Page 46 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Cordelia

T wo more weeks passed with them holed up in the safe house, and Cordelia was beginning to worry both her charges were on the verge of a blow-up.

Ever since yesterday afternoon they’d been snipping at each other, and nothing seemed to ease the tension.

The spankings she’d given both of them last night before bed, followed by forcing them to pleasure each other orally had helped for a little while, but this morning they were right back to arguing like children.

And she was over it.

“Ugh, I hate this game! It’s stupid.”

Rolling her eyes to the ceiling at her babygirl’s third such outburst of the morning, Cordelia prayed to whatever gods might be listening to grant her patience. “Then find something else to play.”

“There is nothing else. We’ve played every game in this stupid house a hundred times.”

Exaggerate much, babygirl? “Then let’s find a movie to watch.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was the wrong suggestion. “How the hell can I do that when you won’t let Jacob watch anything!”

It wasn’t so much the question as the attitude behind it that finally had Cordelia setting aside the thriller novel Kestrel had picked up for her during his last trip to the grocery store. He’d made it a point to pick up something for each of them, which had helped with the cabin fever a bit.

But just a bit.

Pinning her girl with a glare, Cordelia raised a brow. “If neither of those options sound appealing, then maybe my girl needs a nap. With a nice hot bottom to help her fall asleep.”

Eyes wide, Ivy gripped the sides of her chair, as if that would keep Cordelia from hauling her ass upstairs. “No, Daddy. I’ll find… something to do.”

“Good girl.”

Before Ivy could look for anything else to keep her occupied, however, Merlin stepped into the living room, his face a blank mask.

“Holden will be here in a few minutes. He needs to talk with you. Everyone is safe,” he said gently, preempting Cordelia’s question as soon as she opened her mouth.

“Nobody is hurt, but there are some new developments he needs to speak with you about.”

No sooner had he finished explaining than the sound of tires on gravel reached them. “That’ll be Holden,” Merlin said. “I’ll go let him in.”

He turned to leave and her attention shifted to her subs, still seated at the small card table they’d dragged into the living room weeks ago. Jacob seemed frozen to his chair, his eyes round in his suddenly too-pale face.

And just like that, Cordelia’s own panic took a backseat to caring for her boy and her girl. “Jacob. Come here. You too, Ivy.”

They both obeyed immediately, soothing some of her own churning emotions as Jacob settled on the couch beside her and Ivy curled up in her lap. Linking her hand with Jacob’s, she leaned over, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Daddy’s right here, baby boy. We’re in this together.”

As she’d hoped, some of the tension drained from his shoulders. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Before she could respond, the front door opened and the deep, resonant sounds of Holden’s voice reached them. Too low to actually make out his or Merlin’s words, but they didn’t have to wait long.

Holden’s eyebrows rose slightly when he stepped into the room, Merlin right behind him with that frustratingly blank expression still on his face. “We need to talk.”

“Then talk,” Cordelia answered, surprised by how steady her voice sounded when everything in her was feeling the opposite of steady.

Grabbing one of the folding chairs from the table, Holden arranged it in front of the couch and sat, straddling the back of the chair. “Harlan Redding is gone.”

Beside her, Jacob inhaled sharply and she squeezed his hand, offering him silent support while she kept her gaze locked on Holden’s face. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means he’s not at the compound. Our sources tell us that Silas is sick, and his sons have gone to be by his side. But nobody has actually laid eyes on Harlan in over a week.”

Silas was sick. Dying, if Holden’s sources were to be believed.

A dozen dizzying emotions welled up inside her but she shoved them back down. There would be time for a meltdown after Holden left. “So nobody knows if he’s actually in Arizona or if he’s just lying low.”

“Pretty much. Which is why I’m here.”

Alarm bells rang in the back of her mind and her grip on Jacob’s hand instinctively tightened. “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.”

“Not you. Jacob.”

Before he could even explain what he wanted, Ivy was up off of Cordelia’s lap, shielding their boy from Holden.

Which would have been rather amusing under different circumstances considering she was barely taller than him even when he was seated.

“Absolutely the fuck not,” she snarled, and despite the gravity of their discussion Cordelia couldn’t help but be impressed.

Holden, to his credit, took it in stride, barely reacting at all to her outburst. “I normally wouldn’t ask this. But this may be the best chance we have while the rest of the church is distracted by Silas’s potential passing. If we could draw Harlan out?—”

Fury bubbled in Cordelia’s veins. “You want to use my boy as bait ?”

Now Holden did react, his eyebrows winging up and his gaze shifting between the three of them. “Your boy?”

“Yes. Mine . So think very fucking carefully about whatever you’re about to say next.”

“Shit.” Blowing out a breath, Holden ran a hand through his hair. “This is a complication I didn’t see coming.”

“Neither did I,” Cordelia said with a shrug. “But here we are. And you are not using him as bait, so I hope you came with a Plan B.”

“Look, Delia. I know it’s hard but he might be the only one who can draw Harlan out of hiding.”

“Jacob, Ivy, I need to talk to Holden. Alone. Wait for us in the kitchen.”

