Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Mattie

I’d spent the last forty-eight hours fussing over Evan. He was such a mild-mannered teen that I just know in my heart that Strawn was lying about him being an aggressive troublemaker.

Instead of being tucked under the blanket, he’s enjoying some freedom by sitting on the edge of the bed wearing the new clothes Rigs bought for him. Evan looks up at me, “If it’s possible, I want to stay with you and Rigs. You both seem real nice.”

I smile, relieved that he’d decided I’m worth taking a chance on. That poor kid has no reason to trust adults after what happened to him, so to know that he feels safe with me and Rigs, warms my heart. “I’m so glad. Thank you for trusting us. You can tell the judge that’s what you would like to do. Be honest with him. And try to trust the system. I know that is asking a lot considering how badly the system let you down, but just because it broke down once doesn’t meant it will again.”

“Will there be any police at the courthouse?” he asks cautiously.

Something about the tone of his voice sends up warning flags. “Are you afraid of law enforcement officers, Evan?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” he responds before bringing his hand up to chew on his thumbnail.

“Want to tell me what happened to make you fearful of law enforcement?”

He shakes his head and continues chewing away on his thumbnail.

“I want you to know something, Evan. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done something wrong and had a run-in with the law. We all make mistakes, and part of your job as a teenager is learning right from wrong and practicing making good decisions. I won’t be surprised or even mad at you if you’ve been arrested or had some kind of warning about bad behavior from law enforcement.”

His eyes get big and he shakes his head again. “It’s nothing like that. I promise. Police officers scare me. They all carry guns, and guns can kill people. They hurt you if you don’t do what they want.”

“That’s a valid fear. I want you to know that law enforcement officers are very trustworthy. They don’t discharge their weapons without good cause, and they would have no reason to be pointing a gun at you while we’re in the courthouse. They only hurt bad people, and then only if the bad people can’t be stopped any other way.”

“Is Rigs going to be there?”

“Yes. Do you feel safer when he’s around?”

“He’s not going to let anybody push you around and I don’t think you’re gonna let anybody push me around. As long as the three of us stick together, we’re gonna be okay,” he says in a timid voice that leads me to believe he’s trying to convince himself, more so than me. Before I can say anything, he adds, “We just need to get in talk, to the judge, and get out of there as soon as possible, right?”

“Alright. We can definitely do that, Evan.”

When he turns and starts pawing through his duffel bag again, I texted Rigs.

Me: I wanted to talk to you about something before you leave.

Rigs: What’s going on?

Me: I just discovered that Evan’s afraid of the police.

Rigs: I didn’t read anything in his file about him ever committing a crime or getting arrested.

Me: Me either. The only police involvement in his case happened after he went missing.

Rigs: Did you talk to him?

Me: Yeah, he wanted to make sure you were coming because he believes you’ll protect us.

Rigs: He’s damned right about that.But I think if Evan is afraid, he must have good cause.

Me:Ihope once he’s used to us, he’ll open up and tell us more about his worries. Hurry, Rigs. I have a strange gut feeling about going to that courthouse today.

Rigs: I’m on it. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be at your side.

“Am I ever going to see my grandmother again?” Evan asks, and I put my phone down to look up into his worried face.

“We can take you to see her once everything’s settled. I read in your file that your grandmother has heart problems and got to the point that she was unable to live independently even with all the help you gave her.”

Evan blinks back tears. “Yeah, I thought we were doing okay. But we were always running short of money. A guy at a local garage let me help out for some extra cash, but it wasn’t enough. One day our electricity got turned off. Our neighbor called CPS. Once they found out my grandmother couldn’t live on her own, it was game over for us.” Looking away, he adds, “It was my fault for not earning more money.”

I get up and close the distance between us, turning his face up to look at me. “Don’t you ever think any of this is your fault. You did the best you could to take care of your grandmother. She survived because you were there to look out for her. It’s not her fault that she got old and too sick for you to care for. Neither of you are to blame.”

“I guess that’s just life, isn’t it?”

