Page 12 of Daddy’s Protection (The Daddy Guard #3)

Cami did tell Isaiah and the rest of the group about her strange conversation. But more than disbelief, Isaiah felt suspicion.

“Seems like that woman next door knows a lot about what’s been going on. Visions of ghosts and things? Makes me wonder if she’s in on it.”

“Or she’s really psychic!” Iris suggested. “That’s so cool!”

Standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, Jack said, “Honey, I’m not sure psychics are real.”

“I know, Daddy. But you aren’t sure they’re not,” Iris countered.

He chuckled and kissed the side of her neck. “You got me there, babydoll.”

“Your neighbor was wrong about one thing,” Stryker called as he climbed down the ladder in the parlor.

He, Harrison, and Lana had started checking things out while Cami shared her story.

“It’s someone in this world—not the spirit world or whatever—who is behind all this.” He held out his hand to reveal a small projector.

“What the hell?” Isaiah growled, then instantly felt bad. “Excuse my language, cuties,” he said, directed to Cami and the other Littles, before turning back to Stryker. “That thing was up in the vent?”

“Sure was,” Stryker confirmed. “But get this, that vent doesn’t seem to be connected to actual ductwork. It’s not very big, so I couldn’t really see what’s on the other side, but best I can tell there’s a space in the wall.”

Standing near the wall, Harrison knocked on it. “It’s not thin. You can tell that just from banging on it.”

“The stairs are on the other side of it,” Cami reminded them. “And there’s that small closet beneath them. It’s where I keep my vacuum and some cleaning supplies. But it only runs the length of the stairs. It slants with them.”

“You mind if I take a look?” Isaiah asked.

“Go for it,” she said with a grin. “It’s why you’re here.”

He chortled. “True. But I’m worried I’m overstepping.

I sort of jumped in when McConnell showed up.

I just didn’t like the way he was talking to you, demanding answers and all that.

He’s at your house. You don’t owe him a damn thing.

” He winced. “Excuse my language again. Being in the military and then the LAPD, it’s hard keeping things clean. ”

“ Damn isn’t that bad,” Stryker pointed out.

“Yeah, it’s barely even a curse word,” Harrison added.

Isaiah grinned. “You should hear what hasn’t slipped out. What I’ve managed to filter.”

“Whatever you say is fine,” Cami said. “I’m a big girl. I can hear it.”

“Oh you are, huh?” Isaiah asked with a sly grin.

Man, she was too cute. It was all he could do not to scoop her into his arms and shower her with kisses.

Later.

Right now, he needed to figure out who planted that projector. “I’m going to have a look in that closet now.”

Pulling the thin LED flashlight from the right pocket of his jeans, he went to the door set into the side of the staircase.

It was kind of hard to see, since it blended well with the wood paneling.

A doorknob and—if one was looking closely—the hinges were the only giveaways.

He chided himself for missing it earlier, when they’d searched the house.

They must have walked by it half a dozen times with it never registering that it led somewhere.

You’ve got to do better than that, man. You’re part of the Daddy Guard. Littles depend on you guys.

He opened the door and moved his hand to the right, feeling for a switch.

“There isn’t one,” Cami said behind him.

“No worries.” He clicked on the flashlight.

Sweeping the small but bright beam across the space, he found a vacuum cleaner, a bucket with a mop resting inside it, and a few other assorted cleaning supplies.

Toward the very back, where the closet slanted low because of the staircase’s descent, was a box.

“What’s in that?” He stepped back enough so that Cami could see, keeping his light shining on the object in question.

“Oh, that’s just a box of junk I stashed in here. I need to throw it out eventually.”

Isaiah went toward it and had to duck low after a few paces. He didn’t care about what was inside the box. He only cared about what was behind it.

Because he had a hunch…

The box hissed as he slid it across the floor.

“That’s what I thought.”

“What?”

He shone the flashlight on the wall. Three lines had been cut in the sheetrock wall, joining with the floor line to form a square.

“What happened there?” she asked.

Isaiah sat the flashlight down, jiggled the wall, and easily removed the part that had been cut.

“Someone,” he said, “made a secret passage. And I’m willing to bet it goes in the space between the wall and that parlor.”

Isaiah looked behind him when Cami cried out. She was covering her mouth, her eyes open wide in evident fright. “Someone was in my house!”

“It’s okay, honey. Remember, you’re not alone. Me and the Guard are going to figure out what’s going on. I promise.”

With each passing second, it was becoming more evident that this threat wasn’t supernatural.

Not that he’d ever thought it was.

But while the thought of humans “haunting” Cami’s home must have been terrifying to her, it was a relief to him.

He’d dealt with humans plenty of times. He understood them. He’d tracked them.

They didn’t scare him.

Isaiah was acutely aware of his apex status. While that might sound arrogant to some, it was born out of experience. His time in the Navy as a SEAL and his nights on the streets patrolling Los Angeles had forced a confidence in him. He’d use it now for Cami’s advantage.

Because no one—absolutely no one—was going to hurt his babygirl. Ever.

“I’m going in,” he announced.

He had to get on his stomach and army crawl through, but a second later, he was in a tiny space between two walls that barely gave him enough space to stand and move. But he could do it. And a smaller person would have no problems at all.

It was more than enough room for someone to hide a projector, fake the ghosts, and terrify sweet Little Cami.

Now, Isaiah just needed to find out who would do such a thing.

And stop them before they could scare his cutie again.

And make them pay.