Steele made a stop at an open area close to the kitchen. When he flipped the light on, Ivy’s jaw dropped open as she stepped inside. There were books of different genres and types lining one wall. She spotted one section containing the paperbacks of a few books she recognized. Ivy had found those when she’d searched online for Daddies and Littles. But there were more she’d never seen. In addition, there were jigsaw puzzles to put together, board games, coloring books, and other activities.
“Choose a couple of things to take with you into the garage,” Steele suggested. “You can always come back in and swap them.”
Not wishing to rush to the books that really interested her, Ivy selected a book by a mystery writer she recognized. She also picked up a small paint-by-number kit. “Can I do this in the garage?”
“Of course. We’ll find space for you at a table or the desk,” Steele answered.
Holding her selections to her chest, Ivy eagerly followed him to the door that led to the garage. At the entrance, Steele fit the pink ear protectors she’d worn yesterday back over her head. She watched his lips carefully to understand what he said.
“Read or paint first?”
“Paint,” she requested.
Within moments, he had her set up on the corner of the front desk. She watched people come in to drop off their bikes for repair. The variety of people who rode bikes—rough biker-looking guys to clean-cut executive types—intrigued Ivy. All were friendly and wished her a good morning.
When the second one asked her if she was alright, it dawned on Ivy that he was concerned about the extensive bruising on one side of her face. She quickly concocted a better answer, using a light-hearted response about an accident as an excuse. That seemed to satisfy everyone.
To her relief, no one recognized her from the bank. The bruising and her lack of makeup and business clothes proved to be a great disguise. That, plus she was in a repair shop. No one expected to see her there.
When the morning rush was over, all the guys dispersed around the garage, working on different cycles and tasks. Ivy worked diligently on her masterpiece, having great fun. She hadn’t done one of these in a very long time. This break from all her hours at the bank seemed to illustrate how many things she’d stopped doing to dedicate herself to her job.
A flash of white made her look up, and she grasped the countertop to steady herself as the quick motion made her dizzy—not as bad as the day before, but disorienting. When she could focus, Ivy looked around to see what had caught her eye. A van drove by very slowly, creeping at such a remarkably unusual pace that it was still visible. Ivy froze in place. Hadn’t Steele told her that her abductors had used a white van?
“Get down, Ivy,” a deep voice demanded.
Ivy scooted off the stool she sat on and ducked behind the table. Peeking around the corner, she spotted a large man shift forward from the shadows of one bay to stand at the entrance. His movements were panther-like, smooth and powerful, attesting to his athleticism and strength. The sunlight made his numerous tattoos come to life.
“What is it, Kade?” Steele asked, with his welding helmet in his hand.
Spotting the van, Steele raced toward the parking lot and yelled, “Fuck!” when it peeled away before he could even reach the front pavement.
“No way to get to a bike before it spotted us,” Kade growled angrily. He stalked to the counter where Ivy crouched and wrote something down as Steele stalked toward her. “I got the license plate.” Kade pulled out his phone and placed a call.
“You okay, Little girl?” Steele asked.
Ivy popped to her feet and wrapped her arms around his waist. “They were looking for me, weren’t they?”
“Yes. Kade was watching the front.”
“I didn’t even notice,” she whispered.
“You were in the shadows. It’s likely they didn’t see you. But if they did, they know you’re under our protection now.”
“Will they try to take me from here?” she asked as Kade approached with his phone.
“I’ve made the report. The plates were stolen from a car. I spotted two guys in front. One had brown hair and a slender build, the other, a big guy, was bald. Someone was in the back seat, but I didn’t get a good look at him,” Kade reported. “The police will monitor the area. I’ll invoke a protection grid. Next time, we’ll be ready. I’ll move a couple of bikes up front.”
“Thanks, Kade.” Steele lifted one arm from around Ivy’s body to shake Kade’s hand before the man moved away.
Steele stroked his fingers over her hair. “It’s okay, Ivy.”
“They’re not giving up. I thought maybe they’d decide I wasn’t worth the risk, but they’re not giving up!” she whispered furiously.
“It appears they will risk everything to get to you. Why? There’s something going on that you haven’t told me,” Steele said, holding her chin firmly to keep their gazes locked together.
“What? No! There’s nothing I haven’t told you,” Ivy assured him.
“Lying to your Daddy isn’t a good idea,” Steele warned.
“Steele!” Ivy hissed, her eyes darting to each side to make sure the other members weren’t eavesdropping.
“They already know you’re my Little girl, Ivy. Don’t try to derail our conversation. What do they know? Do you have the passcodes for a billion-dollar account?”
“All that information is confidential, Steele. I can’t tell you anything.”
