Daddy Devastating by Delores Fossen Page A

safe, that is.
    “Emily has to be all right,” Julia whispered.
    “She will be. But I have to move her to a safe house. You know that, right?”
    There were tears in her eyes when she pulled back a little and met his gaze. “I know.”
    “Just hang on,” he told her, and tightened his grip. All he could do was sit there and hold her.
    Russ wanted to punch himself for allowing this to happen to her. Julia didn’t need this in her head, not with all the other nightmares she already had to manage. Unfortunately, this new nightmare wasn’t close to being over.
    “Get started on the arrangements for the safe house and try to find some place local, so the move can happen ASAP,” Russ told the agents, when they pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. “I also want any surveillance disks from the park. I saw some security cameras, so let’s hope they were on and working.”
    “Anything else?” Chris Soto asked.
    “Yeah. I need to speak with Milo. Find a way for that to happen. I don’t have a number, because he uses only prepaid cells, but you might be able to reach him through his assistant, Sylvia Hartman.”
    The agents assured him they would get right on his requests, and Russ didn’t waste any more time. He got Julia out of the car and into the hotel. The lobby had several people milling around, all of whom suddenly looked suspicious. Hell, everything was suspect right now and would be until he had answers.
    There was a guard outside Julia’s suite door, but Russ didn’t dismiss him. He ordered him to stay put while he knocked and told Zoey to open the door. The woman did, and like Julia, she looked worried. Julia rushed past her and into the bedroom suite. Russ was right behind her, and they both saw Emily sleeping in her crib.
    “You haven’t had any visitors or calls, have you?” Russ whispered to Zoey.
    “Just the call from Julia. Are we in danger?”
    Because he didn’t want to wake the baby, he took Zoey out into the sitting room. “No,” he lied. “But as a precaution, I’m moving all of you to an FBI safe house. Don’t call anyone. Don’t tell anyone what’s going on. I just need you to pack your things and get ready. Then wait in your room with the door locked and the curtains closed,” he added.
    Zoey gave a shaky nod and hurried toward her room. Russ then turned his full attention to Julia, who was no doubt ready for a panic attack. But he did a double take. Yes, there were the remnants of tears in her eyes, but she didn’t have the pale, clammy look as she’d had after the alley meeting with Milo.
    “I can’t go to the safe house,” Julia insisted.
    “Excuse me?” Because Russ was sure he’d understood her.
    She lifted her hands, which were scratched, and then quickly hid them behind her back when she noticed the damage. “If I’m not there for the meeting, Milo said it wouldn’t take place.”
    He just stared at her. “After what just happened, I don’t intend to trust Milo about anything, much less a meeting that involves you being just inches away from him.”
    “Then what about the baby?” she asked.
    Yeah. That was the two-million-dollar question. “If the shooter isn’t Milo, then my next step is to call him. To tell him I don’t trust him. I want his boss, Z, to find someone else to use as a go-between. Sylvia, maybe.” Even though he didn’t trust Milo’s assistant, either. Sylvia might have given them the warning about Emily, but the woman was dirty by association, because no one legal and above-board would voluntarily work for a man like Milo.
    “All I’m saying is I need to be available,” Julia explained. Her voice broke on the last word. “And I can’t be available if I’m shut away in a safe house. What if Milo wants another meeting in fifteen minutes? What if I’m not there and he finds another buyer?”
    Russ was about to argue, even if the argument he had in mind made no sense, but Julia reached out and put her hand around the back of his