Page 111 of Rent Free

“Ma’am,” the judge sounded angry. “One last outburst from you and you’ll be spending the night in jail.”

Emory laughed, as if she didn’t think he would do it.

But the judge proved her wrong by banging his gavel and saying, “Bailiff, see Ms. Cline to alternate accommodations.”

The bailiff did just that, taking her out in handcuffs, spitting and fighting.

I could do nothing but shake my head.

“Jesus,” I heard Pepper mutter under her breath behind me.

I agreed.

Wow.

“All right then…” the judge began, his eyes on me. “Let’s finish this up.”

I had full custody of my son.

My son’s name was now Carter.

I had a protection order against Emory.

Oh, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

I truly didn’t think the day could get any better.

I was wrong.

Don’t be afraid to cut people off.

—Lorena Bobbit

ATLAS

We celebrated the day by having a cookout, Carter style.

All of the brothers cooked sans me. There were ribs, brisket, hot dogs, macaroni, and more.

There were all kinds of kids running around everywhere.

Hell, we even had some of Keene’s family there because the circus they co-owned together was off for the holiday the following Monday.

That meant there was utter chaos.

But it was all worth it to see Forest having such a blast.

“I hate that woman,” Mom said. “If there was a way to go back in time and take him away from all of that, I’d do it in a second.”

“Agreed,” Pepper took a swig of her beer. “I didn’t think anyone could rival my derision for Sage, but Emory definitely managed it.”

“That woman who was saying she called about Emory’s actions, and nothing was done”—Mom shook her head. “That’s my newest mission, to find these calls that slip through the cracks. I’m going to follow up on them personally. I’ve already talked to your father, and we’re allotting me some resources to create a community-type thing that’ll run strictly on volunteer hours. I’ll pay the informants, though.”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Pepper tilted her beer bottle toward my mother. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“I heard that congratulations are in order.” Maven came up, a wide smile on her face. “A billionaire willing to use all his resources to help you get your business off the ground? I guess I should count myself lucky that I had you as long as I did.”

“What’s this?” Dad asked.

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