Daddy’s Orders (Silver Fox Daddies)

The jet engines roared as we took off, Roberto seated across from me in the plane’s back office.

“This is my favorite part!” Marianne called out. “Feels like you’re flying into space!”

I chuckled. Marianne had been on cloud nine since the beginning of the day, having woken me up at six in the morning like a kid on Christmas. After a few minutes we were up and on our way. I clicked off my seatbelt and sat back.

“What’s the plan?” I asked.

Roberto nodded, leaning over and lifting his briefcase from the ground. He set it on the table and opened it, taking out a manilla folder of information.

“It was tricky to get this all sorted out with only twenty-four hours to spare, but I have an itinerary that should work.”

“Excellent. Let’s hear it.”

“The penthouse is ready for us. I had the building security do a sweep to make sure everything was in order. As long as we’re there, we’ll be safe.”

“So far, so good.”

“The hard part will be whenever we’re outside of the penthouse. As confident as I am in my skills, I figured a little backup would be in order. To that end, I made contact with an old associate of mine in the city. He recommended two men—Edgar Sanchez and Renaldo Hernandez—to work with me. Wherever you go in the city, the three of us will be there with you.”

He opened the folder and passed me two sheets, each with a summary of the men. I looked them over, everything seeming to be in order.

“Sounds good.”

“There’s a damn good chance that Charles won’t even know that we’re in town until we’re gone. But no way I’m going to be banking on that.”

“What if we manage to get him out in the open?” I asked. “If he finds out that we’re nearby, he might try something without planning. Could get him into a trap that way.”

Roberto nodded in a way that made it clear he’d considered that possibility.

“He very well could. But make no mistake—we’ll be ready if he tries anything. And if we get the chance, I’ll ice him myself.”

“Excellent. Thanks for all of your hard work, Roberto.”

“My pleasure, jefe. If I get to take out a murdering bastardo like Charles, hell, that’s almost a bonus in and of itself.”

“You serve him to me on a slab and you’ll get the normal kind of bonus, too.”

Roberto chuckled. “Naturally.”

I rose, stepping out of the office and into the hallway.

“OK, you have to let me pick. I have the best show ever in mind.”

“Are you sure? Because I just looked and there’s a new season of Emily in Paris up.”

“This is way better.”

I entered the main cabin of the plane, a smile spreading on my face as I laid eyes on the conversation. Marianne and Emily were seated in the TV area, both covered with blankets, a plate of snacks in front of them.

“What is it?”

“It’s called Outlander. It’s this amazing show about a lady who goes back in time and falls in love with this super-hot Scottish guy.”

“Mar!” Emily said, a playfully scandalized tone to her voice. “You watch this?”

“Sure do. I want to tell you more about it, but that might spoil it. Logan says I have a habit of telling too much of the plot.”

I chuckled. Seated at the table in front of me and to the left was Pearl, her computer open as she typed away.

“How’re we doing, Pearl?”

“Huh?” she glanced over her shoulder at me. “Oh, fine. Just trying to get everything in order for the staff, then plan an itinerary for the trip. After that, I’ve got to get in touch with some local boutiques and see what I can do about last-minute dresses.”

“I appreciate your hard work,” I said.

“Sure, sure. Still can’t believe that Marianne managed to talk me into coming.”

“You know you’re going to have fun, don’t even pretend like you’re not excited about it.”

Before Pearl could fire off a snarky reply, Emily sprang out of her seat. She turned, her face pale as she hurried past me and down the hall, barely able to get out an “excuse me” as she rushed into the bathroom and shut the door.

“She alright?” I asked.

“Think so,” Pearl said. “But… this is the third time I’ve seen her run to the bathroom like that.”

“Could be the flight. Only the second one she’s been on, remember.”

“No, I mean third time all day today. This morning I was helping her pack and right in the middle of folding something she threw the damn dress onto the bed and ran off to the bathroom. Pretty sure she was throwing up in there.”

“A lot to be nervous about.”

“That’s true. Anyway, big guy, I need to finish this.”

“Sure.” I stepped over to my desk and sat down, my eyes on the Caribbean below. The sea was vast and endless, and part of me wished that we didn’t have to leave the island.

I didn’t have much time to contemplate the matter before Emily returned from the bathroom. It was impossible to not notice that something was awry. She emerged from the hallway with her arms folded over her middle, a sheepish expression on her face as if she’d done something that she shouldn’t have.

“You OK?” I asked.

“Yeah. Fine.” She didn’t even pause to say the words, instead blowing past me without making eye contact and hurrying over to the couch, plopping down next to Marianne and pulling the blanket over her.

“Something to eat, Mr. Stone?”

Estella’s voice snapped me out of my staring. I cleared my throat and turned my attention to her.

“Uh, sure. I’ll take some blackened chicken and rice, a bottle of mineral water to go with it.”

She smiled before stepping away and asking the same question to the rest of the passengers. It wasn’t long before I had a plate of food in front of me, questions running through my mind. Regardless of what was going to go down during this trip to New York, I had to be ready.

I passed the time with some work on my laptop, figuring there was a good chance I wouldn’t be getting much done while I was there.

When the island of Manhattan appeared in the distance, I took a moment to prepare myself.

For better or worse, I knew this trip would be unlike any other.