Page 20 of Daddy’s Little Charmer (Daddy #36)

Nico turned down the game he and Connor were watching when his phone rang. He stood and walked off when he saw it was Christian.

“Hey, Boss. Did you have any problems getting there?”

Christian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he stood in his nephew’s bedroom, where he would sleep in one of the twin beds.

“No, it was just a long flight to go somewhere I don’t want to be and away from Harmony.”

“There’s something going on with her.”

Christian paused. “What?”

“She was gone when we got here.”

“What the fuck?” Christian barked.

“She left a note. She went to see Agnes.”

“Why didn’t she wait for you guys? She knew you were coming?”

“I’m not sure. She seems really sad.”

“I’m sad when I’m away from her, too.”

“No, it’s deeper. She called us her babysitters when we went to get her from the retirement home. Then on the way home, she talked about not having anything. We’ve been home for several hours, and she hasn’t come out of your room. We can’t get her to eat.”

Christian pinched the arch of his nose. “I don’t know where she gets not having anything. For God’s sake, she can have everything I own.”

Nico didn’t reply and just waited.

“Give her your phone so I can talk to her.”

Nico tapped his knuckles against the master bedroom door. He did it a second time louder when he didn’t hear anything. He relaxed when she finally answered.

“What?”

“Christian’s on the phone and wants to talk to you.”

Nico waited until the door cracked open. He bit back a curse at the evidence of tears she’d shed.

She reached out and took it, and then closed the door, turned, and sat down on the side of the mattress.

“Hello,” she croaked and then cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello.”

Something close to fear spiked inside him. He’d never heard her that lifeless before. She was always so animated and fearless.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

Harmony wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

“Nothing, I’m just tired.”

“No, I can tell you’ve been crying.”

“I just miss you.”

“Nico told me about this morning.”

Harmony tried to laugh. “Uh-oh, I got told on.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He had to tell you what a bad girl I was.”

“That’s not it.”

“I have absolutely no freedom.”

“That’s bullshit. You can go wherever you want.”

“But I have to take the guys with me, right?”

“Yes, for your protection.”

Harmony snorted. “Really? Or is it because you don’t trust me for some reason?”

“Trust has nothing to do with it. I want you safe. That’s all.”

“What about what I want?”

Christian ran an angry hand over his head when he heard the commotion outside the bedroom door.

“Listen, we can talk about this when I get home. I don’t have time right now.”

Harmony drew in a pained breath. She started to ask about his trip when she heard a door open and then a woman in the background.

“Christian, for God’s sake. You just got here, and I haven’t seen you in months.”

Christian glared at his sister and covered the phone, but knew it was too late. Harmony had heard it all.

Harmony’s breath caught in her chest and stuck painfully. There was no way that could be considered a business meeting. He’d lied to her. How many times? She didn’t want to think about it at that moment.

“Fuck, Harmony. Listen, I’ll talk to you later. This is not what you think, Baby. I love you. Please don’t worry.”

Harmony hung up, unable to get any words out.

She stared for the longest time as she tried to come to grips with her life.

Six months ago, she’d been beyond poor, but she’d been happy with friends and freedom to do whatever she wanted.

Now she was in a gilded cage, miserable, and had also discovered herself to be extremely ignorant.

Why did she think she could have ever held the attention of a man like Christian?

She was a nobody with nothing to offer. She had to make some hard decisions but was too tired at the moment to even try.

She knew he wouldn’t be back for a few days, so she had time to pack what little she brought and make a plan.

She walked out of the bedroom and stopped just before she turned into the living room as a thought that almost made her sick hit her. She drew in a shaky breath and took the steps into the room where the guys were. Both men turned her way. Harmony handed Nico’s phone back to him.

“You guys know where he is, don’t you?” she asked, even though she knew it would hurt to know the truth.

Nico and Connor looked at each other.

“What happened?” Connor asked.

“I heard her in the background.”

Nico stood and faced her. “Yes, but it’s not like it seems. Let Christian explain when he gets home.”

Harmony thought the pain couldn’t get any worse and was wrong. She pressed her fists against her stomach as if to hold in the cry of misery that wanted to burst from her mouth.

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered and shook her head.

“Wait, Honey. Please give him a chance. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t,” Nico said and took a step toward her.

Harmony took a step back.

“Just tell me this. How much of a fool do I look like?” She held up a hand when both men started to talk.

“Never mind. I already know the answer,” she said, turned, and ran back into the bedroom.

She locked the door, then went into the bathroom and closed it before sinking onto the cool tile floor.

She wrapped her arms around her drawn-up knees and cried until she gasped for breath.

She vaguely heard the men trying to talk to her through the bedroom door, but didn’t want to listen to them anymore.

After a while, she rose, undressed, and then stood under the shower spray for a long time. She climbed out, dried off, and then pulled on one of Christian’s shirts.

She felt so tired but wanted to get packed before morning. She dug out her old bag and started packing her clothes, the ones she had before Christian. When she was done, she set it by the door, crawled into bed, under the covers, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Nico and Connor stood outside her door, trying to get her to respond to them. Meanwhile, Nico also attempted to get in touch with Christian. Nico lifted his phone when it vibrated.

“Thank fuck,” he growled, turned away from her door, and took several steps away.

“What’s going on?” Christian asked in alarm.

“She thinks you’re having an affair.”

“Jesus, I thought something like that, but she hung up, and my sister was breathing down my neck.”

After he’d gotten off the phone with Harmony, Christian had called the different people his sister owed money to, like the electrical company and phone company, and taken care of the bills over the phone.

He’d gotten everything he planned to do done in one afternoon.

It was so late that he planned to crash at his sister’s house before heading back a day earlier than he thought.

“Let me talk to her.”

“She’s locked the door, and she hasn’t answered us.”

“If you can’t unlock it, break it down. I want you to make sure she’s okay.”

Within a minute, Connor had jimmied the lock. Both men froze inside the door.

“Boss, she’s asleep. Do you want us to wake her up?” Nico whispered.

“No. Let her sleep. I’ll be home tomorrow and take over.”

Nico turned away from the bed and cursed.

“What?” Christian asked.

“She’s packed the bag she came with. She’s leaving.”

Christian wanted to howl in pain at the thought of losing her.

“I’m getting the first flight back. Don’t let her leave.”

“Even if it’s against her will?”

“Fuck, yes,” Christian snarled and hung up.

Nico looked at Connor and tossed his head to the side before walking out the bedroom door and closing it softly behind him.

“What’s up?” Connor asked once they were in the living room.

“Christian is heading back as soon as he can. He wants us to keep her here until he gets home.”

“Damn, man. Keeping her here against her will is fucking wrong and illegal.”

Nico nodded. “I know, but this is Harmony. Do we really want her out on the streets by herself in that condition?”

Connor glanced toward the bedroom door before he shook his head. “No. Christian can make this right. I know he can.”

Nico nodded. “Where’s her phone and her purse?”

“I brought them in with me when we got home from seeing Agnes. They’re by the front door. Why?”

“I think we need to do everything we can to keep her here. Hide her purse. We’ll have to take turns sleeping. I can see her trying to get past us when we’re out. I’m also going to turn on the alarm. It will signal if another door is open, and she can’t get to the panel with us right here.”