of sleep did him in. Kitty saw his head bobbing in his chair and sent him to bed. For an hour, she said, promising to wake him back up. He knew she wouldn't, but went anyway.
He dreamed of forums filled with threats, Rhaven in tears, and Kitty being watched. When his nightmares began featuring Ryan crying in his mother's blood, he jerked himself awake. Yeah, that wasn't cool. He loved Kitty more than he'd thought possible. Sure, she was a pain in his ass, but that was part of her charm. But his son?
That was a whole different kind of bond. One that had been worth sacrificing his pride to get the chance to be in his little boy's life. The problem was that Ryan needed his momma, and the Kings of Gaming had already gone after her once. Right now, they assumed they'd scared her away, so Murder hoped that would keep her safe. Not that he'd let her know that part. Kitty figured she was off their radar because she was on maternity leave, and he wasn't about to tell her otherwise. Thankfully, neither had Riley.
But Ryan would not grow up to sit idly by while the women in his life were being threatened. No, Murder wasn't about to raise his boy to be a chauvinistic prick like his own father. He hoped that Ryan would be more like Logan or Knock - able to accept that Riley was in charge without feeling like it was a threat to their manhood. In truth, Murder was still learning, but the women around him made it pretty easy.
These ladies weren't soft or weak. Kitty fought first, then decided if something was worth her time. 'No' was the easiest thing for her to say. Riley was more the type to flip her problems off, make a joke of them, and then double down to prove herself. Then there was Jericho. That girl was so much like Riley, and yet not at all. She kinda reminded him of Rhaven in some ways, too.
Jericho was smart, strong, and very fragile. She longed for the kind of bond that Riley had with Kitty. She bent over backwards for people who gave even the smallest amount to her. At the same time, her enemies stood no chance. The girl was as brazen as Riley, as tender as Rhaven, and as sensual as Zara. A deadly combination, to be sure. Then again, that probably explained why she had an entire herd of boys chasing her everywhere.
Yet none of this was making his pulse slow down or the vision of his son crying go away. Then Murder realized why. In the next room, Ryan was actually crying. Dragging his ass out of bed, he pulled on a pair of jeans, tossed a shirt over his shoulder - because if his kid was sick, he was going to get puked on - and went to make his baby feel better.
But Kitty had beat him there. She sat on the bed with her boob out, her baby in her arms, and her phone in her hand. When the door creaked, proving it was almost all the way open, she looked up and sucked in a breath. Murder just waved her down, closed the door, then moved to sit beside her.
"How's he feeling?" he asked.
"He had a really big poop, and now he's better," she promised.
He simply reached around her to rub her shoulders. "I wish I could help more, baby."
Kitty leaned into his side, all but wrapping his one arm around her and trapping the other. "Until you grow boobs, this is my job. He's fine, Samir."
Damn, but he loved it when she used his real name. A little smile touched his lips, but he decided to change the subject. "They tell you about Cyn's case?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "Riley talked to Dread before she went out to ride. I was hoping you could fill in Psyc tonight? He hasn't been online yet."
"Is this the weekend he has that commercial?" Because Murder knew that Psyc's sponsorships involved appearing in a few magazine ads.
Kitty just shrugged, making Ryan complain at his food moving. "Sorry," she told the baby. "Maybe?" That was to him. "Either way, the game room has been overrun."
"So Ruin's still here, huh?" He chuckled. "They steal your computer too?"
"It's parsing something," Kitty admitted. "I figured when someone said 'parsing' then it was my cue to leave. Did you get any sleep?"