BEAST (A Coyotes of Mayhem MC Novel) (Motorcycle Club Bad Boy Romance) (11 page)

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The broad came down and switched over the load of laundry, telling me she wouldn’t be coming back down for the night. The next hour or so was filled with the sound of feet running and kids arguing over toys or some shit while their mom yelled at them to knock it off. Hearing the commotion made me happy that I’d never settled down with an old lady and had kids. I wasn’t sure I could deal with the fighting and yelling. I don’t know how parents don’t lose their shit.

Eventually, the sounds slowed down and stopped as the little brats crashed for the night. The silence was exactly what I had been waiting for so I could go to sleep. I was almost out when I realized I didn’t see the burner phone in my bag. I got up, flipped on the light and started going through all the shit Paige had packed me.
Jesus Christ, does every fucking woman pack like this?
The phone wasn’t there. I don’t know if I left it at Paige’s place or if it fell out of my pocket or bag in the car or while we were walking. The only thing I knew for sure was that phone was my lifeline. Without it, Stone didn’t have any way to get in contact with me if something was going down and I didn’t have a way to find out what was up concerning the war with the Aces. I also had no way of contacting Paige so she could keep me up to date with what was going on with the lawyer search. Not only that, I really wanted to hear her fucking voice and I couldn’t do that without my phone. As irritated as I was, I would have to deal with it in the morning. Best I get some sleep before the brats are up again.

It seemed like forever before I was able to fall asleep after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. I have no clue how long I was out. I just knew that when I woke up, I was starving. I hadn’t eaten since the drive back from Galveston and it was starting to catch up to me. I was about to look in the bag that Paige packed for me when the door at the top of the stairs opened and Ashley came walking down. I was surprised to see that she was carrying a plate of food.

“Here, I made breakfast for the kids and thought you might like some as well.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I’m fucking starving.”

Her mouth dropped after I thanked her. I couldn’t figure it out at first, but her look of disbelief told me that she didn’t approve of my language.

“Okay,” she finally closed her mouth and put her eyeballs back in her head. “I’m going to get the kids off to school. I’ll bring you some lunch this afternoon and I’ll make sure you get some dinner. I know you don’t want to be down here any more than I want you here.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. Hey, before you go, could you do me a favor? Could you get in touch with Paige for me? I’d just like to know what’s going on with finding a lawyer to take on my case and I also need to let her know that my disposable phone is gone. Without it, I have no way to contact anyone.”
See, I can be nice.

“Yeah, I’ll get in touch with her later this morning. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, that’s it. I appreciate the grub.”

She disappeared back up the stairs before I looked down at the plate she’d brought me. It was full of scrambled eggs and toast. It sure as fuck wasn’t anything I would ever make for myself. Only pussies, pansies, old people, and little kids eat scrambled eggs. That’s why they serve it for breakfast in elementary schools and nursing homes. At that point it didn’t fucking matter. I inhaled that shit like it was my last fucking meal. I was damn near tempted to lick the fucking plate when I was done. Hopefully she wouldn’t bring me any more pansy bullshit for lunch. A man my size needed some fucking food, not a toddler’s breakfast.

CHAPTER 14

PAIGE

After dropping off Beast, I raced off to the airport as fast as I could. Since the police had shown up at my house, I had no doubt that they had already been to the car rental agency in person. They may have even been staking the place out, waiting for me to show up, hoping to catch Beast with me or, at the very least, question me about my relationship with him. I had no intention of going through the usual procedure of dropping off the rental. Instead, I pulled into the weekly parking lot where I dropped my car off and switched vehicles, leaving the SUV on the other side of the lot and walking across. I got into my car, gave the attendant my ticket, paid the fee and drove off. I couldn’t help but laugh when I looked down and saw my cruise ship boarding pass sitting in the passenger seat. How differently my trip would have gone if I would have had it with me.

As I drove, it occurred to me that the rental car company had my credit card on file and were going to nail me with a ton of fees until they discovered where their car was parked. The next morning, I would have to call my credit card company and tell them my card had been stolen. That would allow them to send me a new card and prevent the rental company from charging me into the poor house.

Seeing the cops pulling into my driveway had left me a little spooked. I didn’t have any clue what I was going to say to any of them and wasn’t ready to deal with any law enforcement. To buy myself a little time, I decided to check into a hotel for the night. Since I had people looking for me, I stayed in a place that was less than desirable but they allowed me to pay in cash and register under any name I chose.

The next morning, I sucked it up and decided it was time to go back home. It was something I was going to have to deal with eventually and the longer I waited, the more anxious I was going to become. There was also a real concern that since they hadn’t been able to contact me, they may have thought I was kidnapped by the “biker murderer”. I held my breath as I turned onto my street and was relieved to find that nobody was waiting for me. I’m not sure what I expected. I’ve watched enough television crime shows that I have seen police cruisers driving up and down the streets, setting up a perimeter for the news trucks that were broadcasting around the clock. I could hear the news reports now. “Who is this mysterious woman last seen with the wanted outlaw biker?” In my head, it was all very dramatatized. Fortunately, all was quiet in my subdivision.

