Page 22 of Off Limits Daddy

"I should probably call the police, but Ms. Thomas will for sure take him away if I do.”

"He can't have gone far. Why don’t we go out and look for him? How would he have gotten out? You were at the front door and you childproofed the other doors, right?”

He nodded. “He’d have had to have left through the garage.” He was already heading to the door that led down to their underground parking. I followed him, trying to not think about worst case scenarios such as Wally had somehow gotten to Aiden or would find Aiden wandering the streets.

The space was large, with enough room for three cars across and two deep, although Duncan only had one SUV. Along one wall were bicycles and roller blades. I imagined this was where Aiden could run around when it was too cold or rainy outside.

“Aiden!” Duncan barked out, making me flinch. It wasn’t a tone that would draw out a scared little boy.

“Could he have gotten outside?” I asked.

Duncan rubbed his hand over his bald head, looking worried and lost. I had the urge to reach out and touch him, to reassure him, but I resisted.

“I have to go find him.” He headed to his SUV.

I hurried along and climbed into the passenger side to help.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him,” Duncan said as he turned the ignition on.

“One step at a time, Duncan.”

“Do I have to move?”

Both Duncan and I jerked our heads around to the backseat where Aiden was crouched down on the floor behind my seat.

“Aiden!” Duncan turned off the car and exited. He jerked open the back driver’s side door and reached for Aiden.

Aiden recoiled, pressing his tiny body against his side of the car.

It took Duncan a moment, but then he sighed and climbed in to sit in the backseat. “It’s okay, Son. I’m not going to hurt you. I was just scared to death.”

I adjusted in my seat so I could get a better look at Aiden’s reaction. Aiden stayed where he was, his eyes wide and assessing. It reminded me of an animal trying to decide whether it was in danger.

“What are you doing here?” Duncan asked him, his voice softer, gentler. I had to admit, Duncan did a good job of adjusting his tone and his approach to Aiden.

“I don’t want to go.”

Duncan smiled. “You don’t have to go. You’re going to stay with me. I promise.”

I gave him a chastising glare because that wasn’t necessarily a promise he could keep.

“Do you remember Veronica?” He nodded toward me.

Aiden’s blue eyes glanced at me and then back to Duncan. He nodded.

“She’s not here to take you away. She’s joining us. Like a family.”

My gut clenched and I looked away. I didn’t want to be a family. But I’d agreed to this little charade. I had to hope that I could get close enough to Aiden to learn what he knew about Wally, but not so much so that Aiden would be hurt when it was time for me to move on. God. This was just getting more and more complicated.

Aiden glanced at me again and then back to Duncan.

“It’s okay, Aiden. You’re safe. Will you come here?”

Aiden sucked in a breath but then rose, standing behind me.

“Come here, Son. I need a hug.” Duncan reached out his large hand. Duncan could easily be a bouncer or a mob enforcer. He was large and could be scary-looking. But Aiden moved toward Duncan, letting Duncan pick him up and put him in his lap. “Don't do this again, okay? When I can’t find you, it scares me.”

Aiden let himself be held. “’K.”

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