Cheryl stood at the kitchen sink, her hands trembling as she scrubbed a plate for the third time under a punishing stream of scalding water. The heat bit into her fingers, a sharp sting that matched the fire in her chest, but she didn't flinch--her focus was razor-sharp, locked on her son, Liam, slumped at the table like a broken doll. He was eighteen, a college freshman, all lean muscle and quiet edges, his dark hair falling over his forehead in a messy curtain that hid the frustration etched into his hazel eyes. His face bore the marks of a fresh fight--dark bruises smudged across his high cheekbones, a split lip swollen and red, glistening faintly with blood that twisted her stomach into a tight, angry knot. His faded black T-shirt hung torn at the shoulder, the rip exposing a sliver of pale skin, and when he shifted, she caught the faint outline of jagged scratches raking down his arm--red, raw, a silent scream of violence. Bullies. Again. Her boy, her baby, beaten down, and it lit a fuse in her she couldn't snuff out.
"Liam," she said, her voice cutting through the hum of the fridge like a blade, low and sharp. "Who did this to you?" He didn't look up, just stared at his hands--long fingers picking at a scab on his knuckle, nails bitten short. She slammed the plate down, the crash exploding off the chipped linoleum, water splashing across her wrists. "Damn it, Liam, talk to me!"
He flinched, shoulders hunching, his voice a mumble barely above a whisper. "Doesn't matter, Mom. Just... leave it."
"Leave it?" She spun from the sink, auburn hair whipping across her shoulders, catching the dim light in a fiery cascade. At thirty-eight, Cheryl was a storm made flesh--five-foot-six, curves that could stop traffic, full D-cup breasts straining against the thin white tank top she wore, no bra, her nipples faintly visible as hard points beneath the fabric. Her hips flared wide in tight denim cutoffs, the frayed hem riding high on her thick, toned thighs, tanned from summers hauling scrap with Doug. Green eyes blazed under dark lashes, her lips a natural pink, parted in fury. "You come home looking like this, and I'm supposed to leave it? No, Liam. Not this fucking time."
The back door creaked, and Doug lumbered in from the living room, his heavy boots thudding on the floor. A mechanic at fifty, he was a bear of a man--six-foot-two, broad shoulders under a stretched flannel shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a faded undershirt clinging to his beer gut. His hands were massive, grease-stained from the shop, stubble thick on his jaw, graying at the edges. "What's the goddamn racket?" he growled, then stopped dead, eyes landing on Liam. "Jesus Christ, kid. Again?"
Cheryl's glare snapped to her husband like a whipcrack. "Every damn day, Doug. And you're just parked on your ass watching the Flames like it's nothing!" Her tank top shifted as she gestured, the hem riding up to flash a strip of her flat stomach, a faint scar from Liam's C-section glinting silver.
Doug rubbed his neck, stubble rasping under his calloused fingers, his brown eyes tired but fraying at her tone. "I told him to toughen up, Cher. Boys fight. It's how they sort their shit out."
"Toughen up?" Her voice dropped to a dangerous hiss, stepping closer, her bare feet silent on the cool floor, toes painted a chipped red. "He's got bruises all over his face, Doug. This isn't a tussle--it's a fucking beating. And you're fine with it?" Her breasts heaved with each breath, the tank top clinging tighter, outlining every curve, her nipples stiffening in the draft from the open window.
Doug sighed, shoulders sagging, the fight draining out of him. "What am I supposed to do, huh? Go deck some college punk? You're the mom, Cher. Take it to the school tomorrow--fix it."
Her jaw clenched, teeth grinding, but his words sank in. She nodded, slow and deliberate, a plan sparking behind her eyes. "Oh, I'll fix it," she said, voice dripping venom. "But not with some pencil-pushing dean." She turned to Liam, softening just enough to step over, her hand brushing his dark hair back from his forehead, fingers lingering on his warm skin despite his wince. "Who's doing this, baby? Tell me a name."
Liam hesitated, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed, then muttered, "Noah Carter. Him and his crew. Mostly him."
Noah Carter. The name slammed into her like a fist to the gut, igniting a fresh wave of rage. She knew the type--spoiled rich kid, eighteen and full of himself, strutting around campus like he owned it because his daddy's money said he could. She'd seen him once at a college open house, towering at six-foot-one, lean and hard with muscle under a designer jacket, blond hair swept back in a careless wave, blue eyes glinting with a cocky grin that begged to be wiped off. The kind of punk who thought rules were for peasants, who'd pick on her Liam just to flex his power. Well, tomorrow, he'd learn what power really felt like.