He Killed Her Slowly (A Completed Steamy, Romance)

Part 21

Asher 

I was standing in the bedroom staring out the window, and Diara is standing on a chair. "Get down from there!" She's at the balcony.

I ran toward her, but she didn't come any closer but further away. "I'm so sorry, Asher. I loved you, and never wanted to hurt you, but he was hurting me. Go to her, your love is all she needs."

I finally reached her, but she jumped.

"Noooo!"

I woke in a cold sweat, and my heart is racing.

"Asher? Are you okay?" A soft, tiny voice asked from my doorway.

"Greer?"

"Yes, you were crying. You said mommy's name."

"I'm sorry if I woke you," I said.

"Mommy used to have bad dreams too."

I sat up in my bed. "Do you have bad dreams?" I asked.

"Not anymore." She was still standing in my doorway.

"Good, let me walk you back to bed."

I got up and took her hand, and she looked up at me. "You were crying for my mommy." She said.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Mommy had pictures of you until the bad man put them on fire."

She kept pictures of me?

"Who is the bad man?"

"Uncle Jack. He used to hit mommy, and said he will kill Asher."

I stopped and kneeled down. "I wish that bad man wasn't near you or mommy, but I'll make sure you never have to see him again."

She looked at the floor.

"Are you my daddy?"

My heart skipped a beat.

"I'm trying to figure that out, and I hope I am your daddy. I really want to be him. Would that be okay with you?"

She nodded yes. "Mommy said I can never tell anyone who my daddy is because of the bad man."

What?

"Greer, did your mommy tell you your daddy's name?"

She looked. "Yes."

"You didn't tell Aunt Maggie? Honey, you can trust Aunt Maggie."

"That's what mommy said, and we used to look at her in magazines. Mommy said she's a real princess."

"Did your mommy say I'm your daddy?"

"Kinda, she said you're a range..rene."

"Renegade?" I asked.

"Yeah, Ash Renegade."

"I'm Asher Bianchi, and my work's name is Renegade."

"Mommy worked for the bad man."

"I didn't know you were born, or that mommy was being hurt. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you."

"Mommy said I'm a secret princess. That nobody knows I'm a princess. Not even my daddy or Aunt Maggie."

"I didn't know God had sent you." I squeezed her little hand.

"Mommy was sick a lot, but I took good care of her, then the hairy man said mommy went to heaven."

"Hairy man?"

"He wore a ponytail like a girl, and Aunt Maggie called him a dimwit." She giggled.

"If Aunt Maggie called him a dimwit, then he was."

She smiled. "She said you act mean, but you're just sad. That's what she told Aunt Vicky. Why were you sad?"

"Because I lost your mommy. I loved your mommy more than anything, then she went away because of the bad man."

"What's going to happen to me?"

I took a deep breath. If she loses Maggie, I don't think she will ever recover.

"It's you, Aunt Maggie, and me from now on. We're family, and you also have a grandma, an Uncle, another Aunt, and a great uncle. You don't have to worry about anything again. We've got you, and you're home."

"Is Aunt Maggie their family too?"

"Not by blood, but maybe we can adopt her." I chuckled at the thought of dealing with that stubborn and very spoiled woman the rest of my life.

"I hope you're my daddy, because I don't want to be scared anymore."

My nose started to tingle, and my vision became blurry.

"I really hope I'm your daddy, and we'll find out soon."

I scooped her up into my arms, and she hugged me back so tightly. I heard a sniffle.

"I know you are, you have to be my daddy. Mommy said so."

My heart healed in an instant, and I feel whole again with her in my arms. This is unlike any hug I've ever known.

I kissed her head. "We better get you to bed."

I walked her into her room and laid her on her bed.

"Will you stay with me?" She asked as I covered her up.

"Sure."

I walked to the other side and crawled into bed with her, then she hugged me till she fell asleep. Everything seems right in the world now, and I dozed off for the night with my daughter in my arms.