Free Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 by Breanna Hayse

so you can disappear for a
while. Maybe an engineering emergency,” her father promised, looking at his
friend for help. Scott was tapping his head, indicating he was thinking.
    “One will want to stay here, or they will take me with them.”
    “Trust me doll face, I’ll think of something for you,” Scott
said kindly. “Maybe you can use your ‘ow’ as a reason to stay in bed tomorrow.”
    “Good idea. I’ll play it up. Do you really think you can get
them out of the house for any amount of time?”
    “I’ll do my best. We love you. And we both owe you for this. I’ll
have Dad take you shoe shopping, okay?”
    Sam chuckled as her father half-heartedly protested Scott’s
offer, wondering what happened to the ‘we’ part of the deal. She finally hung
up the phone and climbed under the blankets in her father’s bed. She decided to
stay in there and avoid waking Rich as she tossed restlessly, unable to find a
comfortable sleeping position. She heard him calling for her a little later.
    “Samantha? Oh shit, you better not have taken off! Where are
you?”
    “I’m in Daddy’s room. I didn’t go anywhere. I hurt too much
to stay still and didn’t want to wake you,” she said softly as he climbed up
next to her on the king sized bed.
    He stroked her face and gently kissed her. “I’m not
surprised. I did a thorough job on you. Okay, go back to sleep. I’ll be in my
room if you need me,” he said referring to upstairs guest room that he had
claimed as his own.
    “Will you rub something on my ows so I can sleep? Please?”
    Rich sighed as he eyed her carefully. Finally, he nodded and
left to retrieve the small tub of ointment she used for an occasional sunburn. Sam
smiled, grateful that he was willing to help make her comfortable. She also
felt bad to have to disappoint him again, and prayed her father would return in
time to save her ass.
    The phone rang loudly at 0730. It was Michael. “Samantha, I
need to speak to Rich right away.”
    “What’s wrong? Why are you still on duty? You must be
exhausted.”
    “Long story, kiddo. I got a little sleep between the shifts
last night, so I’m okay. I need a second to come with me for an emergency
review at the sub-station. There was a reported security leak. I’d ask you, but
you’re on suspension still.”
    “I couldn’t anyway, I hurt too much. Rich really laid it into
me.”
    “I heard. You just stay in bed. Get him for me please.”
    She carefully picked her way down the hallway, truly aching. Tapping
on his door, she peeked inside. “Rich? Wake up. Mike needs to talk to you. It’s
an emergency.”
    “Hey Mike, what’s happening? Damn, I’m on my way. Okay, I’ll
tell her. Michael says he loves you and to go back to bed. He’s trusting you to
behave yourself, and so am I. Just remember, the cane comes out next time,” he
warned her sternly, peeling off his clothes and changing in front of her. He
was beautiful to look at. She sighed, feeling a stirring. No, bad timing.
    “Yes, Rich. Drive carefully.”
    “I love you. I mean it, you better be a good girl for me. I’ll
see you when we’re done. It might be late. We’ll call if we can, but it’s a
class 1 security breach.”
    “You might not be home tonight then.” She forced herself to
look unhappy.
    “It will be okay. Go back to bed.” He kissed her before
rushing out the door.
    Sam hung around the house, knowing one of them would call to
check on her. Michael phoned at about two o’clock that afternoon to tell her
they would be delayed indefinitely. Her father called shortly afterwards from
Chicago, he was on his layover and would be in by six. Sam reported her plans
on leaving in an hour and that she intended to make herself visible at the
school’s football game prior to attending the after game party.
    Her father laughed. “You poor kid. You hate football. Well,
at least your brother will have no reason to guess where you are.”
    “It is all in the line of duty, Daddy. Just