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“Your Honor?” I’d met Edward Todd on a number of occasions.

Always, he and Doug were above everyone else.

What Doug wanted, Mr. Todd made happen. Having someone push back and challenge their authority wasn’t something Mr. Todd was used to.

He would handle the issue, but it wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.

“If I understand you correctly, the only people I should believe are you and your client? No one else can be trusted to tell me the truth?”

Mr. Todd gave her a confused look before he blanked his expression. “I didn’t say that.”

“No. You said Mrs. Violet is only here because she wants money. Mr. Caleb is only going to say what his mother tells him. Neither of them can be trusted. What about opposing counsel? Can I trust her to tell the truth?”

“I believe you’ve misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was only pointing out Mrs. Violet has ulterior motives and an agenda. You should take what she says accordingly.”

“So, only you and your client can be trusted,” she repeated.

Mr. Todd shook his head. “I don’t understand the question, Your Honor. I’ve explained my reasoning --”

“Your objections are noted, Mr. Todd. Now, if I could be allowed to finish my questions for Mr. Caleb, I’d be grateful.”

Mr. Todd waved his hand once with a flick of his wrist. “Carry on, Your Honor.” I didn’t think Mr. Todd understood the level of annoyance on Judge Whitmore’s face.

Likely he’d already come to the decision he was going to have to go a step past this judge.

It’s what Mr. Todd did. He analyzed the situation and adapted accordingly.

“Now, Mr. Caleb.” Judge Whitmore turned her full attention to my son. “Will you please state for the record how old you are?”

“I’m twelve, Your Honor.” His voice squeaked, something I knew Caleb hated. He’d hit puberty and not only was he as tall as me, his voice was trying to get deeper. I glanced at his father’s face. The slight smirk wouldn’t be missed by Caleb, but I was proud of my son for not reacting.

“What did you want to tell me, young man?” The judge was kind as she spoke to Caleb, but there was that no-nonsense teacher kind of vibe she had going on.

It didn’t seem like he was talking to an officer of the court, but more like a school counselor was having a conversation with him.

My heart ached for Caleb. I dreaded what he was about to say.

I wanted to spare him this. I never wanted him to get between me and Doug, but I was out of options if I wanted to save my son.

“Caleb,” I whispered, my heart breaking. “You don’t have --”

“No, Mom. I do have to do this.” His voice was firm but not unkind.

“He doesn’t get to hurt you again. For any reason.

” For the first time in his young life, Caleb met his father’s gaze and didn’t flinch.

“I’m the reason Mom’s leaving him,” Caleb began.

“I told her she had to because…” He trailed off and I willed him not to tell the judge he’d wanted to kill his father and had threatened to do so unless I left.

He swallowed and closed his eyes briefly before focusing his hate-filled gaze on Doug.

“Because Mom deserves someone who doesn’t hurt her all the time. ”

Mr. Todd stood, a sad smile on his face. “Your Honor, are you really going to allow this to be on the record?”

“Mr. Todd, I’ll deal with you when this hearing is over.

Not another word.” She turned back to Caleb.

“Mr. Caleb, will you look at me, please?” Caleb hesitated a moment, but did as instructed.

“Good. Say what you came to say, Mr. Caleb. Why do you want your mother to leave your father, and why do you want your mother to have full custody of you?”

“He’s a monster,” Caleb said without preamble.

“I thought he might have hurt Mom before, but until a few months ago she’d always make up excuses, tell me how clumsy she is and everything.

But you can only trip over a non-existent stray dog, or sleepwalk and fall down the stairs, or accidentally run into someone’s lit cigar and burn yourself, so many times before the people who love you have to read between the lines. ”

“If that’s all true, Mr. Caleb, why did you not say something earlier?

Sounds like you’ve neglected your mother even though you profess to be concerned.

Seems like you’re only concerned now when you’re angry at your father for grounding you for bad grades.

” Mr. Todd stood now, moving away from his table and toward Caleb. It was an obvious intimidation tactic.

“Mr. Todd,” Judge Whitmore called sharply. “You are out of line. I’ve instructed you to remain silent, yet you continue to believe you’re in charge. You are not.”

“I’m allowed to cross examine the witness.”

