"Mr.
Cross said I'm to take you to La Guardia," the driver said.
"You can tell Mr.
Cross that I won't be requiring his transportation services now or in the future."
I moved toward the cab the doorman had hailed, but stopped and turned around.
"And tell him to go f**k himself, too."
I slid into the cab and settled back as it pulled away.
* * *
I'll admit to some bias when I say my father stands out in a crowd, but that didn't make it less true.
As he exited the secure security area, Victor Reyes commanded attention.
He was six feet tall, fit and well built, and had the commanding presence of a man who wore a badge.
His gaze raked the immediate area around him, always a cop even when he wasn't on duty.
He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and wore blue jeans with a black button-down shirt.
His hair was dark and wavy, his eyes stormy and gray like mine.
He was seriously hot in a brooding, dangerous, bad boy sort of way, and I tried to picture him alongside my mother's fragile, haughty beauty.
I'd never seen them together, not even in pictures, and I really wanted to.
If only just once.
"Daddy!" I yelled, waving.
His face lit up when he saw me, and a wide smile curved his mouth.
"There's my girl."
He picked me up in a hug that had my feet dangling above the floor.
"I've missed you like crazy."
I started crying.
I couldn't help it.
Being with him again was the last emotional straw.
"Hey."
He rocked me.
"What's with the tears?" I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck, so grateful to have him with me, knowing all the other troubles in my life would fade into the background while he was around.
"I missed you like crazy, too," I said, sniffling.
We took a cab back to my place.