Bronze chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed, and it’s just a matter of formality at this point.”
“He’s right. She’s mine,” I confirmed.
“All right. That brings us to Dani. While she is Game’s niece, he’s cut ties with her and doesn’t want us to give her any special treatment. Having said that, she does have something he wants. Kalen. We’re pretty confident she’ll give up her rights to her son for a get-out-of-jail-free card. Does anyone have any objections?”
“What do you mean by ‘get out of jail free’?” Judge asked. “Are you suggesting we offer her protection as well?”
Copper shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I thought we could return the drugs she stole at the meeting tomorrow and leave her name completely out of it. As far as she’s concerned, we can offer to not hand her over to RFG in exchange for custody of Kalen.”
“You think she’ll go for that?” Bronze asked.
“I don’t see why not. She already did it when she gave the baby to Ben. This would just be a formality for her,” Copper said and glanced around the room. “Shall we vote?”
It came as no surprise to me that every officer in the room voted in favor of letting Dani go in exchange for the rights to Kalen.
“What about the baby’s father? Is he going to be a problem?” Bear asked.
“I don’t think so. If we can’t locate him and convince him to sign his rights over, I don’t think it’ll be a problem to have his rights terminated. He hasn’t contacted Blakely and he hasn’t provided any financial support since he dropped his son off with her. That should be grounds for abandonment. If it’s not, he’s associated with a gang that’s involved in gunrunning and selling illegal narcotics. I’ll call Tina in the morning and ask her to get started on this. I’m assuming you and Blakely want to adopt him?” Copper asked.
“I haven’t mentioned anything to Blakely yet. I didn’t want to get her hopes up. But, if for some reason, she doesn’t want to adopt him, I will,” I said.
“Even if that causes problems between the two of you?” Bronze asked.
“If Blakely has a problem with me adopting Kalen, then she’s not the woman for me,” I said without hesitation. I didn’t want to lose Blakely, and it would hurt like hell, but I didn’t think that’d be the case. She already loved Kalen like he was her own.
“After we finish up here, we’ll go downstairs and present our offer to Dani. If she’s agreeable, talk things over with Blakely and let me know what she says,” Copper said.
“Thanks, Prez.”
“All right, for tomorrow, I want Judge, Batta, Savior, Coal, and Game with me for the meeting. Bronze, Bear, Splint, and Tiny will stay at the clubhouse. Spazz and Drew will be helping out at Stuff It,” Copper said and glanced around the room. “If no one has anything to add, we’ll call it a night.”
After he dismissed church, Copper motioned for me to follow him, but instead of going to the basement, he went to the kitchen. “She’s been down there for a while. I figured we should probably feed her,” he laughed.
“Shit. That hadn’t even occurred to me,” I admitted.
He shrugged. “The comfort of our ‘guests’ usually isn’t a concern, but this situation is a little different. I figured she might be more agreeable if we show her some hospitality.”
“It couldn’t hurt, but I don’t think we’re going to have a problem. She’s a selfish person. Always has been. If she has the opportunity to save her own ass, I’d be shocked if she didn’t take it,” I said.
Copper shoved a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and a bottle of water into a paper bag and handed it to me. “Well, let’s go see if you’re right.”
I opened the door to the room with Dani to find her lying on her back on top of the table staring at the ceiling. She quickly sat up and moved to a chair when we entered.
“Hungry?” I asked and placed the bag of food on the table in front of her.
“Thanks,” she said and cautiously peeked into the bag. “How much longer are you going to keep me here?”
“You’ll be with us until tomorrow,” Copper said. “We’ll move you to a room with a bed and a bathroom after we’re finished talking.”
She nodded and reached into the bag for the bottle of water. “What are we talking about?”
“We found the pills you stole from Hook, and we’re going to return them to RFG tomorrow. Normally, we’d hand you over with the pills and walk away. But, in this case, there’s another option that might be better for everyone involved,” Copper started.
Dani was listening intently, and I could tell she was interested. “What is it?”
“As I understand it, Hook thinks Ben stole the pills, not you. We’re willing to return them and leave your name out of it, if you’ll voluntarily terminate your parental rights to Kalen,” Copper told her.
“That’s it?” she asked.
