He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. “Please sit down and we can begin.”
Mason took his seat, shifting uncomfortably in the small, delicate modern chair. He didn’t have a suit, and Tim said he didn’t need one, but he’d got dressed in his nicest shirt anyway. “Thanks for agreeing to see me.”
“Of course. Tim’s a good man,” Moynahan said. “Got me out of trouble at The Den one night. I literally owe him my life. Now, what can I do for you?”
His hands gripped the chair and when the wood creaked under his fingers, he let go. Tim said he could trust Moynahan, and the attorney had agreed to cut his initial consult fee to a small percentage, which had been a relief since he really didn’t have the cash to spare right now. But, he wasn’t sure he was ready to share the most intimate details of his life with a stranger.
Sensing his hesitation, Moynahan leaned forward and put his hands on the desk. “Mason, as your attorney, I have a duty to not only do what’s best for you, but to keep everything you tell me confidential. I won’t tell anyone, not even my mother. Now, please do tell me what I can do for you.”
Mason hesitated for a moment. “It’s my ex-wife. Jenna. We’ve been divorced for a year.”
“And the divorce has been granted?”
He nodded. “What I’m here for is my daughter. Cassie. She’s three.” Mason took his phone out of his pocket and opened it to the lock screen. There was a picture of a young toddler, with dark-as-midnight hair and pretty brown eyes. She was smiling and looking into the camera. Mason couldn’t count how many hours he’d spent the last couple of weeks just looking at her picture, missing her so much his chest hurt. “I need to get her away from her mother.”
“Is she being abused?” Moynahan asked. “If so, we can get an emergency removal.”
“Not physically. At least I don’t think so.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“I really need to know more about your situation in order to give you the best advice possible.” Moynahan leaned back into his chair. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
“All right.” Here goes nothing. “I met Jenna four years ago. It was a one-night stand, but she got pregnant. She’s also the niece of one of the admirals back at the base in San Diego.” Mason clasped his fingers together. “We got married. At the time, I felt like I had no choice. This was a kid we were talking about. Plus, my CO basically told me to do the right thing or else.” He swallowed down the bitterness, or else it might have consumed him. “She had the kid and—” He stopped so suddenly that his teeth clacked together.
“And then what?”
“And then … I went on with my enlistment. The navy had me going on these missions. I was gone a lot, but I spent every minute I could with my Cassie.”
“And Jenna?”
“We fought all the time. Finally, it came to a point that she would just leave and go to her parents’ house whenever I was home. At least, that’s where she said she was going. In truth, she’d been cheating on me the whole time, with several guys.” It was fucking embarrassing, but he really didn’t give a shit at that point. The marriage had been a sham from the beginning. “I didn’t care. I loved spending time with my daughter.”
“When did things come to a head?”
“About a year and a half ago. I was sent to a black site in South America. No communication for weeks. And when I did come back, I found out she’d had me served with divorce papers.” That bitch found out exactly when he would be gone and decided to time it so he wouldn’t find out until after he came back. “The judge gave temporary orders while I was away, including full custody of Cassie to her. Finally, I came back and the divorce went through, but she retained full custody. Legal and physical.”
“But you got visitation rights?”
“I did, but she fought with me every step of the way. She only does the bare minimum and threatens to take Cassie away from me whenever I try to fight her. She also drained all of our savings, transferring everything from our joint account to her own account. I also still have to pay her alimony, but I can’t file charges against her or try to adjust the payments, or she’ll make sure I won’t have any visitation rights. All my visits are already supervised.” God, he really wanted to wring Jenna’s neck right now. “She told the judge I was violent. Basically alluded that I was dangerous without lying outright. Because of what I am.”
“What about the navy? Didn’t they help you at all?”
“I resigned my commission when things got hairy with Jenna.” He gritted his teeth. “She was the niece of an admiral. I didn’t have a choice.” Things really went to shit then. It wasn’t pretty. “My lawyer basically rolled over and let them do whatever they wanted.” His chest tightened, remembering his desperation. He’d been screwed over for a second time in his life, and to think he’d risked his hide going on those dangerous missions. Life really wasn’t fair.
Moynahan cleared this throat. “Now, you said your wife abused your daughter? Do you have any documentation to prove it?”
“That’s the thing.” That desperation began to sink into him again. “It’s not that Jenna hurts her, it’s just that she ignores Cassie. Gives the bare minimum of attention, but once she’s done, she’ll pawn her off on her parents or friends and go out and party with her boyfriend, Doug.” Mason hated that douchebag. “Or worse, stay at home and get drunk around Cassie.”
“How do you know this?”
“Well …” He wasn’t proud of this but he had to lay it out. “I snuck onto the base and watched the house. She was playing on the carpet in the living room and there were bottles of alcohol everywhere. Doug and Jenna were in the bedroom the whole time.” He knew it was wrong and against the law, but he had been so desperate to see Cassie. That’s why he couldn’t go to the police and report her.
Moynahan frowned. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. But, did you try to call child services anonymously?”
He nodded. “At least twice. But by the time they get onto the base, Jenna and Doug clean up their act and look like the perfect parents. I think someone in the navy police tip them off when CPS is on the way.”
