“You can’t,” I said.
“Why not?” Zoey asked.
“Why can’t we go with our uncle?” Benjamin asked.
“He has to be on your release form, guys. And the only two people on that form are your mother and your nanny,” I said.
“The nanny is a bit indisposed at the moment,” Ryan said. “I’m sure you won’t mind.”
“Actually, I do. It’s policy. I could lose my job releasing them to you.”
“I have identification if you wish to see it,” he said with a grin.
“So I can compare it to a sheet your name isn’t on? Sounds like your next million-dollar idea,” I said.
“Billion actually,” he said.
My protective instincts were flaring, that much I knew. But policy was policy, and whether this man was their uncle or not, I couldn't hand them over to him.
“I promise I know him,” Zoey said.
“And I have no reason not to trust you. But these rules are in place for a reason, and I have to abide by them,” I said.
“I’ll buy you a drink,” Ryan said with a wink.
I glared at the man in the doorway. What the hell did he think this was? Some kind of barter system? A date for three children whose mother paid this school a tremendous amount of money to protect in her absence?
“Unless you can get their mother or nanny on the phone and have one of them verbally authorize your departure with these children, I can’t release them to you,” I said.
I watched the man’s nostrils flare as I reached over and took Zoey’s hand.
“Where’s Mom, Uncle Ryan?” she asked.
“We can talk about that later,” he said. “But right now, we have to get you guys home.”
He held out his hand as I shot up from my seat. I stepped in between Zoey and the man and his eyes were flaring with anger. I felt Zoey wrap her arms around my body as her cheek fell against my hip, and I opened my arms so the boys could wiggle their way in as well.
“I want Mom,” Hunter said.
“Get their mother on the phone,” I said. “Or get off the premises.”
This man wasn’t leaving with these children. Not if I could help it. There wasn’t an ounce of him I trusted. Not with that sleazy grin and those brooding eyes. It didn’t matter that they seemed to know him. They were all under eight. And highly impressionable. For all I knew, he was someone attempting to abduct them. Attempting to wiggle in between them and their mother and harm them in some way. I didn’t know the nature of the relationship Mr. Aaron had with Valentina. Brother and sister didn’t necessarily mean they had a good relationship.
And it was my job to protect my high-profile students from anything like that.
The man held up his hands in mock surrender as his smile grew. I didn’t like the way he simply assumed he could command the situation. I’d stay here all night with these children if that was what it took. Hell, I’d take them home with me before I handed them over to this man without their mother’s explicit permission.
Then, he offered me something that made me want to laugh in his face.
“Fine. If they can’t come with me without you, then why don’t you come with us?”
I balked at the man as my hand landed between Zoey’s shoulder blades.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Come with us. It’s obvious you won’t hand them over to me, and all I’m doing is taking them back to my place. So, come with us.”
“No,” I said.