Page 11

Knuckles raised his hands. “Calm down, honey. No one’s going back to prison, and certainly not for killing those pissants.”

“How can you know that?”

“This is one of those things I want you to trust me on.” Riot squeezed my hand so he had my attention. “I won’t let you down.”

Had he phrased it any other way, I might have insisted they tell me everything. The fact was, I didn’t really want to know. I knew in my heart I couldn’t handle the raw facts.

I nodded. “You’re right. I’m just concerned about it is all. I don’t know you, but you’ve shown me more kindness in a few short hours than Doug showed me in thirteen years of marriage. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Riot’s jaw clenched, but his eyes softened as he looked down at me. There was a long moment as we stared at each other. His brow furrowed and I could see him struggling with something. Then he shook his head and gave me a small smile. “Let’s get you inside. You guys need rest.”

Riot took us inside the nearest building.

The door opened into one large room. It looked like a common room or just the place everyone hung out.

Kind of reminded me of a sports bar from my college days.

He took us to the back, and we stepped into the elevator.

He closed the gate and the lift started moving up.

When he stepped out into the hallway, he held out his hand to me once again. I took it without hesitation. Caleb cleared his throat. When I glanced back at him, he raised an eyebrow, looking from mine and Riot’s joined hands back to me.

Immediately, a wash of shame crashed over me. I was still married, for Christ’s sake! What was I doing holding this man’s hand?

I tried to jerk my hand away, but Riot held fast. He looked down at me and his eyes widened in shock. He let go of my hand and took a step away from me.

“It’s all right, Mom.” Caleb’s face was bright red. “I was teasing. Apparently, it backfired spectacularly.”

“I’m still married to your father,” I said softly. “I should respect my vows.”

“Right,” Caleb said, ducking his head. “Like Dad loves and cherishes you. Seems to me he disrespected stuff first.”

“That doesn’t mean I should --”

“Mom. Stop.” Caleb reached out and took my hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m jumpy,” I said, trying to smile when I really wanted to cry.

The sad truth was, I wanted to crawl into Riot’s arms and let him hold me together while I grieved for a while without shattering into a million pieces.

“I’m overreacting to everything. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more than a little scared.

But not of you, Riot. Or anyone here. Doug Harrington is a dangerous man.

The very last thing you want is him looking at this place too closely. ”

“You let me worry about that, honey. I promise none of us will underestimate him.” Riot’s expression was so earnest there was no way not to believe him.

Riot was a funny mixture of violent killer and simple country boy.

Of course, most simple country boys could become violent killers if pushed far enough, so I kind of thought the analogy fit him perfectly.

As he spoke, two women hurried down the hall.

They greeted us with large, welcoming smiles.

“We put you in one of the top-floor apartments.” The woman speaking smiled warmly. “I’m Hannah, Knuckles’ woman. Pippa here is Gunnar’s. Gunnar is my twin.”

“Hello.” I managed a small smile, despite how exhausted I felt. “I really appreciate your help. We don’t want to be a burden.”

Pippa waved my words away with a flick of her wrist. “Honey, you’re not a burden. We take care of our own here.”

“We’re not --” I started to say we weren’t part of their club, but Hannah cut me off.

“If Riot’s looking after you, you’re one of us now.

” She smiled and linked her arm with mine, guiding me down the hall.

“The apartment’s not fancy, but it’s clean and there’s, like, four bedrooms. I honestly don’t think anyone has ever lived in any of the top-floor apartments before me, Pippa, and Carrie got here.

” Hanna opened the door to a huge living area.

She waved her hand around the large living area.

It was pretty plain and had nothing on the walls or surfaces, but there was a lot of space.

Doug’s estate was luxurious in the extreme, but even though I’d lived there for thirteen years, I’d never felt comfortable.

This place felt like a new start. I knew it wouldn’t be a permanent thing, but it represented the beginning for me and Caleb.

“We’ve put some clothes in there for you both.

Basics until we can get you proper shopping time.

