Page 24 of The Vengeance You Crave

"I'm sorry. You're okay though, right?"

He nods, but the sadness never leaves his face. I understand why. I feel the same pain on a daily basis too.

"Come on, let's get you to bed."

I help him back to his room and tuck him in.

"I don't like you working late, Pey."

"I know, baby. But sometimes we have to do things we don't like. It will get better, I promise."

"I miss her," he says, his soft voice cracking with emotion and shattering my heart all over again.

"I know, baby. I know."

I hold his small hand in mine, allowing his warmth to ground me. He holds my eyes for a minute but they soon become too heavy once more and he drifts off to sleep.

I watch him for a long time as he snores lightly, his raggedy lamb tucked under his head.

As I sit there, I make him the promise I have done a million times over in the last couple of weeks.

I promise to make everything okay. I promise to give you everything they couldn't.

With tears in my eyes, I drop a kiss to his forehead and slip silently out of the room.

While I might have been through hell in the past few months, that little boy has had it even worse.

All of this is for him. All of it.

I'll take everything Luca throws my way. All his vicious accusations and wicked touches because Kayden is my endgame here. He's lost too much for me to give up on him too.

* * *

I arrive at Ella's dorm later than I agreed because, after the night before, I knew I needed to have dinner at home.

It would be too easy to get swept up into college life while working as many hours as physically possible. But that's not my life now. I have responsibilities, and that little boy needs me.

I knew it was the right decision the second I stepped foot into the house after class and saw his little face light up.

He was working on his phonics with Aunt Fee, but she called time on their little lesson so the two of us could hang out.

He talked my ear off the entire time and then insisted on sitting beside me while we ate. It was like he was scared that if he even looked away for a second then I might vanish.

I got it. Hell, I more than got it. There were times in the past few weeks where I felt exactly the same.

Not wanting to disappoint him, I stayed and put him to bed. And I'm so glad I did. It was the reminder I needed for why I'm doing this. For why I'm putting myself through bullshit like last night.

I shudder, still able to feel the eyes of those guys on my skin.

I scrubbed every inch of my body twice as I stood under the scorching heat of Aunt Fee's shower once I left Kayden last night.

I told myself that I was washing Luca off me, but it was all lies. While a huge part of me might hate him for how he treated me, there was something about his scent clinging to my skin that just felt so right.

He might have been vicious, but I also know that while he's watching me, the other men can't touch me. Or at least, that's what I hope anyway.

I knock on the door to Ella's dorm before pushing it open and poking my head inside.

"Well, well, well," a guy says, immediately turning his stare on me. "What do we have here?"