Breezy waved a carrot stick like a sword. “Gage says I still have to eat veggies tonight even if I won the war. That’s not fair!”
Gage chuckled and popped a piece of corn into her mouth. “Life’s not fair, Sunshine. Eat your veggies and you’ll get extra chocolate later.”
The girls kept chattering and laughing while the Daddies exchanged amused looks. Jaxon kept one arm wrapped securely around Tazzy’s waist and fed her bites between her own excited stories about the water balloon fight. She felt warm and safe against him, and for a little while, the heavy weight of the day lifted.
When everyone had eaten their fill, the girls grabbed their Easter baskets with excited squeals. Each Little took her Daddy’s hand as they walked together to the commons — the small park in the center of Arcadian Hills. The grass was dotted with colorful “hidden” plastic eggs, but the real fun was about to begin.
The Daddies each taped bigger plastic eggs filled with candy to their shirts. In addition to finding eggs in the tall grass, the Littles could get them by catching their Daddy and plucking the eggs off. The Littles form a line at the edge of the park while their Daddies spread out all over the field.
“Ready?” Reid called. “Go!”
The Littles took off in a burst of laughter and squeals. Tazzy charged straight for Jaxon with her basket swinging wildly. He dodged left, then right, keeping just out of her reach while she laughed and tried to grab the eggs from his shirt.
“Come here, Daddy!” she cried, jumping to reach one clipped near his shoulder.
Jaxon grinned and sidestepped again. “You’ve gotta be faster than that, Darkling.”
She wasn’t the only one having trouble snatching eggs from her Daddy’s shirt. Georgia chased Hutch in circles while he laughed and held his arms up high. Winnie tackled Reid’s leg and managed to snatch twoeggs at once. Breezy climbed onto Gage’s back like a monkey to reach the ones on his chest. Lele darted between Sawyer’s legs while he pretended he couldn’t see her. Lovie and Law played a gentle game of keep-away while Bliss tried to bribe Connor with kisses for just one more egg.
The park filled with shrieks of laughter and playful growls from the Daddies as the Littles hunted their prizes. Jaxon finally let Tazzy catch him. She yanked three eggs free with a triumphant cheer and dropped them into her basket.
Eventually, the Daddies were freed from all their eggs. They moved to specific spots on the park's edge to watch as the Littles raced around collecting the remaining eggs from the ground.
When the last egg had been claimed, the group walked back to Reid’s house still buzzing with excitement. The girls compared their hauls and traded candy while the Daddies walked behind their tired but happy Littles, with one exception. Jaxon kept Tazzy tucked against his side the whole way. Once back at Reid’s house, Jaxon leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Time to go home, Darkling,” he said softly. “You’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
The drive home was quiet. Tazzy leaned her head against his shoulder and hummed softly. When they pulled into the driveway, the security people were loading their trucks.
Mike Winters walked over and explained what they had done. There were passcodes to learn, but he would go over that with Tazzy later. Once Mike left, Jaxon carried his girl inside and straight to the bathroom. He stripped off her damp clothes and ran a warm shower for both of them.
Under the spray, he took his time washing her. His hands moved, gentle but possessive, over every inch of her skin. He paid extra attention to the fading bruises from the paintballs. Afterward, he wrapped her in a big towel and carried her to their bed.
He lay her down and pulled her against his chest. “You were beautiful today. Even when you were causing chaos with those balloons.”
Tazzy snuggled closer and traced a finger over the tattoo on hischest. “I felt safe because I knew you were watching me. Even if the General had shown up, I knew you’d protect me.”
Jaxon kissed the top of her head. “Always. I’ll always protect you.”
She yawned, and her eyes began to drift shut. “Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you too, Darkling. Sleep now. I’ve got you.”
He stayed awake long after her breathing evened out. The day replayed in his mind. Phillip Thorne’s oily smile. The General’s arrogant taunts. The way the bastard had looked straight at the mirror and threatened Tazzy without ever admitting to anything outright.
Jaxon tightened his arm around her. The General thought he could keep playing games. He thought he could get close to what belonged to Jaxon and walk away untouched.
He was wrong.
Jaxon was going to take Ravage’s advice. He was going to channel all that rage into destroying the General. Soon, he’d make sure the General never threatened what was his again.
For now, it was enough to hold his girl close and listen to her soft breathing. Tomorrow would bring new battles, but tonight she rested safe in his arms. That was all he needed right now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Tazzy sat on the couch in her favorite black onesie, finally starting to relax. A whole week with no drama from the General would do that. She’d known that if she could just stay off the man’s radar, he’d get bored and move on to something more important. The General’s trial was coming up, after all. He had to be getting ready for it.
Jaxon had been at either the DA’s office or Sabre every day, planning and doing research. During those times, she would either be working at Books-N-Brews with Ravage or Brick “babygirl sitting,” as they called it. But that was okay. She called them Scuzzo and Fuzzo, the clowns from Beetlejuice—the best cartoon ever made. Yeah, she’d probably pay for that if they ever watched the show, but that was a later problem.