When I got up to my door, I was relieved to see that the officers didn’t bother leaving a note or a card. I was sure that they would have left something telling me to call them. Maybe they were just following up on what they were sure was a dead lead and, when I didn’t answer the door, they marked it off their list. That feeling of hope was washed away when I walked into my living room and saw the light on the answering machine was flashing. Nobody calls my home phone anymore, not with the advancement of technology. All of my friends and family call my cell phone if they need to get in touch with me. I don’t even know why I still have a home phone. It’s just something I’ve never gotten around to getting rid of. The number is published in the phone book so it would be easy for law enforcement to get. Still, I hoped I was wrong. I closed my eyes and pressed the button.

“Hello, this message is for Paige Wheeler. My name is Eric Hansen. I’m a detective with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. We have a case in our office that we need to speak with you about. It would be in your best interest to come in and talk to us as soon as possible. We’re located at 3335 West Durango in Phoenix. You can call us at 602-876-1087 but it would be better if you just came in. If we don’t hear back from you by this evening, we’re going to have to come and pick you up.”

If his plan was to intimidate me with his message, it definitely worked. I wondered whether I would be able to handle an interrogation with him when the sound of his voice over my answering machine was enough to make me cringe. The best thing I could do was make myself scarce while I tried to figure everything out. The first step to making everything go away was to find a lawyer who could help us.

I had just pulled out my laptop when my cell phone started ringing. I was afraid to look at the screen, scared that the police had gotten my number somehow. I was relieved to see that is was Ashley.

“Hey Ashley, is everything okay?”

“Everything is quiet over here. Your guy wanted me to get in touch with you to see if you’re okay and to let you know that his phone is gone. He said he can’t find it anywhere.”

“Let him know that everything’s good over here, but a detective left a message on my answering machine wanting me to come in and talk to him. I’ll look around for his phone and see if I can spot it. I’m going to look up some attorneys right now. Do you mind if I stop by later and let him know what I find out?”

“I don’t care. Just make sure there’s no cops following you or anything like that. I don’t want anything happening that’s going to scare my kids.”

“No worries. I’ll see you later this afternoon. Thank you again for doing this for me Ashley. I owe you big time.”

“You sure do. See you later.”

As soon as I hung up the phone, I started searching for defense attorneys in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area. I called and gave them a very generic story of what was happening. It was enough of a difference that any attorneys working with the rival club wouldn’t be able to put it together but similar enough that I’d be able to get a decent feel for the lawyer’s abilities. All morning long, I was met with similar replies from all of them. Lawyer after lawyer telling me that, while they would like to help me, it was beyond their expertise. I even had one lawyer say that I should just give up and have my boyfriend turn himself in. There’s a lawyer I wouldn’t want defending me.

Giving up was something I never intended to do. If I couldn’t find a local attorney willing to help me, I would broaden my search a little and look in the entire state. I also searched only for lawyers who were known for having success in winning high-profile clients in which the defendant was presumed guilty. All of my searches and reviews kept coming back to one man: Nolan Retter out of Tucson, Arizona.

Nolan Retter was a name I was already familiar with.
I can’t believe I didn’t think of him right off the bat!
Whenever there is any kind of high-profile case in Arizona, you can find him on the television crime discussion shows, giving his insight from the defense point of view. Women like Nancy Grace love to tell him how wrong he is to defend his clients, whom she feels should be found guilty without the benefit of a trial. He always stands his ground though and states that people like her are exactly why America has a justice system.

I called his office and explained my situation to his paralegal. I was expecting to have to message passed off and was surprised when I was patched through directly to him. I told him the same story that I had been telling all of the other attorneys. The difference was, he was able to see right through everything.

“Miss Wheeler, I’ve been practicing law for a long time and I can just tell when someone isn’t being straight with me. Something about what you’re telling me doesn’t pass the smell test.”

“You’re right, I’m not telling you everything but that’s simply because I’m trying to make sure that the person I hire is not working for the other side. There’s a lot of crooked people involved in this case. A lot of crooked people that will be doing everything they can to make sure they don’t get exposed.”

“You see, that’s exactly the kind of thing that intrigues me. Miss Wheeler, I work for one person and one person only and that’s the client that hires me. If you look at any of my past cases, you will see that I’ve blown the lid of lots of corruption and things of that nature. If I was on the take, it would have come to light by now. I’m willing to offer my services but before I can quote you a price, I really need to know what this case is about.”

I thought about it for a minute and realized he was right. If there was an example of a lawyer who worked for his client and no one else, it would be him.

“Okay, I’m trying to find representation for a man who is wanted for murder. He’s a member of the Coyotes of Mayhem motorcycle club. He’s wanted for killing a member of the Aces of Anarchy. It’s been all over the news.”

“Oh yes, I’ve seen it.”

“Here’s the thing. The guy that he’s wanted for murdering isn’t dead. He’s alive. We saw him outside of Scottsdale yesterday. He’s afraid the cops and the Aces are working together to frame him. He doesn’t just need legal representation. He needs to prove his innocence.”

“You see Miss Wheeler, that’s the kind of case I can get behind. My retainer is $15,000. As soon as it’s in my office, I can get started. I’m going to send you over to my secretary who will tell you how to wire the retainer. As soon as it’s been paid, call the office and make sure you’re boyfriend is available. We’ll need to act on this fast.”

The hopeful feeling I had before making the phone calls had been replaced with the feeling of defeat. There was no way I was going to be able to come up with $15,000 to pay his retainer fee. I had spent all the disposable money I had on the cruise. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew I had to get out of my house and over to Beast as soon as possible.