Page 20 of Daddy’s Pursuit (The Daddy Guard #1)

Chapter Twenty

“This is one healthy Little girl,” Dr. Sellecca pronounced.

But a serious tone let Iris know he meant it when he looked at her and said, “But I’d like to see you put on some weight.

The labs will tell us all your levels, but I’m willing to bet you’re low on some essentials.

I know you’ll be getting plenty to eat now that Jack and Athena are taking care of you.

But I want you to be a good girl and eat everything they put before you. ”

“Yes, sir,” she replied dutifully.

“I think all that’s left is for us to get you dressed and let you pick out a lollipop.”

She giggled as she slid off the table. Her diaper crinkled loudly. The doctor had put her in a new one while Jack had looked on approvingly. Now, it was Jack who helped her get back into her street clothes.

Once they were finished, she marveled at the large candy selection. The one she selected was about half the size of her face, a colorful rainbow of swirling hardened sugar.

“May I eat it now, Daddy?” she asked as they walked outside to Jack’s SUV.

“You can take a few licks but then wrap it up and we’ll save it for after dinner,” he said.

“Thank you!”

She enjoyed the sweet treat as she sat in the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?” she asked in between licks.

“You’ll see. Soon, too. We’re almost there.”

They went through a busy intersection in downtown Los Angeles and came to a complex that was surrounded by a tall concrete fence. Security cameras were positioned every few feet.

“Is this the police station?” she asked.

She wondered if she should hide her lollipop so she didn’t appear too Little. But it was so good! And Daddy hadn’t said anything about how much of it she was eating. So, she wasn’t going to stop until he told her to.

“No. We have police stations all over the city. This is the Piper Technical Center. Lots of people—not just cops—come here to do training. But what makes this special is what’s on one of the roofs.

We have an agreement with them.” He smiled.

“You’ll see, cutie. Go ahead and wrap that sucker up now.

You can stick it in the glove compartment so it’s out of the sun. ”

Dang it, she thought. He remembered the candy.

Once the giant lollipop was wrapped up, she placed it carefully in the glove compartment, as if handling a delicate treasure. Candy was a luxury she’d never been able to afford. It was as good as gold in her opinion.

Pulling into a parking slot, Jack looked over at her and said, “There’s a lot of dangerous stuff where we’re going. So I want you to be a good girl and stay by me. Don’t wander off. Do you understand?”

“Where are we going?” she asked excitedly.

“I asked if you understood the rules,” he asked sharply.

She was a bit more demure in her response. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Now, come on. Your question will be answered soon.”

Iris glowed at the sensation of Jack holding her hand while they walked. They went inside one of the many buildings, up an elevator, and came out on the roof.

Helicopters surrounded them.

“Whoa! This is awesome!”

Jack chuckled. “Welcome to the Hooper Heliport of the LAPD. This is where we keep our birds.”

“And I can look at them? Can I even look inside one?”

“You can do better than that, honey. We’re going to go for a ride.”

“Whoa! Seriously? Thank you, Daddy!”

She jumped up and down before wrapping her arms around his neck while she fell against him.

He laughed, twirling her several times, and kissing the top of her head.

Iris responded by kissing him, too. She peppered his cheeks and neck with dozens of little pecks.

“Mmm. I like that, sweet girl. But unfortunately Ace is waiting on us.”

“Who is Ace?”

“That’s me,” a dark-haired man said, stepping out from around a chopper. “I was trying to give you two some privacy. Looks like you were about to use one of these cockpits for romance. But I’ll warn you, it wouldn’t be very comfortable. The seats don’t recline.”

The couple laughed.

“We’ll save that for when we get home,” Jack stated.

Iris blushed as her imagination kicked into overdrive. What would tonight hold? She had a pretty good idea.

Wetness seeped into her diaper. Right now wasn’t the time to think about all that, she told herself. Daddy had worked hard to set this adventure up. She didn’t want to miss a minute of it!

“Iris, meet Ace Riggs.” Jack rubbed her back. “Now, what you need to know, is now that I’m your Daddy, it means you have lots of Uncles.”

“Yep,” Ace said. “And I’m going to be your favorite. Trust me. I’m the fun one.” He winked.

Iris giggled. “It’s nice meeting you, Uncle Ace.”

