Chapter Seven

Maybe he hadn't heard her.

Half an hour later, Daisy was still wondering about those three words she'd said right before the world had exploded.

Nate had carried her up to his desk and set her down, pointing at the chair, telling her in that super Dommy way of his to have a seat.

His boss, Tessa Hawthorne, had ordered him into her office to check his arm and get a report on what had happened. He'd told Daisy to not move a muscle until he got back. He'd been incredibly bossy, and she wished it didn't do something for her.

But then he'd taken a really long time and she needed to see her da, who was probably looking for her, so she'd left him a note and come back upstairs.

After all, she was supposed to report for her job. The phones weren't going to answer themselves.

"Holy crap, Dais. Are you okay?" Devi Taggart walked out of her mom's office. She was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, her red hair in a ponytail. It let Daisy know Devi had likely taken the day off. Devi had a degree in fashion design and was currently interviewing for jobs with big design houses across the country. Until then she was working at Top as a server. "I had breakfast with my mom and I thought I would stop by and say hi to you, but then the whole place went into lock-down and my mom told me not to leave the office."

Daisy stared at her friend. She and Devi and Brianna had grown up together. Her girl gang. She knew them well, and there was something Devi wasn't saying. "You wanted to say hi? Or you heard rumors about last night?"

"Okay, I might have heard something about you going to the masquerade party," Devi admitted .

"And?"

Devi's ponytail shook. "Girl, why are we talking about this when you were apparently just shot at? Are you okay? You didn't get hit?"

"No, and we can't be certain they were shooting at me. It could have been regular, normal street violence." Naturally everyone pointed fingers her way. It wasn't like no one ever got randomly shot at in Dallas. That was a normal Tuesday in Deep Ellum.

"Oh, I think we can definitely say they were shooting at you." MaeBe Hawthorne's head popped up over the walls of her cubicle. Mae was a super-cute thirtysomething with a pair of adorable moppets and a husband who worked in the investigative unit. MaeBe had been in the cybersecurity unit for years. "I pulled the plates, and it didn't take me long to trace that sucker back to a known cartel assassin. I've been on the Dark Web since your dad went nuclear yesterday."

"In the conference room, please." Ian Taggart was striding toward her followed by a couple of what she thought of as the old-school crew, including Devi's mom, Erin Taggart. "Liam, she's here. You can rescue her now."

Her father turned down the hall, his eyes lighting when he saw her. He rushed up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders as he studied her. "Daisy. What the hell is going on, girl? Tell me where the little bastard went. I'm going to send him back Down Under in pieces. I swear it. If he touched a hair on your head…"

Only her da would call a man who outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds of pure muscle and had a half a foot on him height wise a little bastard.

"I'm pretty sure it was her ass he touched," Uncle Ian quipped. "That was a warning slap, Daisy. You should be careful with Aussies. I'm surprised he let you roam around without him."

He was good at that. Sarcasm was fuel for the parental units. Most of the time she found it funny, but she had a da on the edge to deal with. "I'm fine. Nate saved me. He was just a wee bit overstimulated. He wanted to get me to safety as soon as possible, but see, I'm here and I'm perfectly fine."

Erin Taggart had been her father's partner since long before Daisy had been born. She had been the sister her father never had before, and she was usually good at calming him down. "Except for the bullets flying your way and the massive possessive Aussie you've attracted."

Not today. Nope, today her Aunt Erin had chosen violence.

"Possessive?" Her father's brow rose. "What the hell would he be possessive about?"

"Absolutely nothing. Nate was simply saving my brother from having to drive me in. I had to stay at Aidan's last night, and he and Carys had early calls at the hospital this morning. Nate was merely being kind. And then he went through something traumatic. It seems to have disturbed him." Nate had obviously forgotten how to use his words. Or maybe it was a function of his Australianness. He'd barked orders her way, and she could still feel that slap on her ass. He'd meant it. His hard palm had come down on her ass like a promise of retribution for future brattery.

"Is this how you're playing it, kid?" Uncle Ian asked, a brow raised over his blue eyes.

