Page 19 of Drifter
“Go, brother!” he urges. “I’m sending Motown into the city to see what he can find out and paying another visit to the PI. Maybe he needs a little more incentive to jog his memory. Something tells me that he didn’t tell us everything. Then I’ll get Orion a copy of this shit. I suggest we get hold of Simon and let him in on what we’ve found. We may need him to get us into his father’s office to take a look around.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “Shit’s worse than we thought.” I stare directly into Hawk’s eyes. “I can’t lose her.”
“Not fucking happening!” he replies with steely determination.
“Do I tell her what we found?” I look between Hawk and Etain.
It’s Etain who answers. “Yes. She’s stronger and smarter than you know. Sasha won’t like it, but it’ll mean she’ll keep her guard up.”
Chapter 10
Walk on the Wild Side
Drifter
My first stop is the hardware store, and my first call is to Risk for advice on a security system. Within minutes of completing our call, War, the big man who protects Maddie from the Smoking Guns, who also happens to be his wife, calls me and says he’s coming down tomorrow and is going to install a new system.
War is a man of few words. He means what he says, and says what he means. He doesn’t like anyone taking advantage of women or children. When he met Maddie, she was afraid of her own shadow and was living as a recluse because a stalker had gotten to her. War brought Maddie back to the land of the living, and since then, he’s made it his mission to ensure no one gets close to his wife to hurt her again.
As I approach the front door, Declan comes to meet me. “She’s in her office,” he says quickly. “I check on her every so often.”
“Good. I’m going to pop my head in, then we’re replacing the locks,” I tell him, which results in a quizzical expression. “Tomorrow, War’s coming to enhance the security.”
“Fuck! That’s serious,” Declan responds.
After letting Sasha know I’m back, Declan and I get to work. Not long after we start working, I can hear Sasha rustling around in the kitchen. She puts on some music and continues, like having me in her home is an everyday occurrence, and we’ve been doing it for years.
When we go through her house, we stop at the kitchen. I see that Sasha is rolling out pastry. She carefully lays it out in a pie dish. She takes her time pinching the edges to make the perfect design, worthy of a bakery. She lifts her head long enough to say, “Don’t leave without the pie for the guys at the club.”
“Thanks, Sasha. I’m sure the guys will appreciate it,” Declan responds with a grin.
She beams a smile back at him. “I have to treat my bodyguard right, or he may not show up for work tomorrow,” she teases. Sasha’s light shines bright, and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her. But I learned long ago that power-hungry people with inflated egos exist and don’t care who they trample to get what they want. Sasha’s eyes catch mine. “Don’t worry, handsome, ours is up next.” She goes back to the task at hand.
Declan and I finish up. I send him along to make another set of keys, and by the time he gets back, Sasha has the pie ready for him to take to the club. I send Declan back to the compound and tell him to grab an overnight bag and toss in what I need, because I’m not leaving Sasha alone tonight.
I’m trying to decide on the right time to fill Sasha in on what we know. I don’t want to freak her out, and yet, it’s important to stay alert. I put off telling her until after we’ve had our dinner with Hawk and Etain.
I send a text to Simon, telling him we need to talk urgently. He answers within minutes and asks for a time and place. I send him the address of a diner not far from here and ask when he can meet. He replies to say he can be there for noon tomorrow. I confirm with him, and after my conversation with Sasha tonight, she can decide whether she wants to come with me.
Hawk picks up our order from the Mexican Paradise restaurant and shows up with Etain. He hands the food to Sasha and my overnight bag to me. Sasha sees the bag and says, “Put that in the bedroom, handsome.”
Sasha is unique. She’s a down-to-earth, happy woman who bakes and does yoga. And at the same time, she’s a savvy businesswoman who has managed to secure her future by working hard. Yet, she still finds time to visit the seniors’ residence and is the first to welcome a new family into the community.
Dinner with Etain and Hawk is easy. Etain and Sasha talk about their day, and Sasha is excited to start a new project with an Italian company that is looking to expand in the robotics industry and needs Sasha’s assistance with their plan.
It never ceases to amaze me how much I don’t know about her. I’m going to love finding out all I can.
Sasha
Drifter’s spending the night. When I saw his overnight bag, my belly did a little flip-flop. An excited, nervous energy comes over me. Normally, time with Etain is something I look forward to, but tonight, I’m looking forward to Hawk and Etain going home so I can be alone with Drifter.
Once our guests are gone, Drifter takes my hand and sits me back down on the sofa.
“It kills me to have to bring this up after a good night, but part of who I am is being honest,” he starts. I stay quiet and let him go on. “You know about the PI.” He hesitates and waits for me to nod. “He took pictures. Random shots, but they include photos of you in your bedroom. You can’t see anything except a silhouette, but it doesn’t feel good. I’ve got a brother paying another visit to the PI, and I have a meeting set up with Simon to get a plan together. We meet tomorrow at noon. In the meantime, the locks are upgraded, and I have a buddy from Satan’s Pride coming to upgrade the security tomorrow.”
“My father’s trying to scare me to go home,” I tell him. “It’s not going to work. I can’t live like that, and I won’t.”
“I hate to say it, but I think your dad’s into some shady shit.” He releases a heavy breath, “I wanna stay the night.”
