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)
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.
Riot held my gaze for several seconds before focusing back on my son and Doug. There was something in his gaze that told me I was in so much trouble, but it felt different. He was angry with me, yes. But there was no malice in his anger. Kind of like when your dad caught you sneaking out of the house to go see your boyfriend. He was always mad, but you knew you weren’t in any real danger. You just hated disappointing him because you were a daddy’s girl. There was absolutely no reason for me to believe Riot wasn’t just as violent, or more so, as Doug. I was certain he could be if he wanted to be. But that anger wasn’t directed at me. It was directed at Doug.