Page 4 of Vetting the Biker

“I’m Jenna.” We shake hands and he introduces himself as Travis Hastings. “Here is the divorce decree outlining custody.” I always carry a copy with me because of shit like this and stunts Robert has pulled in the past. “This is Allison Thompson. She’s my sister and the one who drops off my son. My lawyer had me record me getting out of the car until he entered his car.” I play the video for him.

“Allison, did his mother send you a text message?” Allison pulls out her phone and shows her text messages with my ex-mother-in-law. There is nothing recent. “Could you call her?” the officer asks Robert. He’s standing on the steps of my porch.

“Before he does that, could my son go back into the house? I don’t want him to be privy to this outcome,” I ask.

Officer Hastings agrees to it.

“Mom, I’m at Jenna’s house and there’s some trouble.”

Officer Hastings takes the phone from Robert.

“Hello, ma’am. My name is Officer Travis Hastings. Are you currently out of town?”

“Yes, I am. I’m in South Carolina. My son and grandson are coming out tomorrow. Is there a problem?”

“According to the custody agreement, you’re to be the one to receive the child from Ms. Thompson. Your son can’t be at his ex-wife’s house.”

“I spoke with Robert, and he told me Jenna was fine with it, so I left early to set up the beach house.” I roll my eyes. He’s lying to everyone. I hope his mother will see I wasn’t lying about this for the past twelve years. Robert wasn’t a dangerous man until I became pregnant and wanted to continue pursuing my degree. I became more successful than him. He didn’t like it.

“Thank you, ma’am. Have a wonderful vacation.” Travis hangs up the phone. “I will notify the courts about this incident. They will not be happy. Mr. Johnson, if it happens again, I’ll arrest you. If you jaywalk, I’ll arrest you. I’ll be watching you.”

“Get Wesley,” Robert snaps, and stomps to the truck. I swallow hard as Allison walks into the house.

“Thank you, Officer.”

Wesley comes back out, gets in his dad’s truck, and they drive away. I walk into the house after the officer follows Robert out of my neighborhood.

Chase

The Wild Jesters’ clubhouse is ‌on the outskirts of the town. It used to be a small mom and pop hotel back in the fifties. We have forty-five rooms here that were renovated into suites, for not only our members but for our intakes as well if they’re comfortable enough to stay here. In situations like Gina’s—who will eventually be here once she gets some time to think and rest—they will go to the safe house to get their injuries tended to by Needles after we pick them up from the hospital, police station, or their home. It depends on what’s going on in their life and with their injuries, if they have them, and whatever other factors need to be considered. We never want them to feel like we’re making them do something they don’t want to do or scare them. We made sure those who need us have a safe place while they wait for a court date, for family to get them, or until the arrest of their abuser. Besides having rooms, we have a twelve-foot-high fence around the property with a manned gate twenty-four hours a day, and to get in a password is required, which changes daily.

“Hey, Mouthpiece. How’s the V.P. today?” Wolf greets me. Wolf is our only female member, and she’s one badass woman. Her blonde hair is one of my weaknesses, and her curves in all the right places are another weakness. If she wasn’t a lesbian, I’d probably try to hit that, but she could likely kill me and make it look like an accident. She was in the Army for sixteen years until an injury forced her to retire sooner than she wanted. Now she’s a bounty hunter, and an amazing one at it.

“Hey, Wolf; I’m okay. How’s the hunting going?” She’s true to her road name. She can always find her prey. Wolf’s eyes bounce around the room to see who all is in earshot of this conversation. She must either need to vent or she wants legal counsel.

“I’m working on the Johnston. The piece of shit husband vanished, but his wife is getting threatening messages.” If she squeezes the Gatorade bottle in her hand any tighter, I think it will explode.

“That’s the case where he beat her and the kids, and he left his youngest son paralyzed?” I want to end the son of a bitch, but once we find him and the other prisoners find out he is a child abuser. Well, I don’t see him surviving the night in prison, or maybe the other prisoners will have fun and torture his fucking ass.

“Yes and let me tell you when I find the fucker, it will take every ounce of me not to put a bullet in his head!”

The shit people don’t talk about is how every case, every story, every person stays with you. That is why I went to school to become guardian ad litem—an attorney for children. I wanted to help them, so they wouldn’t end up like I did, facing years of abuse at the hands of my alcoholic mother. My dad skipped after fifteen years of being a punching bag.

“Don’t worry, there’s a wolf on his tail I see a jail cell in his very near future.” I slap her shoulder and walk to the church doors, and knock.

“Come in.” I hear our president, Battle Axe. He earned the title when he was in the Marines and how he was when they were in combat. When he retired from the Marines, he was a cop for twenty years. Now at sixty, he makes sure we run on the right side of the law.

“Hey Pres, have you talked to Wolf lately?” I almost choke out the laugh I had in my throat when he took his readers off. The stack of papers in front of him indicates we’re here to talk about club businesses like the strip clubs, the dispensary, as well as the new intake, plus the families we already have here. It’s going to be a long meeting. He is a six-foot-seven-inch, three-hundred-twenty-five pound man covered in tattoos, but with his readers on, he almost looks like a badass Santa. Don’t tell him that though. Eagle did, and now he has a crooked nose and a chipped tooth. He calls them his pussy magnets. I think they denied him oxygen in the Marines. He never learns and thinks he is hilarious, but he’s the man you want at your six.

“I talked to her earlier today, and she’s like a caged beast.” I worry about her in certain cases when she becomes too obsessed with them. The obsession can lead her to see one way and if someone tries to help and point out a different point of view, then it can get nasty pretty quick. I need to make sure everyone is watching her to reel her in before it gets to be too fucking bad, like last time.

“I mean, she’s completely wrapped up in this, and I almost feel for the guy when she finds him. Almost.” Now that makes me laugh.

“Yeah, she is definitely an asset to each person who she’s involved in, that’s for sure.”

“Okay, Mouthpiece. I know you didn’t come in here to talk about Wolf. What’s up?” I pull the chair out in front of his desk and take a seat.

“I’m considering adopting a dog, and I want to know if you still have connections with any of the K-9 units.” As Battle Axe leans back in his chair, he clasps his fingers together on his head.

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