Chapter 10 #2
Serena leans across the table, and her voice turns more serious.
“Beth, we’ll do everything in our power to keep your sister safe.
But we’ll need you to stay strong, calm, and credible.
Judges take notice of situations where you yell, scream, or attack someone in the heat of the moment.
They see that kind of behavior as instability.
No matter how much your stepfather provokes you, you have to keep your mess together. Understand?”
Patch’s hand comes out to hold mine.
“She understands. We both do.” His voice sounds firm and final.
I add, “Of course, I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize becoming my sister’s guardian. She’s counting on me.”
Smoke stands. “We’ll file today. Be ready to show up in court, maybe as early as tomorrow morning.”
We say our goodbyes, and Serena walks us out herself. When we get to the front door, she puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You’re not alone in this,” she says. “You’ve got me, Smoke, and the whole club behind you.”
Patch says, “She’s right. We’ve got this.”
For the first time in days, I relax just a bit, believing we just might be able to scoot by without my stepfather making a mess of me and my sister’s lives.
I give her a quick, spontaneous hug and whisper, “Thank you,” into her ear.
***
After dealing with business at the clubhouse we head to Patch’s office. Maggie looks up when we walk in. Her fingers are hovering over the keyboard.
“How did everything go this morning?” Patch asks when we step from the waiting room containing a few patients to the back office. “Any complaints from Sharon about the new PA?”
“No. He’s been kicking ass and taking names all morning.”
Patch frowns at his receptionist. “You tryin’ to talk like a biker today, Maggie?”
She is all smiles as she nods. “I sure am. How did I do?”
Patch smothers back a smile. “Real good. You should get Beth to take you to the clubhouse sometime so you can hear the real thing.”
When she glances hopefully at me, I give her a bright smile and say, “Maybe we can do lunch there sometime soon.”
She puts her hand up to her ear, making a pretend phone receiver and quips, “Call me,” before walking off with a pep in her step.
I have to admit Maggie is a bit of an oddball, but I like her anyway.
Patch peels off towards the back, saying something about scrubbing up. I head into his office and close the door behind me. His office has become my sanctuary. It keeps me in the thick of things, but the closed door gives me privacy, unlike the apartment upstairs. It gets lonely sitting up there.
The laptop Patch set up for me at a small desk in the corner of his office is already open. His program is still running, full of learning modules about medical terms and patient intake protocols. I’ve worked my way through a few modules, but today I’ve got bigger fish to fry.
I quickly check my text messages and emails. There is nothing from Lila. I turn my attention to the door cams at my stepfather’s home. I sign into the home security app. My mom gave me the login a few months before she died. I haven’t opened it in weeks.
The camera feed slowly loads, and I go to the front door camera.
I start by looking backward, day after day, until I reach the night I left.
Seeing my panicked self running away from home spikes my anger.
Shoving it aside, I switch to the back door camera, then jolt forward in my seat when I realize there is a clip from last night. The timestamp is 12:14 A.M.
I press play, eager to see who’s sneaking around to the back door at midnight.
I see my stepfather standing on the porch talking to a man I’ve never seen before.
Tall, wide build, black helmet, dark clothes.
He shifts just enough for me to read the cut.
It says ‘Grave Diggers MC’. He’s a biker. I don’t know why I’m shocked by that.
I pause the video, squinting at the best image of the stranger’s face. Nope. I’ve never seen him before, but he’s smirking all over the damn place. I play it over again to see what I missed.
The man hands my stepfather something, and they shake hands. My stepfather looks smug. They don’t speak, at least not that I can hear.
Before he leaves, the stranger lifts his head and stares directly into the camera. Then he taps the side of his helmet.
I get the strangest feeling whatever message he’s trying to send is meant for me, and it freaks me out. I sit there, frozen for a brief moment, trying to get my head around what this means.
I quickly copy the clip onto my flash drive and push away from the desk. Panicking, I go in search of Patch. He’s two doors down in his consulting room with a patient. I stand in the hall and wait just long enough for him to finish.
He catches my expression when he comes out and walks towards me. “Beth? Are you okay? You’re white as a sheet.”
