Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Julian was tuning his bass when his longtime friend Denny Clarkson approached him, looking troubled. He was a big dude with floppy blond hair and a kind, friendly face that was unusually tense.
“Hey, man, how goes it?” Julian asked.
“I need your help.”
“What’s up?”
“Remember my sister, Isla?”
“Of course.” While Denny often mentioned her and her young kids, Julian hadn’t ever met her. “Younger than us, right?”
“Yeah, by seven years. She’s in trouble with a hopefully soon-to-be ex-husband who’s escalating.”
“How so?”
“He busted up their apartment.”
“Busted it up with what?”
“A baseball bat. Everything is smashed to pieces.”
“Where was she?”
“Hiding with the kids.”
Julian raised a dark brow. “In an apartment?”
“She’d made a hiding place behind a closet in case she ever needed it.”
Julian was stunned—and amazed—that she’d planned for such a thing. What did that say about what she must’ve been dealing with before this? “How long has this been going on?”
“I’m not really sure. She’s kept me at arm’s length since I told her not to marry him, but if she’s calling me for help now, it must be bad. We gotta get her away from him before he kills her.”
“Has he ever hurt her physically?”
“Not that I know of, but like I said, she cut me out of the day-to-day after I disapproved of the marriage.”
“Is she somewhere safe now?”
“She and the kids are with a neighbor for the night. He’s locked up. For now, anyway.”
“Can you bring her to my office in the morning?”
“She can’t afford you.”
“We’ll worry about that after we ensure the safety of her and her kids.”
“She won’t be able to pay for anything. I think he’s probably wiped them out.”
“We have some leeway for pro bono work.” Julian didn’t have time for pro bono, but he’d do it for Denny. They’d been playing together in one band or another for more than twenty years. “You okay to play tonight?”
“I will be.” Denny ran both hands through his hair, trying to pull himself together. “I wish she’d told me it was this bad before it got to this point. Maybe I could’ve gotten her out of there.”
“I’ve found that not much can be done until the injured party decides he or she has had enough.”
“I think maybe she’s there. She sent me pictures of the apartment. It’s total carnage.”
“Could I see the pictures?”
Denny pulled out his phone, found the pictures of the destruction and handed the phone to Julian.
“Holy shit.”
“She said there’s almost nothing left except clothes and the kids’ toys, and even that is covered in broken glass.”
“What’s his deal?”
“I honestly don’t know. She’s kept her distance from me for almost as long as they’ve been married.
I probably messed up by telling her straight out not to marry him, but I had the strongest feeling that it was a mistake.
Of course, she didn’t want to hear it, and it really changed the groove between us.
I had no clue about what she’s been dealing with, and I feel guilty about that. ”
“All right. I’ll do what I can to get her off the merry-go-round, but I have to caution you…
Unless she’s fully on board with making a break, there’s not much I can do for her.
I can ask for a restraining order that’s not worth the paper it’s printed on if she’s not determined to keep him away from her and her kids. ”
“I’ll talk to her again later and get a feel for where she’s at, but I think she knows it’s over.”
“Keep me posted. I’ll do everything I can for you and your sister.”
Denny gave him a bro hug around the heavy bass guitar. “I owe you one.”
“It’s no problem.”
“Yes, it is, and don’t pretend like I’m not taking you away from shit that earns you seven hundred bucks an hour.”
Julian grinned. “You’re never going to let me forget I told you that, are you?”
“Not in this or any other lifetime.”
“What can I say? When you’re good, you’re good.”
Denny rolled his eyes and went to set up his equipment. “Try not to sprain your ego, Counselor.”
“Haha, my ego is unsprainable.”
“What’s lawyer boy spewing about now?” Troy Warren asked as he joined them.
The keyboard player wore a black leather vest full of patches and pins collected from every club, bar, festival and event he’d ever played at.
The vest put his sleeve tattoos and impressive biceps on full display, which helped to ensure he wouldn’t go home alone.
“His ego is as healthy as ever,” Denny said.
The band’s drummer, Stix Murillo, and his sexy girlfriend, Vixen, one of three lead singers, came rolling in, holding hands as always.
The guys liked to tease Vixen about what her mother was thinking when she’d given her daughter that name.
