da wants Brian Langton to shadow Daisy for a couple of weeks," Aidan explained. "They're friends, and he's married with a couple of kids so he's pretty sure Brian won't perv on her. Da will probably try to get her to move back home for a while, but my sister can be stubborn. We don't know a lot about the people she exposed, so we don't know how serious it is yet. If Daisy runs true, I would bet the head of the cartel will try to blow us all up."

Now some things made sense. "Brian's on assignment and doesn't get back in until Monday."

"So we've got Daisy watching this weekend. She'll probably spend most of it with Brianna at her parents' house. Having Brianna's dads around means mine won't freak out about her safety. And I've got a double shift this weekend, so you'll have the place to yourself." Aidan studied him for a moment. "You going to be okay on your own?"

He would have told anyone he would love being on his own, but he wasn't looking forward to the quiet. The quiet reminded him how alone he felt. But then he'd felt alone even when he was surrounded by a loving family. Even when he'd known he wasn't. "Yeah, I'll probably hang out at the club Saturday night, too, but otherwise I'll be chilling at home. Leave me a list of whatever I need to do."

"We're pretty low maintenance," Aidan replied. "Coop and Tristan are always on the road, and I work constantly. I have no idea how Carys is planning this wedding. Even with help from the moms, it's a lot. I'm lucky I know when to show up."

"You're going through with it?" Nate wasn't sure how to bring this up, wasn't sure he even should. It was weird to think of Carys and Aidan without Tristan. They were a threesome. Always had been. He'd thought they always would be. It wouldn't be the first time they'd put off the wedding because of Tristan's job.

A grim look came over his friend's face. "I'm going through with it no matter what this time. I'm not letting her down again. If Tristan's work is more important than our wife, then he's made his choice."

Somehow he thought there was more to the situation, but he didn't think he was the guy Aidan was going to talk to. "Well, I'll be there."

"Of course you will. You're one of my groomsmen." Aidan got a wistful smile on his face. "We'll go get our tuxes fitted next week. It'll be fun."

"You let me know and I'll be there." And he would be there tonight. Maybe he would even meet Daisy again. It would be fun to see how the pixie had grown up. She'd been an awkward child, all gangly and skinny, with braces and untamable hair.

She would remind him of his childhood. Remind him of when he thought he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

Maybe a friendship with her would be good for him. And apparently amusing since she was a ball of chaos.

Aidan glanced down at his watch. "They should be done soon. I'm going back upstairs. I bet I get to either babysit my sister or come back at five and pick her up. Either way, my father will lecture me on how it's my sacred duty to ensure no harm befalls Saint Daisy. The man's blinders are strong. See you at the club tonight."

He waved and then got back to work.

Tonight he would figure out if he could reconnect with a lifestyle he'd once loved.

Or he would sit and drink in the bar. Yeah, that was probably how his night would go.