Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
The lawyer shrank back a little at the judge’s words.
But Judge Baskins was correct.
The Dixie Wardens MC was a pretty well-known club in the country. Most of them were public service professionals of some kind. Did they break the law? Yes. But they only did it for good reasons…mostly.
We didn’t run drugs. We didn’t pimp out whores. We didn’t traffic women and children. We were genuinely out to better our communities and make them safer to live in.
We were not bad influences on anyone, especially our children.
Did we do bad things? Hell yes, we did. But we did it in a way that no one would know.
On the outside looking in, we were solid members of society.
And that was all because of our ex-CIA national club president, Silas.
“The children’s father is never home. And he’s making the girls work from sunup to sundown.”
“That’s wrong,” Jedidiah countered. “My client has hired what hands he’s able to get his hands on—seeing as your client took half of Sinclair’s workers with her when she left because she told them that Denver abused her when he didn’t. He’s hired a local vet to even help.”
“A local vet that he’s sleeping with!” Juliana hissed.
Silas shifted in his seat, not necessarily toward her, but just in a way that she looked behind her and froze.
She hadn’t realized he was sitting there until now.
She inhaled swiftly and wilted into herself.
“Relevance?” Jedidiah asked drolly.
Julianna growled under her breath.
Someone came into the courtroom from a side entrance then and walked right up to the judge.
Curious to know what this person wanted, I strained to hear, but got nothing.
The judge looked worried and looked outside the window.
I saw something dark that looked like smoke filling the air.
The man who entered left, and the judge took off his glasses and leveled a look at Juliana. “You are not getting full custody. In fact, after looking at the statements of the kids that tells us what they want—all done by their lawyer—I award full custody to Sinclair Windsor. You are to pay him.” He looked at the sheet in front of him that likely showed her income totals. “Three hundred dollars per child. Now, I have to go get into my fire gear. Seems like the vet building is on fire.”
He stood up, but I was already halfway out of the room.
TWENTY-FOUR
It’s unsticking your thighs from plastic chairs season.
—Holly to Nettie
HOLLY
I was coughing up my lungs, and the poor little raccoon babies in my shirt were along for the ride.
I heard talking, and at first the sound of the voice didn’t quite register.
I was coughing too hard for it to.
But then the voice moved closer and the timbre of the voice played along sensitive nerve endings.
I knew that voice.
I’d heard that voice days ago when I’d escaped another dangerous situation.
I peeled open my eyes and stared up at the man blocking the blinding sun.
“Hello.” He smiled as he dropped down to his haunches. “Are you okay?”
No.
No, I wasn’t okay.
And not only because I’d just escaped a burning building with over twenty animals in it.
I wasn’t okay because this was the man who’d been at that dog fighting ring.
The man that Denver had been looking relentlessly for since I’d told him about the man that’d been in the mountains with me that night.
Luckily, the croak that came out of my mouth was answer enough for him because he didn’t push further for me to speak.
Didn’t think that I’d ever thank having smoke inhalation, but there I was.
“Come on over here.” He lifted his hand. “We need to get you away from the fire.”
I was already shaking my head. “No.”
He tried that blinding smile he’d already given me once, but that smile wouldn’t work on me.
I was immune to it now that I’d heard his voice.
“You need to come to my truck so I can get you on some oxygen…”
I was already shaking my head again.
This man looked like anyone off the street.
He wasn’t in a uniform of any kind.
He wasn’t even wearing his club cut.
The sound of his voice was the only reason I knew who he was.
“You seriously need to come with me,” he said as he reached for me.
I was up and moving despite not wanting to be moved.
The grip on my arm was a little bit tighter than it should be, and my heart was hammering in my throat as I started to panic for an altogether different reason that day.
Luckily, before I could get too freaked out, the grip on my shoulders loosened, and he set me back down on my feet.
My knees felt like Jello, and hardly supported my weight as he moved away from me.
I didn’t know why until Denver was standing in front of me, his hands cupping my face. “Are you okay?”
I croaked. “No!”
Tears started to trail down my face, and I threw myself at him.