Page 9 of Drifter (Redemption Riders #2)

Men with a Purpose

Drifter

I ncessant knocking and a man’s voice calling out wake me up. I have a crick in my neck from sleeping in the same position all night. Sasha stirs in my arms. Her eyes open, bewildered, and she rubs the sleep out of them. The voice outside gets louder.

“Sasha! Open the door. It’s me, Simon. Come on, sis, I’m worried about you. You’re not answering your phone, and you’re freaking me out,” a low baritone voice utters. His fist connects with the door again.

That spurs Sasha into action. She springs up and rushes to the front door. Her cheeks are flushed and her hair is messy. She tries to flatten the fluffy strands with her palms, then runs her hands down over her creased dress. Even flustered, she’s gorgeous.

I get up and saunter to join her as she swings the door open. A very agitated man is waiting for us on the other side, his hand raised to pound on the door. He drops his fist the second he sees his sister.

“Jesus Christ!” Simon engulfs his sister in a brotherly hug. “I was worried sick. I’ve been calling and texting for hours.” It’s then that he discovers me standing behind his sister. His gaze moves from me back to Sasha. He holds on protectively to her, and I immediately know I like this guy.

I’m not a small man, and I’m at least three inches taller and bulkier than Simon. In a fight, I’d crush him, but that doesn’t stop him from taking care of his sister. I stretch out my hand. “You must be Simon. Name’s Drifter, Sasha’s boyfriend.”

Simon stares at my hand for a second before taking it, then looks down at Sasha. “Sash, something you want to tell me?”

“Come in, big brother. I’ll make coffee, and we can talk. Before you start, Drifter and I are new. Like really new! The first call I would have made was to you, to tell you about Drifter,” she replies.

Simon comes in, still holding on to his sister like he’s afraid of letting her go.

“I get that you’re protecting Sasha, and I appreciate it, but Sasha’s got nothing to fear from me.

” Simon slackens his hold. “I’ll start the coffee while you talk with your brother, babe,” I say and drop a soft kiss to Sasha’s lips.

“Thanks, handsome,” she murmurs. Simon and Sasha sit on the stools at the counter while I pour water into the coffee machine.

“Start at the beginning,” Simon says.

“I like Drifter. A lot. I thought he hated me, and it seems I got that wrong.” Then, cheekily, she turns to me and says, “However, I had every right to think he disapproved of me because he would avoid me and take off as soon as he saw me.” She giggles.

“You did the same, sunshine,” I remind her. “The universe had other plans for us, and I stopped fighting what I was feeling for Sasha.” I direct my response to Simon.

“Look, this is all pretty sudden,” Simon starts.

“He knows, Simon,” Sasha says bluntly. “I didn’t want to start a relationship with Drifter with secrets.”

“And just saying, this guy’s going to pay for what he did,” I announce. Sasha looks worried, but Simon has a satisfying smirk on his face.

“I want a piece of that fucker,” Simon interjects. “The only reason the man’s still alive is because of Sasha.”

“They’re powerful men. Dad would never back you up, and both of us would suffer. You’ve worked too hard to have your legacy taken from you, and I’ve worked too long and hard to build a quiet life for myself to have them destroy it,” Sasha cuts in.

“Do you think I’m stupid, Sash? He fucking touched your wrist Saturday night, and you froze.

Within seconds, Sutton made you relive that night,” Simon says harshly, and when his sister shrinks back, he lowers his voice.

“I’m so proud of you. You’re so strong, but, sis, he still lives in your head.

I want him out of your life completely. I want our father out of our lives too.

He’s just as much to blame as Sutton. As for the business, I don’t give a shit if I have to start over someplace else.

Dad can have his damn investment company. ”

“There’s no way, Simon. You’ve worked your ass off,” Sasha insists. “You’re the best there is.”

“Then I’ll find another company that’ll hire me,” he counters.

“Dad will make it impossible for you to find anything on this continent, and you know it.”

“I fucking hate him and everything he stands for!” Simon curses.

I listen, taking in all that they’re saying. It seems that a private conversation with Simon is necessary. There’s no love lost between father and son, which makes me wonder why he works for him. But I look on and see that Sasha is getting upset, so I intervene.

“We’re not going to solve this right now.

