Page 79 of Vandal Unbound

Daisy stiffens, and I feel it before I see it. “Not in front of Elsie,” she says.

Knox nods and then looks to Maren. “Hey, sweetheart, everything is safe outside. Do you want to take Elsie to go get some more pie?”

Maren nods and offers Elsie her hand, but Elsie shakes her head and buries her forehead into my neck.

“I want to stay with Vandal.”

I manage to disentangle Elsie’s hands from around my neck a little bit, just enough so that I can see her little chin wobble. “I’m not going anywhere again, Elsie. I’m back, and we’re gonna have dinner together tonight. But this is grown-up shit.”

“Language,” Daisy reminds me. And, yeah, I guess becoming an instant father figure is gonna take a little bit of getting used to.

“Sorry, yeah, we need to have a grown-up conversation first. So, you can either go sit back over there and watch TV, or you can go with Maren and have more pie.”

It’s so wild watching the trade-offs happen in real time on Elsie’s face. The TV sounds tempting. The pie sounds amazing. Another ripple of guilt passes through me when I see that theindecision is purely being caused by my absence. Because what five-year-old wouldn’t want pie or television?

“I can have more pie?” she says finally, looking over to her mom.

Daisy touches her cheek gently. “Yes, you can have more pie, and you can even have another soda, as long as Knox says it’s safe and Havoc goes with you.”

Havoc steps forward. “Come on Els-bells. I haven’t seen you for days either. You can catch me up on whether Joni’s still sick.”

Elsie rolls her eyes. “It was Jodie, not Joni.”

“I was only a couple of letters off, gimme a break, Els.”

Knox nods and whispers quietly. “It’s safe. The guy is already on his way to our compound.”

When the door finally shuts behind Elsie, the room goes quiet. Daisy stays close enough to me that her arm brushes mine. I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it.

I reach for her hand and hold it, my thumb rubbing over her soft skin. Ten fucking days without her. That’s it. Ten whole days. And now I can’t seem to stop touching her.

She twists slightly toward me instead of Knox. “I need to tell you something, and I really hope you won’t be mad.”

I tuck a loose curl behind her ear, then wind it around my finger before it slips free again. “Okay.”

“It’s the tattoo. I’ve seen it before. And I didn’t know what to do.” The words rush out quietly now. “I knew you were struggling before you left, and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

I remember something Doc said about taking accountability for where you’ve been without judging yourself for being there. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Just tell us what you know.”

Daisy swallows hard. “That’s what freaked me out that day at the bakery with Maren. The guy leaning against the window had the same tattoo, although it wasn’t the same guy. I know what the tattoo means because Elsie’s father had one too.”

Silence hits the room hard as Knox purses his lips. Every violent instinct in my body just woke the fuck up, but Daisy rushes to keep talking before either Knox or I can say anything.

“I didn’t tell anybody because I panicked. Elsie’s father was a right-hand man for the crime lord called Alvarez. Mateo Alvarez.”

I blow out a breath, but I try to guard my expression.

Daisy grabs both my hands and squeezes them tightly. “I was young and inexperienced when I fell for him. And he offered me a life that I had no chance of reaching on my own. I guess that makes me foolish, but I didn’t realize how deep the loyalty goes in Alvarez’s organization.”

“You still in contact with Alvarez?” Knox asks.

She stiffens, and I squeeze her hand to reassure her. “I was neverincontactwith Alvarez. Just one of his henchmen.”

Knox huffs. “You still in contact with him?”

Daisy shakes her head. “I’m not. But I think the rest is between Vandal and me for now. For the record, I haven’t spoken to him since Daisy was two. He has no role in her life, and we receive no paternity funds from him.”

I drag my knuckles lightly along her jaw. “You should have told me.”