“Nice meeting you, too, darling.” He shook his head as he appraised her with a smile. “Aren’t you a doll? I know I’m going to have a blast spoiling you. That’s for sure. And when I find my Little, you two can get together and play.”

“I can’t wait!” she exclaimed.

“Neither can I,” Ace said with a chuckle.

Surely he’d find his Little soon, Iris thought. He was such a handsome man. He wasn’t as broad or as strong as Daddy, but it was evident his lean frame was corded with knotty muscle.

His hair was dark, and his angular jaw had matching stubble shading it. He was probably about forty or so.

He was yummy, though there was only one man for Iris.

She was Daddy’s girl. Forever.

“Jack, before we get to the fun, I need to chat with you. I have a message about… You-Know-Who.”

The Little watched as Jack’s smile disappeared. Was this message bad? she wondered. Was Daddy in some kind of danger?

Obviously, his job was dangerous. She understood that. But that didn’t mean she liked it.

Jack looked at her. “Honey, you stay right here. Me and Uncle Ace just need to talk for a few minutes. It won’t take us long.”

“I’m fine, Daddy. May I walk around this helicopter and look at it?”

“Sure. But just this one.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Daddy and Uncle Ace trotted a few feet away, disappearing behind one of the birds. Whatever they were talking about must have been important.

Important was fine, she figured. Dangerous was not.

She tried to distract herself from worrying by looking at the large machine before her. It was awesome, painted black and white, with a giant searchlight mounted on the front.

Before she’d even realized what she was doing, she walked to one of the other ones. Then, a minute later, the next one.

Something floated by, catching her eye, and she giggled when she saw a blue balloon floating. Someone must have lost it on the street and it had made its way all the way up to the roof.

“I’m going to get you,” she said with a laugh, rushing toward the balloon but just barely missing it.

She repeated the process, but the helium that filled it, and the breeze that propelled it, was just too much for her. It drifted just beyond her grasp, but she felt the silver string brush her fingertips.

Closer, she thought. There was no giving up now. That balloon was going to be hers.

Bending her legs slightly to build up some speed, she launched herself forward and charged toward the floating balloon.

“Whoa! Hey!” she yelled, realizing she was about to reach the edge of the building. She couldn’t stop in time to keep her body from bumping the waist-high wall that ran around the perimeter.

Still, she was determined to get that elusive balloon.

Her arms were stretched as far as they could go, her upper half extended over the barrier a ways, as she desperately tried to reach the taunting balloon that hovered over the busy city street below.

Suddenly, she felt stabilizing hands clamping down on her shoulders. Slowly and carefully, she was reeled back.

Once she was spun around, she gulped as she looked Daddy in the eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay where you were?”

“Yes, Sir,” she said. “But I saw that balloon and?—”

“If you wanted a balloon, you could have just asked me for one. Daddy loves to spoil you. There are dozens of shops between here and my place or the nursery that we could have stopped at. But instead you disobeyed me and put yourself in a very dangerous situation. Honey, what would have happened if you would have fallen off this roof?”

The dam broke and tears flooded from her eyes. “I w-would have b-been hurt, Daddy.”

“No. You would have been killed. Little girl, you’re much too valuable to be doing something so dangerous!”

Her bottom lip was quivering as much as her voice was. “Y-yes, Sir. I’m s-sorry, Daddy.”

“Not as sorry as you’re going to be. Come here.”

“Daddy! Will I still get my surprise? I want to ride in the helicopter!”

Jack nodded. “You’ll still get to, babygirl. But you’ll have a sore bottom while you do it. Now, come along.”

Iris obediently walked beside Daddy as he took hold of her elbow and escorted her back to where they’d been earlier. She grew even more embarrassed when she saw Uncle Ace.

“You got somewhere I can bend her over? Looks like I’m going to have to dish out a spanking,” Jack told the other cop.

“You can use the office right there,” Ace said, indicating the single rectangular room that rose from the roof, providing a small office space beside the helicopters. “She wandered off, huh?”

“She did worse than that,” Jack replied. “She was leaning over the side of the building!”

The look on Uncle Ace’s face revealed he was just as shocked and disturbed by her behavior as Jack was. “You kidding me?”

Jack shook his head. “I wish I was.”

“Then I hope you spank her bottom good!”

Jack chuckled. “Don’t you worry about that.”

The next words he spoke made Iris tense with dread.

“This cutie is in for it.”