VOLUME EIGHT: HOME FREECharity Thomas sat straight up in bed as the phone next to her rang sharply, piercing the silence of the night. As a lawyer, it wasn't unusual for her to get calls at all hours, but one this early—3AM if she'd read the clock right between squinted eyes—gave her a funny feeling."This is Charity," she answered her work cell, with what she hoped was a clear voice. Pushing her hair out of her face, she fought the sleep that wanted to claim her again."Charity, it's Meredith Blackfoot."That name conjured up a whole boatload of memories. Some of them the best of her life, some of them the worst. Immediately, she went back to her mom's driveway and Drew telling her to go make something of herself. Even today, ten years later, she could still feel the way she'd felt that day. Her stomach still clenched the same way it had back then."Is something wrong?" she asked, scared now that it was her mom, or even Drew. The two of them hadn't spoken since she'd left h
Fuck, Drew cursed as he pulled his truck onto the square. He was running late, but Mandy had begged him to bring this office equipment to the new place she would be helping out. Word had it that this practice was doing some pro bono work for CRISIS, so he knew most of this was courtesy of Heaven Hill.By trade, Mandy was a paralegal. Her training helped out the club, and in some situations was beneficial to associates of the club. She kept her eyes and ears open for anything and everything that could help them out. For the most part, she managed to know what was happening in this town almost before anyone else did. Usually it was a win/win for everyone involved.He wondered who this attorney was. She tended to switch them up every couple of years, just to give herself a break from the monotony. In fact, it had been a year since she'd actually worked for one. She'd been helping Roni do books at the shop for a while.He looked down at his phone, making sure he was at the correct ad
Liam walked inside, shutting the door behind him as Drew had a seat on his bed. Taking a minute to look at his dad, Drew realized that the years had been good to him. He didn't have a lick of gray on his head, and the only wrinkles he spotted were crow's feet and smile lines. Drew hoped that was him when he was in his forties. Even though he didn't have one ounce of Liam's blood in his body, he hoped like hell he took after the man who had given him his last name."I heard from a little birdie that you saw Charity today." Liam had a seat in the chair across from the bed, putting his elbows on his knees.Damn his sister. "That little birdie's got a big fuckin' mouth."Liam couldn't help the grin that came to his face. "The two of you always fight dirty, even as grown-ass adults. I just want to make sure you're okay after seeing her today. The months after she left were hard on you, son. Hell, the years following ain't been a cakewalk."There was no denying that, so he didn't eve
Drew hated to be the last person to know something, so he intentionally waited until the very last minute to make his way into the meeting. Having a seat at the table, he sat between his best friend, Dalton, and his other friend Cash. Cash wasn't a member of Heaven Hill, but he was a trusted acquaintance, and they liked to keep him in the loop.Purposely, he sat back against his chair and acted uninterested, even when Liam called the meeting to order. Immature as it was, it was his own rebellion."As some of you know," his old man said, "Charity has been retained by the club to help with the situation at CRISIS.""What situation is that?" he asked as obnoxiously as he could. They'd left him out, and he wanted them to suffer for it. He wanted them to have to explain it in front of everyone. This pissed him the fuck off.Tyler cleared his throat from where he sat beside Liam and leveled Drew with a glare. "Don't be a little shit. There's a woman and her daughter who showed up two
"Are you sure you don't want to take my spot?"Drew looked at Dalton and nodded. "I'm sure. Dad gave us a rotation for a reason. I need to respect that. The last thing I need is for there to be friction between the two of us, because then I hear it from mom too. I only ask one thing—let me know how she looks, make sure she's doing okay."The "she" they were talking about was Charity. Today would be the first day she'd be speaking to the wife and child. Heaven Hill had made it a point to arrange protection for all involved. Tyler and Dalton were taking the first shift, and both of them had expected Drew to fight them for it."I promise." Dalton put his hand over his heart. "If anything looks out of the ordinary, you'll be the first to know. We won't fuck around; we'll call that shit in."Drew knew his friend spoke the truth. "How's Mandy?" he asked, changing the subject."She's Mandy. We fight like cats and dogs half the time just to make up." Dalton leveled his best friend wi
Charity pulled her car into the parking lot at CRISIS and let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. She put it in park and turned the ignition off before removing her sunglasses and taking a look around.This place held so many memories for her. Most of them she'd never told anyone about.It made her feel good to see that Heaven Hill was making a show of force. Tyler Blackfoot stood at the side door, Dalton stood at the front. There was no back door to the building for a reason. Even from where she sat in her car, she could see the updated security measures—cameras that would see everyone coming and going. No one would enter CRISIS without them knowing about it. Several cameras had also been put at the very few windows the house had.On purpose, she took her time gathering the things she would need to go in and do her first interviews with the woman and child she was here to help. Many people had helped her as a teenager; it was time for her to repay the favor.
Charity followed Meredith up the stairs and into the part of CRISIS that housed the bedrooms. It was as if she had entered a time warp. Not much had changed. The stairs still smelled the same; the paint on the wall only looked as if it had been touched up. Meredith's voice broke through the memories."They are very quiet when you first approach them, kind of like skittish, wild, animals, so be careful. If you make too much of a fuss or you move too quickly, they run. We want them to stay here for as long as possible."She appreciated the heads-up because she did not want to scare them away. Obviously they needed help, and that's what she wanted to give them, more than anything. That was her initial reason for being here. "You want to come in here with me? Sometimes a familiar face helps."Meredith nodded and lightly knocked on the door. "Maggie, Skylar, it's Meredith. I brought my friend along with me. You know, the one I've been telling you about? The one that can help you."T
Drew's leg shook, and he made a concentrated effort to stop it. He'd never been nervous in his life. Back when they had been teenagers, he'd worked to keep Charity, but once he had her, he had her. He'd let her go because he knew he'd had to. If he hadn't pushed her, she wouldn't have left and then he would have hated himself for the rest of his life. Chances were they would have hated one another sooner or later, and who knew where they would be now."You leaving?" Liam asked as he went around the kitchen, picking up the plates the family had eaten on. He did his part in the family hierarchy as he took them over to the dishwasher and started loading it.Family dinner was something neither Drew nor Mandy liked to miss. It hadn't escaped his attention that Mandy had missed, and now that she was working for Charity, Drew had to wonder what the hell had gone down—if she missed because she was doing legwork for their case, or if she was hanging out with Dalton. He hadn't been briefed o