Unfortunately for Ryan, that just made my dick hard.
Fortunately for Theo, it made me think she might not be a useless twat in a fight if I needed backup later.
I wouldn’t… but it was definitely a point in her favor.
Caleb started crying, and the smile dropped right off my face. I stood up, giving him my full attention.
“Don’t worry,” I said, making sure my voice came out even and calm so as not to frighten him any more than he already was. “You’re not going back.”
Caleb turned his impossibly large eyes up to face me, his lower lip trembling.
“You promise?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“I promise,” I said before glancing at Theo.
“Is it a man or a woman?”
She pursed her lips, her dark eyes simmering with rage, but she answered me.
“A man. He’s claiming neighbors saw Caleb come in here, and he’s demanding we return him. He says he’s his dad.”
I nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go meet the dead man.” I grinned, not waiting to see if the Fairview siblings would follow me. I knew that they would.
Theo and I followed Cal to the front, and our mom hung back in the kitchen with Caleb. Theo was glaring at me, and I was glaring at the back of Cal’s head. It was one big chain of glares.
I was still reeling from everything that had happened. Cal hadn’t given me a chance to catch my breath, and now Caleb’s dad was here?
I was also pretty sure Cal had just insinuated that he was going to kill the man…what a fucking mess…
Theo stayed quiet, but I knew she was going to grill me later. Her knuckles cracked as she clenched and unclenched her fists next to me as we walked.
My sister’s go-to reaction when she was feeling threatened wasalwaysviolence. Mine wasn’t, but I had already gotten into two physical altercations in less than twelve hours with this infuriating man. A fistfight between my sister and Cal was imminent, and if I was being honest, I didn’t want to be around for it. It wouldn’t be the first time Theo got into it with a man. It was never pretty.
Caleb’s father was standing in the foyer, and I was hit with another wave of confusion.
So much for the bald-headed dude in a wife beater. This man looked polished and put together. He was wearing a well-tailored suit and had thick blond hair styled meticulously around his head.
I eyed some of the heavy rings he had on his right hand and nearly winced at the thought of him hitting Caleb with them on.
Theo’s already aggressive energy darkened next to me. I heard the telltale sign of her knuckles cracking again, though this time, I could tell the anger wasn’t for Cal.
All three of us stared at this man, and he was either stupid or knew something we didn’t because he didn’t look the least bit worried that we had come to confront him.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked, meeting Cal’s gaze. He gave Cal a condescending once over, curling his lip up at his tattoos and piercings.
I didn’t like it.
“I’m the guy that’s here to tell you to get the fuck out.” Cal grinned at him, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Even when he hadn’t been sure if I was Caleb’s abuser, Cal hadn’t looked at me the way he was staring at this man. It was like he couldsensethe sinister nature rolling off him.
“I’m not leaving without my son,” the man growled, stepping toward Cal menacingly. Both Theo and I stepped forward,making a clear show that this man would need to deal with the three of us if he wanted to get to Caleb.
Cal shot me an appreciative grin, and my stomach flipped. I had no idea what to do with this strange, dark-haired man who had just shown up and invited himself into my life, but my mother was right.
For the time being, we were on the same team, and there wasno fucking wayI was letting this snake-like man take Caleb home to hurt him again.
“I told you, he’s not here,” Theo growled, and I didn’t miss the approving glance Cal shot my sister.
