Fabio's Remorse (Hell Raiders MC Book 5) (8 page)

14

Fabio

The meeting with Trooper Addison and a Deputy Sheriff took place at the Sheriff's Office. Crank came with me, reluctantly. Neither of us was too wild about willingly walking into a cop shop. A clerk showed us to an interview room and left us to cool our heels until Addison and the Deputy decided to show up.

The pair came in and sat across from Crank and me, adjusting their papers around. It felt an awful lot like an interrogation. Finally, they were ready to get down to business.

"Mr. Reach, my sincere condolences for your loss." Addison stared at me like he expected me to draw down and start shooting any minute.

"What happened, anyway?" I didn't really want to know too much, but I had to know what happened.

The Deputy cleared his throat. "Dispatch received the call, and first responders arrived on the scene in about two minutes. They found a two-vehicle accident. The vehicle we later learned belonged to your sister and her husband was hit in the passenger side by the other car. The medical examiner said Mrs. Blair died on impact. Mr. Blair was DOA."

I felt like Ryker just landed his knee in my gut. All the air went out of my lungs, and chest constricted until my heart felt like it would stop. "What about the other vehicle?" I probably shouldn't ask, but it seemed important.

Trooper Addison's turn to clear his throat. "The, uh, driver walked away from it."

My face must have gone every shade of red, judging by the amount of heat. "What do you mean, walked away? How is that possible?"

"I can't give details, because the driver was a minor."

I knew freak accidents happened all the time, and people managed to walk away, by some miracle. But all too often, the ones who made it out were either drunk, or fucked up on something. That's how Hack survived wrapping his bike around a tree. If he hadn't been practically a rag doll, it would have killed him. I couldn't even voice my thoughts for the anger choking me.

"This happened when, yesterday?" It's a good thing Crank came along. He remembered shit I was totally blanking on.

"Actually, it happened Monday. It took us some time to figure out next of kin, and find Mr. Reach."

Fuck. Two fucking days. My sister was two fucking days dead before I found out. How had I not felt it? Surely I should have known my own flesh and blood no longer lived? I mean, if I really loved my sister, how could I not know?

And the kids. Fuck. "Where are my niece and nephew?" My voice sounded raw and ready to break.

"They've been staying with Adam and Denise Thomas, who were close friends with Mr. and Mrs. Blair. CPS suggested, in the interest of not upsetting the children further." From the way Trooper Addison scowled, I figured he probably wasn't all that happy about it, but didn't know what else to do.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

He just nodded. "While we were trying to find and contact you, we found your sister's will, Mr. Reach. It will have to go through probate and be made final, of course, but she specified both of the children would be placed under your guardianship."

Crank's expression mirrored the panic I felt. Kids? What the hell was I supposed to do with them? And why didn't Alexis tell me something this important? "Um, what exactly does that mean?"

The Deputy cleared his throat and gave Trooper Addison a quelling look, but Addison just shook his head and went on. "Look, I'm completely off the record here, understood? CPS will explain everything completely. But it means you're responsible for those kids now. If you can't be, for whatever reason, the court will place them, hopefully with some extended family we haven't found yet, or at least with family friends. But the truth is, without you, they're liable to end up in the system."

Another knee from Ryker landed in my gut, along with a kick to the jaw. Not literally, of course, but that's how it felt. "So, let me make sure I have it right. Unless I take care of them, they go to foster care?"

Addison nodded. "That's about the size of it. It's more complicated, of course."

"Thanks for telling me straight." I tried to breathe, without much success. "Okay, what's the next step here?"

The Deputy jumped in. "The bodies are currently at the morgue. You'll have to make arrangements with a mortuary. We'll release the decedents' personal effects, the items found with them, to you in a few moments."

"And the kids?"

This time when the Deputy started to talk, Addison elbowed him, not too gently, and took over. "I've already called a friend over at CPS. She'll be here in about an hour to take you to them. She'll have whatever paperwork you need, too."

Crank leaned back in his chair a little. "Okay, I guess I'll get on finding a funeral parlor then?"

"Deputy, I'm sure you could help with that?" Addison all but glared until the Deputy nodded.

"I can. Right this way, sir." The man's distaste in having to deal with us further showed in every movement as he stood and headed for the door.

Crank slapped my shoulder as he stood and followed.

"I have some paperwork for you sign, Mr. Reach, while your friend tracks down funeral parlors." Addison opened the folder in front of him and started passing forms over.

I didn't pay a whole lot of attention, just signed and moved to the next one. My brain and emotions had gone numb, leaving me on autopilot. Shit, I had to get it together. Little Nicole and Tyler deserved better. By the time I got to them, I had to be squared away and ready to deal with whatever they came at me with. Finally, I signed the last form, and Addison escorted me out to where Crank sat, talking to someone on the phone.