Of all the uncles in her world he was both the most tolerant and the one who saw through twelve feet of bullshit with ease. Still, there wasn't anything to see here. He was also the one who should know what happened at the club should stay at the club. "Playing? Not at all. I was explaining to my da that Nate is new to all the crazy stuff that can happen around here. It takes some getting used to. Not everyone handles things with the cool calm we do."

"He was a bloody commando, Daisy," her da pointed out, also proving he was not in the cool and calm "we" she'd talked about.

Men could be emotional creatures. "I'm sure he's excellent on a battlefield, but traffic is a whole other story. It can be brutal, Da. We have to make allowances."

Devi stood there looking at her, shaking her head. "This might be the Daisiest thing you've ever done."

Aunt Erin leaned against the doorjamb next to her not so mini me. "Nah, calling Liam in the middle of a gunfight and asking him if he's had breakfast this morning before mentioning the whole ‘we're being shot at' thing—that's the Daisiest thing she's done today."

"Well, he gets cranky if he doesn't have his breakfast." Her aunt should know that, and when had they started using her name as an adjective? Maybe she should stuff a couple of bangers down her da's throat. He was better when he wasn't hangry.

"My darling girl was being her sweet self and trying to look out for her old man, but I think Nathan has a few things to answer for," her da proclaimed. "He seems to have a mistaken impression of how we handle clients at this company. He's a McKay-Taggart bodyguard, and the minute he agreed to take her to work, she became his client. I'm going to talk to Tessa about her training protocols."

"Oh, I think he's treating her exactly like a client," Uncle Ian said under his breath.

"Hypocrite." Aunt Erin managed to say the word on a cough.

Daisy wasn't sure what was going on, but she needed to get the older generation off this particular topic as quickly as possible. "I am not Nate's client. We're coworkers."

"That's right," her da said with a firm nod. "There's no way I'm letting that youngster anywhere close to my Daisy. He doesn't have the right experience, and it's obvious to me he's got some hormones to deal with. We've got a proper guard for you. A married, stable man."

"Mae, I got your email. Brighton's on his way in," Uncle Ian said, stopping in front of Mae's desk. "Alex is downstairs dealing with the uniforms. Call down and give them a plate. I'm sure the feds will be here soon. It's going to be a fun day."

"Devi, love, would you run downstairs and ask Brian to join us in the conference room?" her da asked. "And bring Tessa up, too. We need a twenty-four-seven watch on Daisy. We might need to bring in some more people. Ian, I'm going to move her to a safe house."

That sounded terrible. "I don't need a safe house. I want to stay at my place."

Her father's head shook. "Not happening. I'll be honest, I'm thinking about shipping you straight to Damon. They can watch you at The Garden."

"Hey, Ian," a masculine voice called out. "I was hoping to talk to you this morning."

Liam sighed in obvious relief as Brian Langton walked in, saving Devi the trip downstairs. "Thank the heavens. Brian, let's go to my office and we'll talk about what we need to keep my Daisy safe."

Langton was in his mid-forties, and he was about as basic as a guy his age got. He had a seemingly never-ending supply of khakis and polo shirts, all in neutral colors. He turned to her father, his face falling as though this was exactly the situation he'd been trying to avoid. "I was… I was… Damn it. Liam, I'm not taking the assignment." He looked Daisy's way, an apologetic expression on his face. "It's nothing against you, Daisy. You're a very nice young lady, but I have three kids. My wife is a stay-at-home mom and honestly, the insurance we have isn't enough if… Well, if the inevitable happens."

What was he trying to say? "What does insurance have to do with it? And what's inevitable?"

Devi leaned in, whispering. "I think he thinks he's going to die."

Brian frowned and turned to Ian. "Look, boss, I like my job, but I like my life more. Daisy O'Donnell is trouble. Send me to protect like a mobster or something. Anyone but her."

Rude. No one had ever died around her. Well, there had been one time, but it hadn't been her fault.

Her father stepped up to her side, his eyes narrow. "It's good to know that now, ain't it? I'll protect her myself. I'll have us on a plane to London in no time. We'll hole up at The Garden, you and me and your mum."

"For how long?" Aunt Erin asked. "Because I don't know if you're aware, but the wheels of the American justice system can grind slowly, my friend. Should I pack up your house? Let Serena know she's losing her assistant?"

