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“What is this?” she asked the cop. He turned and started to walk away, and she practically chased after him. “Hey,” she shouted. “I just asked you a question. What the hell is this?” The cop didn’t bother to turn around to give her the time of day. He had done his job, and there was no stopping him from leaving—even a half-crazed woman trying to chase him down.
“Let him go, honey,” Ryker ordered. “He’s not going to tell you anything. Besides, everything you want to know is inside that envelope. Here, I’ll take Iris and you open it.”
“Thanks,” Harlow said. She was out of breath, and he could tell that she was a bundle of nerves. He hated that someone was doing this to her. He took Iris from her arms, surprised that the toddler let him hold her. She didn’t put up a fuss at all. Instead, she just smiled at him and patted his cheek with her little hand.
“I peed,” she said. Iris took her thumb out of her mouth just long enough to share her news and then shoved it back into her mouth. Ryker couldn’t help his chuckle. The toddler was the most entertaining person he’d ever met.
He had never been around kids before. He was an only child and most of the guys in his club were either single or newly married. Not many of them had kids, and the ones who did, didn’t bring them to the bar. Ryker had to admit, he wasn’t sure how he’d do with Iris, but the more he was around her, the more confident he felt in his abilities to hang with the two-year-old.
“Oh my God,” she shouted from the kitchen.
“How about you watch some television, squirt?” Ryker asked Iris. The toddler nodded her head and he turned on one of the cartoon channels that he knew she liked. “How’s this one?” he asked. There were so many choices, she could tell him no and he’d be there all day, trying to find a show for her to watch. Instead, Iris nodded her little blond head and settled on the sofa with her thumb still in her mouth.
“You hang out here, squirt. I’m going to help your mom make pancakes,” he said.
“Ok,” she said around her thumb, not bothering to take her eyes off of the television set. Ryker ruffled her hair and walked into the kitchen to find Harlow crying, the papers from the envelope still in her shaking hand.
He pulled her into his body. “Tell me what’s wrong,” he demanded. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.” He was making her a promise he might not be able to keep, but he was going to try his damndest to make it happen.
She handed the papers to him and sobbed into his t-shirt. “She’s going to try to take my daughter from me.”
“Who is?” he asked, trying to look the paperwork over.
“My ex-mother-in-law. Those papers say that she’s suing me for custody of Iris,” she said. “Can she do that? Can she take my daughter away from me?” Harlow asked.
“I have no idea, baby, but we’re going to find out. I’m betting that one of the guys can give us the name of a good lawyer,” he said. “What’s the reason she gives for trying to take Iris from you?”
“The paperwork says that I am an unfit mother because I work in a biker bar. How did she find out where I work?” Harlow asked.
“Your ex must have someone watching you,” he said.
“Well, that’s just great,” Harlow grumbled. “First, we have to worry about Billows and now, we have to worry about Craig and his crazy mother Corinne coming for me. When will it end?” she asked.
“I don’t have an answer for you, honey, but we’ll find one. Let me do some digging around to find a good lawyer and then, we’ll figure out our options,” Ryker said.
“You’ve already done so much to help me, Ryker. You don’t have to do all that,” she said. “I’m sure that I can reach out to my lawyer that handled my court case with Craig,” she said. He hated that she was trying to dismiss him after everything that happened between them last night. He was hoping that he was more important to her than that.
“The one who only got him five years?” he asked.
“Yes, why?” she asked.
“Because that’s not fucking good enough. He should have gone away for a lot longer than that. We’re going to find a lawyer who gets better results, Harlow,” Ryker insisted. “Your daughter is at stake this time. It’s too important not to find the best lawyer we can find.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “Thank you, Ryker. I’ll take any help you want to give.”
“We’ll find someone who can help, I promise,” he said. “How about if you make pancakes and I’ll start making some phone calls.” He was going to start with Ace and his partner, Knox. The pair of them had to have access to a high-priced lawyer who might be able to help Harlow. Whatever it was going to cost was worth it—he’d just have to find someone who wanted to take on her case first.
“Thank you, Ryker.” She pulled out the coffee pot and added the grinds to the filter. “I’m going to start with coffee and then, I’ll work on pancakes.” He nodded and grabbed his phone from where he’d left it charging on the kitchen counter the night before.
“I’ll bring you a mug when it’s ready,” she offered.
“Thanks, baby,” he said, gently kissing her lips. “I’ll let you know when I have a lead.” He walked upstairs, hoping for a bit of privacy. If he was going to have to do some groveling, he didn’t want Harlow to have to listen to him do it. One thing was for sure, he was going to do whatever it took to find her a good lawyer to help her keep her little girl—failure wasn’t an option.