He finished the call and stood. "That was Kellen. Just filled him in. Funeral home is already on the way, and they said you could come in this afternoon or in the morning to make the arrangements."

What the hell was I supposed to say to that? "Thanks, man."

"Mr. Reach?" A tall blonde approached from the outer part of the office. "I'm Sarah Channing, from Child Protective Services." She extended a hand, clearly expecting me to shake it.

"Uh, yeah. Caleb Reach." My real name sounded utterly foreign to me. For so long, I'd been just Fabio in every way that counted. It would take some getting used to. I shook her hand. "Where are my niece and nephew?"

"They're safe, Mr. Reach. We have to go over some paperwork, then I can take you to them."

More fucking paperwork. From the skeptical looks Ms. Channing gave Crank and me, I was pretty sure there would be a criminal background check mixed in with that paperwork. "Fine."

She led the way to a different interview room, and only reluctantly allowed Crank to sit in. Trooper Addison assured her it was okay, or she probably wouldn't have. She went over a ton of details that sounded more like threats.

It didn't take long for me to get antsy, and I could tell Crank had a few things to say. "Let me get this straight, Ms. Channing. My sister specified in her will that I have guardianship of her children?"

"Yes, but the will has yet to be probated. We also have no idea whether it's even legal."

"Assuming the will is legal, why the delay?" Crank scowled across the table at her.

"We have to be sure the children are placed—"

"With their family. Correct?"

She nodded, and not very happily. "Yes. However, it would seem Mr. Reach was estranged from his sister and her family. We have to ensure he really is the best person to care for them."

"Estranged?"

"Yes, it means—"

"I know very fucking well what the word means, Ms. Channing. Why would you think I was estranged from them?" This is all coming way too fast. I might be able to cope with Alexis' death, and even with taking the kids. But this assumption they seemed to have made that I didn't care for Nicole and Tyler floored me. "I haven't been home for a long time, granted, but that had nothing to do with Alexis."

She made a note on her tablet. "I'm sorry, Mr. Reach, but I was told otherwise."

I glanced at Crank. Now who the fuck had a reason to say such a thing? "Uh huh. Well, for your information, I spoke to Alexis and the kids regularly by phone. I sent gifts at birthdays and holidays. I might not have been physically present, but there was no estrangement of any sort." I stood up. "Now, unless you have some reason to withhold them from me, take me to Nicole and Tyler."

The bitch was not happy, judging by the jerky way she rose and headed for the door. I didn't care. Nothing mattered but getting to the kids and making sure they were okay.

Outside, when I started toward where we'd parked the bikes, Crank stopped me. "This way, man. I figured a rental car might work a little better for this part."

Damn it, he was right. "Good idea." I followed him to the black SUV that absolutely reeked of 'rental car'. It didn't matter, though.

Crank drove, following Ms. Channing's little state-owned sedan at a careful distance. She drove slow as hell, like she was trying to provoke him into making some reckless move, but Crank just hung back and took it all in stride. Couldn't say the same for myself. I cursed and bitched the whole way, until we pulled up in front of a modest little ranch in the middle of a tract development.

Ms. Channing got out of her car and waited for us. "Now, Mr. Reach, I have to caution you to go slowly, and remember the children don't know you."

About that time, the front door opened and two kids blasted out, racing toward us. I froze, unsure what was happening.

"Fabio! You came!" My niece, Nicole, launched herself at me, and practically knocked me on my ass.

I caught her and dropped to one knee to catch Tyler, too. For a moment, all I could do was clutch them to me. "Course I came." A huge knot in my chest unraveled to leave me gasping for breath. "Nothing could keep me away." Yeah, I might have dreaded coming here, but that was the truth. These kids needed me, and come hell or high water, I had their backs.

15

Fabio

Bringing the kids back to their house seemed like the best option for the moment, even though it would be painful for them. Regardless, we would have to go there long enough to pack their shit.

Nicole seemed relieved at the suggestion. "Can we go now?"

Something in the tone of her voice worried me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "In just a few minutes. Why don't you guys get your shit, and I'll say thanks to the Thomases? We'll get the hell out of here, then."

"Mr. Reach!" The way Ms. Channing said my name made me double check to make sure my fly was zipped. "Watch your language in front of the children!" She spit at me like a little cat, all pissed off.

"Yeah, whatever." Unimpressed, I headed inside with Nicole and Tyler. About the time we reached the door, I missed Crank, and looked back to find him grinning ear to ear, while Ms. Channing scolded him about something. "Yo, Crank! Outta your league, man."

