CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SOLOMON
“Still mad at me?”
Ari’s steely glare from across the table told me loud and clear that yes, she was.
Damn it, she has the exact same angry look as me.
It had been three days since I dropped Natalie off at the woman’s shelter and Ari hadn’t said a single word to me since yelling that she hated me and storming up to her room.
I didn’t know whether to be concerned or impressed. It seemed like a lot of resolve for a six-year-old to hold a grudge for so long. She had more will than some of the grown men I’ve had to interrogate.
But I was also concerned that Natalie’s absence affected her this much.
Not that it didn’t affect me too. My bed felt far too empty, despite her only spending one night in it. I fell asleep dreaming of her gorgeous face with my hand over her mouth. The hot little muffled sounds she made, how sweet her pussy tasted and how her whole body trembled when she came.
Along with the simple fact that my daughter wasn’t talking or smiling anymore without her around, I felt the guilt of my mistake more heavily than most things I’ve done. And with my kind of history, that was saying a lot.
“Hey,” I said softly, coming around to Ari’s side of the table.
She promptly crossed her arms and turned her whole body away from me in reply.
I sighed. She really wasn’t letting me off the hook.
“I did the wrong thing. Everyone, even dads make mistakes sometimes, baby. I feel bad and I’ll probably feel bad for a really long time.” I slung my arm on the back of her chair. “I miss her.”
Ari turned back to face me, her face still pouty and her eyes still narrowed into a glare.
“I miss her too. It’s not fair, Daddy.”
“I know, baby. I’m really sorry.”
“You go get Natalie back!”
“Baby, I--”
The words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t bear to tell my daughter I can’t. It would set a permanence to the state of things now. I was her hero and telling her that would be failing her.
How could I even explain this to someone her age?
You see, Daddy can’t just pick her up from the shelter again because they have cops there to stop the mean daddies from hurting mommies. Your daddy isn’t mean but he does things that cops don’t like. And those things are paying for your college education later so the cops can’t find out about them.
“Get her back, Daddy! She needs to finish reading my story!”
“I’ll try,” was all I could get out. I hated giving her false hope but maybe, just maybe I could figure something out.
A hint of a smile threatened to twitch onto her lips but she caught it and returned to her stone cold poker face again.
Still, it warmed my heart and lifted my spirits enough to smirk.
“Does this mean you’ll talk to me again?”
“Maybe.” She continued with her defiant pout.
“I’ll take it.”
I messed up her hair and planted a kiss on her forehead before she wriggled away from me. A quick honk from outside told us that Netta was waiting in the driveway.
“Have a good day at school, baby!”
She shot me one last adorable but stone cold glare on her way out the door and I couldn’t help but chuckle. My girl was so much like me, it was scary. I felt somewhat grateful that I didn’t see very much of her mother in her. I would hate to be reminded of that woman every day.
I went about my normal work day inspecting deliveries, collecting profits from my associates and placing new orders with my allies and business partners.
I hadn’t placed an order with Antigua since bringing Natalie home. He was certainly wondering about it by now and would be making inquiries soon. I had to make my move on him and fast. The risk was high but the payoff could be immense. If I took over his drug empire and got whoever was left of his people to follow me, I’d essentially have a monopoly of Northern California’s distribution network.
In some ways that appealed to me but in many ways, it didn’t. I would be powerful but definitely earn a spot on the FBI’s most wanted list. More responsibilities meant more blood on my hands.
At the end of the day, I was just a guy who wanted to provide a good life for his daughter.
And maybe a mommy for said daughter, if I found a worthy candidate for the job.
Everything went smoothly that day and I made it home early, a couple hours before I would have to pick up Ari from school. I showered and cleaned up while trying to ignore the loneliness of the now-empty house. I wouldn’t need to get dressed properly for the outside world for a while, so I rummaged through the fridge for lunch wearing nothing but boxer shorts.
When the knock came at the door I strolled over without any hesitation, ready to give the Jehovah’s Witnesses a full view of my package.
But when I pulled it open to see those familiar big, blue eyes, pink lips, and dark blonde hair, I was the one rendered speechless.