Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)(150)

“Since the end of November on Mr. Hart’s weekends, he will not allow Angela to call her mother or for her mother to talk to her while she is in his custody.”

The judge looked over at Rick, as did everyone else. “Is there a reason for this, Mr. Hart?”

Rick leaned back in his chair. He was wearing a dingy white button-down with black pants, his hair brushed to the side. Heidi was nowhere to be seen, which surprised Benji. Wouldn’t she want to support him in this matter? Lucy had said she didn’t expect Heidi to be there, that she didn’t care about Angie anyway. Benji guessed she was right, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He got that Angie wasn’t Heidi’s, but she should love her. It was the right thing to do. Clearing his throat, Rick shrugged. “It’s my time, I don’t think Lucy should get to talk to her.”

“She’s her mother,” the judge reiterated.

“And I’m her father,” Rick spat back, and then his lawyer cut him a look that had Rick snapping his mouth shut.

The judge let out a long breath before waving his hand. “Continue, counselor.”

“Thank you, sir,” Mark said, moving a piece of paper around. “We ask that he should honor Angela’s wishes for her extracurricular activities. Angela is very active in the hockey community and has practice on Fridays from five to seven, and games on Saturdays. We ask that the new pickup time be at seven thirty on his weeks to allow for that. Also, he needs to either take her or allow her to be taken to games on weekends she is in his custody.”

The judge nodded, writing down the items. “Next.”

“We have submitted that Angela suffers from ADHD and is medicated, per her doctor’s orders. It has been brought to our attention that Mr. Hart will not give her the medicine she needs when she is with him. Angela has said that he locked her in a room with nothing to do, unmedicated, on one of his weekends. I have documentation from her therapist on that matter, sir,” he said, walking up and handing the judge the paper. The judge’s face reflected his annoyance as he looked over the paper and then back to Angie.

“Is this true, Angela?”

Angie nodded. “Yes.”

Scratching his head, he looked to Rick and then back to Mark. “Anything else?”

Mark glanced to Lucy and she was biting her lip. She looked as if she were going to cry, but instead, she shook her head. Mark sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. “At this time, no, sir. But if Mr. Hart proceeds with the threats he has made against my client, her significant other, and myself, then we will have more changes.”

The judge was a little taken aback as his head tilted to the side. “Threats?”

“Yes, sir. All documented,” Mark said, walking to the judge and hanging him another sheaf of papers.

He let out a long breath as he read the documents, and Benji figured he was frustrated. Like everyone else. Looking over at Rick’s lawyer, the judge asked, “Mr. Holloway, do you need a moment to speak with your client on the requested changes to Angela Hart’s parenting plan?”

The lawyer didn’t hesitate. “No, sir. My client does not want to change the parenting plan. He only wants to alter the physical custody of Angela Hart.”

The judge leaned on his hand. “How do you mean?”

Rick’s lawyer swallowed hard. “Mr. Hart would like to request full physical custody of Angela Hart.”

Benji looked at the judge as Angie asked Lucy, “What does that mean?”

But Lucy shook her head, holding Angie’s hand as Mark stood. “Judge, obviously we have a problem with that.”

“I’d say,” the judge said, letting out another breath. “Mr. Holloway, reasoning?”

Standing too, like Mark, he nodded, holding a sheet of paper in his hand. He was a small man, kind of scrawny, not sure of himself. Unlike Mark, who stood proudly and took up the whole room with his presence. It was hard not to appreciate the guy, not that Benji would make that public knowledge if he was around a Sinclair.

“My client feels that Ms. Sinclair isn’t raising Angela the way he would. He feels she is spoiled and rude. That the diagnosis they have is fake—”

“I have paperwork saying otherwise,” the judge interjected and the lawyer nodded.

“Yes, but he feels that Ms. Sinclair paid to have that written up.”

The judge looked to Mark. “Where did you get this from?”

“I had the doctors and therapist fax the paperwork to me. The cover letter is attached and the medical professionals have affixed their seal to each page.”

Man, Mark Sinclair didn’t play.

Shifting the papers around, the judge nodded. “This paperwork seems accurate to me, Mr. Holloway. Anything else?”

Rick looked pissed, probably because the judge thought he was a joke. Or maybe that was just Benji’s feeling. He wasn’t sure, but when Lucy looked back at him hopefully, he smiled.

“We got this,” he mouthed and she nodded before looking up at the judge who was waiting for the lawyer to speak.

“Yes, sir. He has an issue with Ms. Sinclair’s boyfriend, Benjamin Paxton.”

Well, shit.

He knew Rick would bring him up, but it still made his stomach drop.

“Okay? What’s the issue with him? You know what? Wait. Angela, tell me about Mr. Paxton.”