Page 24 of Drifter
“The only legit business he has is the one you’re running. I wanted to give you the gist of it. I don’t want Sasha freaked anymore than she is. I have a brother kitting out her house with a security system that will be next to impossible to penetrate. I’m making her as safe as I can until this gets done. I’m going to go get Sasha, Hawk, and Etain. We’re going to focus on getting your father to relinquish the company to you. We’re keeping the whole mob shit out of it. Sasha will get all the information, but I’d rather break it to her gently.”
He nods, still bewildered by my news and trying to digest all I’ve told him. I get up and move to the door, motioning to Hawk. He climbs out of the car and opens the door for the women. Sasha bolts right to me.
“Is he here?” she asks, looking past me into the diner.
“You think your brother would skip out on an opportunity to see his sister?” I tease. I guide her to Simon’s table. Hawk moves another table over to accommodate all of us. Etain and Hawk say their hellos after Sasha hugs her brother and takes the chair across from him.
Hawk starts off. “Let me just say that Sasha is protected by the Redemption Riders, which means that you are too. We’re looking for your help because Sasha won’t make a move so that you don’t get hurt, and you’re doing the same for her. That’s admirable, but it’s getting you nowhere. We’re here to suggest a plan and get your take on it.”
“Look, I don’t care what happens to me, I just want Sasha to be able to live her life free. This has gone on for too long. I wanted to report that pedophile that night. It was Dad who refused. I wanted to take Sasha to the police station the next day, but she wouldn’t go,” Simon says, looking at his sister.
“Dad said he would send you away. I couldn’t handle that,” she says quietly. “How would I manage without you? I was still in high school. You just started college. I wasn’t going to ruin your future, and since he hadn’t actually, um, well…”
“The word is rape, sis. And he did plenty. I should have killed him that night,” Simon says venomously.
“We have to look forward,” Hawk cuts in. “Drifter, do you want to take it from here?”
“We haven’t fleshed it all out, and there’s more detail that we need to work through, but essentially, we want to buy up the remaining shares in the company. Your father owns forty-nine percent. Simon owns ten. That leaves forty-one percent that we can buy. Once we have a controlling interest, your father’s out of the company. He can collect on profit, but he no longer has control.” I lay out the plan. The other parts of the plan regarding the evidence about the Russian mob and the doctor can wait for now.
“I do well, but I don’t have that kind of money, even if I could get the other shareholders to sell,” Simon says.
“If you don’t mind several biker clubs pooling their assets as partners, then we might be able to swing it. We can also put a clause in place that you can buy back shares at the going rate once you’re in a position to do that. As for how to get the shareholders to sell, I haven’t figured it out yet, but there’s no point in pursuing this if you’re not onboard,” I reply.
“I’ve thought of this before. I just don’t have the pull. The board still thinks Dad is making all the major decisions,” Simon huffs.
“His plan is to keep you as his workhorse while he reaps the rewards. It also keeps you and Sasha in check. Puppets on a string,” Hawk adds. “It’s a good plan. I could see which clubs want a piece of the action.”
“What if they don’t want to sell? We’re making a decent profit. What’s the incentive?” Simon’s got a valid point.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. Just tell me you’re down with this and we’ll find a way,” I tell him. I look at Sasha. “You have to be good with this too.”
Sasha places her hand over mine and turns to her brother. “I’m in if you are.”
He sighs, leaning back in his chair. “You guys really think you can pull this off?”
“With your help, yeah,” I respond.
“Then let’s give it a go,” he agrees.
We spend the next hour eating and assigning tasks. Simon has the bulk of it, and that’s getting the data we need to make a move. This is far from over, but we’re digging deeper. The Redemption Riders do not go into battle without the tools we need to win, and we will win.
Chapter 13
Russian Connection
Sasha
Drifter and Hawk’s plan will be perfect if we can pull it off. Although everyone is in agreement and we’re moving ahead, I still feel like there’s something more that I don’t know. I put it out of my mind and enjoy lunch with my brother. It feels good to know that Drifter and Simon get along. Maybe a little too well, especially when the story of how I took apart Simon’s Star Wars thingy that took him two days to put together is shared with Drifter, and my man looks at me, laughing loudly.
“Are you still on about that?” I chide. “Let it go. I was five!” I raise my hands in mock frustration. “You should put your toys away if you don’t want your little sister to play with them.”
“Play with it? You took it apart, piece by piece. What’s worse, you blamed it on the cat.” Simon snickers.
“Lots of kids do that.” Etain chimes in to defend me. “You know, the my-dog-ate-my-homework bit.”
“Yeah, except we didn’t have a cat, or a dog, or a bird, or a turtle. When I pointed that out, she”—he points at his sister—“insisted it was Mrs. Weston’s cat, who lived ten houses away from us and was nearly blind and so old that she couldn’t get out of her own house, let alone into ours.” Simon laughs, and so do the others.
Drifter puts his arm around me. “Feisty from the start, eh, babe?” he says with a grin.
