Hinder (Midnight Saints MC Book 3)

by Iris Sweetwater

  I researched the firm I was interning at. It wasn’t the biggest firm in the state, but it wasn’t shabby either. It had won some seriously large well-known cases. I was excited to be working there, learning from some of the best.

  Maybe I could find a decent guy who worked there, who could be the real deal, unlike Jed. What an ass!

  I was so annoyed with him, just brushing me off, and Kara, oh I could kill her for the shit she pulled. If I had more guts, I’d march down there to the clubhouse and demand my father’s release. Maybe I could find someone who would help me.

  I refused to believe Kara when she said that Maxum was evil and that he never had a good bone in his body. I refused to believe that. I refuse to accept that as the truth. I just needed a chance to prove it.

  Oh, if only Jed hadn’t been such a jerk, he could have helped me. If only there was someone I could get on my side.

  I arrived at the firm. It was a nice-looking building. It was downtown in one of those tall skyscrapers. “Sophie? Hello, I’m Carlos; it’s a pleasure to meet you. Let me show you around.” A tall, dark, and handsome man walked in. He was dressed in an expensive suit and smelled incredible. He had a charming smile, and I could feel myself melting right away. He also had an accent which made words roll off his tongue.

  Pull yourself together; he’s your boss. Do not start crushing on your boss. Having an affair with your boss is a very bad idea. I scolded myself, but I couldn’t help it. He was so good looking. He was clearly muscular and well-endowed under that suit.

  “This place is huge.”

  “Yes, it’s a pretty big firm. Follow me, please.” I followed him through the many offices in the building the firm owned. He introduced me to a million people. It would take me a long time to remember all their names. He showed me to my little cubicle and told me exactly what I’d be doing. Then, he had a meeting to get to, so he said he’d check in on me later and left me to figure things out from there.

  I sat down at my desk and looked around. “Am I supposed to be doing something?”

  “You’re his intern, basically; if he needs you, he’ll tell you.” A guy in the cubicle next to me typing on a laptop, said.

  “What do I do in the meantime?”

  “Look busy. Arrange your desk. Go get yourself some coffee.”

  I glanced around and spotted Carlos across the room on the phone. He caught me looking at him and turned his back on me. Not sure what to do, I rearranged my desk and then got up to make myself a cup of coffee. It was a nice office, and the people seemed friendly. I could see myself working here.

  “Sophie!” I heard someone bark my name. I dropped the coffee, spilling it all over my brand new dress.

  “Oh no!”

  “Someone find the intern for me,” I heard the man say as I grabbed paper towels to dab at the stain down my white bodice. Great way to start your internship.

  “Hey, are you, Sophie? Your boss is looking for you.”

  “Yeah, just one minute, I kind of had an accident.”

  “I can see that. I have an extra shirt I keep in a drawer, you can borrow it. Wash it, bring it back.”

  “Thank you!”

  He left the room and returned with a white shirt. I put it on over my wet, stained dress and tied it at the waist. Then I ran to find my boss.

  “Sorry! Sorry! I spilled coffee all over my dress.”

  “I don’t need excuses, you’re not here to drink coffee and socialize, you’re here to work.”

  “Right, yes sir, Mister . . . ” I had already forgotten his name. In my head I had been calling him Mr. Hunk, but I knew that wasn’t really his name. I tried to wrack my brain to remember it, and I probably looked pretty stupid just standing there staring at him, lost in my head.

  “Nevermind, I’ll get someone else, just go find something to do.” He waved me away, And I cursed myself. Okay, no more coffee at the office, and no more white shirts. I went back to my cubicle.

  “Thanks for the shirt. I don’t think he likes me.”

  “He doesn’t like anyone, don’t take it personally. If I were you, if I wanted to keep my internship and not be a total failure, I’d stop being a bumbling idiot.”

