by Lane Hart
“I don’t really remember anything, except that I couldn’t go to sleep because my back was hurting.”
“Did you injure your back recently?” I ask.
“No, I just get these muscle aches,” she tells me.
“Do you have any medical records that would prove that?”
“I don’t like doctors, so no.”
“Okay,” I mutter. “Do you have a history of drug abuse?”
“Yes. But I gave up the heroin and alcohol months ago,” she contends.
“Right,” I say. “So, um, did your ex-husband have any knowledge about your addiction?”
Her posture tenses at the simple mention of War.
“He’s still in jail, right? The sheriff at the door said they locked him up,” Marcie whispers in a panic.
“No, the sheriff’s records show that he was released last night,” I inform her.
“Shit! Oh, shit!” she mutters while her hands, one of which is handcuffed to the bed, clutch the bed railings and she pulls herself into a sitting position. “They won’t let him come in here, will they?”
“Ah, I don’t think so,” I respond. “Why? Do you think he’ll come visit?”
“Visit?” she scoffs. “Yeah, he’ll come visit me all right, and then kill me!”
“I’m sure you’re overreacting,” I tell her.
“Have you met my husband?” she asks.
“Your ex-husband?” I can’t help but correct. “Yes, I have.”
“He’s dangerous. After what I did… God, he warned me that if anything happened…” she trails off.
“What did he threaten?” I ask.
“He’ll kill me, okay? You have to get more officers at the door!”
“I personally can’t do anything about the officers at the door,” I inform her. “That’s all on the sheriff, but I’m sure you’ll be safe here.”
“The sheriff!” she barks out. “The sheriff, who is related to the MC’s president? She’ll let Warren kill me! The local cops won’t do shit to stop him!”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“It is! You need to go above their heads, turn him into the…the FBI or something.”
“I don’t have any contact with federal agents,” I tell her. “My job is to find out whether or not your son would be safe if he’s returned to your husband’s custody.”
“If you’re supposed to be keeping Ren safe, then they need to have someone arrest those guys, including Warren!” she exclaims. “Get Ren away from his father, from the whole MC, you hear me? I may not be able to take care of my son, but I know he shouldn’t grow up to be in a gang that’s killed and will kill again. Probably me, unless you do something!”
“Okay, calm down,” I tell her. “I’ll…I’ll look into it.”
It’s the responsible thing to do, if what she says is true and the local law enforcement has been looking the other way while the Savage Kings do whatever they please.
Chapter Fifteen
War
“You need to lose the vest and distance yourself as far as you can get from the MC tomorrow,” my attorney tells me when we’re meeting in his office on Tuesday, trying to get ready for court.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snap. “And it’s a cut, not a vest.”
Sleep has been hard to find ever since Saturday night with Nova. I’m angry and cranky as shit, but what else does everyone expect? I’m tired of the pitying looks at the clubhouse and everyone asking how I am. How the fuck does everyone think I am after losing my son?
Pulling out a piece of paper from the manila file and sliding it across the conference room table to me, Greg says, “Social Services has already noted your involvement with the Savage Kings MC as one of the reasons why they didn’t return Ren to you on Sunday. You can bet your ass that it’s going to come up in court. And that won’t play well with the judge.”
“I’ve been in the MC since before my son was born, so why does it even matter?”
“It matters because you guys don’t have the best public opinion right now, after all the shootings and shit last year,” Greg explains. “Yeah, when business on the island was booming, you all were the heroes. But tourism is down, thanks to the headlines the club has been involved in.”
“Okay, fine,” I agree. “I’ll tell the guys not to come to court tomorrow.”
“That’ll be a good start,” he agrees with a nod. “No leather vest, or cuts,” he corrects. “No bikes in the courthouse parking lot. And no mention of anything Savage Kings if we can help it. We’ll simply say you have a Harley and ride with a group of guys in your free time, if it comes up.”
“Yeah, right. A riding club,” I reply, even though it sort of feels like I’m betraying the club by belittling what we are. I’ll readily do whatever it takes to get Ren back. “Oh, and my sister Audrey said she can come up from Wilmington if you need her to testify or whatever, since I’ve been raising her since she was thirteen.”
“Good, but I don’t think we’ll need her tomorrow,” Greg says. “Just have her on stand-by.”
“Will do,” I agree. Then I ask what I’ve been wanting to know for days, “What are the chances I’ll get my son back tomorrow?”
“Honestly?” he starts as he leans back in his chair. “I’d say it’s fifty-fifty right now. If you hadn’t been arrested, I’d say the odds would more likely have been eighty percent in your favor, so you shot yourself in the foot with that bullshit.”
“I know,” I mutter. “I apologized to the officers.”
“Good, that’s good,” Greg says before he grabs his pen and jots down notes on his yellow legal pad. “Tomorrow’s hearing should be short and sweet. Witnesses and evidence of you being a wonderful father for four years isn’t going to do us much good. All the judge will be doing is looking at the circumstances of the weekend to determine if Social Services erred in not returning Ren to your parental custody. We’re gonna say they did, the social worker will read the report about why they didn’t, and then the judge will make a decision.”
