Page 23 of Drifter (Redemption Riders #2)

I Promised

Drifter

G ordon is in for the night, per the Devil Sins members parked outside his estate. Once their president heard about Sasha’s plight and also found a way to add revenue to their club by becoming a shareholder, they offered their assistance in a big way.

The Pride brothers, Orion and Wildcard, are deep into helping us as well. Wildcard is monitoring Gordon’s phone and email, while Orion is going to shut down the security cameras and walk us through the layout of the building, where Simon is waiting for us.

Simon has been in his father’s office hundreds of times, but I’m not even sure he knows how paranoid Gordon is. There’s a whole other level of secrecy with a system that would challenge any hacker, unless you’re Orion, of course. I’m sure as hell glad Orion’s on our side.

Right on schedule, Simon’s waiting by the side entrance door to let us in. With me are Hawk and Motown.

“This way,” Simon says, indicating the hall to the left. “The guard is doing his rounds on the other side of the building. We have about twenty minutes before he swings back this way.”

It was going to be just Motown and me, but Hawk insisted on being with us. I wanted to keep him out of it, but true to form, he said, “I wouldn’t ask any man to do what I’m not willing to do.” So, here he is.

Motown has a hidden talent that we don’t talk about much that may come in handy. There’s a lot about my brother that very few are aware of. I’m honored that he trusts me enough to share his past with me. But, as is our way, it’s Motown’s story to share, and he will when he’s good and ready.

We all have earpieces connected to Orion, who guides us through the maze of cameras lining the halls.

“All right, men, this is a matter of timing. I don’t want to shut off any cameras until it’s absolutely necessary.

We don’t want to tip off the guards. The cameras move from one side to the other every ten seconds to scan the area.

One at a time, you move on my command. Tell Simon to get to the end of the hall and look at his phone and check his email.

Wildcard sent him an inquiry that looks legit.

If anyone checks it, it’ll all be on the up and up,” Orion tells us.

I relay the message to Simon, who follows the plan to the letter. Meanwhile, Orion gets us through the series of hallways that lead to the elevator. This takes us to the upper management office space.

“This is my office,” Simon utters, and begins to move past it, when Orion speaks up.

“Simon goes to his office and stays put until you come and get him. This is where it gets tricky, and he’s not trained for this shit,” Orion says.

“Sit tight in your office,” Hawk tells him. “Your job is to play it cool and work overtime, just like we planned.”

We already know from the schematic where Gordon’s office is, but Simon says, “That’s Dad’s office.

The key is a code. It automatically locks at six o’clock if Dad forgets, but he never forgets.

Even his assistant doesn’t have the code.

I needed to get in there once for a file, and he had to call me with the code, and the very same day, changed it. ”

“Go about your business and let us do our thing,” I tell him.

He goes into his office, but before shutting the door, he says, “Good luck.”

“You’re on,” I tell Orion.

“Right, brothers. Here’s where it gets interesting.

McGrath has several booby traps in front of his office.

A light will flash when someone is right in front of his office door.

I can shut it down, but the code has to be correct, and you’re going to get one chance because I can only interrupt the feed for three to five seconds.

Once inside, stand right inside the door and do not move until I loop the feed that will show an empty office on the screens in the security room.

I can’t help you with the desk, though, so if he’s got that rigged, you’ll have to get creative.

But War’s here, and if you send us a pic, then he might be able to help,” Orion informs us.

“The code?” Hawk asks.

“Seven, six, nine, three, seven,” Orion chirps in my ear.

Motown is the first to figure it out. “Power.” Yeah, he’s quick like that. His mind works like that. “Fucker thinks he’s got the power. Well, let’s see if we can change that,” he says with steely determination.

We wait for the signal, then we all move quickly. Hawk hits the code pad; with a soft click, the door lock releases. We file through and stand perfectly still, waiting for the next step. Orion tells us it’s safe to move around the room.

We work in the dark with flashlights, dividing the room into sections.

Motown takes the bookcase; Hawk is at the bar.

