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Danny wouldn’t play games any more than Dante would. They both had powerful MCs backing them. I was only one woman who had no power whatsoever.

What would they gain by doing this?

Nothing!

That led me to ask the question, who else would want Dani? Who would believe I stole her from them?

As I said before, Danny and Dante both assured me Dani’s mother had died. But what if she hadn’t?

What if she had survived and was looking for her daughter? Dante said Dani had been living in a guarded facility since she was born. If her mother was still alive, how would she know where Dani was? How would she know who had her?

Unless her mother was the reason she was in the facility.

Shaking my head, I dismissed that line of thinking. If Dani’s mother was still alive, she would still be a young woman without resources.

What about the woman who forced Dante to have sex with Dani’s mother? Could she know where Dani was? Was she the one that had kept her held in a building alone where she had no one to love her? Does she somehow believe she had some claim over Dani?

From what Dante said, that woman was someone who liked to play games. A predator who liked to play with her food. Is that what she was doing with me?

Was she playing games for her own enjoyment? Getting off on the fear she instilled in someone once they learned they were being followed? Is that why the notes were so far apart? A constant reminder that I was being watched?

Sitting in the car in the hotel parking lot wouldn’t garner me any answers. Dani was hungry, and we both needed to eat. With our meager belongings once again packed into the back of my new car, we set off in search of sustenance.

A little diner on the outskirts of Las Vegas caught my eye, and I pulled in. I tried to stay inside the large cities, but I needed a breather. A quiet little place where I could gather my thoughts.

Sitting at the table with Dani, I perused the menu, looking for anything Dani hadn’t experienced yet. I was surprised by the offerings available, and when I saw the Eggs Benedict, I knew that was what I was getting.

I ordered the backup fruit and a small pancake for Dani. She seemed to like pancakes a lot. Who didn’t? But while she needed the fat to fill out her tiny body, the sugar content was worrisome.

So, I ordered things I wanted her to try and kept the things I knew she loved as a backup. Sometimes it meant the pancake got wasted, but I didn’t care. Dani’s willingness to try new things more than made up for a few dollars.

“Good morning. What a beautiful little girl.”

Looking up at the voice, I was struck dumb at the pixie that stood at our table, smiling at Dani. Pixie was the only way to describe the tiny woman with the pink hair, leather jacket, and combat boots. If I wasn’t mistaken, she stood less than five feet tall, but the smile she wore contradicted her diminutive size.

She was young, maybe early twenties, and she had a presence about her that had me smiling back. I tried to avoid strangers when I could, not wanting to draw attention to Dani. There was no ignoring this woman, though.

“Thank you.”

“I’m Kytten.” She held her hand out, and I felt obligated to take it in mine. She sat without an invitation and stared at me without a word.

Picking up on the tension I was sure poured off me in waves, Dani called out to me.

“Mama.”

Ignoring the woman next to me, I pulled Dani from the highchair and set her in my lap. Tears filled my eyes as I thought about everything Danika had had to endure, and everything we were still dealing with.

Holding her close to me, I closed my eyes, and a tear slipped down my cheek. A small hand covered mine, and the softly whispered words pierced my heart.

“I can help.”

My eyes popped open as I looked at the small woman. She may have only been a few years younger than me, but she had the appearance of a girl.

Until you looked into her eyes.

Her eyes gave away her trauma. Something had happened to this woman. Something awful. Looking down at Dani, I thought about the Trick Pony and everything I had heard from Dr. Scott and everything I had learned from Dante.

The urgency to keep her secret had me denying the situation I found myself in.