“This isn’t a trial, Mr. Todd.” She leaned forward as if speaking to a child.

“This is an emergency custody hearing. The two have very different functions and rules, as a lawyer of your reputation should know. If not, may I suggest you have an associate better versed in the nuances of family court handle this hearing for you.” She gave Mr. Todd a smile that held little humor.

“You will get your chance to speak when it’s your turn.

Until then, I suggest you sit down and keep your objections to yourself.

” She leaned forward slightly, staring at Mr. Todd and Doug.

“When that time comes, if I even get a hint of a vibe that makes me believe you’re trying to intimidate Mr. Caleb, you’ll be in even more trouble than you’re already in, Mr. Todd. ”

She turned back to Caleb. “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Caleb.” I liked that she treated Caleb like an adult and not a child who didn’t know his own mind or was unable to accurately give his account of what happened. “Please continue.”

Caleb looked decidedly uncomfortable but put his chin up defiantly before he spoke.

“I didn’t want to be the reason Mom and Dad split up,” Caleb said, his voice steadier now.

“I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe Mom really was just clumsy, and I was wrong about what was going on. But yesterday, I saw him.” His voice cracked slightly prompting another chin lift from my sweet boy.

“I came home early from a friend’s house because I forgot my math book and had homework.

I heard yelling from upstairs and thought maybe Mom was watching a movie or something. ”

I closed my eyes, bile rising in my throat. I hadn’t known Caleb had seen anything. I’d been so careful to keep him away from Doug’s outbursts.

“Go on,” Judge Whitmore encouraged, her face neutral but her eyes kind.

By contrast, I could see the rage building in Doug’s eyes.

I’d seen that look too many times to count and it never boded well.

It was hard to hold a little whimper back, but I thought I managed.

Until Lana put her hand over mine and squeezed tightly, a reminder to stay silent.

Caleb’s shoulders straightened. I saw Riot shift his stance slightly, moving just a fraction closer to my son. It was subtle, but I felt a rush of gratitude for this stranger who seemed genuinely concerned for Caleb.

“He was hitting her.” Caleb’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“Not just once. Over and over. She was on the floor, and he kept hitting and kicking her. Calling her worthless. Saying no one would ever want her, that she was lucky he even looked at her.” Caleb’s voice shook with rage now, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“He said if she ever tried to leave, he’d kill her.

That he’d make it look like an accident.

” He glared at Mr. Todd and snorted out a humorless laugh.

“He even said Mr. Todd could get him out of any legal stuff if her death was investigated.”

I could feel the tears streaming down my face as Caleb recounted what he’d witnessed.

The shame burned through me. Not because of what Doug had done, but because my son had seen it.

He was witness to the violence I’d allowed myself to endure.

There was no way he could understand that I’d kept myself in an impossible situation because I knew that if I left, Doug would either make good on his threat to kill me or make sure I never saw Caleb again.

Either way would put Caleb in his sights, and I had to be my son’s protector.

Judge Whitmore nodded, her face impassive but her eyes sharp. “What did you do when you saw this, Mr. Caleb?”

“I ran in and jumped on his back.” Caleb’s voice had steadied, pride replacing the rage.

“I tried to get him off her. He threw me off, but it was enough time for Mom to get up. She got between us and begged him not to touch me.” His voice caught.

“She was bleeding and could barely stand, but she was protecting me.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Riot shift his weight, his jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle jumping.

His hands were no longer relaxed in front of him, but balled into fists.

I’d seen the same look on Doug’s face. In fact, they showed identical expressions.

The difference was, Riot let his rage show in the set of his jaw, the way his eyes narrowed, and the slight snarl of his lip.

Not to mention the way his clenched fists made the veins in his muscled arms stand out in a threatening relief.

Every ounce of that malice was directed at Doug.

Then Riot turned his head to look straight at me.

That anger smoldered around the edges of his visage, where Doug’s face was carefully neutral.

Riot’s gaze burned into me like acid and for the first time, I saw the man for the killer he was.

I sucked in a breath. I’d seen that exact expression on Caleb’s face when he’d pulled Doug off me.

It was why I’d thrown myself between the two of them.

I absolutely would not let Caleb kill his father.