Yeah, a fucking bar in his office, and I take the desk.

Before touching the desk, I move the chair back and look under it.

Orion’s admonition to be careful echoes through my head.

We’ve come this far; I don’t want to leave empty-handed.

The top two drawers on either side have locking mechanisms. They look harmless, but my gut tells me otherwise.

“Sending a photo,” I say to Orion. I take out my phone, snap, and send.

“Okay. Got it,” he answers, then I hear him direct his question to War. “What do you think?”

“Give me a sec.” That’s War’s low voice I hear in the background. “It’s a decoy. He wants you to play with the locks to waste time. Whatever he’s hiding is not in his desk. This is your last resort,” War says.

“Got that?” Orion asks.

“I heard him.” I sigh. Fuck! I promised Sasha, and I can’t go back on my promise.

“Yo, guys!” Motown turns to us with a wicked grin. “I think I found our answer.”

I move to him, and Hawk asks, “Whatcha got?” as he steps closer.

“Behind the bookshelf is hollow. Listen,” Motown taps the wood panel where he removed the books. “I have a gut feeling there’s something behind this.”

Both Hawk and I start searching for a button or a trigger. I run my hands along the side panel of the bookshelf and notice where the smoothness of the wood looks more worn. I flash my light on it and see what we’re looking for.

“I think I’ve got it. Stand back,” I say.

Hawk nods and steps back, Motown following suit. This has to be it, I silently plead. The bookcase slides open to reveal a door. The good news is there’s a hidden door; the bad news, it’s a keypad, and where are we going to find the combination?

“Shit!” I spit out.

Automatically, Orion chirps in my ear. “What is it?”

“The door has a keypad,” I tell him.

“We have two options. One, take a picture of the keypad and see what numbers are most worn, and we’ll comb through to find possible matches,” Orion says.

“That’ll take a year,” Motown jumps in.

“Or, I hack into the system that installed it and find out how to change the code. Bad news is, you won’t have long to get the evidence to the feds, and McGrath is going to know about this sooner rather than later.

He’s a paranoid fuck with reason, because he’s as dirty as they come, and I’ll bet you my last buck that he hits that room every morning like clockwork,” Orion adds.

“Can we buy ourselves some time? Keep him out of the office somehow?” Motown asks.

“Give me a minute?” Hawk heads to the door. He looks over his shoulder, giving the order. “For now, concentrate on the combination. I’m going to see if I can come up with a plan to keep McGrath busy for a day.”

I send a picture to Orion, and I can hear him talking with Wildcard and typing furiously away while Hawk is gone. The minutes tick away, and it feels like hours. Motown is pacing the room, and I’m becoming more and more frustrated.

When the office door clicks open, Hawk comes in with Simon right after him. “I’ve got a plan, but you’re not going to like it,” Hawk states.

“I can get a meeting for Dad off-site. I can set up a day where we’re out with clients. But no matter what, he’ll want to come back to the office at some point. He always does, and there’s nothing I’d be able to do about that. Unless…” Simon looks at Hawk.

“Look, the only reason we can see McGrath opting to go elsewhere is if Sasha decides to show up for a family dinner,” Hawk says.

“No fucking way! I’m not putting her in the same room with the guy who tried to kidnap her the other day. That’s fucked!” I growl.

“I’ll be there,” Simon starts.

“No offense, man but this hasn’t gone well for her in the past,” I point out.

“Then you come too,” he offers.

“Do you think daddy dearest will go for that? I doubt it,” I say.

“I can set it up. Tell him that she’s willing to come if her boyfriend can come along,” Simon answers.

“You’ll have backup, brother. Men will be posted around the property. We’ll be right outside if shit goes south,” Hawk adds.

“I promised her she’d never have to see him again. I’m not going back on my word,” I state.

“She’ll want to do this if it means being clear of him forever. It buys us enough time to get the shares we need and we can hand him and the Russians over to the feds. It’s a win-win,” Motown says quietly.

“I promised,” I grit out.