” Pippa pointed to several bags sitting on the table.

“We put bedding on all the beds. I’m afraid there’s not much more than what you see here.

” She waved her hand around the room. There was a sectional in front of a TV, a dining room table and a kitchen with the basics in appliances.

“The bedrooms all have a bed and nightstand. A couple of them have a desk… I think? We can find more furniture when you’re ready. What we don’t have, we can buy.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” I smiled at the two women. “We appreciate what you’ve already done. This place is huge.”

Hannah smiled. “Yeah. I think that’s why the guys don’t want to use them. They like structure. Some of them don’t feel safe sleeping in large rooms.”

I glanced back at Riot, who shrugged. “When I had a cell to myself was when I felt the safest to sleep. Large rooms sometimes feel like a dormitory. Sometimes there were a hundred or more guys in one room in bunk beds. It was hard to sleep then because I was vulnerable.”

“I could see that,” I replied softly. “Where do you stay?”

“Got a room on the second floor. But I can stay in the other apartment on this floor if you want me to.”

Caleb followed close to me as Hannah led us to a door at the end of the hall to the master bedroom.

“That’s pretty much the grand tour.” She smiled as she produced a key and handed it to me.

“This is yours. No one comes in without your permission. Not even Riot. Hawk has a key to everything in the compound other than personal rooms, so you’re in complete control. ”

The acknowledgment of boundaries nearly made me tear up again. Doug had never respected any boundary I tried to put between us. The more I tried to make myself a safe space, the more he delighted in tearing it down.

Caleb shifted beside me. “Do you have, like, security cameras and stuff here?” he asked, his voice betraying his suspicion despite his attempt to sound casual.

Hannah nodded. “The whole compound is monitored. There are no cameras in your private rooms or anything. But out in the hallway, the lift, or any areas more than one person -- or family -- has unfettered access. The main floor has cameras everywhere. All the windows have alarms. Knight and Hawk run the security systems.”

“But we can leave whenever we want to. Right?” Caleb looked from the women over his shoulder to Riot.

“Of course,” Hannah said, her brow furrowed in confusion. “We wouldn’t hold you guys here if you wanted to leave.”

Caleb nodded, seeming satisfied with her answer.

I could tell he was still processing everything that had happened today.

The courtroom, the attack, and now this strange new environment.

I knew my son well enough to recognize when he was overwhelmed but trying not to show it. Hell, I was overwhelmed myself.

“Is there food? I just realized we haven’t eaten since before court.”

Hannah brightened. “Sure. It’s not much but there are, like, three large pizzas left over from the party earlier. I’ll bring them up to you.”

“I’ll bring them up,” Riot said. “I’ll bring some drinks too. We can stock you guys up with groceries tomorrow. That way you can have your own stuff if you don’t like what the club’s having.” His eyes met mine briefly, and I saw concern there. “You should rest. It’s been a hell of an evening.”

I nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

Hannah and Pippa exchanged a look I couldn’t quite interpret before Hannah said, “We’ll leave you to get settled. If you need anything at all, we’re in the building straight across the walkway. Top floor. There are only two apartments on our floor, too, so we’re pretty easy to find.” She grinned.

After the women left, and Riot had gone to bring back pizza, Caleb went to check out the other bedrooms. I went to the table and started going through the bags. There were two changes of clothes for each of us, toiletries, linens, and toilet paper.

When Caleb wandered back to the main room and the table where I was busy opening packages, he went straight to the fridge. He was too grown up for my peace of mind, but he was still a growing boy. “Did you find anything?”

“I mean, there’s some milk, butter, cheese, and eggs.” He shut the door. “Date’s good on the milk.”

There was a knock at the door. Caleb hurried to the door and looked out the peephole before opening the door and stepping back to let Riot inside with three pizza boxes.

“You’ll have to heat it up because it was in the fridge, but it was from tonight. I can go get something else if you don’t want leftovers.”

“Leftovers are perfect.” I took the pizza boxes from him and moved to the counter. I found three plates and put two slices each on them before heating each of them in the microwave.

