Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
W hen she stepped back next to her sister, Crazy Bitch caught her eyes.
“You hear what they’re saying, too?”
There was no way she could deny it since Crazy Bitch had seen her. She racked her brain to come up with a viable excuse. Crazy Bitch sent her pulse racing.
“It bothering you as bad as me?”
“Uh …” Had Crazy Bitch figured out what had happened upstairs at The Last Riders’ the night of the party? She didn’t think one of her sisters would have snitched. Had Winter found out? Was Crazy Bitch telling her she should confess to Moon it was her?
“I feel terrible about it.”
“Good … then you’ll put a good word in for me with Knox?” Crazy Bitch gave her a please smile.
“Huh?”
“Tell him I’ll take care of the kids. All three of them.”
It took a minute for Larissa to wrap around her mind what Crazy Bitch wanted her to do. She had been so focused on Moon, it took her a second to comprehend Crazy Bitch must have been listening to the conservation between Knox discussing Eryn’s children with The Last Rider’s. When it finally clicked what she was referring too, she laughed nervously.
“Of course … I’d be happy to.”
Priscilla gave her a strange look at the way she was acting. “Are you sure you’re all right? You haven’t lost too much blood?” Priscilla then muttered under her breath, “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Crazy Bitch gave her a threatening glare. “What you got against me taking care of a few kids? You don’t think I can handle changing a few dirty diapers?” Crazy Bitch snapped her fingers in front of Priscilla’s stunned face. “I could take care of fifteens kids and run circles around you while I’m at it.”
Priss hastily shook her head. “I meant, I think Larissa’s original suggestion about you and Calder going on a vacation is a much better idea.” Priscilla gave her a warning glance. “Isn’t that right, Larissa?”
“Uh … yes.”
What was it going to take to snap her out of the fixation on Moon? The moment Crazy Bitch came up with the idea, she should have never agreed so readily.
“You should take a few days to think it over. Give yourself time to get over your disappointment, spend some alone time with Calder to discuss taking in foster children, then I’m sure Child Services will be happy to process your application,” she said, giving Crazy Bitch the reasonable answer she should have given her in the first place.
“Fuck that!” Crazy Bitch stepped around them to barge toward Knox, Shade, and Viper.
Larissa couldn’t help but watch as Moon went to the other men standing around before leaving out the door without a glance back. She could strip naked, and he wouldn’t give her a second glance.
Turning her attention back to Crazy Bitch, she tried not to notice the sympathetic look Priscilla sent her.
Knox was attempting to explain to Crazy Bitch that she would have to get approval for state care of the children before he could hand them over to her.
“Don’t talk that mumbo jumbo to me when we both know you can do whatever the fuck you want. At least be a man about it and admit you don’t want me to.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” he denied. “I’m not going to lose my badge because you don’t want to wait a couple of days to get approval.”
“Who’s going to take them in the meantime?” Crazy Bitch asked, her body tense as if she could change Knox’s mind by sheer force of will.
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t made the call. I was waiting for the doctor to come out, so I know if the two young ones need to be hospitalized. I wanted to talk to the mother as well, to see if she has any relatives who could take them. I was trying to buy some time before notifying CPS. If a relative is willing to take them in, they might not have to go into foster care.”
Knox looked at Larissa. “Did Eryn give you emergency contacts?”
“Yes.” Larissa nodded. “Her husband, Dusty. You could contact him maybe.”
Knox shook his head. “He’s going to be under investigation for manufacturing and distributing drugs. A couple of the men I arrested say Dusty was involved, too. I won’t have all the facts until I have the opportunity to interview them, but that isn’t going to help the kids out until I finish my investigation.”
Crazy Bitch folded her arms across her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. “I’m standing here. I can take them.”
“Lennon says”—Larissa nodded her head toward the young girl sitting to the side—“Eryn is her aunt. That could be a possibility you could look into.”
“I can’t get her to talk to me.”
“Maybe I can find out more if I talk to her,” Ginny suggested.
Knox shrugged. “At this point, anything we find out could be helpful.”
The door opening from the treatment area drew everyone’s attention. Lana walked over to where they were standing.
“Dr. Price is about to move Eryn to the maternity ward. The baby is being checked out, but so far, his stats look good. She wants to talk to you,” Lana told her.
Larissa immediately started toward the door. She entered the emergency room and found Eryn sleeping.
Not wanting to wake her, Larissa started to leave.
“Larissa.”
She moved to Eryn’s bedside and took her hand. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” she replied wryly. “This isn’t exactly how we planned for me to have my baby, is it?”
Larissa studied her seriously. “No, it wasn’t.”
“I always manage to screw everything up, despite how hard I try not to.”
