Page 109 of Paternal Instincts
Without looking to confirm who owned the voice, Aslan dropped his forehead against mine and closed his eyes, chuckling. “Shit. I knew I forgot to call someone.”
Chapter 24
Quaid
Torin was nearly upon us when Aslan finally lifted his head from mine. The irate man barreled down the hall, Allison ten steps behind, pushing an empty stroller. The poor woman had never been able to contain Torin’s explosive personality and unfiltered mouth, but she must not have minded too much since she’d married him and seemed happy.
Her smile suggested she would not save Aslan from her enraged husband.
Torin balanced his ten-month-old daughter on his hip, a diaper bag slung over the opposite shoulder. Somehow, through a masterful feat of parenting that must come with practice, Aslan’s best friend and partner managed to press an extra hand against his daughter’s ear so she didn’t hear her father curse Aslan out. At least he’d become somewhat mindful of his foul language.
“Hey, Tor.” Aslan grinned sheepishly.
“Don’t you ‘Hey, Tor’ me. You’re having a baby, and I don’t get a fucking phone call? How far down your list am I, you motherfucker?”
“Torin,” Allison said, catching up but failing to smother a smile. “Watch your language.”
“I have her ear covered. Relax. This calls for swearing. This motherfucker is an asshole.”
“She has two ears,” Allison pointed out, relieving him of the diaper bag and placing it in the empty stroller.
“Yeah, and the other one is pressed to my chest.”
Allison simply stared at her oblivious husband like he was short a few brain cells, and sometimes, I thought her assessment wasn’t too far off.
Unable to contain a snort, I earned a look of death. “Don’t you start, lover boy. I’m mad at you too.”
“What did I do? You weren’t on my call list.”
“No, but why is it I gotta hear from Travolta that you took a case Friday night when you were supposed to go on leave?”
“I…” Unable to devise an excuse on the spot, I scowled instead. “I didn’t know I reported to you.”
“Well, apparently, no one fucking does.” He glared at Aslan before continuing, finger jabbing the air in front of my face and no longer protecting his daughter’s innocence. “Admit it. You didn’t want my help. Why, Quaid? I’m a good detective. Why is the freak in the dungeon running your case while I’m at home cleaning baby cereal off the walls? I’m a better detective than him. Why did no one think to call me?”
“Tor, would you chill?” Aslan said. “It’s not Quaid’s fault. We’ve been busy.”
“I will not chill.”
Ainsley beeped her daddy’s nose and babbled. Torin tried to avoid the attack and maintain his animosity, but she persisted until he laughed and caught her hand. “Stop it. Daddy’s trying to be mad.”
Ainsley leaned in and open-mouth kissed his nose instead. Torin took it with grace and kissed her back.
Allison and Aslan laughed while I cringed at the exchange of slobber.
“You’re ruining everything, princess. No one’s going to take me seriously now.”
Ainsley continued to babble and examine Torin’s face, pulling his ears and poking his eyes, and sticking slimy fingers into his mouth. He didn’t flinch, and I wondered if there was a certain amount of immunity that came with parenthood where you forgot to be grossed out by other people’s bodily fluids.
Allison found a spit blanket and wiped the long string of drool off their daughter’s chin before it transferred to Torin. “She’s teething,” Allison explained.
Their daughter was Allison’s spitting image. Her brown skin tone was a few shades lighter, but she had the same ebony hair, which was pulled back into two tiny pigtails. Her wide round eyes shone with curiosity, the irises such a deep brown her pupils got lost in their depths. I’d heard from Aslan that she was a terror at home, especially since becoming mobile, and that told me enough to know she’d inherited Torin’s personality.
After another sneak kiss attack, Aslan plucked her from Torin’s arms while Allison offered her husband a tissue.
“How did you find out we were here?” Aslan asked.
“Travolta. He heard from Edwards and told me. It was a quiet day, so I buggered off, picked up Allison, and came here.” He propped his hands on his hips with a frown, but his initial irritation was gone. “How’s it going?”
