Page 53 of Off Limits Daddy

"Obviously," Duncan snapped. "But not to worry. He won't be back."

"Duncan." I rested my hand on his forearm. "Aiden needs to go to school. He needs the normalcy, the friends."

Duncan turned his irritated blue eyes on me. "He needs me. I can teach him all he knows." His expression morphed into desperation. "Help me keep him safe."

My heart went out to him. And to Aiden. Here were two people who just wanted to be a family, and Wally and his Crew were messing it all up. For that alone, they needed to be in jail.

"I think we have all we need. If there's something you can add, Ms.…?" The officer waited for me to fill in the blank with my name.

"Agent Marsden."

"Right. Agent Marsden."

"Perhaps you can talk to Detective Riker. He can fill you in."

The two officers left. I wanted to get Duncan and Aiden home, but I had my own questions for the principal.

"Duncan, why don't you take Aiden home? I'll meet you there."

"What are you going to do?"

"I just want to talk to the principal and look around."

He sucked in a shuddering break. "Okay." He turned to Aiden. "Come on, buddy, let's go home."

Aiden slid from the chair tentatively.

Duncan knelt down. "You're not in trouble, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"

Aiden nodded.

"Let's go home." Duncan took Aiden's hand.

I watched them go, Duncan's protective posture and Aiden's small hand in his—a poignant image of what they were up against.

Turning back to Principal Danvers, I caught her eyes flicking toward the empty doorway. She seemed uneasy, probably contemplating the PR nightmare this could become for the school. But my concerns lay elsewhere.

"I know you talked to the police, but I have a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Of course. However I can help." She sank down into the chair behind her desk as if all the wind had left her.

"How did someone get close enough to Aiden to attempt taking him?”

Principal Danvers sighed, rubbing her temples. "We're still piecing it together. We believe the man posed as a parent."

"And nobody questioned him? The door was locked when I got here. I had to show my ID." I remembered when my siblings were in school, it was the same. Me and my mother were the only people allowed to pick them up from school, and anytime we entered the school, we had to go to the office to get a pass.

"We locked down after the incident. Normally, the main doors are open."

"Is that how he got in?"

"Probably."

"Probably?" Wasn't it her job to know what was going on in her school?

"I suspect he came in the main door, but the incident occurred at another one."

"How could this happen?" I tried to keep my voice from showing the frustration at the lapse of security.

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