Page 19 of Daddy’s Protection (The Daddy Guard #3)

Cami felt warm and loved as she held Daddy’s hand.

He was escorting her through the front gate of Auntie Athena’s place. Trevon was standing nearby on the walkway, but she only half saw him.

Which was a difficult thing to accomplish because Trevon was massive. Nearly seven feet tall with huge muscles the security guard almost made Isaiah look small. All the Littles loved him. Cami had met him on her other trips to the nursery and had a fondness for him, as well.

But her mind was still mostly focused on the discipline.

And the loving aftercare Daddy had shown her once it had ended.

Mmm. It had felt amazing to be hugged and kissed. She wished he would have taken it further, but guessed he didn’t want to right after a spanking.

Daddies and their rules. Boo.

She was no longer lost in her thoughts when Iris ran past her, yelling, “Uncle Trevon!” at the top of her lungs and jumped on the big man.

He didn’t move an inch. Iris wrapped her arms around his neck, and Cami smiled at the display of affection.

All the Littles loved Trevon. He was the best! Cami hoped one day he’d find his own Little. She’d heard he was searching. Perhaps they were out there somewhere, just waiting to meet him, too.

Cami hoped.

“I’m sure glad you cuties came to visit me today,” Trevon announced in his deep, booming voice. “I was wondering if I’d see you.”

“We’re here!” Iris cried as he put her feet back on the ground. As tall as Trevon was, that was a long trip for her.

Lana hugged him next. “We’re going to play here while our Daddies do some investigating.”

“Ooh. Sounds important,” Trevon replied. “And you all know you’re welcome here anytime.” He looked at Cami. “It’s good to see you again, honey. You ready to have some fun?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. Because there is loads of it in here.” The big man jerked his head back toward Auntie Athena’s mansion.

“Lots of cuties making Halloween decorations and such.” His face turned a bit more serious.

“But we have some real brats in there, too.” He shook his head in clear annoyance.

“They haven’t done anything to get banned.

Yet. But I’m keeping an eye on them. Just watch out.

And if they mess with you all, let me know. Understand?”

“Yes, Uncle Trevon!” Cami, Iris, and Lana answered in unison.

“Good girls.”

Cami and her friends smiled.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on them while we do some work,” Isaiah said.

Trevon nodded. “There’s only three of you today. Where are the other Guardsmen?”

“On another case,” Isaiah explained. “But we won’t need them. Honestly, three is probably too much for what we need to do today. Nothing dangerous. Just going to interview some folks.”

“That a polite way of saying interrogate?” Trevon asked with a knowing smirk.

“Nah,” Isaiah replied as he waved off the implication. “We aren’t cops anymore.”

“Thank god,” Jack added.

Next to him, Ace laughed. “Amen, brother.”

Cami gave Isaiah a hug and kiss, told him goodbye, and watched as her friends did the same to their Daddies.

“You be a good girl,” Isaiah told her. “Follow Uncle Trevon and Auntie Athena’s rules.”

With her bottom still sore from that morning’s spanking, she quickly said, “Yes, Sir!”

He patted her rear, winked, and gave her another kiss before leaving.

With their Daddies gone, she and her two friends set out to play.

And most likely find mischief.

Thirty minutes later, while sitting under the large climbing structure in Athena’s backyard, Cami said, “Boy, Uncle Trevon wasn’t kidding. Those are some brats with a capital B in there!”

She was referring to a group of snotty Littles who seemed to follow orders from their ringleader, Tanya Wilkins.

“I know!” Lana said. “They way they just waltzed right through us when we were playing and made those snide comments.”

“And when we asked them if they wanted to play with us, they just laughed and actually brushed us off. Like they were shooing us away,” Iris added. “Wonder why they’re so mean.”

Cami thought about it for a moment while she took a pull from the juice box she’d grabbed a few moments earlier. “They’re new here, right?”

Iris and Lana both nodded.

“I thought so,” Cami continued. “I haven’t been coming here as much—or as long—as you two have, but I didn’t think I’d seen them before.”

“A couple of them have been here,” Iris noted. “But their little ringleader, Tanya, is brand new.”

“Maybe she just brings out the brat in others,” Lana suggested with a shrug.

Cami thought about it some more as she continued to drink her juice. “You know, I didn’t know how to act when I first got here.”

