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“That she is.” She glanced up at the clock and held out her arms. “Let me put her in her crib. You need to get going.”
Grimacing because he knew she was right, he pressed one more kiss to his daughter’s cheek and handed her over.
“Want me to bring you some doughnuts for breakfast?”
“That would be lovely.”
Quickly brushing his teeth and combing his hair, Sean was out the door in two minutes. Fortunately, he worked only about five minutes away. Traffic was heavy, with most people heading home from work. The night shift wasn’t always easy, but it worked out well for both him and Brenda. When she came home from working all day at the bank, his workday started. It didn’t leave them a lot of free time, but that wasn’t what was important right now. His priority was Emma. When she got older, maybe things would slow down a bit, but for right now, he’d do what he had to do, make any sacrifice necessary. He would do anything for his little girl.
Fighting a yawn, Sean stacked another box onto the delivery truck. It had been a long night, and he was eager to get out of here. In fifteen minutes and counting, he’d be out the door. He’d talked to Brenda on his break, and she’d let him chat with Emma briefly before she went to bed for the night. Since it was mostly jabber, with a little context about cookies and her favorite doll, he’d just listened and said “uh-huh” occasionally.
“Donavan!”
Sean jerked around and spotted his boss standing in the doorway.
“Yes, sir?”
“Phone call for you. Says it’s urgent.”
Sean took off running. He hadn’t been able to afford a cellphone and relied on the phone in the break room. His mind rushed through a thousand scenarios as he reached for the phone his boss handed him.
“Hello?”
“They’re taking her away, Sean!” Brenda screamed. “They’re taking our Emma away!”
“What? Who? What are you talking about?”
“Come home, Sean,” she said, sobbing. “They’re taking our baby girl away from us.”
He dropped the phone and took off. Looking for his boss and giving an explanation was out of the question. He ran out of the building and jumped into his car. Traffic was hideous this time of day. It didn’t usually bother him, but now he wished he could teleport straight to the house. Someone was trying to take Emma away. Who? Why? Was it Bridget? If so, why hadn’t she called and talked to him?
Fifteen minutes later—which felt like an eternity—Sean sped onto his street. The moment he saw all the police cars surrounding the house, he knew, without a doubt, something awful was happening.
Screeching to a halt, Sean put the car in park and jumped out. His heart beating like a jackhammer in his chest, he raced to the house. Halfway there, he skidded to a stop. A woman…a stranger…was holding Emma in her arms. His baby girl was screaming, crying for him.
“Emma!” he shouted and ran toward her. He was five steps away when someone tackled him to the ground.
With a feral growl, Sean threw out a fist and shouted, “Get off me. That’s my daughter! You can’t take my daughter!”
“Settle down, Mr. Donavan,” the man restraining him said.
“No!” Fighting for all he was worth, Sean kicked at the man. He could hear his little girl screaming for him.
“Mr. Donavan, this will do no good,” the man growled. “You have to stop fighting.”
“What are you doing?” Sean yelled. “Why are you doing this?”
“Can you settle down and let me talk to you reasonably?”
Sean held still. “Who are you?” he asked hoarsely.
“My name is Oscar Batten. I’m with the Department of Health and Human Services.”
“What?” Sean shook his head. He couldn’t comprehend anything. All he could hear was Emma’s cries and his own anguished breaths.
“Settle down, Mr. Donavan, and we’ll—”
“Da Da!” Emma screamed.
