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“A lot of good that did before.”
SMACK!
The sting on my hand from the slap to his face doesn’t even compare to the outrage that pours out of me. “Fuck you, Aiden.” I shake my hand, turning to leave this conversation before I say something I can’t take back.
A hand grabs my arm, and I feel Aiden’s hard body at my back. “Addison, I’m sorry,” he says softly. His voice hitches. My eyes fill with tears. I yank my arm from his grasp and walk away.
I hear him walking behind me. “Addison.”
“Let her go, Aiden,” Damon says.
I walk outside, needing air. My breathing is shallow as my body shakes from anger. I tell myself that I’m here for Lexi, not Aiden. He’s not even supposed to be working this case. I’m pacing the parking lot, doing breathing exercises, when I hear someone walking up. I glance over and see that it’s Damon, so I continue my pacing.
“You know he didn’t mean it,” he says. “He’s just worried about you being in a dangerous situation again.” I look at him with narrow eyes. “Hey, I’m not saying he didn’t deserve to be smacked. Hell, I almost punched him for that.” I smirk, knowing that Damon would do anything for me. He’s been a great friend. I stop pacing when Damon wraps his arms around me. “Have you calmed down enough to go finish our meeting about what we’re going to do with Lexi?”
I blow out a long breath. “No, but I’ll be okay. Let’s go.”
When we walk into the store, Lexi sees me and runs to me. “You get all cleaned?”
She shows me her hands. “Yep, I got all the DA … DNA off me.” She smiles proudly. I grab her hand and walk back to the group.
Child Protective Services is there. It’s the same lady who I’ve been working with the last two weeks. She warmly smiles at me when she sees Lexi’s hand in mine.
“We’ve decided that tonight Lexi will go to your apartment,” she states, looking at me. “But we’ll need to decide tomorrow where Lexi can go, somewhere she’ll be safe until we catch this guy.”
“I’m good with that,” I say, looking at Aiden raising an eyebrow.
He shrugs. “And I’m going wherever Lexi is going. So that means I’m coming, too.” A smug smile stretches across his face.
My mouth gapes open. “What?” I look around at everyone, expecting someone to remedy the situation. My glare lands on Damon. He must know that this isn’t a good idea. My eyes plead with him, and all he does is shrug. I mouth, Asshole. Unfortunately, the person who says something is Lexi.
“Yay!” She claps her hands. I narrow my eyes at her. Little traitor. She leans her head on my hip and whispers, “I like Aiden.”
“Tater Tot, I like you, too,” Aiden boasts, holding his hand out for a high five. She smacks his hand. I can’t believe this is happening. Everyone, including a five-year-old, is railroading me.
I blow out an exasperated sigh. “Then let’s go,” I say with resignation.
When we settle into my apartment, Aiden sits on the couch and watches me get Lexi ready for bed. I glance at him numerous times. His body is tense and his expression thunderous. When our eyes meet, his intense glare has me turning away quickly.
“I don’t know what the he…heck your problem is, but please stop staring at me. You’re making me nervous,” I scold.
“Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me that she was staying with you for the last two weeks?” he says, standing and walking toward me. I shrug dismissively.
I see Lexi out of the corner of my eye, grabbing the jar, and giggle knowing what’s about to happen.
“This isn’t funny, Addison. This is serious.”
“Aiden,” Lexi says, standing right in front of him, holding the jar in one hand and her other hand on her hip. I put my hand in front of my mouth, trying to hide my amusement.
“Hey, Tater Tot. What’s up?” He ruffles her hair with his hand.
“You owe me a dollar.” The lost expression on Aiden’s face when he looks at me has me busting out laughing. His eyebrows furrow when he looks back down at Lexi.
“Okay, I’ll bite.” He narrows his eyes. “Why do I owe you a dollar?”
“This is the potty-word jar,” she says, holding up the jar. His expression still reflects his confusion. His silence has Lexi continuing. “You said a bad word. A very bad word,” she scolds.
Aiden glances my way, looking for help. “Don’t look at me. You said a very bad word,” I say, trying to sound serious but ending up giggling. “Do you see all those dollars in there already? Where do you think those came from?”
