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“Can you make it a sister, please?” she says in all seriousness, making us laugh again. “I don’t like boys, besides you, Daddy.”
“Okay, sweetheart, we’ll try to make sure you get a baby sister.”
She crawls into my lap with her unicorn, telling Daphne and me about her dreams last night and about how excited she is to have Daphne as her mom. She jumps up, grabbing her hand and dragging her down the hall to show her her bedroom.
“So what’s the plan?” Daphne asks me as we put Daisy in the car and head toward school.
I glance in the rearview mirror to make sure she has her headphones on. “We’ll drop Daisy off, then take you back to your old apartment. I want you to pack some things and get ready. I have a few guys meeting me at your building. We’ll handle getting Steve and Ken and take them to the school where we’ll pick up Rick.”
“What guys? Is this going to be dangerous?” She looks concerned and rightfully so.
“Could be, yes. These guys are just some hired muscle I’ve used in the past. Special Forces types.”
“What if they’re not home?”
“They are. The guys have already been camped outside the building all night. Don’t worry about it, baby.” I reach over and cup her cheek.
We drop Daisy at school, Daphne staying in the car.
“Good morning, Mr. Vaughn.” Rick stands by the entrance with a smug look on his unsuspecting face, greeting parents as they enter the building.
“Morning, Rick.” I look him dead in the eyes. “Hey, just wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. I was completely out of line. I understand why you did what you did.” I grab his shoulder, squeezing it a little harder than necessary, making him wince.
“N—no worries, Mr. Vaughn.”
“Please, call me Wes.” I clap his shoulder before walking back to the car where Daphne is slouching in the front seat.
“The windows are blacked out, baby; nobody can see you in here.”
“What was that about? You looked like you were smiling.”
“I was just fucking with him. I want him to feel at ease so he has no idea his entire world is about to be fucking rocked.”
When we get to the building, the four guys I work with are sitting in a black SUV. As they see me approach, they get out and follow a distance behind as I walk Daphne inside.
“Okay, baby.” I turn her to look at me once we’re in her apartment. “Just put some music on and don’t come out, no matter what you hear, okay?”
“What are you going to do?” Her eyes search mine, her hands clinging to my shirt.
“Nothing crazy, don’t worry. Nobody will be getting hurt… Well, they shouldn’t if they do what we say. Either way, once this is all over, I’ll come back and get you. Right now, I’m going to deal with these pieces of shit and take them to Rick where I’ll handle this once and for all. I love you.” I kiss her.
“I love you too. Please be safe.”
“You guys stand out of sight for a minute,” I say, motioning toward the men once Daphne is behind her locked door. I knock on the door, stepping back so that whoever looks out the peephole can see that it’s me.
“What do you want?” Steve opens the door a few inches, his weaselly face just visible. Before he has a chance to realize what’s happening, I rear back my leg and kick the door in as hard as I can, sending him flying across the entryway.
“What the fuck!” Ken comes flying out of his room at the intrusion, his face going white as a shit the second he sees me walking into his apartment. He looks down at Steve, then down the hallway toward an open window.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I say as I step over Steve and walk toward Ken, the four massive men I brought walking in behind me. “I’d have a seat.” I pull out a chair from the rickety kitchen table and motion for him to sit down. He hesitates, then slowly walks over, taking a seat as Steve moans on the floor in agony.
“I didn’t do?—”
“I’ll do the talking,” I say, interrupting him. “You know that I know who you are. Looks like things changed pretty drastically for you,” I say, looking around the cramped apartment. “Steve,” I say, looking over my shoulder to where he’s pulling himself up to all fours. “Why don’t you come over here and join us?”
“Fuck you, man. I think you broke my ribs!” One of the men grabs Steve by his collar, dragging him across the floor and tossing him into the other kitchen chair.
“Relax, man!” he screams as he rights himself. “I’ll give you the recording; just don’t fucking hurt me.”