“We need to talk.” My voice breaks a bit midway through the sentence. “If you can make a minute for me.”
“Always,” he says immediately, putting his arm around me.
We walk into the office, and I play the video from the Ring cam for him.
He watches the clip. “Where’d you get this, Beth? Is it the footage from your stepfather’s door cam?”
“Yeah. My mom gave me access several months before she passed.”
He’s already texting before I finish my answer. “I’m calling Siege.”
“Why?”
“Because the Grave Diggers club president doesn’t belong in our territory, and he damn well knows it. Not to mention the fact that your stepfather sure as hell shouldn’t be making sketchy backdoor deals with anyone from the Diggers. I don’t like the sound of this.”
I stare at him as anxiety churns in my stomach. “Who are the Grave Diggers? I mean, they’re clearly another MC, but are they allies or enemies of your club?”
Patch doesn’t answer right away. He just continues typing and hits send.
Putting his phone away, he looks at me. “They’re a one-percent club that’s been around forever.
They run guns, drugs, whatever earns them a fast buck.
They have a really dirty history, they patched over our rival club the Hellhounds a few years back.
The last president, Marauder, tried and failed to clean it up a little.
Marauder wanted to focus on drugs and running guns.
Unfortunately, he ended up losing control of the club after he was jumped by Lynch.
Lynch is infamous for trafficking women. He sees it as easy money.”
I blink. “Women? As in more than just one?”
“Yes. All their club girls are strippers and hookers. And they’re always looking to top up their supply.”
I’m so shocked that my mouth is hanging open. “Jesus. Do you think that’s who my stepfather was going to give me to? Do you think they truly wanted to turn me into a sex worker?”
Patch nods. “Makes sense. If he’s using you to settle a debt, they will be looking to make that money back.
” After a thoughtful pause, he continues, “Your stepfather’s in over his head.
Or worse, he knows exactly what kind of company he’s keeping and simply doesn’t give a damn.
Either way, we need to keep them away from you. ”
I wrap my arms around my stomach as I think about what my life would be like if they got ahold of me. “This whole situation seems a little surreal, ya know?”
When Patch finally looks at me, his jaw flexes. “Lynch is one of those men who doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as he can make money.”
I stare down at the laptop again and reach out one shaky hand to close the top. “I want to be in the room when you and your club brothers talk about it.”
“I’ll see to it,” he replies before pulling me into the circle of his arms.
I don’t know how to feel. I knew my stepfather wanted to traffic me. I just didn’t realize it was to bikers who intended to turn me into a cash cow.
***
We end up back at the clubhouse after the clinic closes up because Siege managed to get a meeting with the former club president of the Grave Diggers MC.
I’m anxious about meeting a real one-percent biker.
He’s an honest-to-goodness criminal. Patch keeps a hand on my lower back as we walk back to Siege’s office.
He’s keeping me closer than usual. Maybe he’s got his own reasons to be wary about meeting this man.
The only sound as we approach the club president’s office is the low murmur of Siege’s voice as he finishes a call.
Smoke is sitting in the corner scrolling through something on his tablet.
Zen’s connected to the big screen on Siege’s wall, running some kind of data stream with lines of code that mean nothing to me.
There is a big easy chair near Siege’s desk with a man sitting there.
Although he’s not wearing a cut, I have a pretty good idea who he is.
It’s Marauder, formerly of the Grave Diggers MC.
He’s large, and I can tell he was once muscular.
Now he’s hunched over, holding one hand to his chest. One leg is twisted awkwardly to the side.
There’s a cane leaning against Siege’s desk and a thick brace on his left knee.
His gray-streaked hair is tied back in a greasy ponytail.
When Siege ends the call, he nods at Patch. “You brief your old lady?”
“Some of it,” Patch says cryptically.
Siege looks at me. “Beth, this is Marauder. Former president of the Grave Diggers MC. He’s not a friend of the club—more like a former enemy turned temporary ally.
He’s here because he’s got history with Lynch, the same man who paid your stepfather a visit.
