“Put the safe code in,” he barked, his voice trembling with rage. “NOW.”
“I….I don’t remember it.”
He stormed toward her like a madman, Kayla crying in her arms. Kylee shrieked, shielding the baby, yelling, “JAKE, PLEASE! STOP!”
Suddenly the front door opened. “Babe, I'm back” Rio’s voice stopped cold. He stepped inside, bags in his hands and froze. He saw Macy crying in the corner of the hallway her face was blotchy red, hands over her ears. He heard Kayla screaming from the bedroom.
And then…..
Jake’s voice:“Don’t you fucking lie to me, Kylee!”
Rio dropped the bags and took off down the hall. He reached the bedroom in three strides and the moment he stepped inside and saw Jake grabbingKylee by the arm, pushing her toward the safe, Rio lost all control.
“GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER!”
Rio charged. He slammed into Jake like a freight train, knocking him back into the closet door. They both hit the ground with athud that shook the walls. Kayla was crying louder now, Kylee screaming for them to stop.
Jake threw a wild punch Rio dodged and landed one of his own, straight to Jake’s jaw. Jake fell sideways with a groan, but scrambled up again, lunging toward the closet.
Rio grabbed him by the back of the shirt and dragged him backward, throwing him into the nightstand. A lamp shattered.
“You come near her or those kids again,” Rio growled, chest heaving, “I swear to God I’ll make you regret ever being born.”
Jake spit blood on the floor and laughed, dazed. “She’s not worth it, man. She’s a whore. She’ll crawl back the second you get bored.”
Rio’s eyes went black.
He raised his fist again but Kylee stepped between them, breathless, sobbing, “STOP! Please!”
Rio froze, trembling with fury.
Jake stumbled to his feet. “I’m calling my lawyer,” he slurred. “You’ll both rot before you take my son from me.”
“GET. OUT,” Kylee screamed.
Jake looked at her one more time wild, broken, vengeful then turned and staggered out of the room, slamming the front door behind him so hard a picture fell off the wall. The silence afterward was deafening, broken only by the sniffles of Macy, still curled in a corner, and Kayla whimpering against her mother’s chest. Rio turned to Kylee. Her eyes were glassy withshock. She looked down at her daughters, then back at him.Rio pulled her into his arms without a word, holding her as she finally let go shaking, sobbing into his chest while the world crumbled around them. The house had gone still again.
Kylee sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped tightly around Macy, who clung to her like a lifeline, her tiny face buried in her mother’s chest. Kayla had finally stopped crying and was nestled against Rio’s chest, his hand cradling her gently, rocking her with surprising instinct.
Kylee glanced up at him, her eyes glassy and swollen from tears. “You’ve got this magic touch or something,” she whispered, trying to smile, brushing Macy’s hair behind her ear.
Rio didn’t say anything right away. He looked at her for a long moment and really looked at her. Her trembling hands. Her soft voice as she reassured her girls. The ache in her eyes. And beneath it all, her strength, buried under fear and exhaustion, but fierce as ever.
Then he said it, firm and low, but gentle: “You and the kids are coming back to L.A. with me.”
Kylee blinked. “Rio…”
“I’m not asking.” His voice didn’t rise, it didn't need to. “It’s not safe here. He has a gun. He’s unstable. If I hadn’t walked in tonight…” He shook his head, jaw clenched. “I’m not risking it.”
Kylee’s lip trembled. “But Jake’s school. Macy’s things. My life is here. I can’t just”
“Yes, you can,” he cut in. “You can. This place isn’t your life anymore. You think your babies care where they sleep, as longas they’re in your arms? You think you can’t rebuild?” He looked down at Kayla, whose eyes had fluttered shut against his chest.
“You already survived the hardest part. Now you move.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears again. “Rio, I just… I’m scared.”
“I know,” he whispered, crossing to her. He knelt down in front of her, one hand on Macy’s back, the other gently curling around Kylee’s knee. “I’ve never had a family. Never wanted one. But you… and these kids… I’ve never wanted to protect something so bad in my life.” She stared at him, breathing in shallow pulls.
