Page 77 of Off Limits Daddy

22

Duncan

Grayness. I was floating in nothingness. There seemed to be noise and movement around me, but I couldn't make any sense of it. I couldn't focus on it to understand what it was. There was only fog and a pulling or a falling deeper and deeper into nothingness.

Darkness divided.Again, the gray mist brought some awareness but no clarity. Was I dead? An image in black fluttered across my consciousness. A bat. Batman.

"Batman."

"Mr. Ashworth. You’re okay. You're in the hospital."

The mist began to disperse. A softer glow of light filtered in.

My eyes opened to find a woman looking over me. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

I was alive. But where was Aiden? "I have to go. I have to find my son." I tried to move, but my limbs felt like cinder blocks. A sharp pain slashed through my chest. An image of a woman pointing a gun at me flashed in my head. Jesus, had I been shot?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ashworth, but?—”

“My son?—”

"I need you to relax, Mr. Ashworth. The police are outside, and I can ask them to come in and they can tell you about your son. But you have to calm down."

How could I calm down if I didn't know what happened to Aiden? If only I were strong enough to move. "I'm fine. I want to talk to the police."

A moment later, a man in a well-worn suit entered. "I'm Detective Riker. I need to take a statement —"

"Where's my son? You have my son? Aiden."

"Your son is not with us, Mr. Ashworth. He's with Special Agent Marsden of the FBI. She found him."

Relief flooded through me. Veronica didn't love me. Didn't want to have a family with me. But she would protect Aiden. I had no doubt about that. If only it was because she loved him and not just because it was her job.

"What day is it?" I asked, my mouth feeling like someone had taken sandpaper to it.

"You've been out for about two days. Can you tell me who shot you?"

"She's with the Department of Social Services. Racine."

He nodded as he jotted the name down on his notepad.

"She wanted to take Aiden. She wants to give him to Wally Creighton." I reached out and gripped his forearm. "That can't happen."

The detective looked me in the eyes. "That won't happen. I'm well aware of the case, and I can assure you we’re doing everything we can to get this solved. Your fiancée and son are in a safe house for the time being."

My fiancée. An image of Veronica nestled in my arms filled my mind. But it wasn't real. Everything had been fake. "As long as my son is safe."

The nurse came in, interrupting. "I'm sorry, Detective, but that's all the time we can allow. Mr. Ashworth needs his rest."

"I don't need rest. I need to get out of here. I need to protect my son." The machine next to me started to beep rapidly.

"Mr. Ashworth. You're not going to be any use to your son if you don't relax. You're in stable condition, but you are not out of the woods."

She walked over to the series of machines next to the bed. "You need to rest." A syringe went into one of the lines connected to my arm. I wanted to rip it out because I knew she was sending me back to the mist, back to the nothingness. But the darkness came faster than I was able to move.

23

Veronica

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