“We free to go?” Aaron’s tone said that they’d be leaving no matter what Carlito said.
The detective nodded. “We might have more questions.”
“You know where to find us. Tegan’s staying with me tonight.” There was no give in his words or body language.
Yeah, she wasn’t going to argue with that. She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She was tired of being afraid—tired being a pathetic word to describe anything. It was as if the weight that had been shoving her down for years had finally been lifted. She could breathe normally again for the first time in what felt like forever.
“You guys need an escort?” Carlito asked.
Aaron shook his head. “Red Stone’s sent a security team down here to get us through the media circus. They’ll be waiting at one of the back exits. You ready?” he asked her, not even waiting for Carlito to respond.
All she could do was nod. This nightmare was finally over. Now, maybe, she and Aaron might have a chance at something real. She still wasn’t certain she was ready for a family, wasn’t sure she had the right skills to deal with one, but she didn’t want to let Aaron go.
Chapter 10
“How’s Dillon?” Tegan asked, after sipping the mug of tea he’d set in front of her. Aaron had bought a variety of teas since she’d been staying with him.
“Good. Sleeping.” He wasn’t surprised, not with the stomach bug Dillon had. He set his cell phone on the kitchen counter and drank in the sight of her. “I’m going to let him stay at my parents’ tonight.” It didn’t seem like just this morning he’d taken Dillon to the walk-in clinic to get him checked out. So much had happened since then. They’d spent hours at the police station answering stupid questions from both the police and the FBI. He should be exhausted. Instead he was keyed up. He couldn’t get a read on Tegan, though. It was frustrating.
Lord, the woman in general frustrated him even as he wanted her more than his next breath. He understood her reason for running. Hell, he respected it. She’d wanted to keep him and his son safe. But he’d thought they were starting something amazing together, and now he couldn’t read her at all.
She frowned. “I hate that his schedule has been all messed up because of me.”
Aaron lifted a shoulder. “It hasn’t. Not really. He’s on Christmas break right now and he’s at my parents’ every other day, it seems. If I’m on an out-of-town security detail, he stays with them. Trust me, he’s fine.” That was something he’d learned early on as a parent. Kids were adaptable. More so than adults.
“Oh. Good.” She tapped her finger against the counter, watching him with an unreadable expression.
“What?” He rounded the island, not wanting any space between them.
She swiveled in her seat as he approached, keeping her mug in her hand. It looked an awful lot like a barrier. “Nothing. Just wondering…where we go from here.”
To his bedroom or any flat surface, if she was willing. He kept that thought to himself. For now. It didn’t matter that he was dying to strip her, taste and tease all of her before fully claiming her; they clearly weren’t on the same page right now.
Almost losing her today drove home the conclusion he’d already come to. He wanted something real with her. And now that the threat from Enzo was over, he didn’t want to keep a relationship quiet either. “I’d like to take you on a real date. Then another one and another. And if you don’t have plans, I hope you’ll join us for Christmas dinner in a couple weeks.”
Her bright blue eyes widened. “What will we tell Dillon?”
“What do you want to tell him?” He sat in the chair next to her, even though he wanted to take the mug from her hands and pull her into his lap.
“I don’t know yet. I like you…a lot. But I know you two come as a package deal.”
“Do you not want…” He tried to think of the right way to ask what needed to be said. “Am I not an option for a relationship because of my son?”
She paused for so long he was sure she wouldn’t answer. Dread curled in his stomach. He’d never considered that this was a real issue for her. When she’d thrown out the excuse of him being a dad, he’d thought…hell, it didn’t matter.
Finally, she cleared her throat. “Not in the way you think. My mom wasn’t exactly present. She dragged my brother and me around everywhere. She was rarely home and when she was, she didn’t care about us. She wasn’t abusive, not physically anyway. It was clear she’d have been happier if we weren’t around, dragging her down.”
Aaron took the mug from her hands and set it on the counter. Though he still wanted to pull her into his arms, he captured her hands in his. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m just telling you so you know that I know zero about kids. I’m not the best female role model for a kid is what I’m trying to say. And I don’t want to be in his life, then suddenly not be there when we break up.”