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“It’s gonna be all right, bud,” I tell him as he clings to me with more strength than I expected but my words don’t ease his fears and he tightens his grip on my arms, burying his head in my chest. “It’s okay, little dude. I’ve got you.”

When he doesn’t respond, I slowly get to my feet and wrap my arms around him, letting him hide as I make my way out of his room and slowly walk down the hallway. I eye the ladder as we pass it, irritated that Derek even had a chance to get close to these two again. I should have checked the house myself and made sure he wasn’t here. Walking back into the living room, I stop. Two police officers have Derek now and they’re reading him his rights as they cuff him. Derek isn’t listening to a word of it, though. He can’t take his beady fucking eyes off Raya, promising her with just a look that he’ll be coming for her just as soon as he makes bail again.

Over my dead fucking body.

“Thought you checked the fucking house, dickhead,” I grumble at Jumper as I stop next to him and he turns, leveling a glare at me.

“I fucking did, asshole. How was I supposed to know he was hiding up in the attic like some kind of rodent?”

Arching a brow, I pin him with a look. “You’ve fucking met him so I would think it was obvious.”

“There’s not even a floor up there, Rooster. The fucker was standing on two by fours the whole goddamn time. My normal, sane brain cannot comprehend that level of crazy.”

I snort. “You, normal?”

“Shut the fuck up, you goddamn cock weasel.”

“Cock weasel?” Gear asks, trying to hold back his laughter as the cops lead Derek out of the house. Joey’s body shakes in my arms and his little giggle brings a smile to my face. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“Would you mind?” Raya asks, walking over to us. “I would prefer if my son didn’t start speaking like a biker.”

I shrug, flashing her an apologetic smile. “There are worse things, darlin’.”

“I suppose there are,” she whispers, glancing back at the empty doorway where Derek was standing a moment ago.

She sighs and turns to me, holding her hands out. “I can take him.”

Shaking my head, I motion to the bedrooms. “I’ve got him. Besides, you still need to pack.”

“Right.” She looks down the hallway and takes a deep breath before glancing back at me and nodding. She watches her son for a moment but when he pops his little head up and smiles at her, her body sags in relief. “You okay, baby?”

He nods. “I’m okay, Mama. Are we going on our adventure now?”

“Yeah, monkey, we are.” She turns her attention to me. “Are you sure you don’t mind watching him for a few minutes?”

“I’m good, Raya. Joey and I best buds now, aren’t we, dude?”

He nods, grinning at me. “Yep.”

“Okay, then.” She turns back towards the bedrooms and starts walking away from us, shaking her head. “Glad to see this whole thing hasn’t traumatized him beyond repair.”

I want to tell her that Joey will be just fine but I don’t do shit like that. Opening up to a kid is one thing but opening up to someone who can understand what I went through is something different all together, something I don’t ever do. Although, I suppose Joey might understand me better than anyone else in this room even if he is only four. As I glance down at him, my chest aches as he lays his head on my chest and shoves his thumb in his mouth. His eyes flutter a few times before finally closing and I release a breath as I do the same. Yeah, Joey has lived through something horrific for these past four years but he has an amazing mom who loves him more than anything else and now, he’s free. Which is more than I can say for me because when I was younger, there was no one around to give a shit about the kid who hid in the fucking closet just to feel safe.

Chapter Two

Lennon

“You got any big plans tonight?” Mila asks as she puts the finishing touches on the caramel latte she is making for the customer waiting at the register. I grab my bag from the little cubby underneath the counter and let out a humorless laugh as I turn to look at her.

“Oh, yeah,” I answer with a nod, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Got a hot date with my second job. Exciting stuff. I’m living the life of dreams over here.”

The large ice white chocolate mocha I just made for myself is sitting on the counter in front of me and I snatch it up, taking a sip.

I’m going to need this baby to get through tonight.

She scoffs, placing the lid on the steaming cup of coffee in front of her before handing it off to the customer. I will never understand how people consume hot coffee down here in Baton Rouge. At least when I lived in Arizona, the mornings were chilly enough to warrant it but here?

Hell no.