“To save your life, you’ll have to. Whatever secrets you have, these guys will die to keep them safe. But you have to tell us what’s going on. We’re operating blind now.”
Ivy swallowed hard. She focused on the front of his T-shirt and stiffened her spine with resolve. It was so hard not to divulge everything when looking in his eyes. She had to follow the bank’s rules. “There are somethings I can’t tell you,” she repeated before offering. “I can go back to my house,” she offered.
“It’s that big, Little girl, that you’d risk tangling with the guys that might have left you to be crushed in the dumpster?”
“I don’t know anything,” she repeated stubbornly. Maybe if she said it enough times, he’d back down.
Steele shook his head in disbelief and let go of her chin. “Little girls should trust their Daddies to help. Let’s get your painting stuff. We’ll move you back to my area. I can get a light pointed on the table so you can paint there.”
He picked up her painting and the small cup that held her paintbrush and water. Carrying them to the back, he set the items on his workbench to clear out a space on a small table against the wall. Within a few minutes, he had that spot illuminated and ready for her to work.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she whispered.
“Having bad guys after you is not your fault. Failing to trust your Daddy with important information is. I’ll give you some time to think before imposing a punishment,” he answered with a look that told her he’d already thought of something that wouldn’t harm her injury.
Not trusting her shaking hands to paint the correct small areas on her project, Ivy made sure all the paints were tightly capped before washing and drying the small brush. Crawling onto the cot Steele had set up for her yesterday, she sat leaning against the wall and opened the book she had selected. Two minutes in, her mind rebelled. She couldn’t focus on all those mysterious details. Ivy thought about stretching out to take a nap, but she was still reeling from the van’s appearance.
“You’re welcome to visit the library again if that book isn’t entertaining you,” Steele called as he took a break from his task.
“I could watch TV?”
“No electronics. Go look in the playroom for something you’re interested in.”
“Alright. No electronics takes away a lot of options,” she groused.
“It’s only for a short time. Anything you want to tell me, Little girl?” he probed.
“Really… There’s nothing for me to tell you.” Ivy held his gaze, trying to hold a sincere expression.
His harrumph of displeasure clued her in that he didn’t believe her.
“I’ll go look for another book,” she blurted.
“I like Little Red’s Visit to Grandpa.”
Ivy looked at him in complete shock. “You’ve read age play books?”
“Of course. I wanted to know what my Little girl has available to read. If something interests you particularly, perhaps there’s something we need to experiment with together.”
Her shock didn’t dissipate. “You’ll know all my fantasies,” she whispered.
“There’s nothing embarrassing between a Daddy and his Little girl.”
“Do I get to know your fantasies?” she challenged.
“Oh, yeah.”
The wolfish grin on his face made her bolt toward the back door of the garage area. The cooler outside air chilled her burning cheeks as she slowed to a walk to give herself time to recover before heading into the clubhouse. Letting herself in quietly, Ivy expected to visit the library without running into anyone.
To her surprise as she walked inside, Ivy spotted Kade inside instead of supervising everything in the shop. She’d already figured out he was in charge out there. Kade looked uncharacteristically relaxed as he leaned against a set of cabinets in the kitchen and drank from an oversized coffee mug. She remembered his name clearly. He’d calmly suggested she stab someone in the eye if she was attacked again. Ivy definitely couldn’t forget him.
He was so focused on something that, curiously, Ivy followed his line of vision. Remi. He watched the cute Goth girl closely as she talked on the phone. Ivy smiled at the enchanting picture Remi made, twirling one of her low ponytails around her finger as she chatted.
What’s going on with them? Ivy hid her grin as she crossed his path with a small wave before heading toward the library.
Running her finger over the spines of the books, Ivy scanned the titles, looking for the book Steele had recommended. Sliding it off the shelf, she flipped the book over to read the description on the back and felt her cheeks heat again. Could she read that with him watching? Ivy stiffened her back. She wasn’t going to back down or let Steele know that his mere presence made the intimate relationship in the book sizzle even hotter.
Determined to keep her cool, Ivy stopped by the kitchen to get a chilled soft drink from the refrigerator. To her surprise, Kade appeared silently behind her and plucked the can from her fingers before she could open it. Without saying a word, he pulled out a small bottle of juice and cracked it open before handing it to her.
Swallowing hard as she looked into his stern face, Ivy whispered, “Thank you” before rushing to the door. Steele was tough-looking. Kade looked like he could rip the head off a bad guy and never blink. She peeked over her shoulder to find him looking at her. Feeling self-conscious, she lifted the bottle of juice like a toast to him. To her surprise, the ferocious-looking biker winked. Turning back to scurry through the door, Ivy grinned. She was discovering all these biker guys had a hidden soft side.