Page 73 of Trick or Treat
Race led the way down the stairs, shoving people out of their way as he went. “Move it, motherfucker.”
They got the kids outside and didn’t have long to wait before Lindsey double parked in front of the house. She was dressed in light purple and gray plaid pajama bottoms tucked into snow boots, a purple hooded jacket and her hair in a ponytail. As soon as they got close, she hopped out and opened the back door of her car. She’d left it running so it was nice and warm. He gently placed Keegan in the backseat and reached for the safety belt. “You can open your eyes now.”
Jackson was securing Reagan on the other side. He tweaked her nose and kissed the top of her head before he backed out and closed the door.
“You want to take them to my house or would it be easier to take them to yours?” Trick asked her. He wanted so badly to pull her into a tight hug, then leave with them, leaving this mess for someone else to clean up. Instead, he kept his distance, hoping she wouldn’t see how close to exploding he was.
“I’ll take them to mine.”
He nodded his head. He dropped to his haunches next to Keegan. “You guys are going to Lindsey’s house. You be good and I’ll be there in a little bit.”
He noticed Keegan still had a death grip on his phone. He reached out and tapped it with his finger. “Good job. Glad you called me.” He kissed the top of his head, then reached over and squeezed Reagan’s hand. “Love you guys.”
“Love you, too, Daddy.” His baby girl didn’t look like she was rebounding as quickly as she usually did. In fact, she still looked scared shitless. Keegan was trying to put on a brave face, partly for Lindsey’s sake, he was sure. He closed the door and turned to Lindsey. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close then kissed her forehead. “Can’t thank you enough for this. Means everything to me that I can count on you to take my kids.”
“No need to thank me. I love your kids. They’ll be at my house when you get done here.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Be safe.” She rounded her car and found Jackson holding the door open for her. He nodded his head and stepped back, allowing her to drive away.
Trick watched until she turned at the corner. “Now let’s get this shit taken care of.” Race nodded his head at Jed, who made the call to get the police to his old house. Fifteen minutes later several police cars, lights flashing, pulled up out front. The fact that no one came running out of the house at the sight of flashing lights only went to show him just how wasted they were inside.
A couple of officers they recognized came over to talk to them. The older one was Dagger’s brother-in-law, Ben, and his partner, Riggs. “Race. You guys called?” Ben appeared a little surprised to have been called into a Sons of Redemption issue.
“Yeah.” Race extended his hand and shook Ben’s hand. He explained the situation from when Trick got the phone call to now. By the time he was finished, both officers were visibly pissed. Ben turned to Riggs and instructed him to send the officers inside.
“Ben, I need you to know that there might be a creepy pervert knocked out in the upstairs hall. I found him outside my kid’s room trying to get in. He was saying, ‘little kids, little kids, let me in,’ and I lost it. I hit him a couple of times.”
“They were hiding in the closet until we could get to them,” Jackson added.
Ben’s jaws clenched and Trick could imagine steam coming out of the man’s ears. “I’ll just put in my notes, we found him like that, not sure who did it.”
“Thanks. Appreciate it.”
“Where are your kids now?”
“I had my girlfriend come get them and take them to her house until I can get there.”
“I gotta couple of girls. If any sicko tried to get to them, I think I’d be hard pressed not to shoot them.” Trick silently agreed with him. He didn’t want to reply that it had been touch and go for a minute. He wasn’t giving anyone any excuse to keep him away from his kids.
“Can my attorney get a copy of the report? I’m trying to get custody of my kids.”
“Sure. Have him give us a call or come by sometime tomorrow. Should be done by then.”
“What the hell are you doing? You can’t come into our house and arrest us!” Patty’s screeching had everyone’s attention turning back toward the house where she was being escorted by a police officer. Her hands were behind her back, cuffed. Her too short skirt was climbing higher and higher as she stomped across the snow-covered lawn. Any farther and, yep, there it was, a crotch shot. Trick shook his head. Really fucking classy.
Several other people were cuffed and being escorted to other waiting vehicles to be taken to the police station. Michelle finally exited the house wearing sweats and a coat. At least she’d taken a moment to put some clothes on. She was looking around the front yard, searching for someone. She spotted him, said something to the officer holding her by the arm, then they both came to a stop in front of him.
She had tears streaming down her face unchecked. “I’m sorry, Trick. I blew it. You’ve got the kids? They’re safe?”
“You fucking worry about whether or not they’re safenow? What the hell, Michelle? I found a guy standing outside Reagan’s bedroom, beating on the door, wanting to get in. Did you know they were sitting in her closet, in the dark, scared out of their God damn minds?” She flinched with each new revelation.
“I’m so sorry, Trick.” She turned to the officer and told him she was ready to go.
“Wow. I actually think she got it this time. I think she finally gets how unsafe her kids have been because of her decisions.” Jackson shook his head, his hands shoved in his jacket pocket.
“Yeah. Well, it’s too little, too late.” Trick went to lock up the house. He needed to get to Lindsey’s so he could check on his kids. He could only pray that this latest stunt didn’t cause irreparable damage.
Trick was emotionally drained.He was so angry and so sick at heart that Michelle would take such risks with their children. What he’d walked in on tonight had shocked him to his soul. Never in a million years would have imagined that she would bring something like that into the home of their children. Even though she’d felt cheated out of her youth because of her pregnancy with Keegan, and her new determination to relive it all thanks to her sister’s provocations, he never wanted to believe things could get this out of control. Fool that he may be, he still felt in his heart that if her sister Patty wasn’t involved, Michelle could still be a great mom. Even now, despite the fact she had been screwing up so much lately, he didn’t want to cut her completely out of his children’s lives. His hope was that after some time passed and she was able to prove herself, he’d ease her back into the kids’ lives.
After tonight’s disastrous ending, his lawyer was able to get him emergency custody of his kids. That eased his mind somewhat. For now, Michelle would have no access to their children. His lawyer even thought as early as next week, he could be awarded permanent, full-time custody. That had been his dream all along, but getting it like this just made him sad and angry.
