by JP Sayle
The information on his parents was sparse. It seemed his father had run off around the same time the picture had been taken. His mother had drunk herself to death not long after that. Why hadn’t anyone gone in to get those kids out of there?
There were no reports I could find that anyone had tried to help Linc or his sister. It was as if the law hadn’t given a fuck about what happened to them. I was pretty sure that’s why Linc was suspicious, and rebelled against law enforcement and authority. It also explained why he’d changed after River had been born.
I sighed in defeat, realizing how much of a wall I had to climb to help him, especially as I didn’t want to make him do something that went against everything he’d done to keep River safe.
“Fucking hell,” I cursed as I exited the highway. When I pulled up onto the empty drive, it was with a heavy heart.
I sat for a moment and looked up at the house Linc had turned into a home for him and River. The ache in my eyes increased and I took off my sunglasses, throwing them on the seat next to me to rub at my eyes.
“You’re trying to help him,” I muttered under my breath.
Then why does it feel like the exact opposite of that?
There was a tap at my window, causing me to jerk as I looked into Nutty’s curious expression.
“You alright?” she asked, loud enough for me to hear.
I grabbed the box off the floor and got out of the car, grateful for the layer of cloud that was covering the sun, even though it still left the muggy heat behind. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just been a long day is all.”
I eyed her bright pink fitted dress and dainty shoes before looking back at her fully made up face. “You got a hot date?”
“I have. So, I gotta be off if I don’t wanna be late. See you.” She offered me a bright smile as she tottered off toward the garage and disappeared through a side door.
I’d taken no more than ten steps up the path when the front door opened, and River raced out. “I was watchin’ for ya.” She bounced on the top step, her sunbeam yellow shorts and matching top making her appear brighter than the sun.
“Why thank you, kind lady. It’s my real pleasure to escort you to dinner,” I said in a deep southern drawl befitting a real southern gentleman.
She giggled and played along, holding out her elbow for me to hook my arm through. I stooped as I reached the top of the porch, linking my arm through hers. My back twinged at the awkward angle, but I led her into the house and up to the apartment as I would a lady at a high-class function.
She then went and spoiled it when we reached the top steps and she hollered, “Poppy, Mason’s ‘ere.”
I chuckled and ran my hand over her plaited hair after she dropped her arm. She eyed the box I held in the other hand. “Did ya bring a treat with ya?”
“I did, but it’s for after dinner.”
Her face fell for a second, then she got a look I could only imagine that would have the boys, or girls, tripping over themselves for her in a few years.
“Mason, we’s never got to eat our treats last night, so maybe we’s should eat them first before dinner as not to miss out.” She batted long eyelashes at me and gave me a beautiful killer smile.
“Quit it, Spirit. Supper first then treats,” came Linc’s voice through the open door to the apartment.
I bit the inside of my cheek as she rolled her eyes at me and whispered, “I’s be quieter next time I’s ask.”
I tapped her on the end of her nose, the stress of the day forgotten as I winked at her and whispered back, “You’ll get me in trouble with your Poppy.”
“That’s right, she will,” Linc said from the doorway, his voice back to sounding like he’d had a pack of smokes. It was rough and sexy enough to make my whole body react.
A wave of heat rode up my neck that I blamed solely on the heat outside as his gaze swept over me from head to toe and back. “You feeling a little hot there…Mason?”
Sexual energy thrummed through me faster than Stevie Ray Vaughn could strum his guitar strings, making it hard to stand still under his appraisal.
River took my hand and tugged. “Da sun is hot outside, you’s better come in to cool off,” she encouraged while Linc, the fucker, gave me one of those lazy smiles that left me desperate to kiss him.
Christ almighty, that smile should be fucking outlawed.
“Thanks, River,” I muttered, letting her drag me inside as Linc moved to stand back.
As I passed, his eyes held a challenge that left me edgy and needy in ways that weren’t fitting in a child’s presence. I broke eye contact first and thrust the cake box at him without a word. As he took it, I started to immediately think about crime scene photos that I had in a file on my desk. Only when that did the job of quelling the desire, did I focus back on River.
When Linc went into the kitchen, I let out a sigh of relief, needing a moment or two to gather up my defenses. I listened to River chatter as she mentioned what she’d done that day. Feeling far more relaxed than I could have imagined, I lounged on the couch with her sitting next to me.
The large copper and wood overhead fan stirred the warm air and brought with it the scent of melting cheese. My stomach made an embarrassingly noisy growl.
“Ya belly sounds like Missy Layton’s cats fightin’,” River stated worriedly, while she eyed my stomach like it might attack her.
“It’s a good thing the food is ready then.”
I glanced over the back of the couch at Linc and wondered how long he’d been watching us. Saying nothing when River jumped off the couch, I followed suit and got up. When Linc didn’t move, but continued to stare at me, I got the urge to make sure I didn’t have something stuck to my face.
“What?”