“Yeah,” Iris said, “but you didn’t treat people like garbage. You were just quiet.”

“Until you and Lana came up and included me in the game you were playing,” Cami said. “It meant the world to me. Maybe this Tonya girl just needs someone to include her.”

The theory didn’t fully hold water, Cami knew, as Tonya had a whole gaggle of friends around her. She didn’t seem lonely like Cami had felt her first day at the nursery. But she still wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Apparently, the other girls did, too, because Iris said, “You’re right.

I used to dream about having Little friends.

Back when life was a lot tougher than it is now.

The first time I was invited here I felt so out of place!

Like everyone knew I didn’t have any money and was sort of down on my luck.

But once I realized no one was judging me and that everyone is welcome…

well, this place started to feel like home!

It became my home for a couple of nights since I stayed here.

But still… being welcomed went a long way in helping me feel accepted. ”

Lana nodded. “You’re right. Inclusion is everything . Let’s go try again.”

The trio finished their juices, got up, and left the playground. After tossing the boxes in a trashcan, they went inside and found Tonya and her group of six friends sitting in a circle in the main parlor.

“And that’s when Brad Pitt asked me out,” Tonya finished saying as she flipped her obviously bleached-blonde hair over her shoulder.

“You met Brad Pitt?” another young woman— also looking to be in her mid-twenties—asked in amazement.

“Sure did. He was eating at Dan Tana’s. It’s just down the street here. Surely you’ve been. So many celebrities hang out there. I’m a regular.”

Cami felt an intense dislike for this woman surge through her, but she tried to ignore it and remember what the girls had just agreed on.

Inclusion was everything.

Be fair. Give her a shot. Maybe you’ll make a new friend today, Cami.

“What did you tell Brad Pitt?” another Little in the group asked.

Tonya scoffed. “That I was already going out with Austin Butler. That’s what.”

The others were amazed.

Cami doubted any of this—the offer from Brad, the dates with Austin—had ever actually happened. But maybe Tonya just didn’t know how to make friends, so she felt the need to lie in order to impress.

It was common with some. Especially around Hollywood, Cami had noticed.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said cheerfully. “But we wanted to know if you all wanted to play with us. Or maybe make Halloween decorations.”

The group just stared at her as if she were an alien with green skin.

Tonya eventually rolled her eyes and said, “I’ve heard about you. Talked to some of the other Littles around here. Aren’t you the girl who—” she chuckled— “paints windows for a living?”

The others laughed.

“Hey! That’s a good job!” Iris spoke up. “And you’re not being very nice.”

“Yeah, you would say that,” Tonya said. “You were homeless until Auntie Athena felt sorry for you and took you in.” She rolled her eyes again.

“That’s right, sweetie. I asked around about you, too.

” Looking at Lana, she said, “I guess you’re a little better.

At least you work at a movie studio. But you’re not, like, a celebrity or anything.

” After another exasperated sigh, she held up her purse.

“See this handbag? I paid three thousand dollars for it. From a store in Beverly Hills that doesn’t need you or anyone else to paint their window.

” She laughed and turned her nose up haughtily.

“Who the fuck pays three thousand bucks for a damn handbag?” Cami blurted out. Covering her mouth sheepishly, she said, “Oops. Please excuse my language. And don’t tell my Daddy.”

“Who pays that?” Tonya continued. “I’ll tell you who—people who aren’t gross and poor. And you three are gross and poor. Go.” She shooed them away with her hand.

Cami felt awful. But she wouldn’t cry. Not in front of those brats! She looked at Iris to see tears welling in her eyes.

Cami didn’t blame her. So life had been tough. That didn’t mean Iris was any less of a person. In fact, her experiences had given her empathy. She was one of the kindest, biggest-hearted people Cami knew! Shaking her head at the ugliness, Cami took Iris’s hand. “Come on, Iris. Let’s go.”

Lana had Iris’s other hand. “We tried. Let’s go make some Halloween decorations.”

As they were leaving, Cami heard Tonya say, “Ugh. So ready for Halloween to be over. All that spooky stuff scares me.”

Walking away, a wry smile turned Cami’s lips upward.

“I’m going to call Stryker and Harrison,” she whispered. “I’ve got an idea.”

Suddenly, Iris wasn’t crying anymore. She and Lana were both laughing.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Iris asked.

Cami giggled, too.

“Yep And this is sure going to be fun!”