Daddy Devastating by Delores Fossen Read Free Book Online Page B

his gaze over her. “I’m physically attracted to you. That’ll be a problem—”
    “What?” The remark was such a surprise that it took her a moment to continue. “This is what you needed to tell me?”
    “No. It’s just FYI. I keep thinking about your lace panties. I keep thinking about kissing you. That’ll be a problem because I’m a guy, and in my mind, that attraction will get all screwed up, and I’ll have this overwhelming need to protect you. I can’t have that now, because there’s someone else I have to think about.”
    Julia had another sip of the bourbon and was disgusted that she needed it. “Am I supposed to understand that?”
    “Yeah. Because I’m pretty sure you’re attracted to me, too.”
    She tried to deny it. Tried hard. But the lie wouldn’t make it past her throat. “I won’t get involved with you.” No lie there. It was the truth. Julia didn’t get involved with anyone—ever.
    “Good.” He didn’t seem insulted. More like relieved. “Because I need to ask you to do something, and I don’t want sex, lace panties or attraction to have any part in your answer.”
    She stared at him. “You’re not making sense.”
    “I will, soon.” He took the drink from her and finished it. “Milo, the gunman from the alley, contacted my partner to set up another meeting.”
    “Good.” She nodded. “You said the meeting was important.”
    “It’s more than important. And Milo won’t go through with it unless I bring you with me.”
    Julia felt her heart skip a very big beat. “W-what?”
    “Normally, I wouldn’t have even considered it, but the stakes are astronomical. Besides, if I don’t bring you, Milo will be even more suspicious. He might panic and do something stupid. Something that could set things back worse than they already are.”
    Oh, God. Julia wished she’d finished that drink after all. Her heart started racing. She could feel the adrenaline flash through her. The anxiety hit her like a ton of bricks. She was racing toward a full-blown panic attack.
    “Just take a deep breath,” Russ said, as if knew exactly what she was experiencing. He caught onto her chin. “Don’t make me put my hand up your dress again.”
    “What?” She pushed him away from her.
    “That’s right. Get mad. Slap me if it’ll help. Hell, kiss me. Do whatever you need to do to stop that response. It’s old garbage, and you’re stronger than you think, Julia. I watched you in that alley, and if I thought for one minute that you couldn’t handle this, I wouldn’t be asking.”
    She blinked. No one had ever accused her of being strong. And much to her surprise, it worked. She felt her heart rate ease back to normal.
    “That’s good,” Russ mumbled. “And for the record, I’ve never threatened to put my hand up a woman’s dress before. Well, not unless it involved mutual foreplay.”
    A nervous laugh escaped before she could stop it. But she had nothing to laugh about. Nothing. Russ had just told her he wanted her to meet with a dangerous criminal.
    “What’s at stake at this meeting?” she asked.
    He met her eye to eye before he answered. “A baby’s life.”
    Russ said it so softly that it took a moment to sink in. Julia gasped. “A baby?”
    He nodded. “A child just a little older than Emily.” Russ took a deep breath. “I’m at the tail end of an investigation. Milo thinks I’m a black-market baby buyer, and that my client is someone rich, but who doesn’t have the credentials or the background for a legal adoption. Milo’s boss is the seller, a man whose identity I need to know so I can stop him from doing this again. Or it’s entirely possible that Milo is working alone. Either way, he has the baby.”
    “Then why not just arrest Milo and make him tell you where the baby is?”
    “Because he’ll just deny it. And if he’s put in jail, he’ll have his hired guns take the baby, go in to deep hiding, and we’ll never see the child again.”
    She touched