We brought him in because if your stepdad’s dealing with his former club, whatever is going on between them is bigger than the handshake and a package we saw exchanged on that door cam footage. ”
Marauder clears his throat, voice deep and rough.
“Lynch is slick. He’ll wait until he has the advantage and jump you while you’re not expecting it.
He jumped me with two club brothers when I was still coughing up blood from pneumonia.
That was the one and only moment he could have ever taken me down.
That’s what in the fuck you’re dealing with here, so you’d best beware. ”
Patch speaks beside me, voice low. “Based on the security cam footage, we think he’s involved with Beth’s stepfather now.”
Marauder nods. “Yeah. I saw the video you sent Siege. That’s Lynch.”
“Why?” My voice finally coming back, rough but steady. “What does Lynch want from me and my sister?”
Marauder shifts uncomfortably in his seat to face me. There’s a long pause before he answers.
“Lynch believes in three things,” he says.
“Cash, control, and keeping leverage on every man he does business with. If your stepdad is anyone important and stupid enough to agree to any kind of business connect, no matter how small with the Grave Diggers, Lynch will look for ways to control the relationship. Pretty young daughters would be the first thing on his list of possible leverage.”
Patch says dryly, “That’s exactly what we’re afraid of.”
Marauder glances at me. “A woman with no parents, no real legal protection, and a tie to a rival MC… Lynch’s gonna see all that as an opportunity.
He could do a lot with a woman like you.
Forcing you to turn tricks would be the least of your problems. He could use you as leverage against your stepfather or the Savage Legion and keep sending body parts to this club until they agree to give up territory or pay tribute. ”
Patch curses under his breath. Siege doesn’t move.
When the room goes silent, Marauder continues.
“I don’t know what’s goin’ through that man’s mind, but if it’s what I think, it wouldn’t be the first time he did something like that.
Lynch’s always said that every woman’s a gift that keeps on giving, right up until she stops being profitable.
After that, he sells them on to the kind of men who are hard on their toys. ”
Incensed, I shoot back. “Why women? Why not stick to guns or drugs?”
Marauder looks at me with something close to pity. “Lynch runs drugs, guns and a bunch of other dirty shit. He likes running whores because he likes wielding power over women. He can use them to blackmail important people. He knows that if he beats on them enough, women will do whatever he wants.”
I can’t help but ask, “You’re a one-percenter. Were you into all those things as well?”
His expression closes down. “I don’t answer to any man. Don’t think for a fuckin’ second I’m gonna answer to a woman.”
Looking at me, says roughly, “Stay where your people can see you at all times. You need to be aware that Lynch likes pretty girls who run. It excites his hunter instinct.”
I meet Marauder’s gaze directly. “I’m not anyone’s prey.” I state firmly.
Marauder gives me a small, curt nod. “Then you need to stand your ground with that asshole and do whatever it takes to protect yourself, even if that means killing him.”
After the meeting breaks up, Siege and Rigs stay behind. A short silence spins out in the room. Finally, Rigs speaks up. “You sure you want to do this today?”
Patch is standing against the wall with his arms crossed. He jerks his chin towards me. “Yeah, things are getting dangerous. We’ve put this off for far too long. I want the marriage finalized.”
I freeze, because although I knew we needed to go through with the ceremony, I had no idea Patch was planning it for today. I swallow thickly. “We probably should get it over with. It’s just a formality anyway.”
We stand before Rigs and he runs through a shortened version of the vows so quickly that I feel like I’m trapped in a dream, where I’m getting everything I ever wanted.
I’m protected, marrying my childhood crush and with him, finally getting a found family I actually like.
But instead of my dreams where I’m standing in front of the altar, wearing a beautiful dress, surrounded by friends and family, it’s a rushed job in a back office in a biker clubhouse.
I tell myself that it doesn’t matter, it’s all destined to be temporary.
The thought of these people leaving my life makes me feel such sorrow that I’m already mourning the loss as we make our vows.
Patch slips a gold band onto my finger and holds out one for me to put on him.
There can be no more powerful display of our marriage than rings for the world to see.
At least the gold is real, unlike our union.