  “Right. I’m not really an idiot, and I’m not usually this clumsy, it’s just I’m distracted. See, there’s this guy and he . . . ”

  “I’m sorry, do I look like someone who cares about your personal life? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m working.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  “Just be better.” He frowned at me and then went back to what he was working on. I tried to sit at my desk quietly, but I really didn’t have anything to do. I wasn’t about to attempt another cup of coffee, so I got up and wandered. I was new, and I needed to know my way around the office.

  I paused outside a door that was cracked open. I could hear voices inside. Wanting to hear real lawyers at work, I lingered and got the door slammed in my face.

  Oops!

  “She’s not going to last the day if she keeps that stuff up,” I heard someone say. “She needs direction. Peggy, go help the poor girl. We all started the way she did. Someone has to help her.”

  “Sophie, right?” A woman came up to me with kind brown eyes and a lot of makeup.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “It’s Peggy, let me show you what interns do around here.” Her smile seemed genuine, though I could read her worry for me behind it. Her judgement.

  I was made for being a lawyer, not used to the idea of assisting on menial tasks or being bored. I knew it wouldn’t all be glamorous, and no way would my internship see me in a courtroom. Still, I wished for so much more than this.

  But if they were going to trust me with the hard stuff, I had to show them I could get these things right.

  “Okay.” I eagerly followed her around the office as she showed me how to file papers, how to use the printer, the copy machine, anything that Carlos, that was his name, Carlos might ask me to do. Then, she showed me the room where she said I would be spending most of my time researching for the lawyers. Studying old case files and stuff. “Thank you, Peggy, I don’t feel so lost anymore.”

  “Wear black. Black hides all stains.”

  “Right, I’ll remember that.”

  “And dress in layers so you can remove them if you spill on your outer layer.”

  “Got it.”

  “You’ll be a pro in no time, Sophie, welcome to the team.”

  “Thank you, Peggy.” I returned to my desk, and still, I had nothing to do, so I sat down, pulled out a piece of paper, and began to write Maxum a note. Maybe, just maybe, Kara would be happy to get it to him. Not happy, but willing to get it to him.

  “What are you doing?” a voice snapped.

  “Uh, nothing.” I shoved my letter into the desk. “What do you need?” I jumped up so fast, I knocked my chair over.

  “File these, if you know how.” He dropped a big stack of folders on my desk.

  “Right away, sir.”

  “And don’t get coffee or anything on them,” he added.

  Chapter 25

  Jed

  Tony was being a pill, barking at everyone. No one wanted to be around, so they all took off on their bikes to enjoy the last days of autumn before the cold weather rolled in. We’d be forced to switch to pick-up trucks, SUVs, and jeeps with 4-wheel drive to get through the snow. I didn’t have an issue with it, but many of the other guys did. So, everyone became crabbier as the weather began to change.

  In my opinion, it was wearing on him that Kara wasn’t here, and even though they’d planned all of it, I got the feeling that the last fight they had was more real than it was meant to be.

  As much as he’d pretended to hate her in the beginning, Kara and Tony were these two volcanos that somehow kept each other from spilling over.

  “What the fuck did I tell you?” Tony shouted, catching everyone’s attention as he threw his chair against the wall for the third time that day. “Get the fuck out of my
sight, and don’t come back ‘til you have better news for me. For fuck’s sake people.”

  Austin got up and retrieved Tony’s chair without saying a word. Then, we all returned to the poker game we were playing.

  “Tony, Diablo trouble,” Seth said, coming in from outside. He looked ready to pick a fight even more than Tony. “Want me to take some guys to deal with them?”

  “What the fuck’s going on?”

  “They’re at the bottom of the road, just sitting there, trying to intimidate us. Looks like they have bikes again. Pretty sweet bikes too. I say we send the dogs down there. Maybe scare a few to wipe out and we can take their bikes.”

  “Leave them be. They aren’t hurting anyone; just go down there and keep an eye on them. Take Jed. He looks like he can use some exercise.”

  “Really, Tony?” I shook my head at him.

  “Okay, whatever you say, Prez.”

  I followed Seth out to the bikes and got on mine. Since I had the money to afford it, I had all the best gear. It pissed the guys off, because it made me flashy and stand out. My bike was black with gold painted chrome. My leather jacket was expensive and butter brown, unlike the dark brown and black leathers of the rest of them.

