Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 102708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
I nodded, allowing her to change the subject. She already told me so much. I didn’t want to cause her any more pain than what she visibly carried, and I knew the hurricane that awaited once Julius woke up.
I smiled, easing her anxiety. “There’s not much to tell.”
“I find that hard to believe. I mean, look at you.” She raised our hands in the air. “You’re gorgeous! We should go dancing! Or better yet, the boys can play for us, and we can dance.” She spun in a circle, holding out her maxi skirt. “It was one of our favorite games. They played, and I danced. I used to invite the whole neighborhood to our home concerts, as we called them. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that they still play all over town for people. They’re so talented, naturally born too.”
Wow, she knows everything.
“You taught them how to play?”
She radiated, looking out in front of her. She might have been there with me, but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She was remembering something that played out in front of her as if it were happening.
“My boys are their own worst enemies. They’ve been through so much, and I’m to blame for all of it. It took me a long time to accept that as well. Over the years, it turned into a domino effect. The last thing I want is for you to think I’m innocent,” she divulged, and I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. That was clear too.
“I know you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this, but I was just hoping that maybe if you heard me first, then you could help me with them. Maybe you could make them understand…” She tenderly smiled at me, speaking with conviction. “I’ve never seen my boys this happy, and I have you to thank for that. I couldn’t have asked for a better girl to have walked into both of their lives. Regardless of the circumstances and situation y'all are in or why you’re here in the first place, we’re all family now.”
Abruptly, Julius’s voice echoed, “The fuck we are!”
My stare flew to his. He stood at the end of the stairs, glaring directly at his mom.
“Julius!” she greeted, running toward him.
She was over to him in a few long strides. The force of her embrace left him frozen in place. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Julius didn’t hug her back.
He didn’t move.
I think he may have passed out with his eyes wide open.
He was just as shocked as I was by this entire encounter.
Am I dreaming?
I pinched myself just in case.
No such luck.
I watched everything unfold through a terrified expression. One minute, she was hugging him, and the next, he grabbed her arm, opened the door, and threw her out.
Then slammed it in her face.
“Julius!” I rushed to open it.
He halted me. “Don’t you dare,” he warned in a threatening tone.
“Julius!” She banged on the door. “I’m here to help! Please don’t do this! We need to get your brother out! I’m here for you!”
He locked the door. It was the only sound that was heard.
“Julius, please!” she pleaded, breaking my heart. “This isn’t over! I’ll be back! I’m coming back!”
“Yeah,” he snapped, loudly hissing…
“Your ten minutes were up seven years ago!”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
KRAVEN
“Break it up!” the guard with a stick up his ass ordered.
“Fuck him!” I spewed as two other guards held me back. “He started it!”
The detention center was what I presumed jail would be, but for minors. It was basically the same setup—scheduled everything, shitty food, monitored visits, block cells, and fighting to remain alpha. If you didn’t, then you’d become someone’s bitch, and I wasn’t about that life.
They pulled us apart, throwing me into a holding cell. I was in there until someone banged their metal stick against the wall, waking me up.
“Come with me,” he demanded.
They changed guards all the time, so it was hard to keep up with who was who. Not that I was trying to keep track of them. I went through the steps and emotions of getting released, anticipating seeing Joe and having to pretend I gave a shit. Releasing me from this hellhole was the least he could do.
As soon as I stepped foot into the exit room, I saw her standing there. She was wearing a long dress, and her hair was down. She looked the same, but different.
“The fuck,” I whispered to myself. “What are you doing here?”
“Baby,” she greeted, approaching me.
I held my hand up, stopping her midway.
“Okay…” she coaxed with a sad smile. “I deserve that.”
“You deserve nothing.”
“Sweetheart, I’m here for you.” She gestured to the paperwork in her hands. “Look! You’re free! I signed you out!”
“Mrs. Knightly, now that your son is here, let me repeat his release terms,” the caseworker said.