My heart was breaking for this kid. “There’s no rule that says you can’t call and talk with your grandmother anytime you want. Like I said, I can even take you to visit her. I’m sure she would be happy to see you.”

Suddenly, Evan flings his arms around my waist and gives me a huge bear hug. It only lasts for a second, but it’s enough to let me know that he now saw a light that at the end of this long, dark tunnel he’d been trapped in. Our agency hadn’t gotten word that his grandmother has passed away, so I had to believe she was still in that nursing home waiting to hear from her grandson.

Evan’s doctor had told us earlier that since his labs were looking good, he could go ahead and be released so we were waiting on the nurse to come in with the paperwork. Evan and I were so happy to hear that news and now it felt like I could finally start planning our new life. Finally, the nurse breezed in with his discharge paperwork and we were ready to go.

My phone went off with a text message from Rigs, letting us know that he was downstairs waiting for us. I help the nurse get Evan into a wheelchair and we head downstairs. He’s recovering well from his ordeal, but after months of being shackled his legs are still pretty weak, so he’s going to need some physical therapy. What we saw outside floors me, Rigs is standing in front of one of the Savage Legion’s vans. And behind him are six members of the Savage Legion with their bikes, waiting to escort us to courthouse to the courthouse in style. I didn’t even have to ask why they were here, I knew it was because Rigs wanted to ensure that Evan felt safe today.

And it works. I can tell because Evan’s eyes light up at the sight of them. A huge smile spreads across his face as he climbs unsteadily out of the wheelchair and into the van. I was standing right behind him in case he needed help, but he didn’t. There was a spring in his step that I would not have thought possible considering the condition he was in when we brought him to the hospital two days ago.

I watch Evan buckle his seatbelt and then climb into the front seat. There was a huge lump in my throat that wouldn’t seem to go away no matter how many times I swallowed. When Rigs catches sight of the emotional look on my face, he hooks his hand around the back of my neck and tugs me forward for a short, sweet kiss on the lips. Evan was right—as long as Rigs was with us, everything would be okay. I feel that all the way down to my bones.

***

Driving down the highway, two brothers ride side by side in front of us, two rode side by side behind us, and two rode alongside the van. It felt like a presidential escort. Evan is just eating this up. I have a feeling that as soon as he’s old enough to get his driver’s license he’s going to want a motorcycle. He asks the names of the other brothers and whether Rigs was friends with each of them. When we get to the courthouse and leave the van, Rigs’ club brothers flank us in pretty much the same formation as they did with their bikes.  Inside, the very first thing I notice is that there were a lot more Las Salinas police officers walking around than I’d ever seen in the courthouse before. Something about seeing so many of them sets off my Spidey Senses.

Evan moves closer to me and mumbles, “Told you so. We need to get in and back out quickly. Don’t look them in the eyes.”

I slip Evan’s hand into mine and give it a squeeze. I want to tell him everything would be fine, but something seems off, and I don’t want to lie to him. It was the way the officers’ eyes flash to us and away again, like they were monitoring us. I’d never felt like this before, vulnerable, open, and almost like I’d done something wrong. I hadn’t though. Neither had Evan. He was a minor and the victim of a vicious crime. I wondered if it was maybe the Savage Legion that was making them edgy. I’ve only ever been at the courthouse in my role as a CPS supervisor, and never flanked by members of an MC.

I ask Rigs, “What officers responded to the cabin? You called them, right?”

“We didn’t call anyone. Remember those officers that came to talk to you in the ER? They just turned up out of the blue. I’d assumed it was triggered by Evan’s name being entered into the system.”

I nod, “Yeah, if a kid is listed as missing there’s usually some alert system.”

“You didn’t tell them about Charlie, did you?”

“No. I said what you told me to, that it was an anonymous tip.”

“Good,” Rigs says, “We’re still trying to find him. The guy has a target on his head, but I want my club brothers to get to him before the syndicate. What about Evan, did he tell them who took him?”