“Like hell we will.” Folding her arms, Ivy perched herself on Jacob’s knee, a fury that matched Cordelia’s own burning in her eyes. “We’re a part of this. You’re not going to make this decision behind our backs.”

Another of those adjustments Cordelia had been thinking about before.

Even though she was the one ultimately in charge, Ivy felt just as protective as she did of Jacob.

“You’re right, blossom. You are a part of this, and I promise no decisions will be made behind your back.

But right now I just need a few minutes to talk to Holden, Daddy to Daddy. ”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Holden’s brows raise even higher but he wisely didn’t say anything.

Ivy held her gaze, and for a moment Cordelia thought she might refuse. But then her shoulders slumped slightly forward and she nodded. “All right. If you promise no decisions will be made without us.”

“I promise, baby. If you go peek in the pantry, I think Kestrel got the stuff you asked for to make chocolate chip cookies with Jacob. Why don’t you get those started and we’ll be right behind you.”

“Okay. Come on, Jakey. Guess it’s time for the adults to talk.”

Though he didn’t look any happier about it than Ivy, Jacob did as he was told and followed her into the kitchen. Leaving Cordelia behind with a very, very curious Holden.

“Daddy, huh?”

“Yes. I would have thought your men would have kept you informed on… all of this.”

“Their job is to report anything that could impact your safety. Anything else, they tend to stay out of it. Should I bother asking how all of this happened?”

“It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you once we’re all home and safe and Harlan Redding is behind fucking bars.”

“Fair enough. But if you want me to put him there, I need Jacob.”

“No. Find another way.”

“Do you think if there was another way, I would be here, asking this of him? He’s just a kid, Delia. I don’t want to dangle him out there any more than you do.”

“What about me? Harlan came for me once, he could try for me again.”

“Maybe. But he’s been careful since you left. We need something that’s going to provoke an emotional response. A big enough one for him to fuck up and give us a shot at him.”

“And you think letting my boy wander the streets of Charleston alone is going to get that response.”

“No. I think him seeing your boy entering and leaving Club BDE right under his fucking nose is going to get us that response.”

It wasn’t often Cordelia Summers found herself stunned speechless. But for a long, long moment all she could do was stare at the man in front of her. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

Unable to sit still any longer, she jumped up from the couch, pacing the small living room.

“Even without the issue of using him as bait, he’s not ready for the club, Holden.

We’ve only just started showing him the ropes, and we haven’t even gotten to the actual ropes yet.

He’s not prepared for the level of depravity he’ll see at the club. ”

“I can work something out with Braden, maybe have the club closed to everyone but our people for a couple nights.”

“Okay, well, that still doesn’t address the issue of you using him as bait.”

“I know it’s not ideal but?—”

“Would you let Frankie do it?”

Because she was watching him, she saw the truth on his face. Hell no . “If there was no other way, yes.”

“But you’d fight like hell to find another way. Wouldn’t you?”

“Do you really think I haven’t already done that?

Delia.” Rising to his feet, he placed his hands on her shoulders, and it felt like the weight of the world had come to rest there.

“He might not be my boy, but he is my responsibility. And you and Ivy? You’re family.

If there was any other way, I swear I wouldn’t be asking this of him. Of you.”

“Fuck.” Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back as her mind raced. When she came up empty, she opened her eyes, lifting her head to meet his dark gaze. “Give me a week. If I can’t draw him out, we can talk about using Jacob.”

“We might not have that long, Delia. If Silas passes and Harlan takes up the helm, he’ll be even more untouchable than he is now. He could hole up in Arizona, wait for the heat to die down and we may never get another shot at him.”

“Then call your fucking friends at the FBI and send them into the compound. Anything but putting my boy in danger, Holden, please.”

“Cordelia.”

Whipping around, she bit back a sigh at the sight of Jacob and Ivy both standing at the entrance to the living room. “I told you to wait for me in the kitchen.”

“It was my fault. Ivy tried to stop me but…” Without looking away, he swallowed, hard. “Let me do this, Cordelia. I can’t just stay holed up in this house, waiting for something to happen. If I can help, I want to. I need to.”

Fuck . She could have gone toe to toe with him if he’d come barreling in, making demands. But she was helpless against that sweet, simple plea.

Glancing over, she met Ivy’s worried gaze. “Ivy? I promised you I wouldn’t decide anything without you. Both of you. And he’s yours as much as he is mine.”

Ivy’s gaze slid from her to Holden, her perfect white teeth worrying at her bottom lip. “You swear you’ll keep him safe?”

“I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to your boy.”

“And it’s really the only way?’

“It’s the best chance we have. I’m sorry, Ivy, I know it sucks. But you should know me well enough to believe me when I say I wouldn’t be here asking this of any of you if I thought there was another way that had even half as good a chance at success.”

“Okay.” Ivy nodded, just once, and so slightly Cordelia almost didn’t catch it. “But if anything happens to him, I’ll–I’ll–Well, I don’t know what I’ll do but it won’t be pretty, Holden Prescott.”

“Duly noted. Delia?”

“What Ivy said. If Harlan so much as gets within spitting distance of my boy, I will make your life a permanent living hell.”

“Understood. Now, let’s talk about the plan. And maybe those cookies Cordelia mentioned.”