Now be a good baby while Daddy makes you a bottle of chocolate milk. I know I promised you hot chocolate, but Daddy would never let his baby burn his sweet tongue."
He walked over to the kitchen, whistling what sounded like a lullaby while he got to work. The whole time, he kept talking about how he was going to rock me to sleep after my bath, once I had a diaper on.
Nope. Big boys do not wear diapers. Unless they are super old like my grandpa, but that's different.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dylan. Playing baby sounds like a super fun game, but I'm going to have to say no. It's getting close to my bedtime, and I need to get home because I have work tomorrow."
He turned around with a toothy smile, making me so scared I almost really did need a diaper. "No, baby. You don't work anymore. Daddy will be taking care of you from now on. This is your new home. As soon as you accept my help, I might let you get down and crawl around so you can explore."
When tears started to fall, Mr. Dylan rushed over and pulled my missing Iron Man underoos from his pocket. He wiped my face with them, speaking in sugary baby talk. “Don’t cwy, baby. See? Daddy has your special big boy briefs here to help you feel better. They’re all the proof you need to know I’m your true Daddy—because I care enough to make sure you have anything you need.”
I gulped and tried hard not to cry like the baby he thought I was. Even though I really was so scared all I could do was cross my fingers and hope Mr. Brody found me soon.
Chapter Nine
Brody
Mack arrived first, but the police detective working the Mad Dog case pulled in behind him. Before either of them made it to the porch, where I was pacing back and forth, Jim and Brittany drove up.
I waved the detective past when he said he wanted to check Neil's room. "If you take any pictures, make a note of the wires to the alarm system. I wondered how Neil had been able to open it in the past without setting off the alarm. I can't believe I missed it, but the wires have been cut and soldered."
Mack scowled. "Tampering shouldn't be possible. His bedroom window, correct? Yeah, no. It showed as armed every time I looked at the system. I'll want to check the wires out myself. But first, how are you?"
"How am I? Fuck that. How is Neil? He's got to be so scared. He was in full-on little mode. I had him in timeout while I did the dishes, but I went to check on him, and he was gone."
"Don't worry, we're going to find him. I need to inspect his window, though. I'm not upset you missed it, and you shouldn't be either. You're not trained on the system. Why would you have thought anything was wrong when even I didn't notice?" Mack gently patted my shoulder and walked inside.
Jim and Brittany stayed with me. At least, Jim did. He kissed Brittany’s cheek and pointed to the two cats sitting at the end of the hall, watching all the commotion. "Why don't you go comfort Neil's kitties, baby girl? I'll be right here where you can see me."
She gulped and nodded, then gave him a fast hug and rushed inside to kneel in front of the cats and talk to them. Simply seeing her sent a wave of longing through my heart that nearly knocked me over.
When I resumed my pacing, Jim leaned against the house, watching. "Run everything you’ve seen and heard these past few weeks through your head, Brody. Something will pop out, but you need to quit stressing and let your brain tell you what your gut already knows. A former Ranger? Yeah, you noticed the threat. Now you have to figure out what it was."
Listen to my gut… a lightbulb went on in my head. Something had pinged my radar, as a matter of fact. Not something. Someone. Fucking Dylan.
I started to rush off half-cocked, but Jim caught my arm. "Nope. This is a joint mission, soldier. Tell me what you're thinking."
Pointing my thumb over my shoulder, I gestured toward Dylan's house. "Remember the guy who happened to run into us at lunch down in Old Town? He keeps turning up like a bad penny. From the first day I got here when I