Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“How old are your children? What are their names?”
“Jalinda is nine and Jerome is seven. They go to Lexington elementary school. Jalinda is in fourth grade and Jerome is in second.”
“How do your work hours match your children’s?”
“I flex my hours to theirs. If one is sick and can’t go to school, my parents stay with them. They’re both retired teachers,” Slash explained.
“Do they have any reason to question the stability of your household? Are there financial concerns or difficulties with the school?”
“No. My house is paid off. I don’t believe in spoiling kids, but we have everything we need. Their bellies are full and they’re healthy.”
“You haven’t talked to a lawyer about this?” Elizabeth questioned.
“I thought they’d drop it. They’ve never been interested in the kids before. Or any of us. We spend holidays and free time with my folks. We always have—even when Jalena was here.”
“Do you know why they’re doing this?”
“I think they want the money.”
“Money?” Elizabeth echoed.
“Jalena was a gambler. A good one. That’s how we met. She wiped me out during a poker game and then bought me a beer to apologize.”
“She had money?”
“A lot. Four hundred thousand dollars. It’s in a special account at the bank for the kids’ college tuition.”
“And it can be accessed to pay for their upkeep?” Elizabeth guessed.
“Yes. But I’ll never do that. They’re smart kids. Jerome is skipping third grade next year to go on to fourth.”
“Okay, I think I’ve got everything I need. Slash, there’s no way anyone should be able to take your kids away—despite your participation in a motorcycle club—unless there is evidence the Devil’s Jesters are involved in illegal activities. Can your guys stay away from anything negative for a year?”
“A year?” Vengeance echoed.
“That’s probably how long this will take to go through the family court. These things move slow,” Elizabeth confirmed. “This isn’t my specialty. I’m a defense attorney who deals with criminal charges. You need a lawyer well versed in family law. I have the perfect suggestion for you, though.”
“Someone else won’t understand,” Slash said, shaking his head.
“It doesn’t take experience with a motorcycle group to understand a money grab. My colleague is intelligent, compassionate, and right down the hall. She’s who I would hire if I needed a family lawyer. Should I call to see if she can come join our meeting?”
“She’s good?” Slash asked, staring directly at Elizabeth.
“She’s the best.”
“Do it.”
As Elizabeth found her colleague’s number, Slash said, “Thank you, Elizabeth. My kids are everything to me. They’re all I have left of their mother.”
“Then we’re going to take care of this. No scary moves from here on out. If you want to make an appointment, call and schedule one. Don’t chase her down with a horde of bikers,” Elizabeth warned.
Slash nodded. “It seemed like a good idea at the time to convince you.”
A snort of laughter exploded from Talon at the side of the room. Vengeance and Slash turned to look at him as Elizabeth held her breath.
“Only bikers would think of recruiting a lawyer with a posse,” Talon said with a smirk.
Vengeance bristled and tightened his hands into fists, immediately ready to take insult. To Elizabeth’s relief, Slash put a hand on his forearm and shook his head. “He’s right. It was a biker thing to do. Jump into battle first.”
“Your kids are worth making a good plan,” Talon suggested.
“Damn right, they are,” Slash answered.
Chapter
Sixteen
Late Friday night, Talon looked at the Guardians sitting at the table. He’d sat in on a couple of the leaders’ meetings at Atlas’s request when the budget was discussed. Steele had called him into the meeting this time to detail the recent events.
“The Devil’s Jesters are a thorn in our side, but they’re going to leave my Little girl alone,” Talon reported.
“How sure are you that the Littles are safe?” Steele demanded.
“The Jesters are going to walk a tightrope for a year as Slash fights to save his kids. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of them,” Talon suggested. “As to how safe our Littles are? I don’t trust them as far as I could throw Vengeance.”
“How did Elizabeth get on their radar in the first place?” Kade asked.
“There was a letter to the editor in the local newspaper detailing the heroism of a lawyer who put herself at risk to save a vendor at the farmer’s market.”
“Don’t tell me Slash reads the local throwaway paper,” Atlas scoffed.
“Vengeance does,” Talon said.
Steele simply shook his head. “We’ll keep an eye on them. Kade, I’m going to leave that to you.”
“Got it,” Kade assured him.
Even if he hadn’t been asked, Talon knew the Enforcer would have made this his business. Talon didn’t particularly like that Slash would be around Elizabeth’s office. They would need to have a very serious talk about her keeping her distance from any of the Jesters.