Page 71 of Off Limits Daddy

"I want this baby. And if you don't want me and we need to co-raise it together, we can do that. Or if you don’t want to be a mother at all, I will raise it on my own. If you want your freedom, I'm not going to try and stop you. But I want my child."

She looked at me for a moment, her eyes wide, reminding me of the proverbial deer with their eyes caught in headlights. I didn't understand why she would have that reaction. I was giving her exactly what she wanted.

Finally, she nodded. "We can talk about this more later. I'm sorry, I need to go."

"Of course."

She disappeared through the door heading down to the garage. I took my time as I headed back to the kitchen, wanting to get my feelings under control.

As I entered the kitchen and saw Aiden drinking his milk, I had the urge to tell him about the baby, wanting him to be excited about being a big brother. But I knew I couldn't say a word until Veronica and I had come up with a plan.

I gave him a smile even as my heart was breaking. "Hey, big guy, how was your lunch?"

"Good."

I sat down with him. "Veronica had to go."

"To get the bad guy?"

I nodded. "That's what I hope."

The rest of the afternoon was normal for me and Aiden. We played together, and then for a couple of hours, he played in the corner of my office as I checked in at work.

It was nearing four o'clock when there was a knock at the front door. Immediately, I went on alert. Who could possibly be at the door? Wouldn't the agents watching the house have stopped them?

“Wait here, Aiden,” I said to him as I left my office and quietly made my way toward the door. I peeked out a window to see who it was. Ms. Racine, the director of Social Services, stood on the stoop. What the fuck was she doing here? Not to take Aiden, surely.

One part of me wanted to pretend we weren't home. Ignore her. But would my failure to respond be an excuse for her to take Aiden away?

I went to the front door, opening it a crack and keeping my foot behind it so that she couldn't push her way in. "Ms. Racine."

She looked up at me, her face tense and tight. "Mr. Ashworth. I'm sorry, but I need to take Aiden. I need to move him into a new home."

I shook my head. "Aiden is under the protection of the FBI right now. He stays here with me until this whole situation is taken care of."

"You don't have the authority. The Department of Social Services is responsible for him, and I will take him." The woman practically shook with agitation. It was very different from the air of authority she'd had in the office just a few weeks ago.

"I feel like the FBI probably has more authority than you do." I had no idea if that was true, but I couldn’t let her take him. He was mine.

"I assure you, Aiden will be fine."

I cocked my head to the side. "Not if you place him again with someone like Wally Creighton." A sickening idea came to me. "Are you in league with him? Are you here to do his dirty work?"

"Give me the boy." Her hand came out of her pocket and with it came a small gun.

I glanced at the gun and then at her. "You are with him? What the fuck? You're supposed to be protecting these kids."

"I don't have to explain myself to you. Just give me the boy." She started to push on the door, but I leaned against it, working to push her out.

"Batman!” I yelled as loud as I could and prayed that Aiden heard me as I worked to shut the door.

A bang echoed through my ears. A sharp pain pierced me in the chest, pushing me back. I stumbled and the door pushed open.

"Where is he?" The woman was unraveling, looking frantic.

I lunged toward her, thinking if I could at least knock her down, trap her under me, she would have a hard time getting away even if I passed out or died. My size and weight would keep her put.

Another bang sounded, another sharp pain that knocked me back onto the floor. All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. Darkness began to close in. "Batman." I prayed that Aiden heard me and that he was safe, and then everything went dark.

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