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)
“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid for you,” she whispered. “What you did… I can’t imagine how much pain you were in.”
“The truth is, I don’t regret it. Not then, not now.” I met her gaze squarely. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, though Caleb made me rethink that sentiment. It’s a miracle I’m here to protect the two of you and not still in prison. But you said Caleb threatened to kill Harrington if you didn’t leave. Right?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“What if he thinks --”
“That your confession is the go ahead for him to kill his father anyway?” She finished my thought. “That’s what you’re worried about.”
“Yeah. Your kid’s smart. Too smart. He reads people better than anyone I’ve seen in a really long while. And Caleb’s got the same protective instinct I had.”
Violet nodded slowly. “I could see that. But I don’t think so. He trusts you, Riot. If you tell him not to, he won’t.”
“Do you really want to take the chance? It’s not wrong to want to protect someone you love,” I said softly. “But there are consequences. Harsh ones. And that’s why I never asked why my lawyer didn’t fight my sentence. I did it. I killed the motherfucker. If society needed to punish me, fine. I was man enough to kill someone. I could be man enough to deal with the consequences.”
She released my hand and stood, moving back to perch on the edge of the loveseat. “I think he feels helpless. Like he’s alone in this. And no, I don’t count because Caleb has always tried to take care of me, ever since he could first toddle around the house with me. You are quite possibly the only person we know who understands his feelings.”
“Christ, Violet.” She was fucking killing me with how fucking kind she was. No wonder Caleb wanted to protect her. Violet had absolutely no sense of self-preservation, but she had a bigger heart than almost anyone I’d ever met.
“You tell him what you would have wanted someone to tell you before you went back to your house the next night,” she said with absolute confidence in her voice. “If you’d have wanted someone to tell you to kill the son of a bitch, I’d prefer if you were gentle in your expression of that point of view. But be honest with him. That kid can smell a lie while it’s still forming in your head.”
I moved to sit beside her on the loveseat. Turning my palm up, I reached out to her. To see if she would take it. She did. I covered her hand with my other one so hers was sandwiched between mine. “I swear to you, I will protect Caleb. Even from himself.”
“I met you less than a full day ago,” she said, putting her other hand on mine. “When I said you’d shown me more kindness in a few hours than Doug has during our entire marriage, it was the absolute truth. He doesn’t see us as family. We’re possessions. I think maybe in his own twisted way, he loves Caleb, but his animosity toward me -- the physical and verbal abuse -- got worse the more Caleb insisted on staying with me. It was kind of expected as a child, but as he got older, he insisted on staying with me as my protector. He said he liked playing bodyguard. So that’s what he did.”
“Probably had a feeling something wrong was going on.” I grunted. “I know I did. I think I was angrier with myself for not preventing what happened to her than I was with him for actually killin’ her.”
“Oh, Riot!”
The next thing I knew, Violet threw her arms around me and sobbed against my shoulder. At first, I stiffened, not sure what to do. It didn’t take me long to wrap my arms around her and pull her more securely against me.
Her scent filled me with warmth and peace and a sense of homecoming I hadn’t felt since my mother had died. This was where I was supposed to be. And I was convinced with all my heart this woman was meant to be kept and protected by me.
She didn’t pull away, and I didn’t rush her. I knew I’d sit there and hold her the rest of the night if that’s what she wanted. When she shifted like she was uncomfortable, I pulled her across my lap so she sat with her feet to one side. I was rewarded for my efforts with a soft sigh from Violet as she relaxed into my embrace. And I’ll be Goddamned if my heart didn’t swell three sizes.
We sat like that for a long time. I rested my chin on her head and occasionally rubbed my beard-roughened cheek over her silky hair. Violet was so still I thought she might have drifted off to sleep.