Page 21 of Drifter (Redemption Riders #2)

Stepping It Up

Drifter

L istening to Sasha’s heart-wrenching speech to her father broke my heart.

Gordon McGrath is a cruel human being, and I’ve seen many of them in my day.

My normal reaction would be to end their sorry excuse for a life, but this is different, and I have to consider how this will affect Sasha and Simon.

Gordon came prepared for a confrontation, and although Gordon didn’t get the result he was hoping for, he walked away believing he had the upper hand.

It’s good that Etain arrived. She has a way with Sasha and is keeping her busy while Hawk and I talk.

“He’s getting out of control,” I tell Hawk.

“I agree,” he answers. “He’s going to pay for what he did to Lee.

” No one fucks with Hawk’s men. Loyalty starts with our president.

If a club brother is attacked, it means the entire club has been attacked.

The only recourse is retribution. Typically, this would be a physical battle, but in this case, Gordon’s going to see what the Redemption Riders are capable of in other ways.

“I gave Simon the condensed version of what happened. He’s furious.

He should be here soon. He’s making arrangements to work late tomorrow night and will get us into the building and into his father’s office. ”

“That’ll be good,” I mumble, looking over my shoulder to check on Sasha. “I’ve never seen Sasha like that. She’s been living this nightmare too long.”

“Hang tight, brother. Having an alarm system is great, but we learned today that we need to have more than one man on the job. Lee’s fine, but I don’t want a repeat of today,” Hawk says.

“Once Simon gets us inside the building, Orion is going to disarm the camera feed and alarms in McGrath’s office.

That’ll give us plenty of time to search the place. ”

“What if we don’t find anything?” I ask.

“Then we find a way onto the estate and search the place. There’s good news,” he says with a grin.

“I can use some,” I respond with a heavy sigh.

“Simon handed over a list of board members and the shareholders’ list for the company. Orion’s done some digging, so we have leverage to entice several to sell their shares,” Hawk says.

I raise my brows in surprise. “Yeah?”

“Many of the investors are not the upstanding societal members they claim to be.” His grin gets broader.

“Motown, Decker, and Shooter will be making their move. Demon from the Pride brothers is going to be working with them. First step is to free Simon and get rid of the constant threat to Sasha. Then we find the proof and find a way to get it to the proper authorities to shut down the Russians. Then we take care of Dr. Edgar Sutton,” Hawk states with confidence.

Later that evening, the Redemption Rider brothers are hanging out at Sasha’s.

There’s pizza and beer in abundance, and the guys added several more items to the menu in the way of wings, nachos, and whatever else caught their fancy.

They make themselves comfortable wherever they find a place to sit.

Some are on the floor, others in chairs, and they’re chatting up Etain and Sasha, keeping their minds off what happened earlier.

Simon is with us, and after getting the details of his father’s assault on Sasha, he blew a gasket and is ready to walk away from the company completely.

Hawk keeps Simon on track. “If you walk away now, we won’t be able to find the evidence we need to end the Russian bullshit that’s going on.

There’s no guarantee that your father will stop putting pressure on either of you.

You have to see it through, just like we planned,” Hawk states calmly and matter-of-factly.

“I’m not sure how I can look at him after today,” Simon grits out, his hands clenched into fists.

“You’ll do it because in the end, you and Sasha will be free of his reign of tyranny,” I remind him. “You’ll get to show your capabilities and make the clubs a ton of money. Sasha will get to live her life without fear. It works. We’ve got to stick to the plan.”

“What about Sutton?” Simon asks. “He shouldn’t get away with what he’s put Sasha through.”

“He won’t,” I answer, but I don’t offer any further information.

Simon looks at me, and I can see the thoughts whirling through his head.

“Sasha’s my woman, my love. I’m not a good man, Simon.

I probably don’t even deserve Sasha, but I’m in love with her, and I can’t let her go.

She loves me. If God has shone his light on me and given me this gift, there’s not a damn way in hell I won’t protect her.

If that means getting rid of scum, then so be it.

Sutton should be in prison, at the very least. The fact that he still thinks he’s going to get to Sasha and is blackmailing her father to find a way to make that happen, that’s signed his death warrant. ”

Hawk sucks in a breath when I mention killing off Sutton, but Simon doesn’t bat an eye. “I wanted to be the one to finish him off. I should have that right.”

“You don’t have darkness in your soul,” I tell him.

I hold up my hand to keep Simon from speaking.

“It’s a good thing, man. Ugliness has touched your world, but not the kind that can’t be healed.

I’ve seen men kill and be killed. The military doesn’t prepare you for the atrocities that occur in battle.

In my case, I see Sutton for the disgusting slimeball that he is, and I have no problem removing him from our midst. This is mine to handle, and I will. ”

“Have you told Sasha your plans for Sutton?” he asks.

“Nope. She’s an angel walking this earth, and I don’t want to taint her halo with my plans. As far as Sasha is concerned, Sutton is going to be a casualty of your father’s dealings with the Russians. Unless you plan on telling her,” I say, our eyes locking.

“I won’t tell her. You’re right. I don’t want Sasha to live with the guilt.

She already feels guilty for what happened that night, even though she was the victim.

” Simon lowers his tone, looking past me to his sister.

“You know, when Sasha was little, she was so lively and carefree. Our parents tried to turn her into a Stepford wife. Sutton might not have raped her, but he took her innocence in another way. I’m in awe of the woman she’s become, and through it all, she worries about me.

I love my sister, and if you can give her peace, then I will do whatever it takes to make sure she can be that girl again. ”

Hawk clasps a hand on Simon’s shoulder. “Enough of this for now. Join the party. Meet the guys, hang out, and have a beer.”

“Sounds good. Tomorrow?—”

“You send me a message with the burner phone I gave you with the time and where to meet. You watch the door. We’ll do the rest. We’re stepping it up, and we’ll get this done,” I say.

I find Sasha sitting on the sofa next to Etain. I motion for her to stand, then sit my ass down in her place and set her on my lap. She nuzzles into me, continuing to chat with Simon, my brothers, and Etain like nothing has happened.