Page 29 of Patch's Bride
I nod and slide my helmet onto one of the handlebars. “Yeah, I get that.”
When we walk up onto the porch, Siege says curtly, “They’re here and waiting for you.”
Patch responds without stopping, “I know. I saw Smoke’s bike parked all the way on the left.”
Inside the clubhouse, it’s quieter than usual. The music, mingling, and rabble-rousing don’t start until the late afternoon or evening.
When we enter the room, I see Smoke and his old lady sitting at one of the conference tables. I remember seeing them from Patch’s party, the night he was voted into the Legion. Patch introduced me to everyone. Zen is seated at the end of the table. He’s tapping away on his laptop. He’s the club’s IT professional, so he’s almost always on his computer looking up something. Patch gives me a gentle nudge forward.
“Beth, you already know Zen,” he says. “This is Smoke and Serena.”
“I remember them from your patching party,” I tell him before turning to shake Serena’s outstretched hand. She’s Siege’s sister, and up close I can see the resemblance. She’s dressed in dark jeans, a dark button-up shirt, and is wearing her property cut. She gives me a warm smile. “I remember you as well. Sorry you have the kind of trouble in your life that requires crafty lawyers like my husband and me.”
Her friendly demeanor immediately puts me at ease. As I draw my hand back, I respond, “Thank you both for seeing us on such short notice.”
Smoke stands and shakes my hand as well. “Don’t worry. Whatever it is, we’ll do our best to fix it.”
He’s well-groomed and is also wearing his cut. There’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes me think he’d tear someone apart in the courtroom without breaking a sweat. It’s something about his piercing gaze and deep, confident voice and I’m pretty sure that when wearing a suit rather than leathers, he’d be a formidable opponent.
“So,” he says, flipping open a file, “you’re nineteen, engaged to be married to a club member, and trying to get guardianship of your medically fragile sister.”
Serena adds, “Preferably before your piece-of-shit stepfather hauls her out of the best care facility in this county. Is that the general gist of it?”
“Yeah,” I say, a bit stunned that they know so much. “That’s right.”
When I glance at Patch, he tells me, “I put the basic information in my initial text message. I wanted them to know what they were up against.”
I drop down into the closest empty chair and stare down at my hands. “That was a good call, I guess.”
Patch glances around at the others. Smoke asks, “And Lila confirmed she doesn’t want to leave?”
“She cried when we asked her,” I tell them. “She really needs the care. She told us that she can breathe there. We fixed up her room just like it was at home. She loves it there.”
Patch speaks up again. “I checked her medical information when I was there and it’s truly a good facility. I’d hate for her to lose it.”
“I know that I’m young, but I want to secure guardianship if I can.”
Smoke looks thoughtful for a moment then speaks, “As a mentally competent adult Lila shouldn’t need a guardian, though I can see that given her complex condition there may be times where she is unable to consent to treatment. I suspect that’s the reasoning behind the guardianship. I’ve requested the paperwork so I can see exactly what the arrangements are or if there are any mitigating circumstances that make this an exceptional case. However, now that your mother has passed, it should fall to her next of kin, which would be you. Do you know how it ended up with your stepfather? I don’t see anything to suggest that he legally adopted her.”
I tell them, “I think my mother was out of options. I was underage when Lila was placed there. Then my father died. It was just me and my mother for a few years and then she got remarried to my stepfather. He was always controlling about everything. I don’t know if he pressed the issue or if she just wanted to make sure Lila had someone in case something happened to her. By the time we realized he was a controlling prick, it was too late.”
Serena has a confused look on her face. “I don’t really understand what he hopes to gain by taking your sister out of her placement. It would be overwhelming for him to try to care for her at home all on his own.”
Patch cuts in, “I don’t think he wants to care for her himself. He’s just making threats to get Beth to come back home. She overheard him talking about giving her to another man to settle some kind of business debt. That’s what caused her to take off and seek help from my family.”
Serena’s whole expression changes to one of anger. “What?”
I nod, “It’s true. He wants to traffic me.”
“What in the world is wrong with him?” Serena spits out.
Siege frowns. “It sounds like he wants to end up in a fuckin’ orange jumpsuit for human trafficking.”
I tell him, “It’s proving to be a problem. I’ve got tons of text messages and voicemails of him threatening to remove Lila from her placement, but I don’t think he even knows that I overheard him talking to his business associate on the phone the night I ran. He’s not even putting up a pretense that it’s for her own good.”
“That’s good evidence we can use to make a case against his fitness for guardianship,” Serena says.
Smoke clears his throat. “We’ll file for a temporary emergency guardianship motion naming Beth and Patch as temporary guardians. The two of you are getting married, right? Patch is a physician with good standing in the community. This should help the judge feel confident in your ability to make good decisions jointly.”