Inside, Crank's sexual pursuits flew straight out of my mind. The couple standing in the immaculate, if tiny, living room, looked about as uptight as people could get without going postal, or some shit. A little girl, somewhere between Tyler and Nicole in age, stood between them, her dark hair in pigtails so tight they had to be cutting off her circulation.

Deciding to ignore appearances, I held out my hand. "Caleb Reach. Thanks for looking after Nicole and Tyler until I could get here."

The woman turned to the man. "I'm going to get Ms. Channing. Surely she can't mean to let them go with… this person." She looked at me like I was something she wiped off the bottom of her shoe, as she stormed past. "Ms. Channing!"

"What the actual—" I swallowed the rest of my words. "Nicole, you and Tyler get your stuff."

Nicole took Tyler's hand and led him away.

Mr. Thomas clutched the little girl's hand hard enough to make her squeak. "Are you really going to take them away from everyone they know and love?"

My hackles were already up, and his words made things worse. "Excuse me?" I forced myself to slow down. "Man, I don't know who you think you are, but those kids are my family. Their momma and daddy are dead, and you and your ol' lady pulling some bullshit drama ain't going to help them one bit."

The uptight woman returned, dragging Ms. Channing along, and Crank followed, wearing the poker face he reserved for the moment before he took someone's head off with his bare hands. The woman turned to point an accusing finger at me. "Ms. Channing, you simply cannot allow this…this hooligan to take Lexi's children!"

My eyebrow probably went up, but I stayed silent, waiting to hear what the social worker might say.

Ms. Channing shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Thomas, but until he proves himself unfit, I have no choice. At least, for the moment. We'll see what happens when the will goes to the probate judge."

"But, just
look
at him! He's clearly a criminal! You can't put my best friend's children in danger like this!" The woman looked like stroking out waited in her very near future. "I won't let you do this!"

Nicole and Tyler came back in, and slipped their hands into mine. That fucking blew me away. Yeah, they knew me, from phone calls and video, but they didn't
know
me. And they felt safer with me, than with their parents'—what was the fucking word the club girls used? Besties? Yeah, that was it. Fuck, no.

"Hol' up right there, lady. You don't know a damn thing about me. And I'm thinking you weren't that close to Alexis and Simon, either. Otherwise, you would know she hated to be called Lexi." The more I thought about it, the more pissed I became. "You would also know I wasn't
estranged
from them, either."

Mrs. Thomas' eyes widened and her face went even redder. For his part, Mr. Thomas sort of shrunk down, while their kid grinned up at me. Odd as fuck. "Adam, call the police.
Now!
I will
not
allow this common criminal to take Lexi's children from me."

"Mrs. Thomas, you could call the police, of course. That's your right." Ms. Channing held out a placating hand. "However, think of the children. You care for them, so you obviously wouldn't want them upset further." She glanced at me, then toward the door, in a clear signal.

She didn't have to tell me twice. I ushered the kids to the door, and right on out, no stopping to be polite, or anything. They both practically dragged my ass to the SUV and climbed in without urging.

As soon as they were in, Crank and Ms. Channing came out of the house. Crank waved me to the driver's seat. "Get the fuck outta here, man." He hustled Ms. Channing to her car and climbed behind her wheel.

I wasted no time getting out of that neighborhood. "Nicole, honey, you have to tell me how to get to your house from here."

For a twelve-year old girl, she gave clear directions, telling me each turn to make. Crank and Ms. Channing followed close behind.

"Fabio?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"I'm glad you came. They're crazy. Mom and Dad would never have wanted us to be with them." Nicole's voice quavered at the mention of her parents, but she took a deep breath and went on. "They weren't even friends. Dad worked with Mr. Thomas, but had to fire him a few weeks ago. I heard them talking. They thought they would get a lot of money for taking care of us."

My fingers curled around the wheel with enough force to make it creak. "Why were you with them, then?"

She took another deep breath and swiped her fingers under her eyes. "I'm not sure, really. We were at school, and Ms. Channing came to get us, and told us what happened. We were at her office for a while, and then she took us there. She didn't listen when I told her we didn't even know them. I wanted us to go to my friend Tamara's house. Her parents offered us to stay there until you came."

The rage that poured through me was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. "Did she say who told her to take you there?"

Nicole shook her head, dark hair flying. "No. She just kept saying it was for the best."

Huh. That really sounded like someone on high pulling strings. But why? Seemed like I needed to have a little talk with Ms. Channing. Best to let it drop for the moment, especially since Nicole seemed so upset. The kid didn't need any more adult bullshit dropped in her lap than she already had.

"Are you guys hungry? We could pick up takeout." What the hell did I know about when kids needed to eat? But my own stomach grumbled like a pissed off Harley, so I figured they might need food, too.

