“Me too,” Slater agreed. “I’m going to help your mom get the ice cream ready.”
“You four can finish your show and then, after ice cream, it’s time to brush teeth and head to bed,” Rainey announced. Their cheers quickly turned to groans and Slater laughed. He had a feeling that things would never be boring around the house with four kids under the age of eight, but he was looking forward to finding out.
* * *
They had settled into a nice routine, and he was even enjoying taking the kids to school every morning and picking them up from the bus when they came home every evening. Knox seemed to be on board with him working fewer hours, which worked for him because he planned on spending as much time as possible keeping an eye on Rainey and the kids.
He had forgotten his wallet at the house and needed to double back to pick it up on his way to the casino. He pulled into the driveway and jumped out of his truck as soon as he saw the guy standing on the porch, talking to Rainey. She was obviously upset, and he wondered what he had just walked in on.
“Everything good here, honey?” he asked. Slater pushed past the guy and wrapped a protective arm around Rainey. “Where’s Ella?” he asked.
“I’m fine, and Ella is in the family room watching television,” she breathed.
“And you are?” he asked the guy staring his woman down.
“Her husband,” the guy spat. “I’m her husband, Jack.” Slater’s blood ran cold.
“Is he telling the truth?” he asked Rainey.
“No,” she insisted. “He’s not my husband.”
“Rainey,” the guy said. “How can you say that? It’s me.”
“You can’t be him,” Rainey insisted. “You don’t even look like my Jack.” Hearing her call her dead husband, “My Jack,” hurt—but that wasn’t something he could focus on right now. This guy had gotten to Rainey, his Rainey and there would be no way that Slater would ever let him near the kids.
“It’s me, Rainey,” the guy insisted again. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t see me.” She searched the guy’s face as if hoping for some sign that would prove that he was her dead husband.
“No,” she said. “I don’t see my husband. He’s dead and you’re not him. I can’t do this,” she whispered. Rainey turned to walk back into the house and the guy tried to follow behind her.
Slater stepped in his way and put his hands on the guy’s chest, effectively stopping him. “Not going to happen, man.”
“That’s my wife,” the guy shouted. “If she can’t see it, I’ll just make her see who I really am.”
“If you’re who you say you are, then a DNA test will prove that. For now, I’m going to need you to leave.”
“I won’t leave,” the guy breathed.
“Well, now, that’s the wrong answer,” Slater said. He pulled out his handcuffs and pushed the guy up against the side of the house, securing his hands behind his back.
“You a cop?” he asked.
“Security,” Slater said.
“You’re protecting my family from me?” the guy asked. He started to laugh, and Slater was sure that he wasn’t right in the head. “They’re my family, asshole,” he spat.
“I asked you to leave, and you refused. I’m taking you down to the police station and they can figure out who you are. Fingerprints don’t lie,” Slater said.
“Mine will,” the guy said. “My fingerprints were burned off.” Slater winced at the mention of having fingerprints burned off. “Then, they’ll do a DNA test to determine that you are who you say you are.”
“And then what?” the guy asked. “You’ll leave my wife and kids alone? You’ll just let me walk back into their lives? I saw the way that you looked at her—you’re in love with my wife.”
“Shut the hell up, asshole,” Slater shouted. He put the guy in his truck and got into the driver’s seat. He wanted to make sure that they got to the police station before he lost his shit and killed the fucker. Slater had no idea if the guy was telling the truth or not, but one thing he knew for certain, he wouldn’t walk away from Rainey and the kids without a fight. The asshole was right about one thing—he was in love with Rainey, and he’d fight like hell to keep her.
* * *
Knox walked into the police station and Slater groaned. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked his boss.
“Good to see you too, man,” Knox said. “My wife told me to come down here to find out what the hell is going on. If I would have declined her demand to drive across town, to figure out if this guy is Rainey’s husband, she would have done so herself. There was no way that I was letting my very pregnant wife come all the way down here by herself, so here I am.”