Moynahan placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. The lawyer was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. “I have to be honest with you, Mason, I’m not familiar with how things work on navy bases. I’ll need some time to do research. Maybe I can call a couple of people and see what we can do to prove neglect or abuse, then see about an emergency removal.”
“That would be great.”
“But, I assume you’d want to get full custody?”
“Yes.”
“Considering what your ex-wife may have said in court and based on the fact that the judge only granted you supervised visits, that may not be so easy.”
Mason sighed. “I know.” He had already consulted with a lawyer back in San Diego and he knew what Moynahan was going to say. Mason had no real job and no money, plus combined with what Jenna said during the custody hearings, it didn’t look good. CPS will always do what’s best for the child and that could be placing Cassie in foster care. “That’s why I’m here. I want to become a resident of Blackstone.”
Moynahan’s face lit up. “Ah, of course. The Lennox Foundation.”
“It was Tim’s idea.” The Lennox dragons were the founders of Blackstone. They declared the town under their protection, and The Lennox Foundation provided education and healthcare for all its citizens, especially shifters who were seeking sanctuary from a world that hated them. Tim had suggested he come to Blackstone, find a job and a house, and then he’d be able to show a judge that he was more than capable of taking care of Cassie. Of course, there might be one problem with that plan, but he’d worry about that later.
“It’s a good start,” Moynahan said. “How’s the job search?”
“Tim’s giving me a couple of hours a week at The Den.” That wasn’t nearly enough, but he had to start somewhere.
&n
bsp; “Have you thought of working at the mines?”
“Uh, I’m not sure that would be a good fit.” That had been Tim’s first suggestion, but Mason immediately nixed it when his uncle told him who the foreman was.
“Well, you can’t be too choosy. But, how about your own place?”
“I have an apartment now,” Mason said. “But it’s a studio that Tim helped me get. I’m working on getting a bigger place.”
“All right then, it looks like you’re doing the best you can.” Moynahan stood up. “I’ll call someone I know at CPS now and see what I can find out. I can always help you file a change of custody agreement.”
Mason got up as well. “Thank you. Anything you could do would be great.” Moynahan seemed like a legit guy. He knew this wouldn’t be cheap, but he would do anything to get Cassie back. Taking care of the legal fees was his next stop after this. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be worth it.
“I’ll call you when I have something.” Moynahan’s eyes narrowed at Mason. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you need to tell me?”
It was almost eerie the way his gaze seemed to pierce through him. His eyes flashed gold for just a second. He had heard rumors about some shifters who could tell if you were lying, but he never believed them.
Mason swallowed hard. “No. Nothing at all.”
For some reason, telling James Moynahan the story of how his entire life turned to shit made Mason feel better. That talking about your problems and feelings bullshit works after all. Or maybe it might have been because for the first time in eighteen months, he finally felt a small spark of hope.
His next errand though … this was going to hurt. Big time. But he had no other choice.
Mason got on his Harley, revved the engine, and backed out of his parking spot. He memorized the directions from his phone and fifteen minutes later, found himself outside J.D.’s Garage, just a few blocks off Main Street.
Mason already had an idea of how much James Moynahan’s legal services were going to cost. Even at a discount, he knew he wouldn’t be able to afford them. Since he was forced to give up his command before he hit the twenty year mark in the navy, he wasn’t getting full retirement pay, and what little he did get went to Jenna. His ex-wife worked under the table as a waitress so the alimony amount was significant. If he knew that all that money was going to Cassie, he wouldn’t have balked, but he was pretty sure Jenna and Doug used most of it to live it up while neglecting his daughter.
And so, he had no choice but to give up one of his prized possessions. Tim had suggested J.D., who owned a car garage in town. J.D. had a lot of contacts and would be able to help him find a buyer who would take the Harley at a fair price.
Mason drove into the compound, and then parked outside the small office on the right. He walked up to the door, but found it locked. Peering inside, he didn’t see anyone, so he walked off toward what was the main garage workshops—three medium-size warehouse-type buildings along the north and west side of the compound. There were several people walking around and working on cars.
“Hey man,” he said to one of the burly mechanics wearing a uniform coverall that said “J.D.’s Garage” on the chest, “I’m looking for J.D.”
The man looked around, then nodded his head toward the left. There were two people chatting by a white Mercedes raised up on a platform. Mason gave the man a nod of thanks.
The smaller of the two men had his back to Mason, so he caught the eye of the larger man. He was about Mason’s height and size, with a thick, black scraggly beard, and short hair buzzed close to his scalp. He had a serious look on his face as he spoke to the smaller man, but his eyes flickered to Mason’s as he approached.
“J.D.?” Mason asked.
“Yes?”
But it wasn’t the large man who answered. It was the smaller man who turned around to face him. And, much to his confusion, it wasn’t a man. The figure was dressed in loose coveralls, but the face that looked up at Mason was small and delicate, with porcelain-like skin and hazel eyes framed by long lashes. Despite the streak of grease down her cheek and the messy blonde ponytail tucked under a trucker hat, Mason would have been blind not to notice that J.D. was a woman.