“He was asleep when they first came. Then when they returned, he was still confused and said he couldn’t remember anything at all. He started to get really agitated and in the end the doctor told them to leave.” I pause, “Though, thinking about how he acted earlier, I’m wondering if his fear of the police has something to do with his reluctance to talk?”

“Maybe,” Rigs says as he rushes us into the court room and over to a table where Smoke is sitting.

I make sure Evan is settled, and then take a seat myself.

“What the hell is going on today?” Rigs asks the attorney in a low voice.

“You saw them?”

“They were hard to miss, brother.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have this one in the bag.”

“Are you sure?” I ask anxiously.

Smoke turns to look at Evan and me. “I’ve already got his provisional agreement. Unless something really weird happens, you will all be walking out just like you walked in.”

Evan mumbles, “We have to stay together no matter what. Otherwise, the police might get me—”

His words are cut off when Smoke shoots him a frown. “When this hearing is over and we get back to the clubhouse, I’m gonna pick that brain of yours, is there something you’re not telling us, kid?”

Evan’s mouth snaps shut so hard that I hear his teeth click, leaving a strange feeling of foreboding churning in my stomach.

I just keep telling myself over and over again that I’m being foolish. Nothing bad can happen in a courthouse. The syndicate wouldn’t dare do anything here, and the cops were our friends, not enemies. But a little voice in the back of my mind wasn’t buying it.

The judge enters and calls the hearing to order. Smoke stands up and begins presenting his petition for me to be granted emergency custody of Evan. It all sounds very logical and reasonable. Evan needs an immediate foster care placement, and I’m volunteering my services. I had never technically been his case worker or even his case worker’s supervisor, so there was no conflict of interest. The judge Smoke had spoken to originally, had stated that he had no objections, but because there was no immediate risk to the child while he was hospitalized, and the fact that Evan had living relatives, the hearing would take place on the next business day. I’d been on tenterhooks since then, convinced something would go wrong.

Halfway through Smoke’s presentation, three law enforcement officers walk in, one of whom looked to be high up on the food chain. Evan edges closer to me.

“What the fuck is the Chief of Police for Salinas County doing here?” Rigs hisses.

The judge looked up, looking peeved. “Is there any reason in particular you’re interrupting my court today, Chief Popelstone?”

“Yes, sir. I’m here to take Evan White into custody.”

“I assume you have a warrant for his arrest. I don’t remember signing one.” The level of disdain in the judge’s tone is noticeable.

“No warrant needed, there is probable cause that Evan White has committed a felony.”

The judge waved the man forward. “And what is your probable cause?”

Chief Popelstone hands a file to the judge. “Let’s see what you have there. Several houses on the west side of Las Salinas have been broken into over the last month, Mr. White. Do you know anything about those crimes?”

Evan clings to me and shouts, “No, please your honor. I spent the last few months chained to a bed. It would have been impossible for me to go anywhere, much less steal anything. Don’t let him take me, please.” Evan is trembling. Whether it was with fear or anger, I can’t tell.

I stand and say, “There’s a police report and hospital records that support Evan’s claim. I’m the one who discovered him chained and dehydrated. He’s got severe muscle wasting from weeks of immobility. It doesn’t make sense to think he could have been involved in criminal activity during that time.”

The Chief opens his mouth, but Smoke beat him to it. “I have already presented evidence of Evan White’s recent abduction, thus necessitating the need for a familiar caregiver with a therapeutic background. Clearly after the ordeal this young man has been through, the last thing he needs is to be threatened with arrest for a crime he couldn’t possibly have committed.”

The Chief of Police replies stubbornly, “I still have the right to question him about these break ins. He might have valuable information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.”

The judge hands him back his file. “No, you have no right to approach this vulnerable minor without actual proof indicating he was involved. From what I can see, you have none. There is no justification for an arrest without a warrant, and I am certainly not granting a warrant based on the evidence you have presented today.”

“If I could just have a word with him in private.”

Rigs gets to his feet. “Why in the world would you to talk to him in private? Surely whatever you have to ask him could be done in open court?”

