Chapter 10
Beth
Patch seems sure we can beat my stepfather back and keep my sister safe.
But I’m not so sure. As we head for the clubhouse to meet with the Savage Legion’s attorneys, I turn the situation over in my mind at least a dozen times.
I never get any closer to figuring out a surefire way to stop him dead in his tracks.
My stepfather is wealthy, respected in our community, and well-connected.
Unfortunately, he’s also controlling, deceitful, and thinks he’s found a good use for me.
What kind of man even thinks about trafficking his own stepdaughter simply to clear a debt?
It breaks my heart that he’s resorted to threatening my sister to get what he wants from me.
Patch keeps one hand on the throttle, the other occasionally reaching back to brush over my knee reassuringly.
The roads wind through Las Salinas as the morning sun continues to rise in the sky.
We see a few cars and some delivery trucks on the road during our journey.
A sports car zooms by us doing at least a hundred miles an hour.
A few miles up the road, we pass a sheriff’s cruiser writing the driver a nice fat ticket.
It’s just another normal day in our hometown, for everyone but me and my sister, it seems.
Lila’s voice keeps circling in my head. Tears sting in my eyes as I remember the distressed look on her face and the pleading tone of her voice. No matter the cost, I have to protect her, I vow to myself.
By the time we pull up to the front gate of the clubhouse, it’s almost midday and warming up. The prospects wave us in, and Patch parks in front of the main door, amongst a long line of other bikes. Their club president, Siege, is out front. He looks like he’s been waiting for us to arrive.
Patch kills the engine. I practically jump off the back. My legs are stiff from the long ride, and anxiety is twisting in my stomach.
“You ready for this?” Patch asks under his breath as he pulls his helmet off and gazes down at me.
I take mine off too. “Yes. Let’s go. I’ll do whatever it takes to save Lila.”
“And yourself. Don’t forget that part, darlin’. You’re just as important as your sister,” he says.
I nod and slide my helmet onto one of the handlebars. “Yeah, I get that.”
When we walk up onto the porch, Siege says curtly, “They’re here and waiting for you.”
Patch responds without stopping, “I know. I saw Smoke’s bike parked all the way on the left.”
Inside the clubhouse, it’s quieter than usual. The music, mingling, and rabble-rousing don’t start until the late afternoon or evening.
When we enter the room, I see Smoke and his old lady sitting at one of the conference tables.
I remember seeing them from Patch’s party, the night he was voted into the Legion.
Patch introduced me to everyone. Zen is seated at the end of the table.
He’s tapping away on his laptop. He’s the club’s IT professional, so he’s almost always on his computer looking up something. Patch gives me a gentle nudge forward.
“Beth, you already know Zen,” he says. “This is Smoke and Serena.”
“I remember them from your patching party,” I tell him before turning to shake Serena’s outstretched hand.
She’s Siege’s sister, and up close I can see the resemblance.
She’s dressed in dark jeans, a dark button-up shirt, and is wearing her property cut.
She gives me a warm smile. “I remember you as well. Sorry you have the kind of trouble in your life that requires crafty lawyers like my husband and me.”
Her friendly demeanor immediately puts me at ease. As I draw my hand back, I respond, “Thank you both for seeing us on such short notice.”
Smoke stands and shakes my hand as well. “Don’t worry. Whatever it is, we’ll do our best to fix it.”
He’s well-groomed and is also wearing his cut.
There’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes me think he’d tear someone apart in the courtroom without breaking a sweat.
It’s something about his piercing gaze and deep, confident voice and I’m pretty sure that when wearing a suit rather than leathers, he’d be a formidable opponent.
“So,” he says, flipping open a file, “you’re nineteen, engaged to be married to a club member, and trying to get guardianship of your medically fragile sister.”
Serena adds, “Preferably before your piece-of-shit stepfather hauls her out of the best care facility in this county. Is that the general gist of it?”
“Yeah,” I say, a bit stunned that they know so much. “That’s right.”
When I glance at Patch, he tells me, “I put the basic information in my initial text message. I wanted them to know what they were up against.”
I drop down into the closest empty chair and stare down at my hands. “That was a good call, I guess.”