Her mother loved her job. She ran the business portion of Serena Dean-Miles's publishing company. It only published Serena's books, but there was a lot of work to do. And the conference season was about to start.

"Of course we're not going to England." She wasn't getting hauled out of the country. This whole thing was spiraling out of control. "Da, we need to be reasonable about this."

Her father's jaw went stubborn, his emerald eyes as hard as stone. "You just got shot at, girl. Don't you think for a second I'm going to be reasonable about that. And if our bodyguards ain't up to the task, then I'll find me own. I'm sure Damon's got some good people."

"Li, come on," Ian said with a long sigh. "I know you're worried, but we need to stay calm."

"Stay calm? What would you do if your girls were being shot at?" her da asked.

Ian shrugged. "Think it was Tuesday and tell them to duck."

"My sweet Daisy don't play dangerous games." Sometimes her da made her sound boring.

"She doesn't have to. She's dangerous simply walking down the street," Brian said.

"Is there a reason you're still here, Brian?" Uncle Ian asked in a tone that had the man slipping away.

It was for the best, but now she needed to figure out how to convince her father not to haul them all off the continent. "I understand this is scary for you, Da, but we need to be reasonable. Uncle Ian is right, and you know what? I had a brilliant idea. Maybe I should help the twins for a while." It could be her new career. "I'm sure the team needs someone to like take notes and get lattes and stuff. No one would be worried if I was hanging out with that crowd."

She didn't say CIA team because they weren't supposed to use those words. But the idea played around in her head now. Maybe the reason she hadn't found anything she was good at yet was because she hadn't considered espionage.

Uncle Ian had gone a bit pale. "Uh, I don't think we have any openings for interns, Daisy."

Her father looked like he was going to have a stroke. "You are absolutely not working for the bloody Agency."

"Da," she said on a gasp. "We're not supposed to say that."

Her da's jaw tightened. "Listen to me, girl. You are going to get on a plane for London. We'll leave as soon as your mother gets here."

"She has a bodyguard and she's not going to London, so let's stop panicking," a deep voice said. "And Daisy, you're absolutely not going to become a spy. While I'm sure you would be great at it, the world would collapse. And you are not where I left you. That's twenty. Do you want it now or later?"

Devi gasped and put a hand on Daisy's elbow. "Holy crap. That's Nate Carter?"

Nate. It had in fact been Nate. He was standing in the middle of the hallway in front of her Aunt Erin's office with a bandage around his big bicep and a fierce expression on his face.

He towered over everyone. He even had a couple of inches on her Uncle Ian, and Nate was so masculine and perfect it made her heart skip a beat. Beyond that she knew how tender the man could be, but he didn't look tender now. He looked pissed, and his growly persona did something for her, too. But she had to remember he wasn't hers. She wasn't sure why he was talking in an incredibly possessive way. Probably because the events of the morning were still affecting his masculine sensibilities.

"Yes, that's him, Devi, and I appreciate everything he did for me this morning but I think we'll handle it from here." Had he threatened to spank her in front of her father? And uncle and aunt and best friend? And pretty much everyone since they were all watching now. All eyes were on her and the scene starting to play out. She had to bring this under control.

"You're going to dismiss me?" Nate asked the question as though he wasn't worried about her answer, merely curious.

"Yes, she is," her father announced. "Your poor driving nearly got my Daisy killed. I'm going to talk to Tessa about testing your driving skills. This ain't the outback, son."

"No, it's far more dangerous, and I am not your son," Nate replied steadily. "Nor are you my uncle. There's not a bit of blood between us, Liam O'Donnell, and you should remember that."

Also rude. There was a lot of rudeness running around this morning.

Erin sighed and looked at her daughter. "This is way too much testosterone for this time of day. Devi, you know something I don't?"

Devi leaned in and whispered to her mom. Daisy would have tried to stop that, but Nate was staring at her like he was going to spank her here and now if she didn't comply. Which was ridiculous. Or she was letting her romantic dreams run wild the way she sometimes did. She was Daisy, the one with her head in the clouds. Daisy, the one with all the big dreams, the butterfly flitting from job to job with nothing to show for it.