That doesn’t sound very promising.
“Will they at least tell me where Ren is and if he’s okay tomorrow?” I ask.
“Yes,” Greg replies. “And best-case scenario, you’ll be home with him by tomorrow night.”
Maybe I’m a pussy for not asking what the worst-case scenario is because I’m not sure if I can handle it.
…
Nova
Once I finish up with all my work on Tuesday afternoon, I get in my car, that’s still running smoothly, thanks to War, and drive an hour away to Jacksonville to see Ren.
We were finally able to place him yesterday in a boys’ home outside of the county. A woman named Barbara Stevens was brave enough to take him in, even with his connection to the Savage Kings MC.
“Hey, how’s he doing?” I ask in a whisper when Barbara answers the door for me.
“Oh, he’s doing wonderfully,” she gushes. “Ren is one of the brightest, most well-mannered boys I’ve ever met.”
“He is,” I agree with a small smile. “Thanks for letting me drop by to check on him.”
“Anytime! Come on in,” she says, and steps back to wave me inside. “We just had dinner and washed up. I believe Ren’s upstairs reading. And I am so incredibly impressed that he’s reading so well before he even starts kindergarten.”
“He’s something, isn’t he?” I agree.
“He sure is. Go on up and say hello. I’ll be calling him down for his bedtime snack in about half an hour.”
“Great, thanks,” I say before I climb the stairs and then glance in each of the immaculately clean rooms until I get to the one where the small, dark-haired boy is sitting Indian style on the bay window cushion, his eyes lowered to the book in his hands.
“Hi Ren,” I say into the silence.
His head pops up and then an enormous smile stretches across his face. “Miss Nova!” he exclaims in recognition. I’m touched he even remembered my n
ame.
“It’s good to see you again,” I say when I go over and sit down next to him. “What are you reading?”
“Pete the Cat,” he answers.
“Oh, that Pete is one cool cat,” I reply.
“Yeah, he is,” Ren agrees with a sigh. “Did you come to take me home?”
“No, I’m sorry. I wanted to see how you were doing…”
“When can I go home? My dad must be worried,” he says in a rush, breaking my heart because he’s so concerned for his father. “My watch died. I forgot to charge it, so now I can’t call him.” He sets his book down beside him and holds up his wrist to show me the blue watch. “When it works, it’s like a super spy watch.”
“That is really neat,” I tell him. “How about I try to see if I can find your dad tomorrow and tell him you’re doing great, so that he won’t worry?”
“You promise?” he asks, while holding me with his much-too-serious gaze for a four-year-old.
“I promise to try my best,” I say. While I’m guessing I’ll have a moment to talk to War before or after court, there’s no way I can guarantee that will happen, especially if he hires an attorney.
“Thank you, Miss Nova,” Ren replies before he throws his arms around me, pulling on my heartstrings even tighter.
“You’re welcome,” I tell him as I hug him back. “And I can promise that I’ll be back to see you, so will you let me know if there’s anything you need?”
“I think I need some milk and cookies,” he says without missing a beat, making me laugh.
“Then let’s go downstairs to see if Miss Barbara can hook you up with both of those things,” I reply.
Chapter Sixteen
War
After I left my attorney’s office, I ran around the city, trying to find out where they were keeping Ren, who was taking care of him, and how he was doing. I went alone, without my Savage Kings cut, and tried to be polite, even though I’m nothing but an angry ball of rage on the inside.
It was pointless. I didn’t find out shit. So now, I just want to drown my sorrows in alcohol, so that maybe I can pass out and get a few hours of much-needed sleep before the hearing tomorrow.
“War, man, I’m so sorry—” Chase, Torin’s brother and our club’s VP, says to me when I walk into the Savage Asylum Tuesday night.
“Do I look like I want to fucking talk about it?” I snap at him before sitting down on a stool at the bar. “Give me the whole goddamn bottle of tequila,” I tell Maddox, who hurries around behind the bar.
“Yes, sir,” he responds before he pulls one out and sets it down in front of me.
I unscrew the top and start chugging. When the bottle is half-empty, I head down the stairs to the apartments with the bottle in my hand, charging right into Reece’s room and asking, “Find anything yet?”
“No, sorry,” he says with a frown. “I can’t get anything from Ren’s watch when it’s off, and the state servers are heavily protected. The only way I could find out anything would be to go down to their office and try to hop on one of the employee’s computers.”
I consider telling him yes for a second, but know I can’t ask him to risk his freedom for me. If Reece got caught, he’d spend a shitload of time in prison.
“I would do it for you, brother,” he says, as if reading my thoughts.
“No,” I say with a shake of my head. “No, it’s too risky. Hopefully, I’ll find out more tomorrow.”
“Yeah, man, I bet this will all get worked out then,” Reece tells me.
I just wish I believed that too.
Back upstairs, I slam my empty bottle down on the bar and stomp toward the front door that Chase jumps in front of.
“Move,” I tell him.
He crosses his arms over his chest and says, “No.”
“Move,” I grit out again.
“You’re not getting on a fucking bike or driving anything else after slamming down a bottle of tequila,” Chase tells me. “You think your shit is upside down now, add on a DWI charge or a wreck where you hurt yourself, or someone else, and then you’ll really be fucked.”