Let’s slow things down.” I take down a couple of mugs from the cupboard and fill them with the freshly brewed coffee, then hand one to each of them.

“Coffee makes everything better,” I tease.

Sasha rewards me with a gleaming grin, and Simon manages a chuckle as well.

I comment on the car, a new Mercedes, that Simon is driving, and get on the topic of cars.

It’s safe enough, and one thing leads to another.

We talk about our favorite sports teams. Simon’s a fairly easy-going guy when the conversation doesn’t stray toward a discussion about his parents, much like Sasha.

Simon is hanging out with Sasha and me when Hawk and Etain make an appearance. Sasha introduces her brother to her best friends and her man, and immediately, Simon sees the patch on Hawk’s jacket.

“Hey, man, you’re part of an MC?” Simon asks Hawk.

“I’m the president of the Redemption Riders.” Hawk lifts his chin toward me. “Drifter is my VP.”

Before Simon can say a word, Sasha jumps in. “I told you about the Redemption Riders a while ago. Remember?”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t realize how involved you are with the club,” her brother answers.

“I’m not involved.” She shakes her head, completely unaware of how very involved she is now that she’s my woman. To Simon’s credit, he seems to know more than his sister, and he stares at her like she’s nuts.

“Your brother’s right, babe. Being with me means you’re part of the club and under our protection. It also means that we take care of our own,” I tell her.

“Okay, but I don’t go to your secret meetings or fight bad guys,” Sasha says.

Hawk chuckles and sputters, “Secret meetings?”

“Etain says that you have meetings and no one except club members can go.”

“True. We try to keep club business away from our women. But I’m not going to lie to you, Sasha, danger is a part of being in the club life. It’s not something we look for, but we’ll never back down,” Hawk responds. “I hope you can handle that, because it’s part of who we are, including Etain.”

“Drifter explained how important the club is to him, and if it’s important to him, then it’s important to me,” she states firmly, making me proud.

“Don’t I get a say?” Simon interjects, throwing his hands in the air. “I love my sister. I don’t want anything else to happen to her.”

That’s when I step up and have my piece.

“Dr. Sutton won’t get within fifty feet of my girl.

Your father better back the fuck off or I’ll tear him apart.

The next time she feels obligated to go to a party and I can’t talk her out of it, I’ll be by her side, and if Sutton reaches out to touch her, I’ll cut off his hand. This nightmare ends for Sasha now.”

Simon looks stunned at first, then his wicked grin appears.

Hawk doesn’t know what we’re talking about, but from the short description, he concludes that unwanted advances were made toward Sasha.

That causes him to frown. He’ll be nearly as furious as I was when he knows the situation.

Etain doesn’t seem surprised by what I just shared, which means the women have talked.

“Our father is—” Sasha starts.

“No one hurts you again. Powerful or not, your dad needs to stop. He’s using you and Simon to look good in front of his friends with zero regard for what you’ve been through, and continues to emotionally blackmail your brother to keep him under his thumb.

Simon can make his own decisions and either work with us to end this or keep on doing what he’s doing.

But the second you agreed we were an us , your father will need to play by our rules, and Sutton is history. ” I lay it out plain as day.

“If you can do all that, then I’m in,” Simon declares. “Word of warning, my father doesn’t play fair. He’s devious and manipulative. He’s destroyed companies, uncaring of who else suffered in the process, and he won’t give a second thought to destroying you too.”

Hawk answers on my behalf. “Drifter is a Redemption Rider. If your father is stupid enough to take on the Riders, he’s taking on hundreds of men from all the clubs we work with. Let him come for us. I relish the idea of putting a jackass in his place.”

“This isn’t a fist fight. You don’t know him,” Simon responds.

Hawk’s devious smile tells its own story. “He doesn’t know the Redemption Riders or the men we associate with.”

Sasha comes closer to me, and I feel her arms come around my waist, squeezing to get my attention.

“I don’t care about Dad, but Simon has worked himself silly.

He deserves to reap the rewards of the company that he’s expanded.

Dad takes the credit, but it’s Simon who made the company what it is today,” she says quietly.

“Promise me you won’t do anything that will hurt Simon? ”

I stare into her beautiful hazel eyes. “I won’t do anything without consulting Simon and knowing how it will affect him, but sunshine, your brother wants to get out from under, and he’s ready to make whatever sacrifice it takes.