“Sometimes, life gets out of our control.”
Eryn turned her head away on the pillow. “Then sometimes, we end up in the bed we deserve.”
“Don’t say that. No woman deserves to be hurt by their partner.”
“I knew Tanner was bad news for me.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I just couldn’t stay away from him. Everything got out of hand after Dusty left. Tanner might have been better in bed, but Dusty had the brains. Everything went to shit when he took over. He wanted us to leave Treepoint. He said the only reason they hadn’t been caught was they weren’t selling to anyone in town. I gave him the excuse to leave when Tanner told him about us, but I knew he was terrified of The Last Riders. He kept saying they would kill us if they found about us.”
Larissa’s heart had started pounding when she’d mentioned The Last Riders.
“That’s a harsh accusation for him to make. Did he say why he was so scared of them?”
“No. Some things, he would tell me about; others, he and Tanner kept it to themselves.”
“I’m sure he was doing whatever to keep you safe.”
“I don’t know anymore.” Eryn looked down at where she was holding her hand. “I figured you wouldn’t want to talk to me after you found out all the lies I told you.”
“I promised to support you through your pregnancy and afterward. I take that promise seriously. I’m here to be your cheerleader, not judge you.”
“I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of that in my future.”
Wishing she could relieve her of that fear, she held back her assurances, not wanting to lie.
“It’s okay. I’m not stupid, even though you’d never know it from the mess I’m in. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Your sister said Knox brought my kids here.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to lose them.”
“Temporarily.” Larissa had to be honest with her. “You can get a lawyer.”
“I’ve lost them. I knew the moment Tanner wouldn’t let that woman leave. She was trying to give me a break, and he even fucked that up for me. I won’t be getting out of prison anytime soon, and even then, my kids will be grown, and it won’t matter, anyway.”
“Would your niece’s parents be able to take your children, or are there any other family members who could?”
“That worthless bitch is in worse shape than me. She’s pulling thirty years for armed robbery, inflicting great bodily harm. We’re both going to be old and gray before we get out. Her father was killed during the robbery. There isn’t anyone else.” Eryn’s eyes pleaded with her. “You’ve always done me right; that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’m not asking you to take care of a handful of kids who aren’t blood-related to you, but could you check on them every so often and make sure they’re in a good place? Like you did me? They deserve to be in a better home than I can give them. Some place pretty would be nice, too. I’m not going to fight to get custody back. I’ve been a crappy mom so far, and they deserve better than I can give them.”
“Eryn, you’re just emotional right now—you just had a baby. Maybe a lawyer could get you a deal if you testify against them.”
“You don’t get what I’m saying … I’m saying I’m not going to fight to get them back. I’m going to sign them over. I’m going to give them a better chance than I got handed. Just check on them for me, okay? That’s all I’m asking you for. I’m not going to be able to do it myself locked up. It’d be nice if you’d send pictures every now then, but you don’t have to. Can you do that for me?” Eryn’s tired eyes pleaded with her.
“I can do that,” she answered huskily.
“Thank you.” Eryn’s body seemed to shrink under the white blanket. “You’re good people. I knew that the minute I met you.”
Larissa wanted to break down in tears at the woman’s defeated expression.
A sound at the doorway heralded the arrival of an orderly to transport Eryn to the maternity ward.
“I’ll come and visit you tomorrow,” she promised, stepping away from the bed.
“You don’t have to, but it’d be nice if you did.”
Larissa nodded. “I’ll have Knox keep me updated on your children, too.”
Following the hospital bed out of the room, she found Knox standing just outside the door.
They remained silent until Eryn was farther away.
“She isn’t as stupid as she thinks she is. She’s smart enough to know she’s in a shitload of trouble. Did I hear Eryn right? Is she willing to sign her kids over?”
“Yes, but she’s emotional right now.”
Knox’s expression was harsh. “Save it for the jury. She’s doing them a favor. You didn’t look inside that house; I did.”
“You’re going to call CPS?”
“I have to, unless you have a better idea?” Knox said fatalistically. “Your sister is going to admit them to the hospital for tonight. That’ll give CPS time to find a couple of homes for them.”
“They’ll have to go to different homes?”
“Most likely. There aren’t a lot of foster homes in Treepoint. Shame Eryn doesn’t have any relatives she could her sign rights over to. The wheels move faster when they try to keep kids within the families.”
“How long does it take to become a foster parent?”
“Depends on who you know.” Knox raised a questioning eyebrow. “You thinking of taking them in?”
“I would if I could, but my sisters and I are sharing a one-bedroom apartment right now; there’s no room. They’re also going to need someone who can spend time with them.”
“Then who are you thinking of?”
“I’m thinking Crazy Bitch has a pretty big house.”