She left the room, her heels silent this time, and I started to realize why Doc hadn’t wanted me to meet her mom.
“Pale, but still standing,” Michael nodded to himself, pleased. “Taylor will be impressed.”
“Who’s Taylor?” I questioned, trying to decide if I’d survived unscathed.
“Our other brother, the one Twinkie called. She always calls him. He makes up for what she lacks in charm,” he paused and added, “and tact.” He smiled at me. “Plus, he always owes her a favor.”
“But she sent me to you,” I pointed out and he nodded.
“I’m the better lawyer.” He pointed at me. “You should be proud. Her ex-fiancé pissed himself when Mom gave him the speech.”
“Yeah, about him,” I looked at Michael. “I’m going to need his name and address.”
“You know, I really think this relationship is going to work out for all of us,” Michael responded, a slow smile crossing his face. “Should have known Diane would find what we were lacking.”
“Lacking?” I questioned hesitantly, not sure I wanted to know the answer.
Michael shrugged. “We do all of our work within the law. It’s nice to have someone who pushes the boundaries of…acceptable civilized behavior, let’s say.”
“And it’s nice to have people who can bail you out when you get caught pushing the boundaries of acceptable civilized behavior,” I retorted. I shook my head, not exactly sure what to make of Doc’s family, but not willing to worry about it at the moment, not while she was in a jail somewhere. “What about Doc? She might think being arrested is an adventure, but I don’t want her in a cell overnight.”
Michael stared at me in astonishment. “Oh, she won’t be,” he assured. “Absolutely not. Taylor is probably on the way home with her now.”
“Why hasn’t she called?”
“Mother.” Michael ran his hands through his hair, mussing the perfect styling. “I can guarantee she doesn’t want to deal with Mom and she probably doesn’t realize you are worried.” I gave him a disbelieving look and he raised his hands. “I mean it. You don’t see me worried or Mom. Even Christian isn’t concerned and he worries more than any of us….old Mother Hen. Mom was more concerned about your intentions. We all know Diane is fine. What else would she be?”
His confidence was reassuring but I knew Rob was still out there. The smart thing for him to do would be to disappear, leave the country, but Rob was an idiot. He would want to hurt me, any way he could even if it cost him, and Doc was out there with him, not safely with me.
“She’ll be here in the morning,” Michael promised. He picked up his notepad. “I’ll bring you to room Kara is in so you can say goodnight.”
I nodded, not at as ease as Michael apparently was, but there was nothing I could do at the moment. I had to trust they knew what they were talking about. “Thanks.”
He led me through a maze of hallways before stopping in front a pink door. “The girl’s guest room,” he announced and I looked at him strangely. “The boy’s is right there.” He pointed out, assuring me everyone was treated equally. He gestured up and down the hall. “Pick any room. They’re all stocked. Christian will have a shirt for you in the morning.”
“What is he going to do? Sew me one?”
Michael shrugged like that was a possibility and I could feel my eyebrow lower as he walked away. I opened the door softly, not wanting to wake Kara if she’d managed to go to sleep. A large carriage bed filled the middle of the room, twinkle lights glowing dimly around it, Kara snuggled in the center, a velvet comforter draped over her.
I made my way to her, stopping at the edge of the bed and sitting on the floor next to it. Exhaustion thrummed through me as I leaned my head back on the bed, guarding Kara as she slept, and praying Doc made it back to me.
Chapter Sixteen
Diane
“I need to call in that favor,” I said the minute he answered. “Actually, all the favors you owe me, going back to that time you broke the window throwing the baseball in the parlor.”
“You said that last time when you wanted me to get the warrant dropped for your criminal, which hasn’t happened by the way.”
“Then you definitely still owe me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll never get out of your debt.” He sighed, and I heard him set his glasses on the table. “What do you need this time? A drug charge overturned for the convict?”
“I need you to bail me out of jail.”
Silence filled the line, his voice tight when he finally asked, “Where are you?”
“Singer.”
Air gusted over the line. “It’s going to take me at least two hours to get there.”
“More like four,” I argued, calculating the distance.
“One if I press my luck,” he continued, not listening. “Stay put. I’ll be right there.”
“I can’t go anywhere,” I fumed but the line was already dead. “It’s a good thing he’s so charming,” I muttered, hanging up the phone.
“Satisfied? You got your call.”
“Yes, thank you,” I said politely to the officer, Officer Charles according to his badge.
“Now are you ready to talk?”
“I have talked to you,” I replied. “Have you found Rob Williams?”
“No,” he answered, frowning.
“Then you should keep looking and we’ll speak again once my lawyer gets here.”
He shuffled off, muttering under his breath, and I clasped my hands together to hide their trembling. I wasn’t about to tell the officer that I felt safer in his jail than outside, as I remembered Rob’s threat.
The doors swished closed behind me as I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Rob and Kara. They should be easy to spot because there weren’t many men shopping in the middle of the day. I walked straight ahead, sticking to the clothes and home goods since I doubted he was hanging out in the produce aisle. I glanced down aisle as I passed them, pausing if I saw someone. I reached the end and turned to the automotive section, working my way around in a grid pattern.
