Page 43 of Off Limits Daddy
As I sat down, I saw the pictures that Duncan said he’d leave me. Most looked similar to the one Ms. Thomas, his social worker, had brought me. One showed a car and two bodies with blood. I set them aside and opened my computer to search for information on recent murder victims found in the river or missing people, especially any connected with the Crew. Nothing came up, so I sent an email to the lead agent of the Organized Crime unit to see if he had any thoughts on Aiden’s comment.
I sighed as I hit theSendbutton. Just when I thought this case was going to be easily solved, it appeared that perhaps it was actually just getting more complex. That meant I’d need to stay here and keep my cover.
You’re not what Aiden and I need.
I closed my eyes as Duncan’s words pierced my chest. Then I shook it away, reminding myself that I was a strong woman. I could deal with Duncan’s disdain for as long as it took to solve this case.
Somewhere deep inside me echoed the word,liar.
12
Duncan
You’re not what Aiden and I need.
My words echoed through my brain as I stalked away from my office and down to my room. It was an asshole thing to say, but I resented the idea that I needed to feel bad for saying it. I wasn’t even out of her pussy and she was freezing me out. She was the one who asked me to fuck her.
I reached my room, shedding my clothes and getting in the shower. I stuck my head under the showerhead as I washed away what had been a pleasant afternoon.
After a quick wash, I dressed and headed out of the house to pick up Aiden at Mira and Brett's house. They invited us to stay to stay for dinner, and I considered it, except for the fact that I had indicated I'd have dinner on the table at six thirty. On the off chance that Veronica wanted to join us, I needed to get home and start cooking. Not wanting to be an even bigger jerk by backing out on the invite, I loaded Aiden into his booster seat in the SUV to head home.
I had just clipped his belt on when he said, "Olivia saw a bad lady."
I almost ignored the comment because I was so lost in my own angst. But then the wordsOliviaandbad ladycaught my attention. "Where did you hear about that?"
"Grayson told me."
I wondered if somebody had told Grayson or if he’d overheard it. "What did he say?"
Aiden studied my face in what I'd come to learn was his way of trying to read my reaction. If he thought I was upset, he'd probably withdraw, so I gave him a wan smile.
"A bad lady took her, and her daddy saved her. And then she had to talk to the police or something."
I remembered Veronica saying that she had talked to Oliver and Olivia the other day.
"He said Veronica is trying to catch the bad person."
I nodded, wondering how Grayson knew all this. Perhaps Oliver and Lindsay’s triplets had told him because I couldn’t imagine Brett and Mira sharing all this with him. "She is."
"He says she's going to be my new mommy."
My gut clenched as I realized that this fake relationship thing meant we were lying to Aiden. What sort of man would do that? My intentions were good. They were right, Goddammit, and I wouldn't feel bad for this deception if it meant keeping Aiden with me.
Even so, I didn’t want to further the lie by talking about it. "Let's get home and make some dinner. All right?"
He nodded, and I shut his door, then climbed into the driver's seat. When we got home, I noted that Veronica’s car was in the garage. I’d fully expected her to be gone, and by gone, I didn’t just mean at work, but gone as in out of this situation. Then again, she was dedicated to her job. She wasn't going to let an asshole comment from me stop her from doing it. I suppose Iadmired her for that even though it bothered me how easily she could relegate me to unimportant once the orgasms were done.
“Go wash up and then help me with dinner,” I said to Aiden when we entered the house. As he headed to the bathroom, I went to the kitchen and pulled out the casserole I’d prepared earlier and put it in the oven.
When Aiden returned, I had him help me make a salad. As he tossed it, he made a mess, but I didn’t care. I was just so glad to have a son to teach things to and pleased that he was willing to learn from his old man.
Since Veronica hadn’t run off, I wasn’t too surprised that she showed up for dinner. She was here to find out what she could learn from Aiden, so I did my best to direct the conversation to what he told me in the car. Aiden shared even more than he’d told me in the car. The kid had heard someone talk about another person swimming with the fishes. It appeared that Aiden didn’t realize that meant someone had been killed, thank fuck.
When we finished dinner, she insisted on doing the dishes, and while I didn't think it was necessary for her to do her share of the chores, I didn't much want to argue about it either. So Aiden and I went to his room and played until it was time for him to get ready for bed.
Once I had him all tucked in, I headed downstairs to lock up, and perhaps get some wine and read. But those fucking words I said to Veronica continued to rattle around in my brain, forcing me to find her to apologize.
With a sigh, I made my way up to the second floor and down to her room. The door was ajar and the light was off, which told me she was asleep or she wasn't in there. Perhaps she was up in the office, so I made my way to the third floor.