Chapter Five

June’s Point of View

One of my biggest concerns was coming true. It dawned on me after Ophelia’s phone call that somewhere there was a mole in our operation. I hated feeling this way, like I could not trust anyone. I needed to get to the bottom of this problem and quickly before any of the others got hurt. I had a more pressing problem though. I needed to get Ophelia safe, and I was now extremely limited to where and who I would trust her with.

With my back pressed against a wall I called Whiz. I knew in my gut I could trust him. He was fond of Ophelia, in fact he personally hand selected her name after his grandmother. Like always he picked up on the first ring. “Whiz we have an issue. He found Ophelia” I found no need to mince words. “I have her being transported right now but I need to find out how that scum bag found her.”

“Start at the beginning, how do we know he found her?” Whiz was naturally untrusting of most people and situations. I knew that he did not believe in coincidences, so I am sure that his smart brain had already jumped to the same conclusion mine did.

“He called the landline phone and proceeded to threaten her. I barely got her out before he showed up in town. He is a little more connected than I thought but regardless she followed all the rules. She has had no contact with anyone back there, she has no social media accounts, and she was keeping an extremely low profile. I’m thinking we have a rat problem, and I am worried the infestation could spread.” I answered Whiz truthfully.

“That poses a few different problems for us June bug. The first being I can’t change her identity again without changing her appearance completely. We had Clara cut and style her hair differently but due to the pregnancy we couldn’t dye it and that red hair of hers is hard to hide. Secondly without a new picture to go with her new appearance creating new documentation is completely out of the picture. For now, she is stuck being Ophelia which means we need to find somewhere even more remote than Mentone.” Whiz sighed deeply before continuing on. “I know you aren’t a fan of asking for favors but I think the time has come to call in Hawk. He is the only one I know that has the means to protect her.”

I weighed his words carefully. Hawk owed me a few favors, and we had worked together in the past, but I have never asked him to be a part of our network. Hawk had a good heart, but there were special circumstances which is why he was not involved with Clipped Wings. Whiz was right though; Hawk did have the means to protect Ophelia. As I thought it over the idea became more appealing to me because since Hawk was not involved in the organization then hardly anyone besides Whiz and myself would know where she was.

“June I can hear your thoughts from over here, just give him a call. The worst he can say is no. Now I am already at work, I am tracing the calls put through the landline, and I am going to try to hack into that bastard’s cell phone provider. We need to find out exactly how he found our girl and if we have a mole. Let me know what Hawk says.” With those parting words Whiz hung up the phone.

Although I knew that Whiz was right, I still hesitated in calling Hawk. I worried about how he and Ophelia would get along, or even if he would be willing to help. In a sense Hawk ran his own organization and although we crossed paths, I had never asked him for assistance. With a heavy sigh I slowly accepted what I already knew; Hawk was my best solution to this problem. With uncertainty weighing on my heart, I reached for my phone and dialed his number.

“This is Hawk” his voice was rough, and slightly muffled like he had something in his mouth.

“Sorry for calling so late, this is June.” I suddenly felt silly calling him so late, but this matter was rather pressing.

“Oh, hey June, how is everything going?” Now his voice was clear.

“Well if I am being honest, I am in a bit of a pickle. One of my special angels has a real demon after her, and I am afraid there may be a rat in my house.” I paused to take a breath. “The truth is the guy she is running from is very well connected, and probably one of the worst monsters I have seen. He hurt her bad Hawk. I hate to ask but until I can clean house and figure out how he located her, is there any way you would be willing to house and protect her?”

I could hear him mulling over my request. “June, you know what I am. Does this girl know anything about my kind?” He didn’t hesitate in asking, and I appreciated his bluntness.

“Well to be honest I doubt that she does. She been through the ringer, orphaned, foster homes, group homes, and then this abusive scum bag. I don’t know how much more she can handle, but I know I am out of options at this point. I had her in one of our most remote spots, and this monster found her.” I figured it didn’t hurt to put it all out there.

I could hear Hawk sigh through the phone. “Sounds like it wouldn’t be a great idea to tell her what I am, but honestly, I don’t see a way around it. If she is going to be here there will always be a chance that she will find out on her own, so I would rather she is aware up front if I agree to this. Obviously, I need you to vouch for her discretion and I want all the info you have on this psychotic ex of hers as well. I will need to brief my guys on the situation if you want me to keep her safe.”