For the first time, Tyler really spoke. "Can we gets ice cream?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Tell you what. How about we get chicken or something like that, and then later, I'll take you back out for ice cream?"

Nicole giggled and looked back at the little guy. "Looks like he's already got you figured out, Ty-ty."

The kid whined a little, but ended up accepting my proposal, although he did talk his way into sprinkles on his ice cream. Little man had the negotiating skills of a career politician.

We stopped at a KFC, and I got Crank and Ms. Channing to go in and order for us all. While we waited, I turned in my seat so I could see both the kids' faces. I needed to let them know things weren't going to be perfect.

"Listen guys, this isn't going to be easy for any of us. You're going to miss your parents, and I'm not used to kids. But we're family, and I love you. So we'll make it work. Make sense?"

Nicole nodded immediately, but Tyler just looked at me with these huge blue eyes. "I like to work. What kin'a work?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. At five years old, he seemed to have his own perspective on things. "Well, let's see. You'll have to show me how to do dishes. And I can't cook worth a damn."

His eyes got bigger. "We can't say that word. Momma says it a groaned up word."

Confusion hit me for a second before realization set it. Well shit. I better get a lot better at watching my language, it seemed. "That's true, li'l man. I'll try to remember not to say it so much around you guys."

"It's okay, Fahv-bio. I forget, too."

"See, we've already got a lot in common." I offered him a fist bump, which he returned. Crank smacked the fender as he passed by with Ms. Channing, both of them juggling the big order.

When we reached my sister's house, I felt like Ryker's fucking knee smashed into my gut again. She had lived there, and now she didn't live. A ton of things I didn't want to feel bombarded me from every direction. More than anything, right now, I wanted to give Alexis a hug. The grief at not being able to tell her goodbye threatened to drown me. Only this time, I couldn't get sucked under.

Not like I did when Justine abandoned me. Then, it was only me. It didn't matter if I stayed drunk for a month, or got myself killed on a mission. But now, with Nicole and Tyler counting on me to take care of them, I had to keep my shit together and keep moving forward.

So I sat down at the table with the kids and Crank, and even Ms. Channing, and we all ate our fucking chicken. "You guys will have to help me out here. I have no idea what all you're supposed to do and when. I mean, do you have homework? Soccer? Hell, bedtime?"

Nicole laughed, and Ms. Channing even smiled. "I always have homework, and Tamara's getting all my work I miss for me. Tyler doesn't have homework this year, but he likes to practice writing and stuff while I do mine. Soccer, no. Tyler's bedtime is eight during the week, nine on weekends."

I raised my brows in mock surprise. "Well, look at you, all on top of everything."

The rest of the meal passed with the kids chattering about just about anything and everything, including how much they missed their parents.

Crank spoke up when Tyler teared up a little, wishing his momma could read him his bedtime story. "Hey, li'l man, I know you miss your mom and dad. It's not fair to lose them. But you're okay. You have Fabio to take care of you, and he might be dumb as a rock about kids, but he's one smart hombre. Besides him, you got me. I'm not all that smart, but I'm a real good listener."

"Do you have kids, Crank?" Nicole looked at the bastard with this doe-eyed expression that reminded me she wasn't really a little girl. At twelve, she was well on her way to being a young woman. Now how the fuck was I supposed to deal with that shit?

"Nah. I'm not really the settling down and getting married type. I travel a lot for the Club, and I work insane hours. Not all that conducive to family."

"What kind of work do you do, Mr. uh…Crank?" Ms. Channing took another bite of her potato wedge.

Crank gave me a quick look, and I gave my head a tiny shake. "I'm a security consultant. Boring as hell."

"That doesn't sound boring. And the Club you mentioned?"

Well, fuck. I preferred to keep that information away from CPS.

She evidently picked up on our reluctance. "It's okay, I was just curious. I mean, look at you. You're definitely
not
the
Leave It To Beaver
types."

Crank grinned. "Damn. What gave us away? Be honest, it was the trail of broken hearts, right?"

Both Nicole and Ms. Channing laughed again. "Well, it could have something to do with all the tattoos and piercings."

"Oh, those. Wait until you see the bikes."

That caught Tyler's attention. "I has a bike. It's red and it gots training wheels. Does yours bikes gots training wheels?"

"No, Tyler, not your kind of bike. He means motorcycles." Nicole leaned in close to ruffle the little guy's hair.

His eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped. "Real motorcycles?"

Crank told him a little about Harleys, probably just enough to pique his interest. I took a minute to just watch. I'd been utterly fucking stupid, missing out on all this for so long. I cheated these kids, my sister, and mostly, myself.