Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
“Maybe not the technical stuff. I don’t either. But you could see that the windows were all shut, how they open, where the fire escape is. That kind of thing. I’m the first line of defense for your mom. You’re the last. So while I’m at the front, you’ll be getting her away from the danger.”
The young man stood up straighter, and I could see I’d said the exact right thing. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right. That’s exactly what I’d do.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. Maybe I had a chance to at least befriend the kid. If I could win him over, maybe he’d let me stay in his and Violet’s lives. And yeah. I sounded pathetic, but this woman and her kid were rapidly becoming an obsession. I just wanted to be in her fucking presence, for Christ’s sake!
I showed him the layout of the loft apartment, letting him examine the windows and showing him the fire escape. The kid wasn’t very chatty, but he did ask a few questions, none of which were personal.
The only sections of the apartment that weren’t completely enclosed were the bedrooms. There was still an industrial feel about them, with high ceilings and tall windows along the outer walls. Each room had its own bathroom and took up half the available space on the top floor of the warehouse. So, yeah, the rooms were fucking big. I could tell Caleb didn’t want to be impressed, but he liked the place.
Then he did an odd thing. Caleb stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Thanks for helping me and Mom, Riot. I can’t protect her on my own and I can’t keep my dad away from her. Thanks for offering a safe place to stay, and for supporting my mom in court.”
I cocked my head at him. “I thought I was there to support you?”
He shrugged. “I might have suggested it would be easier for me to testify if there was someone big and scary to have my back, so Dad didn’t intimidate me.”
“OK. So… I was there for you?”
“I never said I needed it. And I never said why it would be easier.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “I feel a headache coming on.”
“Yeah. Mom has that expression sometimes. Usually when she realizes I’ve manipulated her into doing something she never intended to do. So, for the record, yeah. I was scared shitless. Not to testify, though. I’m scared of what he’ll do now that Mom left and I told the judge I wanted nothing to do with him. He’s not coming after me. He’s coming after Mom.”
“I figured.”
“I wanted to make sure she had someone with her. She’s more afraid of Dad than I am. I think he’s done more to her than she’s already told me. She admitted the other night wasn’t the first time he’d hit her, but I know it’s worse than she let on.”
“What do you want me to do, Caleb?”
“I want you to stick as close to Mom as you can, especially when we go out of this compound.”
“You trust me over your father?”
Caleb stuck his chin up. “You gonna hit my mom?”
“Hell no!”
He shrugged. “Exactly.”
“Christ.” How many more ways could I be fucked today? “Kid, I’m not sure I’m the man you want in this situation.”
“You like my mom?”
I was starting to panic. I felt like I was a kid being grilled by my girlfriend’s dad and she wasn’t even my girl. Yet. “I’m so not qualified for this mission,” I muttered. “Caleb, I don’t know your mom.”
“You know enough. Stay close to her until this is all finished. Then I can take over again.”
I took a breath, my head spinning. There was one question I wasn’t sure the kid had considered though. “Caleb, what happens when I don’t want to leave her after this is over?” I spoke softly in as calm a voice as I could manage, but I wanted to get my point across.
Caleb didn’t flinch. He met my gaze with the promise of death in his eyes. “You will if she wants you to.”
Very slowly, I nodded. “Yeah. I think I would. One way or another.” I had no doubt that if I refused to leave, Caleb would “help” me. Probably in the form of an unfortunate accident.
“We understand each other.” Caleb nodded once, then turned to go to his room. “We can talk tomorrow. And don’t bullshit me either.”
“No bullshit. Got it.” This whole situation would be funny if I weren’t so fucked. Did I mention I was fucked?
Chapter Eight
Violet
I woke up with a scream. Sweat coated my body, and I was trapped. I thrashed, trying to get my hands free, but something was restraining my whole body. No amount of kicking seemed to help. “NO!” I screamed again. “Let me go!” I couldn’t catch my breath. Sweat made my bindings stick to my skin even worse.