Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Giana met Koa’s gaze. He didn’t need to say anything. He’d seen his senior teammate’s expression as well.
“Your car is here to take you to the station,” Koa said, pointing to a fire department vehicle on the far side of the assembled crowd. He turned to his team. “Protection detail?”
The men formed a wall around her. Giana stayed in the middle and remained silent as they escorted her to the waiting car. The reporters pelted her with questions, trying to figure out who she was. As Giana expected, they followed her.
Giana spent hours coordinating with her supervisors before finally making a statement to the media. Of course, she got to add to her microphone collection. Surely by now, the news station charged the super pushy reporter for each one she lost.
As the day progressed, she reminded herself frequently that Koa would come get her soon and help her escape from this shit show. Thank goodness she had Koa. Thank goodness she had her daddy.
CHAPTER 18
Koa brought his stressed-out little girl directly to her nursery after ushering her inside. She loved to play in the fully outfitted and decorated room. It was her solace and recovery spot when life got crazy.
He rocked Giana on his lap. She held Tiger and Jellybean tight to her chest with her head resting on his shoulder. The stuffies seemed to reassure her she was safe. After several long quiet moments, he finally felt the tension ease from her muscles. “Good girl. Just relax.”
“This was a horrible day.”
“It was,” he commiserated with her. Koa had stewed for the rest of the day, plotting Tom’s demise in a number of gruesome ways. Thank goodness for his team’s efforts to burn off his anger and frustration. Jerico had stepped up to take on the training lead position since Caden hadn’t returned to work out with them. He’d chosen to shield Brooklyn from the media storm.
“I was so scared, but I didn’t let Tom know that. I don’t know how he hid all that anger inside for so long,” she worried.
“He obviously has problems. I doubt you were the first person he’s targeted. But now, he’s shown his true self. He can’t hide anymore.”
“The fire department suspended him immediately. Human resources folks will work with the lawyers to protect the department. The firefighters are pissed. A few admitted that he’d said some weird things about me over the last few months. They felt guilty for not warning me, but had chalked it up to awkward guy ramblings.”
“Do you think they’ll come to you if something seems weird in the future?” Koa asked, trying to squash the flash of anger that speared him at the thought that others had not spoken up.
“I think so. I have a meeting with the shift leaders tomorrow to create a plan to help everyone recover after this. Tom’s anger was targeted at me, but shared risk and experiences bond together firefighters. We’ll work on creating more open lines of communication and rebuilding trust.”
“Will it help you?”
“It will.” Giana was quiet for a moment before adding, “What helped me the most was having you in my life. I knew you would support me through this. I’ve hesitated to tell you this because I wanted to be sure.”
Koa swallowed hard. He hoped he knew what she would say.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“Say that again, little girl,” he demanded, feeling moisture fill his eyes.
“I love you, Daddy. I’m sorry I didn’t say it…”
Interrupting her, Koa lifted her torso up to press against his as he kissed her with every ounce of passion in his heart. They were both breathing heavily when he lifted his lips from hers.
“I love you so much, Giana. You’re the little girl I always dreamed of finding and the woman who completes my life.”
She lifted her mouth to his. Koa let her lead the kiss until the heat threatened to become too much. He still needed to take care of something.
He forced himself to lean away from her slightly. “Before I fuck every last worry out of your mind, I think you need something else.”
“What do I need?” Giana asked, rubbing her breasts on his chest.
“A reminder to follow directions. If you’d simply jumped in your truck when you finished the paperwork, Tom would not have had the opportunity to approach you.”
“Coulda, shoulda, woulda. I couldn’t have anticipated this happening, Daddy.”
“But you could have avoided it.”
Giana opened her mouth to argue and hesitated. She sighed deeply and nodded. “You’re right. Are you going to spank me?” she asked, giving him sad puppy eyes and a pouting lower lip.
Koa kept himself from grinning at his cute little girl. She was adorable. “Ten minutes in the corner.”
“Oh. That doesn’t sound too bad.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“Wearing a naughty girl plug in your bottom,” he added and watched her eagerness deflate.