Page 5 of Daddy’s Oath (The Daddy Guard #2)

Chapter Five

Lana’s place was in Whitley Heights, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

It was the best of both worlds.

To Lana, though, it was just one more puzzle piece that fit perfectly into Hollywood Boulevard and made it the grand spectacle it was.

For whatever reason, Lana loved the Boulevard. The chaos and throngs of tourists were easy to blend in with. And while she didn’t necessarily want to talk to a lot of people, she liked being in the midst of them.

Sometimes.

Being alone was nice, too.

That’s why her apartment was perfect. Nice and quiet on her street, but close to the action if she wanted it.

Or needed it.

You know why you like Hollywood Boulevard so much, Lana. If you have to run, it’s your escape route. It would be so easy just to blend in with everyone. Day or night, there are people there. You’d be just one more face in the crowd.

Shrugging off such thoughts, Lana parked, used her key to open her apartment building’s front door, and walked into the lobby.

There were white columns, archways, a red tile floor, and black wrought iron in various places. Going through there was like stepping back in time. The individual units themselves had been modernized. But the lobby was a throwback.

She eschewed the elevator—not liking the feeling of being trapped—instead taking the stairs to the third floor. Her apartment was just one door away from the staircase, a fact she loved, just in case…

Once she was inside, she locked the three locks on the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

Whew. What a day she’d had!

Runaway trams. Meeting Harison Trent. Finding out the famous actor was a Little just like her.

And the attempted TV interview.

She felt emotionally drained. Walking to the special closet in her bedroom, she opened it and glanced in at her Little gear.

It wasn’t a huge collection, but she had two packs of diapers, some plastic panties, and a couple of outfits.

And of course her pacifier, but that was in the nightstand drawer beside her bed.

Two stuffies were always stationed on her bed, too—a girl dog and a boy one—waiting for her.

Right now, she sure needed Little Space after the day she’d had. It wasn’t that it was all bad. Some of it, like that meeting with Harrison, had been awesome! But again, everything had just sort of added up to a lot.

There was also that problem of the pesky TV interview.

She told herself it wasn’t a big deal. One-word, evasive answers seemed to shut it down pretty quickly.

The network probably wouldn’t even use the footage.

Besides, it was just a runaway tram. That was one of those entertainment shows that dealt in juicy celebrity rumors with the occasional interview thrown in while stars were promoting their films. Some studio-tour vehicle taking folks on a little ride wasn’t that big a story in the grand scheme of things.

Not that most of their pieces were.

But the public cared more about who was dating who or who was cheating and stuff like that than they did some tram.

That was what Lana hoped, at least.

She kept telling herself not to worry about it. No big deal. It would pass. Los Angeles was safe. Her apartment was secure.

No one would find her.

Looking around the space, she wondered if she should order dinner.

It would be nice to have something delivered.

With her anxiety, though, she wasn’t sure she wanted someone knocking on her door.

True, they’d just be dropping off a meal.

But what if the TV show did air her story?

What if the delivery person saw it and recognized her?

What if they posted on social media about…

Lana shook her head. She couldn’t go down this road, letting her mind spiral into all the worst-case, what-if scenarios.

Plopping onto her bed, she grabbed her two stuffies and held them tightly. That near-crippling anxiety began to drain a little. The dogs always had that effect on her.

Maybe she should put on a diaper, she thought.

It wasn’t as good as having a Daddy do it. But it might help.

A giggle escaped her lips at the thought of a Daddy. Mmm. She could see him in her mind. Handsome. Strong. Commanding. The type that would take charge, keep watch over her, and protect her from every threat.

Was there a Daddy like that out there somewhere for her? She sure hoped so. She dreamed about him nearly every night.

Whoever he was. If he existed at all…

A growl from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry.

She tried to limit how often she ate out.

But tonight was a special circumstance. It had been quite a day!

Plus, she was running low on groceries. And venturing out to the store was certainly not in the equation.

Her nerves were frayed enough as it was.

With that in mind, she grabbed her phone, pulled up her food delivery app, and began browsing. It was hard to focus on the pictures of food, though, no matter how yummy it looked and how hungry she was.

Because she kept thinking about Daddy.

She hoped she found him soon.