Chapter Twenty-Three
After calling Bailey, I agreed to meet the police down at the station for an official statement. We have been sitting in this room for thirty minutes waiting for someone to come see us.
When the door finally opens, I’m surprised when Farrah asks the first question.
“Is Loyal okay?”
The officer looks at her questioningly. “I assume you mean Matthew? He’s fine. Is he your boyfriend?” the officer asks, looking judgmental. I get it, if he were, it would be a crime. They are looking for a reason to lock Loyal up for good.
“No. He’s my mom’s boyfriend,” Farrah tells him.
The cop looks at me, a whole new judgmental look on his face. “I see. Can you tell me what happened tonight?”
“Can you tell me if he is okay?” Farrah sasses back.
“Young lady, you might want to mind your tone,” the cop says.
“No, officer. You might want to mind yours. You didn’t even introduce yourself or anything, and now you think you are leading this interview. We were the victims here. Not criminals, so start treating us as such,” I spit at him, crossing my arms. “In fact, I want to speak with your sergeant.”
The cop looks annoyed, but before he can respond, another officer steps into the room.
“Rutledge, what are you doing in here? You aren’t supposed to be interviewing them,” the new man says.
“I must have misunderstood. I’ll head out.” The officer sneers at us before he leaves the room.
“I want a formal complaint made on that man. He treated my teenage daughter like a criminal. I don’t appreciate it.”
The new man pauses before nodding. “I’ll make a note and get you the forms. I’m Detective Leon. I’m handling this case. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?”
“Only if you answer mine first,” Farrah says.
He nods. “Go ahead.”
“Is Matthew okay?”
Detective Leon nods. “He’s down the hall in a holding cell. He came peacefully and hasn’t caused issues. Once his bond is paid, he will be released.”
“Good,” she says. “Why are you investigating this? What kind of detective are you?”
He smiles. “You are a smart girl, aren’t you? I’m part of the gang unit. I’m investigating because the Lotus MC has been on our radar for years. Anytime one of them is brought in, we handle the case.”
“They aren’t criminals. He only stepped in to protect me,” Farrah says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Good. Let’s start from the beginning, though. Can you tell me how this all started?”
Farrah looks to me and frowns. “My parents got divorced.”
“I think he means tonight. Not everything,” I prompt her.
“She can tell me whatever she feels is relevant.”
I narrow my eyes on the detective. I see what he is doing. He is trying to trip us up.
Farrah surprises me though. “You are looking into the wrong guy. Loyal is my mom’s boyfriend. He has been nothing but nice to me even when I was being a brat. My father is the problem. He is always angry. He keeps making threats about getting my mom back.”
“Is that what tonight was?” Detective Leon pushes.
“He came to pick me up as is the agreed-upon custody agreement, but he was angry when he found out that I hung out with some friends. He yelled at Mom and then grabbed me. It hurt, so I cried out in pain, and that’s when Loyal came over.
He drew his attention off of me so he would let me go.
Then Dad punched him, and well, Loyal has a right to defend himself,” Farrah says softly.
“He does. Tell me, do you have a bruise from where your father grabbed you?” he asks.
She pulls up her shirt, showing the mark that is indeed bruising. I frown as I take out my phone.
“Let’s get a picture of that,” I tell her.
“If it’s all right, I would like to take some too.”
I nod as we both take photos of the damage. Once done, we sit back down.
“Are you afraid of your father?” the detective asks.
Farrah pauses. “I never used to be, but lately he is obsessed. I thought he cared about me, but I think he only cares about getting her back.”
“One last question, Farrah. There was a report made to CPS. You made some statements that were questionable. Can you tell me about them?”
I go to tell her she doesn’t have to, but she speaks before I can.
“I lied. Dad said he would send me to an all-inclusive resort for my graduation and get me the car I always wanted. I was angry with my mom, so I agreed.” She looks over at me, tears in her eyes.
“By the time the CPS thing came up, I was in too deep. He was threatening to tell you everything and I didn’t want you to hate me.
I regretted everything I did. I’m so sorry, Mom. ”
I open my arms, letting her fall into them.
“Shh, it’s not your fault. You should not have been involved in adult things. This isn’t on you. This is on your father.”
The detective closes his file, looking at me with concern.
“Ma’am, I do not believe Loyal will be charged.
A neighbor also gave a statement that he was not the instigator.
I am going to advise you to get a restraining order on your ex-husband.
If this is what he has done up until this point, I worry he may be spiraling.
We can only offer so much protection. It might be just a paper, but it’s one that will get him arrested without question should he show up to your home again. ”
I nod. “Thank you. Can we go now?”
“Absolutely. Let me walk you out.”
I look around as we walk through the halls, hoping to see Loyal, but by the time we reach the lobby, it is no use. He is nowhere to be seen.
Waiting for us outside is a welcome sight, though.
“Hey. You guys came,” I say, greeting Bailey and Savage.
Bailey hugs me, then Farrah.
“Of course we did. You called, we come. It’s what we do,” she says.
“You two should go home though. Loyal wouldn’t want you spending time here. We will get him out and bring him straight to you.”
I frown but look over at Farrah. She looks exhausted.
“You’re right. Will you tell him we wanted to wait?” I ask.
He nods. “I’ll tell him I had to force you away.”
“The detective I spoke with said the charges would be dropped,” I tell him.
