Page 31 of Riot

Yeah.Mic drop moment.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, running my hand through my hair.This kid was something else entirely.“Look, I get it.You’re protective of your mom.But I’m not your dad.I would never hurt her.”

“Heard that before,” Caleb said flatly, his gaze boring into me, probably trying to see into my soul.“Men make promises they’re unable to keep.”

I stepped closer to him, keeping my voice low but firm.“I’m not asking you to trust me blindly, Caleb.I’m asking you to watch me.Judge me by what I do, not what I say.Your mom deserves someone who treats her right, and I intend to be that man.”

Something flickered in Caleb’s eyes.Maybe uncertainty, maybe grudging respect.It was hard to tell.

“Knight called,” I continued, changing the subject.“He’s got information about your situation.I need to go see him.”

“I’m coming with you,” Caleb said immediately.Not a request.

I considered arguing but thought better of it.“Fine.But you stay close to me, and if I tell you to do something, you do it without question.Got it?”

He nodded once, a sharp jerk of his head.

“We should leave your mom a note,” I said, glancing toward her bedroom door.“I don’t want her to wake up and panic.”

“Already done,” Caleb said.“I left one on the kitchen counter.Told her we were checking out the compound.”

I sighed.“I realize you’re pushing me and I’m fine with you testing the boundaries.But there are some things you don’t get to decide.Hell, there are some thingsIdon’t get to decide, and this is my home.”

Caleb gave me a patient look.Like he was bored with the whole conversation.“Look.”Caleb sighed.“I get what you’re saying.I just don’t give a fuck.If it involves my mom, I’m going to be there.End of story.Someone doesn’t like it, they can tell me to my face.”

“Yeah.I don’t think you’re really twelve.”

Caleb followed me to Knight’s office.The door, which was always open, was now closed.A quick check of the handle revealed it was locked too.“Fucking grumpy bastard,” I muttered before knocking.“Knight!It’s me!Open up!”

There was a long enough pause I knew he was making a point.When he opened the door, his glare was unmistakable.

I sighed.“I apologize for being rude on the phone.”Sometimes it was best to admit you were wrong.“I didn’t want to wake Violet.”It was a low blow, but I couldn’t let the bastard think he’d won the war instead of just the battle.

He rolled his eyes but stepped back and let me and Caleb inside his office.Instead of talking to me, he offered Caleb a seat in front of his desk before perching on the edge himself.

“I’ve filed the paperwork that officially finalizes the divorce between your mother and father.She’s free, but she got nothing from him in the way of monetary value.”Knight got down to business, but he completely ignored me.Yeah, he wasn’t giving up on the war just yet.“I have everything ready that will free you from him as well, but I hadn’t talked to you about it.”

“Mom told Riot I should have a choice.”Caleb didn’t flinch at the news.Any of it.

Knight shrugged.“Didn’t realize that, but I wouldn’t have done anything permanent without checking with you first.You’re old enough, and severing legal ties with a parent isn’t a trivial matter.”

That seemed to surprise Caleb.I wasn’t sure why, but he clearly wasn’t expecting Knight to ask his opinion on something like this.

“I figured you’d do what Mom and Riot thought was best no matter what I wanted.”He glanced at me.

Two things struck me at Caleb’s statement.First, he was clearly shocked Knight was taking his feelings in the matter into consideration and wasn’t doing anything until he had the answers he was looking for.Second, Caleb included me in what he thought the decision-making process would be.That surprised the shit outta me.

Knight waved his concerns away.“Doesn’t matter what they want.This decision affects you in very intimate ways.Cutting someone’s father out of their life isn’t something I’d ever do if the person was able to make that decision rationally.You’re clearly in possession of your faculties, so it’s your choice.”

“Then my choice is to never see that son of a bitch again.”

Caleb’s fierce assertion was all Knight needed.“Consider it done.”

“Dad’s gonna be pissed,” Caleb stated.I swear to God, the kid could have been one of the patched members of Kiss of Death the way he adapted to the situation at hand.He hadn’t flinched no matter what we threw at him, however unintentional.“What happens next?”

“That’s part of the reason I called Riot.Your dad’s hired some really nasty people to come after your mother.”

“Kill him,” Caleb said without pause.“If he’s dead he can’t pay anyone.If there’s no money, there’s no danger.Problem solved.”

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