Page 11 of Drifter (Redemption Riders #2)

Redemption and Pride

Drifter

I wait for Sasha to lock the door. A reminder that I have to stop off at the hardware store in town to get new locks. I get to my bike and pull my phone out of my pocket to call Shooter.

He answers on the first ring. “Hey, brother, what do you need?”

“I need a prospect to keep watch over Sasha’s place. What do they have on for today?”

“Nothing that can’t be changed. I’ll get someone over there right away,” Shooter responds.

“I don’t want Sasha to know. If someone comes to her door, I want to be notified immediately. If it gets nasty, then they’re to keep her safe until I get to her.”

There’s a pause. Then he asks, “Do we get to know more?”

“Hawk and I are coming to the shop,” I say.

Shooter immediately understands what this means.

Hawk is going to call church and lay it all out.

As a club, we decided to call a meeting whenever a situation involving a brother arises.

Although I know the guys would never leave anything hanging, it’s still the rules we put together to make sure we’re all accountable and have a say in what happens next.

“Is it serious?” Shooter asks.

“Serious to me.”

“Then it’s serious.” Shooter sighs. “I’ll get a man over to Sasha’s. He’ll stay in the shadows unless necessary. No worries, brother, we got this.”

We hang up as I watch Hawk and Etain drive away.

It takes all of fifteen minutes for Declan, one of the newest prospects, to show.

He knows Sasha well. Being part of Hawk’s crew and Etain’s friend means he and the other members of the Redemption Riders hang around a lot, and whenever the women are out on their own, either Declan or Lee, our other prospect, is on their tail.

“Keep her safe,” I tell Declan as I get on my bike.

“You can count on me,” Declan replies. He’s a good man.

Does what he’s told and never complains.

He’s a damn fine worker too. He’s a great negotiator, and after Etain found all the inconsistencies in pricing for the parts we buy from our vendors, Declan was appointed as the official purchaser for the club.

Declan takes his job seriously, and if there’s money to be saved, he’ll find a way.

When the time comes, I’ll be the first to give my approval for Declan to be patched as a full club member.

Lee is our other prospect. He and Declan are close and came to the club at the same time.

I had some concerns at first about Lee. He would hardly speak to any of us, and Declan served as his mouthpiece.

I didn’t like it one bit. After finding a traitor among us a while back, I’m wary of anyone who comes into the club.

Lee’s silence wasn’t sitting well with me.

I shared my concerns with Hawk, who met with Lee.

It wasn’t long after that that Lee came to find me and asked for a private talk.

We rode for hours before he motioned for us to pull over. When we did, he opened up to me and asked me to give him time before he shares his situation with the other brothers. Hawk, Declan, and I are the only people he’s spoken to, and he wants to keep it that way for now.

I accept his need for privacy, but in a club, trust is everything.

I explained that if I’m feeling apprehensive, then the other brothers might be feeling that way as well.

Lee’s done whatever’s asked of him, and when shit was bad with the Jackals, he was all in.

Lee and Declan protected Etain fiercely and have proven time and time again that they belong with the Redemption Riders.

Leaving Declan behind to watch over Sasha, I head into the shop. Hawk is already waiting for me, with Etain sitting safely behind the desk in his office.

“The men are waiting in the back room,” Hawk says as I go over to him.

He leads the way into the soundproof room we built.

Club business is private. Even Etain, although she’s Hawk’s old lady, isn’t privy to our discussions.

As a rule, we believe in keeping our ladies out of club affairs.

Etain works with the finances of our shop.

We plan to open another shop soon, but first on the horizon is a tattoo parlour for Phantom.

I follow Hawk into the room and firmly shut the door behind me. Hawk wastes no time in calling the meeting.

“I called this meeting so Drifter can have a word,” Hawk says, and turns to me. “Lay it out, brother.”

“I’m making Sasha my old lady. I made it official with Sasha, and she understands the man I am and what the club means to me,” I tell them.

Several comments of “About fucking time” and “Lucky bastard” are heard throughout the room, causing me to grin.

I was fighting a losing battle keeping Sasha at a distance.

All it did was make me more frustrated with each passing day.

“Happy for you, man,” comes from Shooter. “She’s a good woman.”

“Yeah, she is. It’s part of the reason I asked for this meeting. Sasha was assaulted when she was sixteen. She left home and settled in town to get away from her fucked-up parents. She’s looking for peace. Ninety percent of the time, she gets it, but that other ten percent is pure hell,” I begin.

“Assaulted how?” comes from Decker.

“If her brother hadn’t come running, she would have been raped.” A round of explicit swearing resonates around the room.

“Let’s go teach the fucker a lesson,” comes from Titan. Titan has zero patience for any man who abuses women. He’s ready to storm out and dish out his own brand of justice.

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” I answer.

“It always is,” Shooter says with a heavy sigh, waiting for the rest.

“It seems that her father is best friends with this guy, and he takes his side over Sasha’s.

Her brother works for their father, but the father told Simon to keep quiet or he’d make sure Simon never works around here again.

Sasha wants her brother close, and to keep the peace, she attends galas and events only when necessary.

Every time she shows up, Dr. Sutton is there to remind her of what he did to her.

He revels in the fact that there isn’t a damn thing she can do without putting Simon in danger of losing his career.