“As they should be. He was defending you two and himself. No judge in the state of Texas would accept those charges. Hell, the DA would likely laugh in their face if they tried,” Savage snorts.
“Billy…” I trail off.
“We will find out, and I will let you know. We will keep you safe. I promise,” Savage says.
“It’s what we do for family,” Bailey adds.
“Thank you both. We appreciate you.” Squeezing Farrah to me, I mutter, “Let’s go home.”
I’ve been in here for hours, but I don’t mind. Not when the reason is so sweet.
I finally got to deck that piece of shit. I only wish I had used my full strength. He would’ve gone down like a sack of potatoes. As is, I had to hold back. I needed to get the charges dropped quickly.
I can’t have him bailing out while I’m still inside.
Noise draws my attention to the door of the cell. I damn near laugh when I see Billy being lead into the cell next to me. His right eye is swollen shut while his nose looks like it might have been broken. They have it all bandaged up.
“Fucking dirty-ass biker. Don’t put me next to him. I’ll kill him,” he tells the cop.
“Wanting to add to your charges? Keep talking,” he grumbles, slamming the cell door shut before walking away.
I can’t help the smirk on my face. This is fucking great. He looks like a mess and is still locked up right next to me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“What are you smiling at? I have connections here. As soon as they process everything, I’ll be out while they throw away the key for you.”
“Sure. Your connections have been such a help so far. Tell me, does your nose still hurt? Can you even see out of your eye?”
He rushes the bars. “You piece of trash. I will squash you under my toe like a bug.”
I don’t bother getting up from my cot. I stare at the ceiling as he continues to spew venom my way.
“Have you ever heard the saying ‘I’m rubber. You’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks back to you?’”
“Hahaha, laugh it up. I’m going to make you wish you’d never met Sami. You think you are so clever, but you are nothing but a no-good biker getting his dick wet in that old, dried-up pussy.”
That gets me moving. My hands are on him before he can back away.
“I’m going to say this only once, Billy boy.
” I keep my tone low so the recording devices cannot hear me.
“If you ever speak about my woman again, I will take my knife and gut you like a fucking fish and feed you to the wolves. No one will ever know what happened to you. You’ll be another missing case never solved. ”
“Break it up you two.” An officer taps on the bars.
I let him go, taking a step back. Billy stares at me, a mixture of anger and fear in his eyes.
Yeah, he’s done his research on the club. He might think he is Billy Badass, but he also knows I can and will follow through on my threats.
“Green. You’re free to go.”
“Why the fuck is he free? Where is my call? I want my lawyer. I want to talk with Officer Rutledge. Are you even listening to me?” Billy yells as the officer leads me from the holding cell area.
“I wish we could duct tape certain inmates’ mouths,” the officer mutters under his breath.
“If you had left me the roll, I’d have done it without hesitation. No blowback on you.”
The officer snorts out a laugh before he schools his face.
“Your items are right here. Exit is that way.” He points out the door. Then he turns, leaving me with the deputy who helps me with the rest of the paperwork.
I smile when I see the charges were dropped.
Good.
Stepping outside, I hope to see Sami, but instead, Savage and Bailey are in her place.
My face must fall because Savage speaks instantly.
“They are waiting at home for you. I didn’t think you’d want Farrah spending any unnecessary time at a police station.”
I nod, relieved. “Thanks. I appreciate you looking out for them.”
“Of course. Before you go, we should probably have a chat. Maybe not outside of a police station.”
I nod, making my way to the truck they brought. I climb in the back, then wait for us to get away from the police station before I speak up.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Billy has an officer in his pocket. I guess he’s done some investment banking for him. Rutledge. If he has any sway, he will be out tonight, likely without bond.”
“Yeah, he was calling out for him when they released me. Does Sami know?”
He shakes his head. “Dex wants to put cameras on the place but didn’t want to overstep.
I’ve told the club you will be officially claiming her, so brothers are signed up to do drive-bys of the place to keep them safe.
I haven’t raised it to a full lockdown, but everyone is on alert.
We need to get someone in Farrah’s school as well.
One of the younger kids offered to switch schools to be near her. ”
I snort. “Abel?”
He glances in the mirror at me. “How’d you know?”
“I think he has a crush. I think it would be better if we could get Farrah over to their school. I’ll talk to Sami.
In the meantime, Mr. Wilson across the street is a good asset.
He sees everything from his porch, and he hates the ex.
As for the school, they have a resource officer.
Maybe we can get him on the payroll? At least temporarily?
I’d be willing to pay the fees,” I tell him.
“I diverted Tiny too. He will be watching instead of taking on extra cases,” Bailey speaks up.
“You guys didn’t have to do all of this, but you don’t know what it means to me that you did.”
“You know you don’t have to always try to prove why you are vice president, right?
” Savage starts. “I know I wasn’t here when everything went down before, but Colt vouched for you.
He saw exactly what I did, so I gave you the position you earned.
You were born for this. You are an asset to the club.
You have ideas that help us grow. You agree with me sometimes, but more often than not, you push back against me, helping me see things clearer. You belong here, and so do they.”
This is the most Savage has ever said to me on the subject. We never really talked about how I got my position, but he’s right that I have fought like hell to prove I deserved it. To get the recognition now…it means more than he could know.
“Thanks for saying that and thanks for arranging everything. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to either of them.”
“You won’t have to find out because we won’t let anything happen to them.”
I hope he’s right, because those two girls? They have quickly become my whole world.