"You listen here," her da began. "I don't know what you think you're doing, Carter, but you're not getting close to my daughter. She's a good girl, and she doesn't have any idea how to handle the likes of you."

"She handles me fine." Nate seemed determined to blow up her whole world.

"What da fuck is that supposed to mean?" Her da practically shouted the question.

Naturally Aunt Charlotte showed up with a bag of microwave popcorn. "Has Liam figured out what's going on between Daisy and Nate?"

How would her aunt know what was going on? Nate didn't even know.

Or did he? She'd said the words out loud, but had he really heard them? They'd probably been lost in all the adrenaline and violence and gunshots.

He'd been shot. Sure it had turned out to be fine, but he could have been killed. He could have died and it would have been her fault. All her fault because she was so dumb.

"Did you know, Dais?" Nate asked, completely ignoring the rapt audience around them.

Her head was reeling. Maybe she wasn't handling the situation as well as she thought she was. Her heart was thudding a little and she was back in the moment when she'd realized someone was shooting at them. "I didn't know they would come after me."

A cartel. She had a cartel after her. As adventures went, it was a shitty one. And she'd lost her job and she would probably lose her home and her da was going to ship her off to Europe where she would very likely start a land war, and she would definitely not see Nate again.

She'd pushed it all down and it was bubbling back up, a torrential storm of anxiety.

"I don't think that's what he meant," Devi whispered.

"He needs to get back downstairs and leave my daughter alone," her da said. "I'll be having a talk with my son about his choice of roommates and who he's letting around his sister. I didn't work this hard to keep the men off her only to lose her to the first Aussie to walk through the door."

Nate completely ignored everyone but her. He walked past her father, staring down at her with a piercing gaze. "Did you know, Daisy? When you approached me last night, did you know who I was?"

"What the hell is he on about," her da started and then batted something away. "Don't throw fucking popcorn my way, Tag. This is serious."

"Did I know the six-foot-seven-inch dude with the Australian accent was Nathan Carter?" The walls were closing in around her. Nate was pushing her and it had been a terrible day, and he seemed ready to make it worse.

"Of course she knew you." Her da was unrelenting. "Do you think she would get into the car with a stranger?"

"I mean she's done it a couple of times." Devi wasn't helping.

She'd had reasons for that.

"I think he means in a biblical way, not an ‘I called an Uber' way," Uncle Ian snarked.

Nate moved into her space. "Did you know?"

She had to nod but she suddenly couldn't breathe. He was here and he was staring down at her and he knew. He knew what she'd done. They all would know she'd taken something from him. Something he likely wouldn't have shared had he known it was her. And then she'd gotten him shot. And no one wanted to protect her because she was trouble. But there was only one answer. "Yes."

"Then you've made your choice and you'll have to deal with it," he said in a tone that brooked no disobedience.

Her father said something about not laying a hand on her and her uncle said hands had totally already been lain and her aunt asked if she was okay. She wasn't. The world kind of went fuzzy and she felt a wash of utter defeat come over her system as her knees gave way.

Right before the darkness took her, Nate caught her, and she was in his arms as the world faded to black.

* * * *

Liam O'Donnell was going to be the worst father-in-law imaginable.

"You let my daughter down this minute, Nathan Carter." He followed Nate as he carried Daisy to the conference room.

"I'm not dropping my sub," Nate replied.

"No blood on the carpet, Liam O'Donnell," Charlotte Taggart said, pointing to Li. She moved in beside Nate. "Are you trying to push him over the edge?"

"Nope. I'm only being honest. It's a thing he should try." He was starting to wonder about the real reason none of the Doms at The Hideout would play with Daisy. He had a hunch and it had to do with her father. Maybe Aidan, too, and if he found out Aidan had been warning men off Daisy, they would have a long talk. "Devi, would you get some water for Daisy? Maybe put on a kettle."

"What would I put a kettle on?" Devi asked. "Also, do we have a kettle? And what would I put in it?"

Americans.

"I'll help her," Erin said. "Come on, sweetie. You can fill me in on what's happening and we'll get some tea started."