You two have been so worried about one another that you’re stopping each other from getting rid of the problems that are plaguing you both. ”

“Drifter’s right, sis. It’s time we made some decisions. Dad shouldn’t have the power he holds over us. And he sure as hell shouldn’t be sitting with that bastard at the same table, knowing what he did to you. We’re commodities, not his kids,” Simon says.

“What will happen to Mom?” Sasha asks.

“In the last ten years, when has our mother made a move to help us or herself? Dawn McGrath will have to make her own choices. We’re not responsible for her,” Simon answers.

“She’s our mom.”

“Yeah, and if Mom comes to me for help, then I’ll do what I can, and so will you, but she needs to make the decision to get help.

She won’t leave Dad as long as she has her place by his side at all the grand galas.

She’s tied her worth to her positions on her charity boards.

She missed our birthdays for that shit. I’m sorry, but she wasn’t a mother.

She was just a woman who hung around the house from time to time.

Our housekeeper, Fran, was more of a mother to us,” Simon responds.

“Do you have a plan?” I ask. The way Simon’s talking, it’s like he’s been working on this for a while. His desperation to separate Sasha and himself from his father seems to be his focus.

“I’m working on it.” Simon shakes his head. “It’s not an easy out. But after Saturday night, I don’t care what the repercussions are. I won’t have Sasha put in that position again.”

Simon said that Sutton touched her wrist, but there’s got to be more to it.

“I’ve got to run, sis. I just came to check on you.

I’m glad I did. It gives me peace of mind knowing you have good friends and a good man to support you.

” Sasha releases me and hugs her brother tight.

Simon holds his sister close. “Fuck me, Sasha, I should have killed him that night. I’m sorry I didn’t because it’s been this long, and he still lives inside your head, but I’ll find a way to fix it. ”

He kisses his sister on the cheek and moves to release her, but she holds on. “You will not do anything that will take my brother away from me, do you hear?” It’s not an answer, it’s an order.

Simon lets out a heavy sigh. “I promised you before, and I will keep my word, but something has to change.”

“Why don’t Hawk and I walk you out?” I suggest. It’ll give Hawk and me a chance to set up a time to speak with Simon alone. Simon nods and bids goodbye to Etain. I wait until we’re out of the house before speaking.

“It seems that we have the same goal, Simon. Your sister is important to me. She told me last night about Sutton. Not so much about her father. Sasha was emotional last night, and I never want her to hurt like that again. I want this fucker out of her life. I’m hoping you can help me,” I state.

“You care about Sasha.” This is a statement, not a question.

“I more than care about her; I’m falling in love with her,” I admit. “I’m the kind of man who takes care of the people who mean something to me. I need more information about your father, but Sutton signed his fate the minute he walked into her bedroom.”

Simon clenches his jaw and fists. “We agree on that.”

“We’re men with the same purpose. Give me some time to have my brothers do the research on Sutton and your father.

Once I have more to go on, we’ll meet up and talk it out.

I make no promises about Sutton. He’s going to pay, one way or another, but what happens with your father will depend on you and Sasha.

Fair enough?” I urge. I need to have Simon on our side, for Sasha’s sake.

“Men with the same purpose, huh? Yeah, I suppose we are. I’m in. I’m sick of seeing Sasha torn apart this way,” Simon replies in disgust. He then turns to Hawk. “You and the club would do this for Sasha? Getting involved in this mess is going to get ugly.”

Hawk drops his hand on my shoulder. “Redemption Riders isn’t just a club, it’s a brotherhood and a family.

Drifter is family, and Sasha is now family.

That means, messy or not, we do what we have to do.

Drifter isn’t going in alone; he’ll have an army behind him,” he says with conviction.

It’s nothing less than what I expected from Hawk.

“Call me when you’re ready to talk. I have to go for now, but keep an eye on Sasha. Dad wasn’t impressed by our sudden exit Saturday night. He might show up just to throw his weight around,” Simon warns us.

“Thanks for the heads-up. Not to worry, Sasha will never have to face him alone,” I reassure him.

The tension eases from his face. “Thanks,” he says quietly, then gets in his car and drives away.