Hawk pulls out his phone, and before I know what’s happening, he says, “Ginger, hand the phone to Sasha.” There’s a slight pause before he says, “No, babe. We’re fine.

Need to talk with her, like now.” It’s only a second before he says, “Drifter’s not going to ask, but I am.

We’re so fucking close to taking your father down, but we have a problem.

” He tells her about the situation we’re up against. And when he’s done, he says, “Putting you on speaker. Say that again, Sasha.”

“Drifter, are you listening?”

“Yeah, sunshine, but you don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way,” I tell her, staring at the phone in Hawk’s palm.

“I want to do this. If he allows you to come, then I know you and Simon will protect me. Hawk’s going to have the place surrounded, and I trust your brothers.

They’re your family, and they won’t let anything happen to you or me.

I’m stronger than I look, and with you beside me, we’re invincible.

Say yes, handsome. Then we can both be free. ”

I take the phone from Hawk, taking it off speaker. “I promised you?—”

“Yeah, and you’re keeping your promise. I’m offering,” she says, cutting me off, then adds in her sweet, calm voice, “Please. Let me do this for us.”

“You humble me, my love. I swear, I’ll die before he hurts you again. He tries one thing, and I’ll cut off his hands.”

“I’ll buy a switchblade,” she says to lighten the mood. “Get Simon to set it up. Get done what you’re doing and come home to me. Love you, Axel.”

“Love you, sunshine.” I hang up and turn to Hawk. “I want the estate surrounded. I don’t care how many markers I’ll owe. Sasha needs to be safe.”

“Redemption Riders will make it right. They’re not your markers, they’re ours. Sasha belongs to us,” Hawk replies. He turns to Simon. “Set it up now.” Simon leaves immediately to make it happen. When he’s gone, he speaks into the earpiece. “Time to open that door, Orion. Let’s do this.”

“Already on it, my friend,” Orion answers.

Guard

I’ve been sitting quietly in the room with Orion and Wildcard.

Hawk’s a proud man, and asking for help from the clubs around him took effort.

The Redemption Riders are a good, solid club with dedicated and loyal brothers who are fighting the biggest battle with themselves.

Pride can be both a good and bad quality.

Hawk is a great president, but he still has that one lesson to learn.

It gives me hope to hear him say that he’ll take on markers to help his club.

Hawk hates to be indebted to anyone, but knowing he’s willing to ask for help to protect his own family means a lot.

Drifter’s a man who is hell-bent on believing he’s got to take care of everyone in the club.

Being the VP can be just as stressful as being the leader.

This is because the VP protects his president with everything he’s got.

From the moment I met Drifter, I knew he’d be that man.

He’d take a bullet for any of his brothers, and his lesson to learn is that they’d take a bullet for him or his woman, Sasha.

“Call the Pride together,” I say to War, who is standing by my side.

“You don’t have to. They’ll all agree.” I look up at him curiously, and he grins slyly. “Been with you a lifetime, my friend. No marker, right.”

I smile back at him but remain silent. Orion lifts his hand in the air and gives a thumbs-up. Wildcard does the same. My heart swells. These men are fierce and scary as fuck when necessary, but their hearts are pure gold.

“Everyone has a say. It’s our way,” I tell War.

“Fine, but it’s a waste of time. I’ll get their votes, and anyone who doesn’t want in can step back.

Demon is on track to get the board to sell their shares.

Two other clubs are in. Some of the others want a piece but were too slow to make a decision.

The Pride has a chunk, and Demon is racking up a fair bit for himself. Fucker is a billionaire!” War jokes.

“You’re a billionaire too!” I tease. Between the shop, the parts store, his role in the security companies he’s started, and Maddie’s stardom with the Smoking Guns, they’re set for life.

This is the way for all the Satan’s Pride brothers. We work hard, ride free, and live life. I want this for Hawk and his men. Drifter said he made Sasha a promise, and I made one too. I promised to guide Hawk and the Redemption Riders to a brotherhood. They think my job is over, but it’s not.