A man in a baseball cap hurried down the opposite aisle, parallel to me, and I jogged to catch up, trying to see his face. He didn’t have a little girl with him, but something about him gave me pause. He started down the next aisle and I went to cut him off, deciding it was worth the risk to confront him.
“Rob! Rob Williams,” I called loudly, startling him. He looked up and I knew it was him. He turned around, running in the opposite direction and I chased after him. “Stop,” I yelled, but that did nothing. “He stole my purse.”
A few people looked at us but most were nosy old ladies and not big burly bikers who would help me. I kept after him, almost catching him as he slipped going around the corner onto the shampoo aisle. I grabbed a few bottles of shampoo and lobbed them at him, missing him but making a huge mess on the floor when one broke open. Someone with a buggy turned the corner and he slammed into it, coming to a halt as I caught up.
“Where’s Kara?” I demanded, grabbing onto his sleeve. He shook me off, snarling, as a switchblade appeared in his hand, causing the lady with the buggy to start screaming. “Where is she?”
“Who the fuck are you?” He growled. “Back the fuck off, bitch.”
“What did you do with Kara? That’s all I care about.”
“I got rid of her. Just like her whore momma.”
“No,” I denied, shaking my head as I grabbed the first thing off the shelf and threw it at him. “You bastard. She’s a little girl. Clutch will kill you for this.” Rage funneled through me and I threw myself at the bastard, surprising him. We hit the ground and grappled for his knife, but he managed to slip away from me as a security guard shouted.
“You’re next,” he warned, scrambling to his feet, his pants sagging. “Anything Clutch cares about, I’m going to destroy.”
“No,” I yelled, not about to let that happen. I couldn’t let Rob escape and continue to hurt Clutch and if he’d done something to
Kara then we needed whatever information he had. I chased after him, slamming into the security guard and bouncing off of him. “Stop him,” I screamed as Rob sprinted to the doors, trying to go after him, but someone had a hold on my arm. “Let go,” I shouted, swinging as I twisted around and managing to hit the police officer who had grabbed me in the face. “Go after him.” The officer didn’t let me go even as blood poured out of his nose and I watched in despair as Rob disappeared through a side door. “You let him get away.”
“Ma’am, you assaulted a police officer,” the man said, his voice nasally. “You’re under arrest.”
I let out a defeated breath, knowing I was never going to catch up to him now, and praying Clutch had seen him come out, or that he’d, by some miracle, seen Kara. “You need to see any video footage they have,” I told the officer as he tilted his head back. “And don’t do that, you’ll drown in your own blood.” I reached for his head, pulling it forward and pinching the top of his nose, ignoring him when he yelped in pain. “Trust me, I’m a doctor.”
The door of the room they held me in opened, but my excitement dimmed when I saw it was Officer Charles and not my brother. “I’m not talking to you anymore. I told you what you needed to know.”
“Yes, and it was helpful.” He scratched the back of his neck. “We’re sorry we didn’t go after the guy you were chasing. Turns out he’s an escaped convict.”
“No, really?” I didn’t bother to hide my sarcasm and he flushed. “Did you find out anything I don’t already know?”
“It would help if you tried to cooperate,” he stated, pushing his shoulders back and I stared at him until he deflated.
“If I cooperate anymore, then I will be doing your job,” I said, making every word concise. “Did you see if he had the girl, Kara?”
Officer Charles let out his breath, and dropped into the chair across from me. “He did. It looks like he gave her to a woman.” He licked his lips. “And she gave him a bag. It’s possible he was exchanging the little girl for something.”
“Not possible. Probable,” I corrected, leaning forward to see the photo he had in his hand. He bent it so I couldn’t see and I frowned. “You brought that in for me,” I declared and he finally nodded.
“The woman took the girl outside, but another man came up and snatched the girl. Maybe a double cross?”
Or Clutch had spotted them and rescued Kara from child traffickers, I thought, managing to keep the thought to myself as he lowered the photo.
“This is the guy,” Officer Charles claimed. “He’s wanted for questioning in the murder of a Ronnie Brown.”
“Clu-” I bit off the rest of his name, not wanting to give my brilliant officer any more ammunition. "And the woman? The van she was in? What about them?”
“What about them?”
“You are looking for them? Perhaps to question them?”
“Why? They don’t have anything to do with it. They don’t have the little girl. He does.” Officer Charles pointed to Clutch’s face in the picture and I took a deep breath in preparation for the chewing out I was about to give him.
Someone knocked on the door before I could say anything though. A young guy poked his head in, looking nervous. “Her lawyer is here.”
“Damn it, Chucky. Why’d you go and tell her that? I was trying to get more information out of her,” Officer Charles griped and I closed my eyes. “Now, she’s gonna wanna talk to her lawyer.”
“Yes, Chucky. I want to talk to my lawyer.”
Officer Charles stood up with a grunt, slapping the photo still on the table. “Damn it, boy, you got to learn this shit if you want to be an officer of the law.”
“Sorry, Dad,” Chucky apologized, hanging his head.
