Page 48 of Left Behind

She nodded.

“Let’s wash the sticky off your face and hands and go back now, okay?”

While she was washing, she glanced up at Wiley.

“Are you a giant?”

“No, just a really tall man.”

She nodded, satisfied with that answer. “If I lived with you, what would I call you?”

“Well, I’m your brother, and my name is Wiley.”

“I can’t call you Daddy, can I?”

His heart broke a little bit more. “Your daddy and my daddy are the same man, so I don’t think that would work.”

“A girl at my school has a big brother. She calls him Bubba.”

Wiley was watching every nuance of her expressions. “Would you like to call me that?”

She looked doubtful. “What if Corina won’t let me stay?”

“Don’t worry, sugar. I’ve got this,” Wiley said, and this time when he held out his hand, she took it.

Chapter 8

Aaron was standing at the door to keep Corina from bolting. She’d already figured out she was in trouble, and Chief Warren had taken Ava’s DNA report and walked out. She didn’t know what was going on.

A half hour passed before Sonny came back, and when he did, he was frowning. Corina saw the look and, as always, chose offense before defense and became indignant all over again.

“I’d like to know what the hell is going on here, and where’s my kid?”

“You know where your daughter is. You gave Wiley Pope permission to get her some food and specifically said you didn’t care where she went. As for where I’ve been, I took Aaron Pope’s DNA report and your daughter’s DNA report to one of the doctors at the hospital, who verified that they are definitely related, but on the level of siblings, not parent and child, which you already knew, didn’t you? Because I had one of the officers look up your daughter’s birth certificate and it specifically names Clyde Wallace as the father. This constitutes fraud. You, lady, are in big trouble here. I don’t take kindly to anyone accusing my officers.”

Before she could answer, Wiley and Ava walked in. Aaron saw the look on Wiley’s face and knew he was about to blow the lid off somebody’s pot, most likely one belonging to Corina Dalton.

“Have you charged her yet, Chief?” Wiley asked.

Sonny blinked. “Uh…”

“I have a proposition. Aaron won’t file charges if she’s willing to terminate her parental rights. Ava tells me Corina calls her a mistake, and Ava is covered in bruises, which points to child abuse. Ava also informed me that she does not, nor has she ever, had a bed or a pillow of her own. That she just sleeps where she’s left. So, there’s that.”

Corina’s heart was hammering so hard she couldn’t breathe. If she got in trouble now, she’d never make that cruise.

“How do I know you won’t hurt her?” Corina asked. “I mean, you’re a man alone and—”

Aaron snapped. “Shut your mouth now, lady, before you say something you’re going to regret. You didn’t give a shit where you left her before, and since she’s part of our family, she’ll be treated as such, which means loved, cared for, and protected with our lives.”

Corina didn’t even look at the child. She was just looking at the door.

“Yes, hell yes, I’ll sign anything it takes to be rid of her. But you don’t charge me with anything, right?”

Sonny had seen some hard women in his life, but this one might just be the worst.

“Sit down, Miss Dalton. I will take your statement to this effect. You will sign it, and I will have it notarized before you leave the building. You will state the name of your child’s doctor so medical records can be retrieved. You will state the name of the school she’s been attending, so those records can be requested. Before you leave for your cruise, you will be served with official papers to this effect and have to appear before a judge. Make damn sure you are available for that, or I will make it my personal responsibility to have you pulled off that ship at its first port of call and hauled back to the States for child abandonment. Do you understand me?”

Now Corina was whining. “Yes, gladly, but what if it takes longer to get the paperwork done? I leave in a couple of months.”

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