He glanced over his shoulder, then glanced back at me. “If you hurt her, there’ll be no place on earth you’ll be safe from me, you hear me.” The threat was said with deadly intent and I knew he meant every word.
My heart thundered loudly in my ears as a strange tension built between us. It was a hollow victory that he was going to let me use River to help sort out the mess he was in after everything I’d learned about him.
To make him understand that I was as conflicted as he was, I removed the distance between us. My heart led my actions and I laid my hand over his sister’s tattoo. His eyes blazed and he froze in place, his chest unmoving under my palm.
I looked him right in the eye, holding his gaze with mine. “If I hurt her, you won’t need to come for me, ‘cause I’ll be at your door deserving everything you dish out.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “She’s more than just a job…” I left it there, unable to carry on when there was still too much at stake for all of us.
His hand came up and took hold of the mine in a firm grip. “Nobody touches me here but Spirit,” he growled, right before he removed my hand off his fast beating heart.
The air backed up in my lungs at the simple action that conveyed so much more than any words could have.
A huge ball of emotion lodged itself in the center of my chest and my Adam’s apple bobbed several times before I could utter, “You can trust me.”
His dark hair shifted around his shoulders as his head moved. “We’ll see.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lincoln
Whatever I’d expected, it hadn’t been that Mason would have us in Judge Rains’s chambers less than a week after he’d mentioned it. I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I eyed the people around the large table. Mr Winter, Nola’s lawyer, and the court appointed official for River, a woman Mason explained would document everything that was discussed, paid me and River no attention.
We’d been waiting on the judge to arrive for the last five minutes, and as they ticked by, the silence grew, and I felt my skin start to itch.
The ball of anxiety in my stomach tightened when River placed her tiny hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. I gave her a tight smile, checking that her summer dress of blue and yellow was still clean and she
looked presentable. I’d often not notice when she got messy because kids should be able to get dirty and play without restriction. This, it appeared, was not great for coming to meet a judge. Nutty had explained River needed to look her best today to prove I could care for her.
What did clothes and clean shoes have to do with caring for a child? Fuck knows! But I’d done as she’d said, not wanting to give anyone an excuse.
“Poppy, stop scowlin’,” River whispered.
“Sorry, Spirit,” I muttered back, working on smoothing out my features into a mask of indifference that was the furthest from what I was actually feeling.
Would they believe her? What if they think I set this up?
The call yesterday, and the fear that gnawed at me, had left me with nothing but questions and a foul mood that even River’s sunny nature hadn’t been able to shift. I hadn’t seen Mason since I’d agreed to this ludicrous suggestion. Now, as I watched him with his head down, reading something on the table in front of him, I wondered if it was because he was worried I’d change my mind. Or maybe it was something else? The sexual tension between us seemed to grow each time we met. Was he struggling as much as me to keep his hands to himself?
A door opened behind me and I stiffened. Mason nudged my arm, encouraging me to stand. I swallowed the sigh of disapproval at having to act out of character, and stood.
River took hold of my hand with trembling fingers as she looked at the man moving to take a seat across the table. This time I squeezed, offering her reassurance that everything would be fine. And if it wasn’t, then I’d kill Mason, slowly, using my hands.
As if Mason sensed my misgivings and had read my mind, he offered me a confident smile that, for some reason, helped alleviate the tension riding my ass.
A scrawny looking man in a suit, I’d not noticed come in with the judge, spoke. “Please be seated.”
Once everyone sat, the judge’s gaze swept about the table before landing on Mason. “Mr. Davenport, as it is at your request to have this closed meeting to bring forth evidence that you suggest can dispute the charges against your client, I’ll let you take the lead.” His tone and facial expression gave nothing away, but his gaze had moved to River and his brows rose ever so slightly.
“Thank you, Judge Rains. As I explained when I contacted your office, a witness has been identified that disputes the allegations Miss Fink has made against my client.”
Mr. Winter made a weird grunting sound, but when the judge glanced in his direction, he became silent and Mason continued.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the case and the age of the witness, I felt it was appropriate to do this behind closed doors.” As he continued to lay out his reasoning, the judge’s gaze went back to River.
River, for the first time, remained still, her eyes firmly fixed on the judge as if understanding this man was important.
When Mason finished speaking, the judge glanced at Mr. Winter. “Do you have anything you’d like to say before I ask River some questions?”
“I’ll wait until you’ve finished, if that suits?” Mr. Winter stated, his voice full of false gratitude.
The judge’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t reply, instead he looked at River. “River, do you understand why you’re here today?” he asked kindly, his voice softening.
River wriggled closer to the table. “I’s do. Nola, a bad woman, said things about my Poppy that aren’t true. You’s want to know what I saw and heard, isn’t that right, Mason?” Her gaze moved from the judge to Mason, a big smile sliding over her face when he nodded.
Again, the judge’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he glanced between Mason and River. What was he thinking? Did he think Mason had got River to lie?
As the questions circled in my head and I struggled to keep from saying something, Judge Rains asked, “River, do you know what the date is today?”