She always had a saucy reply such as, “Wouldn’t you like to know? ”
In fact, Vixen was her stage name, and she hoped to become as famous as other single-name stars such as Pink and Cher. Her real name was Vivian, but Stix had warned them never to call her that, as she was fully committed to building a career in the music business as Vixen.
The band made enough money to keep her mostly afloat while she reached for the stars, but she’d mentioned being disappointed by how long it was taking to break out.
Julian wasn’t going to be the one to tell her how many people came to LA seeking fame and fortune only to never get their big break.
However, her incredible voice was a big reason the band had become so popular.
She had a Stevie Nicks vibe that had people following them from gig to gig, giving them the kind of fan base that often led to bigger things.
He had a semiqueasy feeling about the band taking off, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take the ride that the others craved.
As much as he loved playing live, and this band was the best one he’d ever been part of, it wasn’t his big dream, or Denny’s.
Since the rest of the band was constantly struggling for money, Julian refused payment for gigs he was happy to do for free because the music gave him a much-needed outlet away from work.
They rocked the classics for three long hours with one thirty-minute break, during which Denny checked in with his sister.
Julian reached out to a contact at the LAPD who confirmed that Gabriel Santana would be their overnight guest at the city jail with an arraignment scheduled for nine o’clock in the morning.
Due to the severity of the damage done to the apartment, his friend said, the DA was recommending Gabriel be held without bail while he awaited trial.
The outcome would depend on the judge, and Denny’s sister needed to be prepared for her husband to be released on bail.
Julian told Denny what he’d learned from the LAPD.
“Well, it’s a relief that he won’t get out tonight. I’ll let her know in case the LAPD hasn’t gotten around to notifying her yet.”
“What’s the plan if he gets sprung tomorrow?”
“I don’t have one. I’d take them in if I could, but my place barely has room for me. The child support and alimony are killer, as you know.”
“I could loan you the money to get a place big enough for all of you.”
Denny hesitated before he said, “The family money is invested for her.”
“She doesn’t know about it?”
He shook his head. “I was afraid the husband would blow through it, so I kept it from her. She has what she needs to move out.”
“You need to tell her that.”
“She’s going to be pissed that I kept it from her.”
“Not as pissed as she’d be if he’d squandered it.”
“I hope that’s the case. Thank you for helping.”
“Always. Bring her to the office in the morning. We’ll figure out next steps.”
“Will do. Appreciate this.”
“No worries.”
After they finished their gig, Julian helped pack up the equipment and then headed for the exit, eager to get home after a long-ass day with another on tap for tomorrow.
As he drove home, he thought about Denny’s sister and hoped he could help her figure out a plan to get free of her violent husband before something happened to her and her kids.
His practice tended to cater to high-income clients due to the firm’s reputation and their hourly rates.
However, he tried to help those of lesser means whenever he got the chance.
In fact, his active pro bono practice was often a source of contention with his father, who preferred that they stay focused on clients with big bucks.
Making use of his skills and experience to help people who were less fortunate was important to Julian, who’d led an extraordinarily privileged life.
Despite the nastiness of his parents’ divorce, the rest of his childhood had been somewhat gilded thanks to their professional success.
He volunteered one Saturday a month at a shelter for women who’d experienced domestic violence and made himself available to friends who needed help, like Denny, even if they couldn’t afford to pay him.
His siblings agreed that their pro bono work made them feel better about charging exorbitant rates to clients who could easily afford them.
As he drove up the hill toward his home in Laurel Canyon, Julian thought of his grandfather, Spencer Remington, and how he’d built the family business into a local institution that’d gained national prominence under Corbin’s leadership.
With every passing year, the firm’s annual gross grew exponentially, which gave them the resources to fund things like in-house estate, accounting, real estate and taxation specialists, which set them apart from most smaller family law firms.
When the shit hit the fan in a Hollywood marriage, Remington was usually the first call both parties made, and if they didn’t call the original Remington practice, then his mother’s firm, Kate Remington Family Law, was right up there on the list of the most desirable representation.
His three sisters, Jordan, Kaidan and Gillian, worked for their mother’s firm, as did two of their female first cousins.