Page 17 of Property of Stone (Kings of Anarchy MC: Pennsylvania #1)

One who had no problem breaking the law and even beating up people to within an inch of their life. All this instant family needed was a broken, white picket fence, a rusty minivan, and a damn three-legged dog.

Vic. This was all because of Vic.

Proof that one bad decision could cause a rippling effect that created havoc in every other aspect of her life.

Her cell phone lit up on the counter when it rang.

Shit. It was the school so she had no choice but to take it. She glanced around to make sure her client wasn’t within earshot and answered it, covering her mouth to contain the sound. “Hello?”

“Mrs. Gentry?”

That reminded her: when she had some spare funds, she needed to change her last name back to her maiden name. She was tempted to change Wren’s last name, too, but that might infuriate Vic even more.

“Yes?” she whispered. “Is something wrong with Wren?”

“Not quite. A teacher saw him heading toward a man on a motorcycle and stopped him. Do you know this person or should I call the police?”

Was it Stone? It had to be. “Did he say who he was?”

“We didn’t ask. Only two other people besides yourself are on your authorized pickup list. Gail Howard…”

Her mother.

“And Victor Gentry.”

Her blood ran cold. Did she forget to remove him? “Can you remove Mr. Gentry from the list?”

“You want Wren’s father removed from the list?”

She ignored the mix of surprise and condemnation in the woman’s question. “Yes. Can you do that for me?”

“No. Unfortunately, I’d need a court order for that. ”

Shit. “ He’s being released from prison soon and?—”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gentry, but I can’t stop a parent from picking up their child unless a court order is in place.”

She pulled in a breath. She couldn’t argue with a school official in her client’s kitchen. “Then, can you add Stone for me?” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, Stone is his nickname. His name is James Conrad.”

“Is that who’s waiting at the curb? Do you know he’s wearing a vest that’s tied to a local biker gang?”

Crap. Crap. Crap. “I have no idea if it’s Mr. Conrad. It could be one of his associates.” She grimaced. She should’ve used friend instead of associate . It made it sound like he did belong to a criminal organization.

“Well, if the person isn’t on the authorized list…”

“Can you give me a moment, please, for me to check with him?”

“Sure,” followed a long, impatient sigh.

Taryn quickly texted Stone: Are you at Wren’s school to pick him up?

She only hoped he’d respond in a reasonable amount of time or she’d have to send her mother again.

If she couldn’t get a hold of her mother, she’d have to leave the dinner she was preparing.

Doing so might cause the loss of that client’s future business and maybe even a bad review.

She couldn’t afford to lose even one of her clients.

She needed to increase her client base, not reduce it.

Thankfully, his response came quickly. Only, it wasn’t the one she wanted to hear.

No.

Who is? Nobody can pick him up unless they’re on a list. Being the father of a school-age child, shouldn’t he know how it worked ?

She slapped her own forehead. Of course, with all the recent big changes, she forgot that herself.

Another text followed quickly: A prospect called Shit Stain. Put him on the list.

That had to be a joke. His name couldn’t be Shit Stain. And she certainly wasn’t repeating that to the school admin.

Be serious. What’s his real name? She tapped her nails impatiently on the counter, keeping an eye out for the homeowner.

No fuckn clue. Only know him as Shit Stain.

Her mouth dropped open. She quickly texted: Find out his real name. I’m not giving that to the school administrator.

Another minute went by. Gimme sex. Gonna text him.

“Gimme sex?” she whispered. Her fingers flew across the electronic keyboard. Do you mean: give me a sec?

She didn’t get an answer.

The seconds ticked by as she waited.

Lee Carlin.

She put the phone back to her ear. “The man at the curb is Lee Carlin. I give you permission to release Wren into his custody.”

Did she really, though?

She glanced around the kitchen and sighed. It wasn’t like she could just up and leave to go get him. Even if she could get a hold of her mother, Wren might have to wait at the school for her to arrive and she was sure the staff wouldn’t be happy about staying late.

Neither would Wren.

“Mrs. Gentry…”

Of course, the woman had to keep reminding Taryn of the damn mistake she made by marrying Vic. Her second mistake was taking his last name .

“You’ll need to come in and sign the form for these new additions.”

“If you’ll let Wren go with him today, I promise I’ll be in this week to do so.” The administrator didn’t need to know that was a lie since Stone was right, she needed to register him at Sunny’s school instead. Right now, she only needed someone to get him home.

Apparently, that someone’s name was Shit Stain.

She groaned.

“Don’t forget to bring along the court order to remove your husband.”

“Ex-husband,” Taryn corrected. Actually, soon he’d be considered more than an ex-husband, he’d labeled an ex-con, too. “And thank you for making this exception.”

“This will be the one and only time, Mrs. Gentry. I’d like to keep my job.”

She wasn’t the only one. She needed to get off the phone and get back to work. Word of mouth was everything in her business. Without recommendations from her current and former clients, she would no longer have a career.

And without it, she wouldn’t even be able to afford a tent to live in.

After she hung up, she glanced around at the interrupted food prep, but her mind was still on what just went down.

Taryn needed to put transferring Wren’s school at the top of her list this week.

He wouldn’t be able to attend that school district once she sold the house and moved elsewhere, anyway.

If she never put Vic on the list at the new school in the first place, maybe she wouldn’t need a court order to keep him off it. And if she did…

Suddenly, she realized there was a bigger issue than Shit Stain’s name.

Her six-year-old would be riding on the back of a damn motorcycle! Was that even legal? He wasn’t even allowed to ride in a vehicle without a booster seat! What if he fell off? What if Shit Stain wrecked his bike?

Did Shit Stain even have a helmet for Wren?

Anxiety caused her heart to thump wildly. All kinds of disastrous images popped into her head.

Was she a bad mother for allowing a prospect from an “outlaw” MC to pick up her child?

Before she could text Stone all her concerns, her phone dinged again with an incoming text.

Stone had sent a photo.

In that photo was an excited Wren on the back of a prospect named Shit Stain’s Harley. His smile was so big, it was blinding. The caption? Badass biker in the makn.

Great. But at least her son was wearing a helmet that actually fit him and the prospect’s bike had what looked like a seat with a back to it so Wren wouldn’t tumble off.

She’d take that small win.