I tensed at the odd question.
“Yes, it’s July seventeenff. Nutty helped me learn the dates in da appointment book so I knows when it’s okay to go and see Poppy and not interrupt him when he’s busy.”
“Do you know the date that Miss Fink was at the clubhouse?”
Convinced you could have heard a pin drop, everyone in the room seemed to take a collective breath as River’s tiny brow scrunched and she started to count on her fingers.
“We’s not been back to the club since dat night, so it would be da twenty-ninff of May. There was a party and when Nutty has a date, I go to the clubhouse with Poppy.”
My stomach dropped when Mr. Winter started to write on some paper he had in front of him. Mason, on the other hand, continued to smile at River as if she were doing everything right.
When I brought my attention back to Judge Rains, there was something about his face that, for the first time, allowed my fear to ease, if only a little. Could Mason have been right all along?
“You’re doing great, River. Can you tell me what happened that night?”
“Do ya want me to tell ya everything I did dat night? ‘Cause, I’s not sure I can remember everythin’” she stated, her mouth pinching.
The judge’s face showed amusement. “No, you don’t need to tell me everything. Just tell me what you remember.”
“Oh, ok.” She hesitated and reached her hand out to me. I took it and offered her a smile. “I’s wasn’t happy ‘cause Nutty was goin’ out and Luna, she’s my bestest friend, had been naughty, so I’s couldn’t go and stay with her.” She sniffed. “Poppy took me’s to the clubhouse at bedtime. When he putted me to beds, he switched on da monitor thingy that lets him ‘ear me if I want him. He’s only on the other side of da house, but he likes to know I’s can call him.”
As she continued to talk about what happened that night, the weasel lawyer lost a little of his color and Mason seemed to find it hard to keep his happiness masked.
My eyes widened as I learned that River was a sponge that soaked up everything she saw and heard.
“Ya see, Nola eyes my Poppy like I look at the sweetie drawer. He’s never gonna be interested ‘cause Poppy is gay.” She glanced away from the judge to me. “Da’s the right word, Poppy, isn’t it?”
A wave of heat spread up my neck as I worked to keep my embarrassment under control as all eyes, bar Mason’s, fixed on me. Mr. Winter’s mouth hung open and his eyes were huge as he stared at me.
“That’s correct, Spirit,” I ground out through my bunched jaw while I made sure to meet everyone’s gaze head on. I wasn’t ashamed of being gay, I just hated people knowing my personal shit, especially when it could be used as a weapon against me. I’d learned to keep my sexual preferences to myself and, judging by the reaction of all but River and Mason, I’d done a good job.
Judge Rains shifted in his seat, his eyes hardening as he stared directly at me. “Can I ask why this is the first time this information is being shared?”
I shrugged. “What difference does it make? In my experience, you condemn a man just ‘cause he’s affiliated with Dark Angels.”
Feeling the weight of Mason’s eyes on me, I ignored him and continued to hold the judge’s gaze.
“The reputation and evidence of past crimes speak for themselves, Mr. Stone, but I’d like to believe that I let the evidence in a case be the judge.” His tone was arctic, and River started to fidget.
Putting River’s needs above having it out with the judge, my lips tightened into a thin line and I slouched into the chair, giving off an air of ‘whatever.’
Chapter Eighteen
Mason
Cursing Linc for challenging the judge, my grip tightened on the pen I held as I waited to see if this would derail all the hard work I’d done to get this meeting. I’d slept for shit for days, working on the backlog of cases I had during the day, and then going home every evening to work through Linc’s case to make sure I’d covered every angle.
What I’d not considered was telling Linc to keep his mouth shut. Had this fucked things up? When Linc slouched into the chair, his ‘
fuck you’ look firmly in place, I had the urge to kick him under the table.
I refrained, but it was a close call when I could see my hard work and effort being for nothing. Instead, I turned my attention to Judge Rains. “My client’s sexual orientation is not the issue here, it’s the allegations made against him,” I placated.
Hard eyes turned to me and the judge’s brows rose. “I’m surprised at you, Mr. Davenport. This is a vital piece of information, is it not? If your client is gay, surely it casts doubt onto what Miss Fink alleges occurred between her and Mr. Stone?”
The muscles in my shoulders tensed to the point they started to ache in protest. “I’ll concede that it would seem important in a rape case, but my client likes to keep personal matters private, and had initially hoped that his innocence, rather than his sexual orientation, could resolve the issue.” I realized my mistake the moment the words were out of my mouth.
I turned in my seat to look at River, her face was ashen and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Fucking hell! Stupid bastard!
Before I could utter an apology, Linc was moving to pick River up out of her seat, his face rigid while his eyes blazed at me. My heart stuttered in my chest at the look of disgust he threw at me. Oh my god, what had I done?
“Enough,” Linc growled.
The judge held his hand up and his face showed sympathy before he spoke. “I understand this is upsetting for River, do you wish to take a break before continuing?”