Of course he’s right. I know it, he knows it. I’m not even sure what the hell I was thinking. My head isn’t right, and if I don’t figure out how to deal with this shitstorm soon, it’s going to ruin me.
“Maddox is on babysitting duty tonight,” Chase declares.
While I don’t need anyone watching over me, especially my own damn prospect, Chase is our VP, so there’s not a fucking thing I can do about it. Torin’s not here to overrule him because he’s with his pregnant wife, and I’m not about to bother him for some bullshit.
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll sleep it off down in one of the apartments.”
“That’s a great idea,” Chase agrees with a smirk. “Let us know if you need anything while you’re here. You can even have another bottle if you want it, not that it’s gonna make anything better. All you’ll get is a hangover. Don’t you have court tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I mutter.
“Then get your ass downstairs. Maddox will make sure you’re up in time to get home and get ready in the morning.”
“Absolutely,” Maddox says, coming around the bar.
Grumbling curses under my breath, I trudge over to the keypad to enter the code to go back downstairs, my new shadow following me every step of the way.
“You gonna hold my dick while I piss too?” I snap at him before I wander into the bathroom and take a leak. When I come out, Maddox is sitting in the chair at the desk, waiting patiently.
“No need to hover,” I tell him.
“VP’s orders,” the kid remarks.
“Whatever,” I grumble, staggering to the right when I try to untie my shoes. I slump onto the end of the mattress to make things easier.
“You have a four-year-old son?” Maddox asks.
“Yeah.”
“Why haven’t you ever told me about him?”
“You want me to set you up a playdate or something?” I joke with my back to him while I pull off my socks.
“I thought…I thought we were friends.”
“Yeah.”
“Are we?” Maddox asks, his words crisp. “Or am I just a prospect and you’re just my sponsor?”
Great. I’ve hurt the kid’s feelings. I’m really on top of my game.
“Both,” I tell him. “We’re friends and I’m your sponsor.”
“Then why didn’t I know you had a kid?”
“Because it’s none of your damn business,” I remark.
When silence fills the room, I realize I’m being an even bigger dick to him. I can try to blame it on the alcohol, even if that’s just an excuse.
“Look,” I start before I twist around on the mattress to look at him. “I try to keep my private life and my MC life separate. If you’re smart, you’ll pick one or the other.”
“I want my patch more than anything,” he replies without any hesitation.
“Then right here, right now, you need to forget about the idea of ever having a wife and kids. Because if you try to have both, you’ll fuck everything up and hurt your family, just like me and Torin.”
When Maddox’s eyes widen in surprise at my statement, I rush to try and smooth it over.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” I say. Lowering my voice, since the apartment door is still wide open, I tell him, “I’m not saying that what happened to Torin was his fault or the MC’s, but my family shit? That’s all on me.”
“What does the MC have to do with them taking your kid?” he asks.
“Everything, apparently,” I reply, based on the conversation with my attorney earlier today. “Promise me that you won’t make the same mistake, okay? You want to be a King? Good. Great. Screw the brains out of any or all of the club sluts. Just make sure you use protection, all right? Don’t knock one of them up. They’re not cut out to be mothers or old ladies. And women, they’re more trouble than they’re worth,” I ramble as I fall back and rest my
head on the soft pillow that still smells like Nova.
“I get it,” Maddox replies. “You’re saying that once I become a member of the Savage Kings, my choices with the MC will affect everyone around me?”
“Exactly,” I say. “And sure, women are all soft and pretty. Some even make you feel like you’re a fucking god who can take on the world. But it’s all bullshit. You’re just a man with a dick and you want a tight, hot place to put it. If you put it in the wrong place, though, you get a kid by an addict and then you have to try to be a good father. And being a good father is hard. It’s, like, fucking impossible. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It’s like being trapped in failure.”
Once my own slurred rambling words hit my ears, I realize how bad they sound. “I’m not saying Ren trapped me. He’s a great kid. The best. He thinks I’m a god too. But I let him down. And I hate myself for that. He’s so little. And I don’t know where he is or who is taking care of him—”
“Yo, man, War, it’s gonna be okay,” Maddox tells me. His face appears above me and then he’s putting a blanket over me, tucking me in. I’m his sponsor. I’m supposed to be watching his back and I let him down too.
“You haven’t let me down,” Maddox replies, like he’s reading my mind. “You’re just drunk and depressed,” he adds. “If you’re half as good a father as you are a sponsor, then you’re doing damn good. Your son is lucky to have a dad like you. I wish I had got to meet mine before he died…”
“Your dad died too?” I ask, since he’s never talked about his family. But then I start to lose the battle of keeping my eyes open. Drinking on an empty stomach was stupid. Lately, though, everything I do is stupid, starting with letting my ex-wife take Ren for the weekend.
Chapter Seventeen
War
Wednesday morning, I’m dressed in my finest suit. By eight o’clock, I’m even sitting on a bench just outside the courtroom, waiting for my attorney in the otherwise empty hallway, even though court doesn’t start for half an hour.