“Law enforcement doesn’t conduct interrogations out in the open, in view of the public.”

“In this case, you won’t be interrogating him at all. I’m issuing an order precluding you from further traumatizing this child without actual proof he was involved in a crime,” the judge announces. “Chief Popelstone, please feel free to leave my court room.”

Once he leaves, Smoke gets back to presenting his case. When he was done, the judge grants me temporary custody for ninety days, which was way more than I was expecting.

The minute the judge walks out of the room, Evan turns to me. “Does this mean I’m not getting arrested?”

“Of course, you’re not getting arrested. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He looks nervously at the ground. I think once we get back then we will have to have a talk with him. There is something troubling him deeply.

“Congratulations on getting temporary custody. I guess our next case will be in ninety days with the family law master. Mattie, you know better than anyone alive what it’s going to take to get permanent custody, so I won’t lecture you on the ins and outs of that,” Smoke tells me.

“I know exactly what I need to do, and I plan to take care of it all as soon as possible. Thank you for your help today. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

Rigs adds his own thanks, and even Evan murmurs a polite thank you before we part company with Smoke. The brothers close ranks around us again as we walk out of the courtroom. There were practically no law enforcement officers inside the building anymore. It didn’t take long for us to figure out why.

When we step outside there are a couple of flatbed tow trucks loading up the brothers’ bikes. Rigs starts to walk over to talk to them, but Evan grab his arm and shakes his head no. Chief Popelstone was standing beside the police officers talking to someone on a cell phone.

Another of the bikers approaches him instead, and they were still arguing when we get to the van. Rigs pulls out his phone and sent a short text.

Meanwhile, Evan is staring nervously out the back window. “We should leave now. If we don’t leave right now, they’re not going to let us leave.”

“That’s not true,” I assure him.

“It is true. The kid knows what he’s talking about,” Rigs says. “They’re separating us from our security escort by impounding their bikes.”

“I don’t understand why they would do that.”

Rigs hits the button to lock the doors, looks out the window and then back at Evan. “I do. I don’t know if I ever told you this or not, but you know the big boss we’ve been looking for? His code name is Pope. I think we found our man.”

It feels like someone’s jabbed a knife in my chest. The police chief’s name was Popelstone. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle fall neatly into place. “So this is the last man standing. What I want to know is how Evan got wrangled up in all this.”

We turn back to look at Evan, just as he bolts out of his seat, I was about to stop him thinking he was making a run for it, then I realize he’s seen Rigs’ club brothers approaching. The kid unlocks the back door and pushes it open. Six club brothers climbed into the van, one after another.

“That fucking police chief claims we were all parked in one hour parking,” Vapor grumbles.

“It’s a trap,” Rigs says.

Vapor and Haze are still muttering about the bikes.

Rigs leans backward. “Fuck the bikes. We’ve found Pope.”

Vapor looks stunned for a second, then exclaims, “Damn it! This asshole clearly just wants to get his hands on the kid. What’s the plan, Rigs?”

Suddenly, there’s the deafening roar of motorcycles. Over a dozen bikes flood into the parking lot and take up positions around the van.

Rigs shoots me a rueful grin. “I called in enforcements.”

Looking at his club brothers and then at Evan, Rigs says, “Here’s the plan. We get Evan and Mattie back to the clubhouse where they’re safe. Once the clubhouse is on lockdown, we do a little luring of our own. Now that we know who our target is, Zen can do some electronic snooping. We’ll take whatever it is he values and make him come looking for it.”

“Nope,” I say, finding an instant flaw with that idea. “Not a good plan. I don’t want to lure a bunch of trigger-happy cops anywhere near Evan.”

Rigs grins. “Calm down, mama bear. We’re not luring them to the clubhouse. We’ll lure them somewhere isolated like that cabin they held the two of you at.”

“Yeah, because bringing a bunch of cops to the clubhouse to shoot the place up would piss Siege off like nobody’s business,” Haze said.

Rigs laughs. “That too.” He turns the ignition and signals for everyone to move out. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”