“I will definitely share any information we have on her ex. I agree that she should know what you are, and I believe that she will keep your secret.” I hesitated before continuing. “There is another small issue, she is um well she is pregnant so if you could have your physician handle her medical care, I would really be appreciative.”

“Oh, wow June that’s um, that is a big favor.” I could hear him set something down in the background and I was worried that he was going to change his mind. “Is this ex really that bad?”

“Yeah, Hawk he is really that bad. When Jenny found her there was a lot of evidence of abuse, various scars. He had been hurting her for a while. I didn’t know until after we had her placed originally, but Jenny was able to track down other medical records documenting his violence against her. He was careful and never took her to the same hospital twice. Like I said he is resourceful, and cunning. He runs a drug ring and operates as the head of the Devils Jesters. Obviously, he has dabble in other underground markets as well. I will have Whiz send over everything we have been able to dig up on him.”

Hawk sighed heavily, and I knew I was asking for a lot. “June if anyone else had come to me with this problem I would have turned them away, but you have helped me with issues in the past. I don’t normally invite skeletons here, but for you I will make an exception. She will have to follow the rules though, the first being no photos ever. No social media, no secret cameras, no pictures of any kind while she is here. I will talk with Doc and make sure that he can treat her properly, and that we are equipped to handle her situation. I also don’t want her moving freely while she is here, if she leaves the club house, she needs to have someone with her. Once we know she is safe for good though, you need to move her out of here for her own good.” Hawk didn’t bother to mince words and I knew that I was asking for a lot, but I had no other choice.

“I can agree to those terms, and I know she will as well. I have Tobias on the way to pick her up in New Orleans, he should be there by the morning. I can have him drive her down to Tyler. Where can he meet up with you so that you guys can transport her?”

Hawk and I talked over where the pickup would take place and ironed out the rest of the details. Once that was done, I sent Whiz a quick text informing him that it was a go. Then I called Tobias and updated him as well.

With a heavy heart I opened the bottom drawer of my cabinet and pulled out the bottle of rum that I kept there. I hardly ever drank but tonight there was nothing else that was going to calm my nerves. Most of the monsters I deal with are drunken losers that prey upon weaker people. Vex was certainly a monster, but he was proving to be the kind of monster that had a brain.

I was still leafing through the file Whiz had sent me a few days ago when it dawned on me that I had not called Ophelia and checked on her. It did not surprise me when she answered the phone quickly, and her sleepiness was evident in her voice.

“Hey, doll I just wanted to let you know that we have a safe place for you with a doctor in place, and it is rather secluded. Tobias is going to meet you and Missy in the morning, and he will take you to the next spot.” I took a deep breath before I could tell her the rest. “Now I don’t want to alarm you but until I can figure out how Vex found you there are a few new rules I need you to follow.” Ophelia acknowledged that she was listening, and I dove right in. “When you meet your new pick up, he is a little rough around the edges but he would lay down his life to keep you protected. In return you must promise to never take any pictures while you are staying at his place. Also, so that he can protect you, we would like if you would agree to never going outside with out someone being with you.”

It didn’t surprise me that Ophelia quickly agreed to the new rules. “Now the final rule is one that Hawk will speak to you about when he meets up with you and Tobias, but please remember that everything we are doing is for your protection and the protection of others as well.” That was the best way I knew to prepare her for the way her life was about to change.

“June what happens if he finds me again? I don’t want to be running my whole life.” My heart ached for her, as her desperation was clear even through the phone.

“I don’t have all the answers right now, but I promise you that I am doing everything in my power to keep you safe. I would love to tell you that he won’t find you, but honestly, I don’t know how he found you in the first place. I know that Whiz and I are going to work diligently until we get the answers though, and that hopefully one day soon you can put away your tennis shoes and start really living your life in peace.” I meant every word I said. I knew that Whiz was already working to figure out how Vex had infiltrated our organization, and my mind had already started working on it as well.

“Thank you, June.” With those words Ophelia and I ended the call. I sent a silent prayer to any deity that might be answering that we really could keep her safe.