The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) 📕

I shake myself out of the past. “No. And he’s probably as suspicious as you are about my motives. Honestly, I just feel protective towards Laurel. Emily’s brought out all these Daddy-Dom instincts in me and now I can’t turn them off.”

Theo chuckles. “You’re fucked.”

“Probably,” I agree.

“What’s the deal with Friday night? You bringing them to Blunts?”

This could get sticky.

“Rick’s having a play party. I invited them up for it.”

“Rick’s having a party in the middle of his fucking stalking?” Theo asks incredulously.

“To be fair, the party was planned before everything kicked off. I’m pulling in a ton of security.”

“Fucking witness protection won’t keep the guy safe in the middle of a party. Tell me you aren’t letting it go forward to draw out his stalker?”

It crossed my mind, but I’m not admitting that to Theo-the-cop.

“My partner is Rick’s body man for the party. I’d be okay with the party even if it was just Manny on Rick for the night, but I’ll be there and I’ve got another guy on it as well. It’s a play party so it’s not open to just anyone.”

“It’s a play party so there will be plenty of shit lying around that can be used as a weapon.”

True.

“You try convincing the guy not to live his life.”

“Nope, that’s your job. If you aren’t going to do it, then your job is to get me an invite.”

“No problem. It’ll be a plus one.”

“I’ll bring DirtyGurl since we’re supposed to be doing a scene. She can keep Emily company while you and I keep an eye on things.”

“Works for me.”

He gives me the side-eye.

“If you’re going to keep taking your bloody eyes off the road, at least let me drive,” I say mildly.

“Didn’t even know you could.”

“I can drive. I just don’t see much point in keeping a car in the City. Besides, public transport’s better for the environment.”

He snorts, just as eloquently as Maude. “Right, Mother Bear.” He turns up Second Avenue and straight into a line of traffic. “Now’s the part where you tell me why you’re being so accommodating when most PIs have a shit-fit when I step all over their toes. After that’s the part where you tell me what you’ve been dodging around with Laurel Radford.”

“You know I was in the Navy, right?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve heard that.”

“It gave me a healthy respect for what ‘police powers’ actually mean,” I tell him. “I’m not interested in spending time in a cell, away from Emily, just because you think I’m getting in your way. Besides, I’m really worried about Rick. I know you don’t like the guy, but he’s my client. Last client of mine who didn’t take their stalker seriously ended up with second-degree burns all over her face and arms. I don’t want that to happen to Rick. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

Theo rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t like the guy, but I don’t want him hurt. That’s not why I do this job.”

“Okay,” I say neutrally, because I’ve come across more than one cop who was more interested in the power the badge gave them than protecting and serving, and Theo was awfully fast to throw his badge at me when he thought I was going to be more of a hindrance than a help. But Theo-the-Dom is a good man, so I’ll give Theo-the-cop the benefit of the doubt.

“Let’s get to the other part. What aren’t you telling me about Laurel Radford?”

“She blacked out in New York and woke up in an abandoned house in Baltimore a couple of days later, covered in blood and lucky to be alive.”

“What the fuck?” Theo snarls.

“Her Dom told me she doesn’t know if she was drugged or she did it to herself mixing booze and painkillers, but she does know she was raped and beaten. By several different men, over a couple of days. They left her for dead when they were done.”

“And she reported it and they were caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Theo growls.

“You know that’s not what happened. She hit bottom and it scared her to death. She got clean and sober. She met Jiro and he helped her figure out what was driving the self-destructive behavior. She’s much, much better. They’re getting married. She’s a pet, wholly owned. That’s why I needed his permission for everything.”

Theo blows out a long breath. “Was she high at the party?”

“You need to ask her that, but there’s no question they were all drinking.”

“Rick did an impact and breath-play scene with her with no negotiation and no safe word when she’d been drinking,” Theo says flatly. “And you want me to believe there was consent?”

“I want you to listen to Laurel before you make up your mind.”

I also want him to remember that there’s a difference between being a bad Dom and being a rapist, but I appreciate that the line can be fine. Laurel’s unequivocal about which side of the line the Fire Island party was on, but without talking to her, I wouldn’t be sure. All I can ask is for Theo to listen to her the way I did before he decides to go after Rick’s ass.

Theo’s silent the rest of the way up Second Avenue. When we reach Blunts, he pulls into the underground parking lot, but instead of heading to his numbered space, he pulls up in front of the entrance to the lifts.

“This is you,” he tells me.

Since I’m more than ready to end my time with Theo-the-cop, I take the hint and open the door.

“I want everything you have by noon tomorrow,” he says as I’m climbing out of the car, a little awkwardly, because my left leg still doesn’t have much spring. “That’s me not being an asshole because I understand you might need to take care of Emily in the morning.”

Still pretty damn quick to throw his badge at me.

“I’ll have everything to