  “Dude, you know how to throw a punch if you need to, right?” Seth asked.

  I rolled my eyes, sick of all of them being asses and making assumptions. “Yeah, I can handle a fight if it comes to it.”

  “Good, let them make the first move, we’re just going to cruise down there nice and slow and just keep an eye out.”

  We rode down, and there were four guys leaning against their parked bikes in the middle of the road. Their arms were crossed. Seth swerved onto the dirt road, and I followed, our bikes kicking up dust at the riders.  They coughed and spat on the ground, but they wouldn’t budge, so we rode back up the hill, turned around, and rode back down. We parked our bikes across from them. “What are you doing here?” Seth asked.

  “You’re just a lackey; we don’t have to answer to you.”

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded. They looked me up and down.

  “Look at this pretty boy with his fancy duds and his spiffed up bike. Who are you trying to kid, kid?”

  “I ain’t no fucking kid,” I said.

  “Look, you can deal with us, or you can deal with Tony and Austin, and if Tony and Austin have to come down here, they’ll be pretty pissed. And Tony, he just broke up with his ol’ lady, so he’s extra pissed. I suggest you deal with us and leave Tony to his solitude,” Seth warned. “Now, let’s try this again, what the fuck are you doing here?”

  “We don’t got to answer you.” The Diablo spat on the ground again.

  “Alright, alright, you want to intimidate us, why don’t you just go to the bar? We won’t attack, we have bigger fish to fry,” I said, pulling out my wallet to remove a wad of cash, and I threw it at them. “Drinks are on me.”

  “What the fuck, Jed?” Seth hissed.

  I turned to him with a hushed whisper. “Think about it, if they’re in our bar, we can all keep an eye on them. Don’t worry, that wasn’t the club’s money, that was my money.”

  “Okay, fine, that’s smart.”

  We turned our bikes and kicked up the dust on the Diablos who were now scrounging in the dirt, trying to pick up all the scattered money. We returned to the club, and Seth reported what I did. Tony was actually impressed, and we all rode down to the bar.

  The Diablos were making themselves at home already, taking over the pool table, darts, and harassing the whores and waitresses.

  “What the fuck, Tony?” Elle asked.

  “Just serve them. They think they can come on our turf and intimidate us, well they have another thing coming.”

  We gathered at a table not far from them. Tony, Seth, and Austin set their eyes on them and didn’t take them off. The Blue Diablos continued to play and drink and pretend like they owned the place. Guns were quietly drawn around the room, but everyone waited for Tony to give the signal; a signal he wasn’t going to give unless the enemy made the first move.

  Austin pulled out a deck of cards.

  The Diablos finished their games and gathered at a table nearby.

  “Hey, buddy, thanks for the drinks.” They raised their beer at me.

  “Don’t expect the club to reimburse you,” Tony said.

  “I wasn’t even going to ask. It was just pocket change, nothing more,” I insisted.

  “Must be nice to have that kind of money just literally lying around.”

  I shrugged. “Money isn’t everything. Money corrupts good men and leaves a man lonely and alone. I’d give it all for a second chance with Sophie. We really had a good thing going, I think.”

  “Dude, why don’t you just go see her,” Seth suggested; obviously, what he would have done. But he and Reagen were different. He’d straight up saved her. Protected her broken body from two MCs. I wasn’t sure that it didn’t force some kind of loyalty from her without him trying.

  “It’s better that she stay away,” I mumbled.

  “Sophie, that’s a pretty name,” one of the Diablos spoke up. I narrowed my eyes at them. What shit were they playing at now? “She wouldn’t be a dark haired vixen who considers Maxum her old man, would she?”

  “What do you know about Sophie?” I spun around.

  “Oh, not much. I just know she’s interning at a firm downtown, isn’t she? Wants to be a lawyer?”

  “How the hell would you know that?”

