Page 30 of Riot

Violet snorted awake, looking around her with confusion but not fear.“Caleb?”Violet’s voice was slurred with sleep.She tried to open her eyes but only managed to get one eye open for longer than a couple of seconds.Part way.

“Everything’s good, Mom,” Caleb leaned in and kissed Violet on top of her head.“Go back to sleep.”

“Love you, squirt.”Violet stretched and held her hand up to her son even as she laid her head back on my chest.

Caleb took her hand and squeezed lightly before letting go.“Love you too, Mom.”

We both waited a few minutes for Violet to settle.I doubted she’d remember this.Ihopedshe didn’t remember this…

Caleb stared at me as I lay there with his mother in my arms, cuddling her against me.What the fuck else was I supposed to do?The kid had this whole intimidation thing down pat.In a fight, I could take the kid.Easy.The problem was, there was no way I’d fight Caleb.If he thought I needed a beating, I’d take it like a man.

Finally, Caleb glanced down at his mother.In the dim light from the clock on the nightstand, I saw his features soften before he looked back at me again.Instantly his expression changed to one of menace.Then he pointed at his eyes with two fingers, then pointed the fingers at me.He did this a couple times, raising his eyebrows when he finished.I nodded my acknowledgment.He was watching me.Good to know.The young man finally nodded back at me before turning to leave.

Once Caleb had closed the door behind him, I let out a long breath.Christ, that kid was going to give me a heart attack before this was over.

I glanced down at Violet, her face peaceful in sleep against my chest.The weight of her trust crushed me in the best possible way.I’d spent sixteen years in prison with nothing but my rage and regret for company.Now I had this woman and her son in my life, and I’d kill anyone who tried to take them from me.

Just as I suspected, Violet didn’t move afterward.Apparently, the woman was exhausted.And, honestly, I was surprised she hadn’t crashed already.Probably because she didn’t have a safe place to let her guard down.I’d be lying if the thought of her being comfortable enough with me, safe enough with me, to get the rest she needed didn’t make me feel ten feet tall.

I kissed the top of Violet’s head before closing my eyes again.She didn’t move.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, the room was flooded with sunlight from the open curtains.Violet was still sound asleep in the same position.Her hand rested lightly on my chest.There was a soft, contented look on her face.My heart melted.Never in my life had I felt so proud and important.This woman needed me.I knew better than anyone who’d never been to prison how rare a truly, peaceful sleep was when you didn’t feel safe.

I had no desire to move.I didn’t care how uncomfortable I was becoming, only that Violet didn’t seem interested in moving, and I wanted her to sleep as long as she could.She needed it.Unfortunately, my phone buzzed.Several times.I’d initially tried to ignore it, but after the fifth time someone tried to call, I knew I was going to have to answer.

Carefully, I extracted myself from Violet’s sleeping form.Once I’d gotten up from the bed and made sure Violet was still settled and asleep, I picked up my phone from the nightstand and stepped just outside the door to her bedroom.

Just as I shut the door, the fucking phone started buzzing again.

“This better be fuckin’ important,” I grumbled when I answered the fucking thing.

“Nice to hear your voice too, Riot.”Knight was deceptively cheerful.Mainly because Knight was typically reserved.Sure, he had a wicked sense of humor, but it wasn’t often that side of him came out to play.Of all of us, Knight had been in prison the longest and had had the worst time of it.How he’d managed to have a grip on the latest technology and could manipulate it to serve his needs, I had no idea.But the man wasn’t just smart.He was fucking smart.“Get your ass to my office if you want to know the latest on your girl.”

“Tell me now.”The second the words left my mouth, I knew I’d fucked up.I hastily added, “Please.”

“Uh-huh.”I could almost see the tic next to his eye indicating how pissed off he was.“I could do that.”There was a long silence while I waited for him to continue but he didn’t.

“Well?”

“I said I could.Not that I would.You want shit delivered to you in a manner convenient for you, my suggestion would be to answer your phone a little nicer.”

“Sor --” I stopped speaking when the phone beeped, indicating the call had been terminated.“Temperamental asshole,” I muttered before opening the door to Violet’s room again and glancing in.She hadn’t moved.Good.Because it looked like I was going to see Knight.

I went to my room and got dressed, throwing on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and my cut.When I opened the door, it was to a scowling Caleb.

I raised my hands in a defensive gesture.“I swear to God, I didn’t touch her last night other than to kiss her.”I’d blurted out the information without intending to, but honestly, the kid had this whole intimidation thing down.Or it could be I knew how important it was to earn Caleb’s trust.Not just for my sake in winning over Violet, but for Caleb’s sake.He’d never feel safe if he didn’t trust me.If he didn’t feel safe, Violet wouldn’t either.

His gaze narrowed.“You kissed her.My mother.”His voice was cold and deadly.

“Are you sure you’re twelve?”I suddenly realized I’d taken a step backward, retreating when I hadn’t intended to.He said nothing, so I scrubbed a hand over my face, opening the door further so Caleb could come inside my bedroom and we could talk without disturbing Violet.“Yeah.I kissed her.But only because she kissed me.I was kissing her back.”Again, Caleb just stared at me.“OK, I’d have kissed her anyway if I’d known she wanted me to.”Still nothing.“If I say I liked it, are you going to hire someone to kick my ass?”

“You saying you don’t think I can beat you on my own?”Finally, the kid spoke.And yeah, he sounded as angry as I’d first thought.

“No.I’m saying you’d want someone you knew could kill me because Violet wouldn’t approve of you killing me.”I smirked because we both knew it was true.Not because she liked me or anything.She’d be against her son killing anyone.Regardless of if they needed killing or not.

Caleb’s expression didn’t change.“Who said she’d ever find out?”

Fuck.

---