Firestone by Claudia Hall Christian Page A

mother, James
Schmidt the fifth,” Scary Andy said. “She’s expecting your
call.”
    Schmidty looked at Scary Andy for a moment
before taking out his phone.
    “ You remember that big
fight between your mom and dad after she found him in bed with the
soon-to-be next ex-wife?” Scary Andy asked.
    Schmidty’s head went up and down in a slow
nod.
    “ Remember the guy with the
blue eyes?” Scary Andy asked. “Handsome as hell. Deadly. Got you
and your mother out of there and on a plane to Denver? He bought
you ice cream.”
    Schmidty swallowed hard.
    “ He’s my boss,” Scary Andy
asked. “You met him last week, Jeraine. He’s blind now. Handsome as
hell?”
    Jeraine nodded.
    “ Before you ask, he dated
your mother when she was in high school,” Scary Andy said. “They’ve
been friends ever since.”
    “ He did?” Schmidty
asked.
    “ Ask her,” Scary Andy
said. “But you’d better hurry. We’re almost here.”
    Schmidty looked at his phone and then at
Andy. He nodded and put his phone away.
    “ Good choice,” Scary Andy
said. “Okay, this is how this goes down. We’ve got access to the
secure garage under the court house. The judge you were scheduled
with is a little too media friendly for our taste. A motion was
already filed to switch judges. Your judge today will call you when
the courtroom is clear.”
    “ How . . .?” Schmidty asked.
    “ You think those judges
want to piss us off?” Scary Andy asked. “What are they going to do
when some asshole tries to kill them or comes after their
family?”
    “ Call the Denver Police?”
Schmidty asked. Jeraine nodded.
    “ And who do the police
call when it’s too much?” Scary Andy asked. “It’s quid pro quo,
like you lawyers say.”
    As the limousine passed the courthouse, they
could see that it was mobbed. A long line of fans waited to get in.
Television vans lined the street. In groups of three, reporters,
videographers, and their producers lined up on the sidewalk to file
their stories on pop star Jeraine Wilson’s custody issues.
    Surrounded by television cameras, Annette
stood on the corner. Her mouth was moving and the cameras were
picking up every word. Her hair was perfectly coiffed. She wore a
designer outfit and five-inch heels. But her face showed the wear
of someone who’d been crying all night. The men couldn’t help but
gawk at her as the limousine turned the corner.
    “ That’s what crazy looks
like,” Scary Andy said. “You were really going to divorce hot
Tanesha for that? You’re dumber than you look.”
    “ Where’s Jabari?” Jeraine
asked, rather than dignify Andy’s question with a response.
“Where’s my son? The social worker was going
to . . .”
    “ He’s with his social
worker and lawyer,” Scary Andy said. “They are secured. Jabari is
playing with JJ while the social worker speaks with JJ’s
grandmother.”
    “ You’ve done a lot,”
Schmidty said.
    “ This is not our first
rodeo.” Scary Andy shrugged. “Here’s how this goes: You don’t go
anywhere without me. Period. I don’t care if you have to piss or
you just gotta have some groupies.”
    “ I don’t do that anymore,”
Jeraine said.
    “ You just remember, I go
where you go. Got it?”
    Jeraine nodded.
    “ Good,” Scary Andy
said.
    The limousine pulled up to a metal garage
door, and stopped. The garage door rolled up and the limousine
drove into the underground parking garage. The driver parked next
to a man and a woman. The man opened the limousine door. Scary Andy
got out and closed the door.
    “ Scary,” Schmidty said in
a low tone so only Jeraine could hear him.
    Jeraine nodded. They waited another few
minutes before Scary Andy opened the door.
    “ Time to move,” Scary Andy
said.
    Jeraine followed Schmidty out of the limo.
The man and woman stood to either side of them and Scary Andy stood
in front of him.
    “ You’d better be able to
roll,” Scary Andy said. “This shit is going down right now. The
judge got