"We should call an ambulance," Liam declared as Nate walked into the conference room. "It's obvious she's been injured. She's probably got a concussion."

Nate was almost sure she was conscious again. She'd had a bit of a panic attack likely because she was about to have to face the music, and it was obvious she hadn't been forced to deal with consequences before. It would be different between them.

She'd had every chance to save herself. She could have continued to pretend like she wasn't Dee. He'd pushed and prodded her, getting a feel for who this woman really was. Anger hadn't spurred her to make a confession. When he'd told her the night was just okay, he'd seen the hurt on her face. Her own pain hadn't forced her to drop the act.

It had been his pain.

It was me.

Three words that would prove to be fateful for the little brat because he wasn't about to let her go now.

"She doesn't have a concussion." Nate settled himself into one of the big conference chairs. He cuddled her close and couldn't miss the way she curled against him. "She's got a big case of doesn't want to be here-itis."

And her lips quirked up slightly.

She was so much fucking trouble, and his dick did not care.

He was pretty sure his heart didn't either. Falling madly for his friend's sister hadn't been the plan, but he was going with it. He could have walked away if he thought she'd truly only wanted him for sex, but she'd clung to him. She'd wanted him as much for the personal connection they'd formed as the sexual one.

His father had told him sometimes a man's purpose wasn't a job. Sometimes it was keeping one gorgeous bombshell alive and happy.

"Nathan Carter, you're fired. Get your things and get the hell out of my office," her father said.

Daisy went slightly stiff in his arms.

Nate knew how to handle O'Donnell. "No."

Liam got red in the face. "What do you mean no?"

"I think he means he's not leaving." Ian Taggart was a bastard who obviously enjoyed a good show.

Well, he had to admit his baby knew how to play out a beauty of a scene. "I mean, you can fire me, but I'm not leaving Daisy. Tell me something, Liam. Was it you or Aidan who scared all the Doms off her at The Hideout?"

Devi walked in with a pitcher of water, and her eyes went wide. "Scared off the Doms? No one would do that. The club is a place where we can be honest. You don't understand. We have rules, and no one is going to shame anyone or scare them off. Daisy just… She hasn't had any luck."

"Sure, the stunningly gorgeous submissive with an hourglass figure who looks like she'll melt in your fucking mouth can't find a guy to top her for a night," Nate shot back.

Daisy's eyes fluttered open. "You think I'm gorgeous?"

Her father had done her no favors. "Of course you're gorgeous. I thought you were gorgeous with a silly mask on your face. Taking it off didn't make you any less stunning, love."

"What the hell are you on about?" Liam stood, the conference table between them. "Daisy, get up. We're leaving and we won't come back until your uncle gets rid of the dead weight."

"You know now that I think about it, it is kind of weird," Devi said. "When we go out to clubs in the city, Daisy is always the one who gets hit on. Like dance clubs or bars."

"My Daisy doesn't go to clubs or bars," her father insisted. "The only reason she goes to The Hideout is to be around her friends. She doesn't play there. Daisy is a good girl."

"And my Devi isn't?" Erin was back, staring at her long-term partner.

Liam froze. "I didn't say that, Erin. "

"No, you said Daisy doesn't go to clubs because she's a good girl." Erin's tone had gone cold. "Devi does go to clubs. She dances and parties and has fun because she's young and she gets to do that. So I'll ask again, partner, are you slut shaming my daughter?"

"Mom, I'm not… I mean the word slut is really triggering," Devi said with a frown.

"Devi, darling, you know I adore you." Liam O'Donnell seemed to realize the trap he was in. "Of course you're a good girl. But Daisy is very innocent."

Her father started going over all the ways Daisy was na?ve, just a sweet babe out in the woods.

Daisy looked up at him, shifting. "What did you mean I made my choice? Are you mad?"

"I'm not particularly happy you left me sleeping last night," he admitted. Then he looked at Liam, who was still arguing with the Taggart women. Charlotte had joined in. He totally deserved it. "Though I kind of understand. Is he always like this?"

Daisy nodded. "I don't think he likes who I actually am very much. I love him but he doesn't know me. But I want to know what you meant by I made my choice."