  “Oh, just that my brother happens to be a lawyer for that firm, yeah, and you know he just took her on as an intern. A dark haired vixen eager to please him.”

  I jumped up, but Tony grabbed my arm.

  “He’s not worth it.”

  I shrugged Tony off and ran outside. I jumped on my Harley and hit the open road. Realizing I didn’t know where I was going. I headed instead for Walker State Prison.

  “I’m Jed, here to see Justin.” I was instantly shown to a room where there was glass and phones on either side. I sat on the chair that I was led to. The door on the other side opened, and my father walked in, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He was handcuffed.

  It had been a while since I’d seen him. He was a thinner man now. He had always had baby fat on him and a beer belly regardless of his home gym, but the prison had done him some good. He wasn’t scary thin. He had muscle in place of the fat that once was. He was clean shaven, though his hair, a darker red than mine, was longer, almost brushing his shoulders. It strangely made him seem younger than the investment banker who’d gone in.

  “Well, this is a surprise,” he said as he picked up the phone.

  “Sorry, Dad, haven’t been around much. I kind of need some advice.”

  “Still wearing leathers, and is that a motorcycle helmet? Are you still hanging around with those thugs?”

  “The Saints aren’t thugs.”

  “Oh, there are a lot of people here who would disagree. I thought you would have grown out of that phase by now. You have more than enough money to do whatever you want with your life.” He gave me a pointed look through the glass. Of course I did. He had pled guilty to his crimes after being tipped off in enough time to hide the money and put it in my name. His sacrifice and penance wasn’t lost on me.

  “I’m doing what I want with my life. Look, I don’t have a lot of time. I fucked up big time, with the woman I think I might have been able to love.”

  “You came to me for relationship advice?” he scoffed.

  “You always said, the right woman can change everything and how if you had hung onto that instead of money you might have been a better man.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.”

  “Well, I think Sophie, that’s her name, I think Sophie is the right woman. She’s beautiful and smart, and she’s not after my money. She wants to be a lawyer.”

  “Oh good, maybe she can help me.”

  “You embezzled money from powerful people, you’re better off
here than dead. Plus, you pled guilty.”

  “What happened? If I’m going to help you, I need to know what you did.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking how he switched subjects.

  “She wanted to come over this weekend, but well, where I am is kind of not a safe place for her, See, she’s the adopted daughter of Maxum.”

  “Maxum? The Preacher?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure in here, you’ve heard a few things.”

  “A few,” he confirmed cryptically, but it didn’t really matter how far his knowledge went on what Maxum did. To know he betrayed us was enough.

  “Well, see, she brought him to the club hoping her sister, Kara, would help her get him to rehab. However, her sister betrayed her and took Maxum into her own hands. I protected Sophie and she ended up drunk, so I took her back to my place where she stayed for a few days and we ended up having sex.”

  “Uh huh.” Was a man in prison really judging?

  “Well, since I told her to stay away, she thinks I used her.”

  “Well, son, you have to go to her. Go get her, and use some of that money you have and take her somewhere romantic, somewhere special. If she’s the one, then you gotta treat her like she’s your queen.”

  If you were just trying to protect her, then you need to make sure she knows that. Don’t make my mistakes, son. If she’s the one, then go after her. What are you waiting for? Get out of here and go find your girl.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Invite me to the wedding, and if you have a son, name him after me.”

  “We’ll see.” We both chuckled, the closest we’d had to a normal father-son bond in a while. I would have to come back more often. Though, I couldn’t say what more often entailed.

  I said goodbye without promising to come see him again. I was a little torn about how I felt about him, unlike Kara who hated her father, but then my father hadn’t done half the shit he had done. I’d probably feel the same way if he had. After all, he did have someone killed and he threatened her and her boyfriend. She had every reason to be pissed.

  Thinking over what my dad suggested, I called a fancy hotel and made a reservation for the weekend. I went all out, the penthouse suite, champagne, chocolates, and dinner reservations at their rooftop restaurant. Then I called her, but she wouldn’t pick up, so I looked up the nearest university with a good law program and hoped it was the right one.