Patch glances around at the others. Smoke asks, “And Lila confirmed she doesn’t want to leave?”
“She cried when we asked her,” I tell them. “She really needs the care. She told us that she can breathe there. We fixed up her room just like it was at home. She loves it there.”
Patch speaks up again. “I checked her medical information when I was there and it’s truly a good facility. I’d hate for her to lose it.”
“I know that I’m young, but I want to secure guardianship if I can.”
Smoke looks thoughtful for a moment then speaks, “As a mentally competent adult Lila shouldn’t need a guardian, though I can see that given her complex condition there may be times where she is unable to consent to treatment.
I suspect that’s the reasoning behind the guardianship.
I’ve requested the paperwork so I can see exactly what the arrangements are or if there are any mitigating circumstances that make this an exceptional case.
However, now that your mother has passed, it should fall to her next of kin, which would be you.
Do you know how it ended up with your stepfather?
I don’t see anything to suggest that he legally adopted her. ”
I tell them, “I think my mother was out of options. I was underage when Lila was placed there. Then my father died. It was just me and my mother for a few years and then she got remarried to my stepfather. He was always controlling about everything. I don’t know if he pressed the issue or if she just wanted to make sure Lila had someone in case something happened to her.
By the time we realized he was a controlling prick, it was too late. ”
Serena has a confused look on her face. “I don’t really understand what he hopes to gain by taking your sister out of her placement. It would be overwhelming for him to try to care for her at home all on his own.”
Patch cuts in, “I don’t think he wants to care for her himself. He’s just making threats to get Beth to come back home. She overheard him talking about giving her to another man to settle some kind of business debt. That’s what caused her to take off and seek help from my family.”
Serena’s whole expression changes to one of anger. “What?”
I nod, “It’s true. He wants to traffic me.”
“What in the world is wrong with him?” Serena spits out.
Siege frowns. “It sounds like he wants to end up in a fuckin’ orange jumpsuit for human trafficking.”
I tell him, “It’s proving to be a problem.
I’ve got tons of text messages and voicemails of him threatening to remove Lila from her placement, but I don’t think he even knows that I overheard him talking to his business associate on the phone the night I ran.
He’s not even putting up a pretense that it’s for her own good. ”
“That’s good evidence we can use to make a case against his fitness for guardianship,” Serena says.
Smoke clears his throat. “We’ll file for a temporary emergency guardianship motion naming Beth and Patch as temporary guardians.
The two of you are getting married, right?
Patch is a physician with good standing in the community.
This should help the judge feel confident in your ability to make good decisions jointly. ”
“And if the judge doesn’t approve it?” I ask, twisting my hand nervously in my lap. “What happens then?”
“Then we’ll simply file a separate injunction,” Serena says. “That will keep her from being moved until we can get a formal hearing in place.”
Smoke murmurs out loud as he scribbles notes in his legal pad, “The bar for an injunction is higher. We’d have to prove imminent medical risk.”
“She could die if she’s moved without proper support in place in the home,” I point out stubbornly. “And I know my stepfather is not going to do anything that costs money for her.”
Patch nods. “Regardless, I’ll write a letter on my medical letterhead outlining the possible risks of removing her.”
Smoke makes a note. “Any input from a competent medical professional will definitely help.”
Zen swivels his screen towards me, speaking up for the first time. “I’ll be scraping everything I can on your stepdad off the internet. I’ll be looking at things like financials, property records, calls, texts, the works. Patch said he’s been threatening you?”
I nod. “Through texts, yeah. Some voicemails too. Patch sends them to Smoke.”
“Send me everything he sent you. Every single text, every weird email and even the voice messages. I can cross-reference for patterns. If he’s communicating with anyone sketchy? I’ll find it.”
I glance at Patch. “Should I tell them about the cameras?”
He gives me a slow nod. “Yeah. Now’s the time.”
I inhale through my nose, let it out slow. “My mom gave me the Ring login before she died. I haven’t checked it in a while, but… he might not have changed the password. I can check today.”
Zen grins. “Do that as soon as you can. Forward what you find to me and Patch.”
I drop down into the closest empty chair and stare down at my hands. “That was a good call, I guess.”