He should be plain with her and her father. "I mean you sought me out last night. You knew who I was and you chose me, and now you're stuck with me. You might decide to walk away after you're safe, but from this moment until the second they put the bastard in jail, you're mine. While I'm your bodyguard, you're going to be my sub. So take this time, Daisy. Enjoy it. See if it's something you want on a permanent basis."

She sat up, looking him right in the eyes. "Are you saying you want me?"

"I think I proved how much I want you last night. I know when you walked in the kitchen this morning, you brought the sunshine with you. Maybe it'll all go to hell, but damn, I want the ride either way." He ran a thumb over her plump bottom lip. "Typhoon Daisy."

Big emerald eyes stared at him. Protect me eyes. Love me eyes. "You'll change your mind."

"I don't think so. Never felt this way in my life, and I'm going to trust it. So we know where I stand, and this is about you deciding what you're willing to risk," he replied.

"My father…"

He could put the fear to rest. "O'Donnell, you need to understand something here and now. You can't scare me off. You can' t pay me to leave her alone. You can't threaten me. Words won't work and neither will fists. You won't come between me and Daisy and if you try, well, there's a nice place in Australia where we can hide. You'll see her again in a couple of years."

Liam looked like he was about to have a stroke.

"Nathan, that's rude," Daisy said primly.

But he understood her father in a way she didn't. Her father saw him as a threat. When her dad calmed down and realized he would take care of her, they could have a good relationship. Until then, he would have to push the man. Her mum would be an entirely different story. "It's also true. You made your choice when you slept with me last night. You thought you could sneak in my bed and slip back out again. Well, that isn't how it's going to work."

Ian groaned, his head hitting his hand. "Fucking Aussies."

"You listen and you listen good, boyo," Liam began.

"Liam, what is going on?" The only person in the world whose authority Liam O'Donnell listened to walked in. Avery O'Donnell looked like she'd practically run here. She wore yoga pants and a T-shirt, her hair in a messy bun. "Daisy…" She stared at them for a moment. "Daisy, are you all right? Why are you sitting on Nathan's lap?"

"Because he's holding her bloody hostage, that's why," Liam declared. "We need to call Brody and Steph because their boy is running wild, and I won't have him drag our sweet Daisy down."

Avery's eyes were wide. "I didn't even know they talked. What is going on?"

He thought he was going to have to explain when Daisy suddenly draped an arm around his neck and her backside wiggled over his cock as she went all bouncy and bubbly.

His suddenly hard as a bloody rock cock.

"Mom, I went to the masquerade party last night at The Hideout even though Aidan told me I shouldn't, and I met Nate and we had the best sex. I thought he wouldn't know it was me, but apparently a small mask isn't much of a disguise. I will admit by the end of the night, the mask was the only thing I was wearing, and that might have been my mistake. I should have worn a wig or something maybe. Anyway, now he says I'm his sub and I'm super happy, but I think Da is going to be difficult and I don't understand it because he always says I need a keeper and here he is. Also, Nate thinks Da has scared away all the Doms at The Hideout so I didn't have anyone to play with, but Da wouldn't do that to me, right? Also, the cartel person sent someone to kill me but Nate saved me, and then Da pissed off Aunt Erin by saying Devi isn't a good girl but she is. Devi is the best. I think Da needs some time. Oh, and Nate told Da if he tries to come between us he'll kidnap me and take me to Australia, and I thought it was the sexiest thing I've ever heard."

Avery stood there for a moment as though she needed time to process.

"Do you need some tea?" Erin asked.

"I think she needs some therapy," Charlotte quipped. "Or some vodka."

"I am so confused. Perhaps my family should regroup and find a quiet place to have this discussion," Avery said.

Ian stood. "I'm sorry, Avery. That's going to have to wait because our friends are here. Derek, thanks for coming. How bad is it?"

Derek Brighton was a handsome man who'd made his way to the high ranks of the Dallas Police Department. "Well, as I walked in MaeBe told me to let you know she found a bounty on Daisy's head on the Dark Web. She's running it down now. I think we need to talk about witness protection."

Daisy went stiff again.

And Liam O'Donnell finally sat down.

Trouble, it seemed, might just be the thing to bring them all together.