I rested my head on my hand, praying for patience. Officer Charles turned, leaving the folder unguarded and I snatched the picture with the woman and the van, sliding it under the table before he turned back around.
“I’ll bring your fancy lawyer back here,” he grumbled, then pointed a finger at me. “Eventually.”
“Eventually better be in the next five minutes or I will tie your department up in a lawsuit with so much red tape your grandchildren will still be trying to get out of it.”
He swallowed, rearing back at the venomous bite in my voice. “Bring her lawyer back, boy,” he called, backing out of the room. “And be quick about it.”
Taylor appeared in the doorway before the door even had a chance to close. “Get me out of here, now.”
He turned around immediately, going back down the hall as the door swung shut and I pulled out the picture, making note of the license plate, even though I knew it would lead to nowhere. I folded the picture and tucked in my bra, then stood up to pace.
A few minutes later, Taylor was back, Officer Charles scurrying to keep up as he huffed and puffed. “You are free to go, Ms. Richard.” He pronounced it Rich-ard instead of Ree-shard and Taylor cringed. I walked out the door, stopping for a moment to tell Officer Charles, “You need to eat healthier and exercise more before you have a massive heart attack.”
I continued down the hall, leaving him standing there staring after me, mouth agape, as Taylor walked behind me. “It’s good to see you too, Sis. You’re welcome for bailing you out of jail in record time. Never mind dropping everything to come to your rescue.”
“We need to get home.”
“Why?”
“I sent Clutch to Michael’s house.”
“With MOM?”
“Yes, now move.”
***
The house was dark when we arrived, my car parked in the circular drive. “Well, he’s still here. That’s good.”
“Maybe. She might have stored him in the walk-in freezer.”
“Nah, Christian wouldn’t allow that.” Taylor glanced at me. “More likely the ice maker in the pool house.”
I nodded, then handed him the photo. “You know what to do?”
“Yup. I’ll take care of it.”
“Just find them,” I ordered. “We’re not going to let the law take care of them this time.”
“Who exactly is your Clutch?”
“A good man who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty if it’s for the right reason,” I replied.
“You’re all in then?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s it for me.”
Taylor shook his head. “Figures you fall for a criminal that saved your life.” He sighed. “I guess I’ll be spending the next twenty years making sure he doesn’t go to prison.”
“You’re a good brother,” I told him, patting his arm.
“You tell that to all your brothers,” he dismissed.
“Only the ones who bail me out of jail,” I disagreed and he rolled his eyes.
“Then don’t ever call Michael. He’ll leave you there and call it a ‘lesson,’” Taylor moaned and I laughed.
“Maybe that’s just you,” I offered and he rolled his eyes.
“What are you going to do now?”
“He’s got to take Kara home, so Friendly? We’ll go and make sure she’s safe and his family. Rob threatened everything Clutch cares about and if I’ve learned anything, Clutch loves his family above anything.”
“I don’t know,” Taylor mused. “The man bearded the lioness in her cage. I don’t think his family is all he loves.”
“He didn’t know he was going to face her,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but he’s still here. Means something.” Taylor bumped my arm. “Everything you’ve told me about this guy, seems like he would have just taken Kara back to Friendly. To his family and his club. But he didn’t. He came here because you asked him to, which means he’s still looking out for you.”
“You think?” Doubt plagued me, making me uncertain of my welcome.
“Yeah, I do.” Taylor leaned over and kissed my temple. “Love you, Sis. Be careful?”
“I will and thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“Anytime. Just not next Saturd
ay at 7. Finally got Jenelle to go out with me.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
I got out of the car, Taylor sitting there until I slipped inside, then his headlights swept across the foyer, revealing Christian sitting on a stool knitting something. “You’re home. Mr. Hayes will be relieved.” He stood up, folding whatever he was working on and coming to a stop next to me. “I believe he’s in the girl child’s guest room.” He reached over my shoulder then paused. “You’ll be staying in tonight?”
“I will.”
“Good,” he replied, arming the security system. “Can never be too careful.”
“No, you can’t,” I agreed, walking to the stairs. “Thank you for waiting up, Grandpa.”
“I don’t know why you insist on calling me Grandpa when everyone else is content to use my given name,” he complained, walking to the back and I smiled.
“Goodnight, Grandpa.”
I trudged up the steps, tired beyond words, but I didn’t stop when I came to my room, continuing instead to the guest room. I turned the knob of the pretty pink door and slipped inside. Kara was sprawled in the middle of the fancy bed, a stuffed bunny in her hand, but it was Clutch, sitting upright against the bed, his eyes closed that brought me peace.
I lowered myself next to him, curling into his side, and heard him mutter, “Doc?”
“Go back to sleep,” I told him as he curved his arm around my shoulders, cradling me against his side. “I’m home.”
Chapter Seventeen
Clutch
My phone ringing woke me up and I grabbed it before it could wake up Kara or Doc. “Hello?” I hadn’t checked the caller ID, but recognized his voice instantly.
“I have what you were asking for, copies at least.”
Renegade (Southern Rebels MC Book 4) Page 15