“Uh …”
J.D. crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow at him. “What do you want?” She was obviously used to people being taken aback by her sex.
“I’m Mason Grimes.”
The mechanic’s face changed, her expression lighting up in recognition. “Oh! Tim’s nephew!” She rubbed her hands down her coveralls and thrust her palm at him. “Nice to meet you.”
Mason shook it. The scent of motor oil and grease hid whatever her animal’s scent was, but she was definitely a shifter. He’d forgotten what it was like to be around others like him. He and his team were a close-knit group, but they were the only other shifters he had hung out with regularly.
“So,” she said as she took her hand back. “Give me a second here, then I’ll be right with you, okay?” She turned back to the gigantic man. “All right Bruno, if that fussy bitch who owns the Mercedes even raises her voice or looks at you wrong, you come to me, okay?”
Bruno nodded silently.
“You were only doing your job. If she has a problem, then she better take it up with me. Now go help Junior with the Toyota and make sure he doesn’t use the wrong hose again.” She shook her head, then looked at Mason. “Okay, show me your bike.”
He led her over to where he’d parked his Harley and as soon as J.D. saw it, she let out a long whistle. “Jesus H. Christ. That’s one sexy ride. If I had a dick, I’d be sporting a big chubby right now.”
Mason bit his lip to keep from smiling. She wasn’t at all what he’d expected.
J.D. moved in for a closer look, leaning down to inspect the engine. “She’s a beaut.” She shook her head. “You really want to sell her?”
“I have to.”
“I’d take her, but I don’t ride. I can see she’s a damn fine piece. Where’d you have her customized?”
“Nowhere,” he said. “I mean, I did, at home.”
Hazel eyes bulged in surprise. “You did all this?”
“Yeah. Took a couple of years, since I only had time here and there.” When things got too heated with Jenna, which was nearly all the time, he would hide out in the garage and work on his Harley. After Cassie, it was the one thing he looked forward to when he came home. It was a good thing he had the presence of mind to keep it stored at a friend’s house whenever he wasn’t home, since who knows what Jenna would have done if she had gotten her claws into his bike.
“Where’d you learn to do this shit?”
“Tim taught me everything he knew. I lived with him for a couple of months while he was working on his own Softail.” Mason wanted to get a job while he stayed with Tim, but he had been too young to work at The Den or at the mines. And so, to pass time, Tim had taught him how to tinker around with motorcycles and even let him help with the Softail’s rebuild. “And everything else I didn’t know, I just looked up on the Internet or asked other mechanics for advice.”
“You didn’t have any training?”
“Nope. But everything seemed easy enough to learn on my own.”
“No shit?” She slapped a hand on her thigh. “I respect that. I learned everything from my pop and when he died, I took over.” She nodded at the painted sign over the office. “His initials were J.D. too, so I didn’t even need to change the sign,” she said with a laugh.
“Must’ve been convenient for you.”
“Yeah, well, Pop was hoping for a boy, but he got me,” she said wryly. “So, about the bike … I can make a couple of calls. Off the top of my head, I know at least one guy who might be interested. Do you have an idea of what you want for it?”
Mason rattled off an amount.
“Hmm, I really don’t know much about bikes, but I can run that number by a friend of mine, and then we’ll see if we can get some bites. It might take a cou
ple weeks to find you a fair price.”
“That’s fine.” If Moynahan wanted money right away, he’d find a way to scrounge it up. His next stop after this was to drive over to the gas station. He’d seen a hiring sign on the door the other day when he came in to pay.
J.D. scratched her chin. “Good. Send me a couple of pics today and I’ll put out some feelers. I got your number, so I’ll let you know when I find a buyer.”
“That sounds great.” The heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders lightened by about a couple of pounds. But his problems weren’t over, not by a long shot. “I should get going. I promised Tim to come over and help him out around the house.”
“No prob. See ya around, Mason.” With a wave, J.D. turned on her heel and walked back to the work area.
Mason threw a leg over his Harley and started the engine. He wanted to go home and sleep. Or maybe head to Tim’s and tell him the good news. But, something made him drive all the way back to South Blackstone, back to the building where he’d run into Amelia. He parked across the street, just off to the side so anyone coming out wouldn’t immediately notice him.
At twelve noon, people began to file out of the building for their lunch break. His eyes scanned the crowds, and soon enough, Amelia came walking out with a middle-aged woman, chatting amiably as they left.
Mine!
Yeah, yeah. Stupid bear. Why don’t you stop being an ass and tell me what you think is wrong with her?
His keen eyes scanned her, looking her over. She was still damn beautiful and sexy, even in her plain suit jacket, skirt, and heels. But he was looking for something else. Something he may have missed when they ran into each other. But what the hell was it?
His bear growled and scratched at his insides, urging him to go to her and make sure she was okay. It was going stir-crazy now as she got further away from him.
No way. He was not going to chase after Amelia Walker. He’d ruined her life once, he wasn’t going to do it again.
The Blackstone She-Bear: Blackstone Mountain Book 7 Page 5