No one spoke in the awkward silence. I turned to find Caleb and Riot both sitting at the table staring at each other.

“Took you long enough.” Caleb pinned Riot with an icy gaze.

If Riot took offense, he was good at hiding it. “Pain had to put a quick stitch or three in my side. Figured I’d take care of that before I came back here.”

“So,” Caleb said after a moment, “you were in prison for killing someone.”

My heart stopped. I whirled around from the microwave, nearly dropping the plate I’d just retrieved. “Caleb!”

Riot didn’t flinch. He held Caleb’s gaze steadily, his expression unreadable. “Yeah, I was.”

The microwave beeped, but I couldn’t move. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. I watched as my twelve-year-old son sized up the convicted killer sitting across from him.

“Did they deserve it?” Caleb asked quietly.

I opened my mouth to stop this conversation, but Riot raised his hand slightly, silently asking me to let this play out.

“I thought so at the time,” Riot answered, his voice low and measured. “Still do, if I’m being honest.”

“Was it someone like my dad? Someone who hurt people?”

Riot’s jaw tightened and for a moment, I wasn’t sure he’d answer Caleb. Then he spoke. “Yeah. Someone like that.”

Caleb nodded slowly, processing this information. “And you went to prison for it.”

“I did. Sixteen years.” Riot held my son’s gaze and Caleb didn’t back down.

“Was it worth it?”

The question hung in the air, raw and complicated.

I watched Riot’s face, saw the conflict there, the way he struggled with how to answer a child’s deceptively simple question.

“That’s what I wanted to think about,” Riot finally said.

“I never second-guessed what I did. Not once. My lawyer got me a deal, and I pled guilty.” He shrugged. “Because I was.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed and he suddenly went pale. “Riot. Who did you kill?”

“Does it matter? I got sentenced to twenty-five years for what I did. It’s only because of Knuckles that I’m out now.

He pulled some strings and shit that got me out early.

The man I killed deserved what he got. No question there.

A week ago, before I knew I was getting out on parole, I’d have told you killing that guy was absolutely worth losing all those years behind bars. ”

Caleb cocked his head. “And you don’t know now that you’re out?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it until you asked me before. The thing is, the only reason I’m out is because of Knuckles. If he hadn’t been able to get me out, or I hadn’t met and impressed him, then I would still be in prison.”

“I don’t understand.” Caleb was paying close attention to Riot, and I knew exactly why he was asking these questions.

“If I was still in prison, I wouldn’t be here to protect you and your mom.”

Silence stretched between them before Caleb responded. “But if you hadn’t gone to prison --”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t be here to protect you either. But there would at least be a chance I could be here. If I was still in prison, there’s no chance I’d be able to help you.”

“Will you tell me what happened?”

“Caleb, I’m not sure this is appropriate. Riot’s past is private.” I put my hands on Caleb’s shoulders. I needed to touch my son, to remind him how much I needed him.

“It’s all right, Violet. I rarely do anything I don’t want to. Not anymore.” He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the table. “Will you give me until tomorrow? Your mother’s tired, and she won’t go to bed unless you do.”

I held my breath. Caleb had always been highly intelligent and very good at reading people.

I thought what he perceived as a betrayal by his father had shaken him.

Caleb had always looked up to his father.

Though they never had a close relationship because Doug was away much of the time, Caleb loved his father.

He’d believed Doug was a good man. To actually see him hitting me had to have messed with the kid something fierce.

Finally, Caleb nodded. “OK. I think that’s reasonable.”

“Thanks, kid.” Riot stuck out his hand to Caleb and my son took it. “Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow after breakfast.”

It was only eleven, but I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. I was tired and my insides were battered from the constant emotional trauma and fear.

“Will you do one thing?” Caleb kept hold of Riot’s hand, not letting go when Riot did.

“Name it.”

Caleb tightened his grip even more, his knuckles going white as he gripped Riot’s hand. “I want you to stay here with us tonight.”