“Yeah, well, that’s not gonna happen, so I suggest you leave now. You must still be on parole, right? I gotta imagine a restraining order violation is against the terms.”
Aren’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. He opened his mouth to say something, but then I saw when the recognition clicked. “You! You’re the asshole who broke my arm.”
I grinned, but it wasn’t pleasant. Straightening my shoulders, I utilized my full height. I was a big guy, but I tried not to use it to intimidate often. Of course, there were exceptions.
My one hand was still behind my back, and Knox took me by surprise when he slipped his into mine. His fingers were clammy, and I could feel the tremors running through him. He wasn’t just angry; he was terrified. I squeezed reassuringly.
“And you’re the asshole who tried to smother your daughter and nearly killed my husband. I gotta say, you got off easy.”
“Husband?”
I didn’t acknowledge his question. It was none of his business. “You have three seconds, Azarian, before I call the cops.” Aren didn’t move. “One . . . two . . .” I pulled out my phone.
“Okay, okay! I’m fucking leaving. I only wanted to talk, Jesus. I’m clean now. Did my time. I want to see my daughter. It’s my right.”
I unlocked the phone. “Fuck.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m fucking going. But you tell Wynter I was askin’ about her. And you tell Riot that this isn’t over. He can’t keep my kid from me!”
Aren walked away, getting into an older model Honda that was parked on the road. I didn’t blink until he sped away. Didn’t breathe until I could no longer see the car.
I didn’t move immediately. I knew once I turned around, I’d have to be in Dad mode. Knox was barely holding it together. The boys were upstairs and probably scared out of their minds. There were cops to call, and social workers, and I needed to get Riot back here. But if I didn’t take a moment to get my anger under control, I’d never be able to do any of those things. The kids were the priority, but seeing that fucker again had brought me back to that night, to how fucking scared I’d been when I’d sped in my aunt’s car to Riot’s trailer. I could hear the fighting from outside, and I’d had no idea what I’d be walking into. I wondered if this would be the time that things went too far and Riot wouldn’t make it. And for a second, when I saw his limp body lying there, Azarian still pounding his fist into his face, I’d thought that it was. I’d thought it was the last time I’d ever see my best friend.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pushing back all the memories. Riot was safe. Wynter was safe. That would never happen again. I wouldn’t allow it.
I turned around and faced Knox.
“Koa—” His voice broke.
“Oh, c’mere, kiddo. It’s okay.” Knox launched himself into my arms, his fingers clawing into my shirt, fisting the fabric. I held him tight and gently got us out of the doorway, kicking the door behind me. “I got you, Knox. He’s gone.”
Knox sobbed, and I knew he was remembering that night too. “You’re safe. They’re all safe. He’s gone.”
“He can’t see Wynter, Koa. He just can’t.”
“I know. He won’t. You know Riot and I won’t allow it.” I prayed that I wasn’t lying to the kid, that we would be able to keep him away. If Azarian went the legal route, I didn’t know what would happen, but we would do everything we could to keep the asshole away. I didn’t care if he’d served his time. He wasn’t getting anywhere near my family.
It took a while for Knox to finally untangle himself from me, but when he did, he was no longer crying. He wiped away the stray tears with the back of his hand and straightened his shoulders. When Knox met my eyes, he was full of determination. “So what next?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I was so fucking proud of this kid, and his protectiveness of his family nearly rivaled Riot’s.
“Next, we let the boys out of their room and call Riot. Then we do everything we can to keep Aren Azarian away.”
Chapter 6
Riot
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.It was a miracle I hadn’t spilled the mug of tea that Koa had made me all over the place. I tried to focus on the warmth that radiated from the hot drink, tried to be calmed by the scent of chamomile, but nothing was working. Nothing could keep Koa’s phone call from replaying in my mind over and over and over again.
“You need to come home, Riot. Aren just showed up.”
Out of all the people I’d expected to randomly darken our door one day, Wynter’s father had been low on the list. Last I’d heard, he was living in a halfway house three hours away and had listed his brother’s address as where he was going when he was released from there. He hadn’t tried to contact us at all from jail, or anytime after that. So why the fuck would he show up now?
I’d never driven so fast coming home from the studio in my life. Thank fuck for Cara, who’d agreed to keep Wynter and Hawk overnight. Luckily, Wynter had been completely focused on her projects, so I’d been able to slip out without having to explain what had happened. She’d have questions later, but Cara had promised to handle it. All I could think about was gettinghome and making sure my family was okay. Wynter would be safest with Cara until we could get a handle on this.
The couch dipped as Koa took a seat next to me, his warmth and the weight of his leg pressed against mine a balm more soothing than tea could ever be.
I didn’t hesitate. I put the mug down on the coffee table, still untouched, and practically launched myself into Koa’s lap.
“Ungh,” he half-moaned, half-laughed. But he easily adjusted us until I was sideways, my legs resting on the couch. His arms tightened around me, holding me together by brute strength alone. I rested my head on his muscular chest and breathed in his woodsy scent. Koa always smelled so good, like pine and smoke and fall air.
