Page 12 of Drifter
“And just saying, this guy’s going to pay for what he did,” I announce. Sasha looks worried, but Simon has a satisfying smirk on his face.
“I want a piece of that fucker,” Simon interjects. “The only reason the man’s still alive is because of Sasha.”
“They’re powerful men. Dad would never back you up, and both of us would suffer. You’ve worked too hard to have your legacy taken from you, and I’ve worked too long and hard to build a quiet life for myself to have them destroy it,” Sasha cuts in.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Sash? He fucking touched your wrist Saturday night, and you froze. Within seconds, Sutton made you relive that night,” Simon says harshly, and when his sister shrinks back, he lowers his voice. “I’m so proud of you. You’re so strong, but, sis, he still lives in your head. I want him out of your life completely. I want our father out of our lives too. He’s just as much to blame as Sutton. As for the business, I don’t give a shit if I have to start over someplace else. Dad can have his damn investment company.”
“There’s no way, Simon. You’ve worked your ass off,” Sasha insists. “You’re the best there is.”
“Then I’ll find another company that’ll hire me,” he counters.
“Dad will make it impossible for you to find anything on this continent, and you know it.”
“I fucking hate him and everything he stands for!” Simon curses.
I listen, taking in all that they’re saying. It seems that a private conversation with Simon is necessary. There’s no love lost between father and son, which makes me wonder why he works for him. But I look on and see that Sasha is getting upset, so I intervene.
“We’re not going to solve this right now. Let’s slow things down.” I take down a couple of mugs from the cupboard and fill them with the freshly brewed coffee, then hand one to each of them. “Coffee makes everything better,” I tease. Sasha rewards me with a gleaming grin, and Simon manages a chuckle as well.
I comment on the car, a new Mercedes, that Simon is driving, and get on the topic of cars. It’s safe enough, and one thing leads to another. We talk about our favorite sports teams. Simon’s a fairly easy-going guy when the conversation doesn’t stray toward a discussion about his parents, much like Sasha.
Simon is hanging out with Sasha and me when Hawk and Etain make an appearance. Sasha introduces her brother to her best friends and her man, and immediately, Simon sees the patch on Hawk’s jacket.
“Hey, man, you’re part of an MC?” Simon asks Hawk.
“I’m the president of the Redemption Riders.” Hawk lifts his chin toward me. “Drifter is my VP.”
Before Simon can say a word, Sasha jumps in. “I told you about the Redemption Riders a while ago. Remember?”
“Well, yeah, but I didn’t realize how involved you are with the club,” her brother answers.
“I’m not involved.” She shakes her head, completely unaware of how very involved she is now that she’s my woman. To Simon’s credit, he seems to know more than his sister, and he stares at her like she’s nuts.
“Your brother’s right, babe. Being with me means you’re part of the club and under our protection. It also means that we take care of our own,” I tell her.
“Okay, but I don’t go to your secret meetings or fight bad guys,” Sasha says.
Hawk chuckles and sputters, “Secret meetings?”
“Etain says that you have meetings and no one except club members can go.”
“True. We try to keep club business away from our women. But I’m not going to lie to you, Sasha, danger is a part of being in the club life. It’s not something we look for, but we’ll never back down,” Hawk responds. “I hope you can handle that, because it’s part of who we are, including Etain.”
“Drifter explained how important the club is to him, and if it’s important to him, then it’s important to me,” she states firmly, making me proud.
“Don’t I get a say?” Simon interjects, throwing his hands in the air. “I love my sister. I don’t want anything else to happen to her.”
That’s when I step up and have my piece. “Dr. Sutton won’t get within fifty feet of my girl. Your father better back the fuck off or I’ll tear him apart. The next time she feels obligated to go to a party and I can’t talk her out of it, I’ll be by her side, and if Sutton reaches out to touch her, I’ll cut off his hand. This nightmare ends for Sasha now.”
Simon looks stunned at first, then his wicked grin appears. Hawk doesn’t know what we’re talking about, but from the short description, he concludes that unwanted advances were made toward Sasha. That causes him to frown. He’ll be nearly as furious as I was when he knows the situation. Etain doesn’t seem surprised by what I just shared, which means the women have talked.
“Our father is—” Sasha starts.
“No one hurts you again. Powerful or not, your dad needs to stop. He’s using you and Simon to look good in front of his friends with zero regard for what you’ve been through, and continues to emotionally blackmail your brother to keep him under his thumb. Simon can make his own decisions and either work with us to end this or keep on doing what he’s doing. But the second you agreed we were an us, your father will need to play by our rules, and Sutton is history.” I lay it out plain as day.
“If you can do all that, then I’m in,” Simon declares. “Word of warning, my father doesn’t play fair. He’s devious and manipulative. He’s destroyed companies, uncaring of who else suffered in the process, and he won’t give a second thought to destroying you too.”
Hawk answers on my behalf. “Drifter is a Redemption Rider. If your father is stupid enough to take on the Riders, he’s taking on hundreds of men from all the clubs we work with. Let him come for us. I relish the idea of putting a jackass in his place.”
