“Shouldn’t be a problem. When y’all are ready, I’ll call Gus and have him send up Guardrail and a few of the brothers. They can have it fixed up in no time,” Blaze offered.
“Appreciate it, brother.” Viper spotted Billy walking in our direction and ordered, “You boys head over to the guest quarters and get some shut-eye. We’ll pick up from here in a couple of hours.”
“Sure thing, Prez.”
Everyone immediately turned and started walking across the field. We hadn’t gotten far when I heard Billy and Viper talking. I struggled to make out what either of them was saying, but it was clear from his tone that Billy was still pissed. If I had to guess, I’d say he was struggling with the fact that the Sinners not only knew about his daughter’s secret drug business but that we were also in cahoots with her. Something I was sure he thought he should’ve been made aware of, but we didn’t discuss our business with any outsiders, and like it or not, that included him. I didn’t doubt that Viper would set him straight with the club and, hopefully, put this whole thing behind us.
Kiersten, on the other hand, would have a much harder time clearing things up with him, but she had an advantage the Sinners didn’t have. She was his daughter, and it was clear by the way he looked at her that he adored her. That in itself would be enough to help them get through this mess—or so I hoped.
On the way over to the guest quarters, I let Hawk and Lynch know I wouldn’t be joining them and that they could find me over at Kiersten’s. They were both too tired to give me any shit about it and simply nodded when I turned and started walking over to her place. When I got up to the front door, I wasn’t surprised to find it locked. I figured that meant she was sleeping, so I used the key she’d given me and let myself inside. I kicked off my boots and removed my cut and jeans, then laid them across the back of the sofa. After removing my long-sleeved shirt, I made my way into the bedroom and slipped under the covers next to Kiersten.
As I hoped, she was sleeping soundly and hadn’t even noticed that I’d gotten in bed with her. I eased up behind and spooned her with her ass by my crotch, then carefully slipped my arm around her waist. I closed my eyes and listened to the soothing sounds of her breath, and in no time, I was out like a fucking light. I have no idea how long I’d been sleeping when I felt Kiersten moving beneath me. Thinking she’d eventually drift back off, I remained perfectly still and didn’t say a word. She didn’t. Instead, she became even more restless. I pulled her back against my chest and dropped my mouth to her ear as I whispered, “You okay?”
“Yes and no.”
“Something you wanna talk about?”
“We lost Timms and Jackal.”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Braylon and Lynch were shot, my office is destroyed, and I’m pretty sure my father hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you, Kiersten.”
“Are you sure about that? Because he wouldn’t even look at me tonight. I’ve never seen him so angry before. He was absolutely livid.”
“And I’m sure you can understand why.” I kissed her lightly on the shoulder. “He just needs a little time to sort things out.”
“You know, it’s kind of crazy. There was a time when I was so mad at him I couldn’t think straight. Back then, I wouldn’t care if he was angry or upset with me. I’d just think he had it coming for keeping so much hidden from me, but now, I’m terrified of losing him.”
“You aren’t going to lose him, Kiersten. Not over something like this.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m more than sure.”
“I really hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.” I didn’t want to cause her any undue stress, but I had a question that needed to be answered. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Drake?”
“I don’t know. At first, I didn’t think there was any reason to. I thought he was just interested in dating me or whatever, so I told him straight out that I wasn’t interested. The last time I ran into him, you were gone on your run, and I didn’t want to worry you with it.”
“You wouldn’t be bothering me, Kiersten. I’m here for you.”
“I know. I just figured I could handle it on my own. Clearly, I was wrong.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t take blame that isn’t yours to take.”
“But—”
“No buts. This thing with Drake wasn’t your fault. Now leave it at that.” I gave her another kiss, then laid my head down on the pillow and closed my eyes. “You’ve had a long night. Go back to sleep.”