Saturday night, she and Simon went to a function, and Sutton touched her wrist. Simon slapped it away, but it set Sasha off.

Her brother doesn’t care about his career and is willing to leave the company, but it’s not what Sasha wants.

Simon blames their father as much as Dr. Sutton.

I want them both out of Sasha’s and Simon’s lives. ”

“I’m surprised Simon hasn’t killed them both,” Shooter responds.

“If it weren’t for Sasha, he’d be in prison serving time for killing the bastard. Sasha had to stop Simon from beating on Sutton,” I say.

“The question now is, are we in or out?” Hawk asks.

Unanimously, they voice that they’re willing to take this on. Now we formulate a plan.

The secret to creating a good plan is in the information.

Unfortunately, what we have is limited data.

Times like this, I wish we had an IT guru like the Satan’s Pride brothers have.

Unfortunately, no such man has come along to join the Redemption Riders yet.

It’ll happen, but even then, it’ll take two years of prospecting before we entrust them with any confidential information pertaining to club business.

Although Guard and the Pride are ready to assist at any time, Hawk likes to keep our business to ourselves. In this case, though, it’s not possible, so when the meeting is over, he and I go to his office to make the call.

Guard answers on the first ring. “Been a while, Hawk. How’s everything going with the Riders?

” he asks. If it weren’t for Guard, we’d still be trying to figure out how the club could come together.

Guard has been Hawk’s mentor, but also so much more to all of us.

He’s a man of honor, and so are the men who follow his lead in the Pride.

“Life is good, brother. How’s everything with the Pride family?

” Hawk returns. The Pride is truly a family, as are we.

Guard taught us that a club is a bunch of members coming together for a common goal.

A family is hearts and souls bonding and being ready to protect one another without a second thought.

“Can’t complain. The men are good if their women are good. Blade recently found himself an old lady, and I gotta say it works for him. Speaking of old ladies, how’s Etain doing?” Guard asks.

“Etain is fantastic. She’s taking to the life of our MC world easier than I thought. Between working at the shop and her studies, she’s busy as hell, but with Etain, that’s the best way for her to be.” Hawk chuckles.

“As long as she has time for you,” Guard counters and laughs.

“That she does. I make sure of it,” Hawk says.

“It sounds like it’s all coming together for the Riders, but something tells me this isn’t completely a social call.

” Guard has this sixth sense. It’s both eerie and insightful.

Sometimes I wish I had his vision for what’s about to happen, but then again, there have been situations for the Pride when even knowing what was coming down the pipe didn’t make it easier to deal with the situation.

“Drifter’s with me. He’s also found himself a woman. Her name is Sasha,” Hawk starts, then Guard quickly jumps in.

“Hey, Drifter, took you long enough, man. She may be nothing like you, but that’s exactly what you need,” he says. Guard’s never met Sasha that I know of; this is where the eerie part comes in. How does he know that she’s my opposite?

“You freak me out, Guard,” I tell him. I don’t ever hide what I’m thinking from Guard because he can sense when I hold back and draws it out of me anyway.

I learned a long time ago to be me. Love me or hate me, it’s your choice.

If you respect me, you get the same back.

Experience has taught me to keep it simple.

Guard laughs, then asks, “What can the Pride help the Riders with?”

“Sasha’s got a complicated family. Her father’s an asshole and has her brother tied up in their investment business,” I begin.

“So tell him to get out. Have him join the Riders and use his expertise to make your club a whole lot of money,” Guard says.

“It’s not as easy as that, ”Hawk says. “Years ago, Sasha was attacked in her own home by her father’s best friend, a doctor.

Good old Dad took the doctor’s side. Her brother, Simon, heard the shouting and ran to her room before Sutton raped her.

He was beating the shit out of the guy when Sasha pulled him off. ”

“Fucker needs a lesson,” Guard replies gruffly.

“So does her father,” I add. “Sasha is terrified of losing her brother so she doesn’t make waves.

Her father’s come over to her house a couple of times, banging on her door and making a scene.

She never lets him in, but it does a number on her.

However, her father insists on her attending certain events and threatens Simon if she doesn’t attend.

The other night, Simon and Sasha went to some gala, and the doctor was there.

He had the balls to reach out and touch her, and that sent Sasha into a spiral.

I don’t want this for my woman or her brother. Simon seems like a decent guy.”

“There’s more to this story. What hold does his father have over Simon? It’s making them both puppets on a string. And he pulls those strings to remind himself he has control,” Guard answers.

“Exactly. Sutton is easy to dispose of, but before we make a move, I need to know everything there is to know about the situation,” I say.

“Text me names and whatever you’ve got. Orion and Wildcard will get on it.

It’ll take a couple of days, but we’ll get you what you need.

And you’re right not to make a move. Sutton’s a fuckwad and needs to pay, but I have a sense that her father is a bigger fucker.

He’s into way more than investments,” Guard says.

“What do you mean?” Hawk asks, confused. I’m just as much at a loss.

“I don’t know yet, men, but Redemption Riders and Satan’s Pride will figure it out,” Guard concludes.

After our call, I’m not sure if I feel better or worse. Having the Pride’s help is always good, but it seems like Mr. McGrath is more than an asshole dad.