Chapter Four
Saint looked up at Thrasher and asked, “Did you find out who Mack and Roger were dealing for?”
Thrasher nodded as he set his laptop onto the kitchen table.
“Yeah, the Paulo Cartel and I think they might have sent Roger here to find out what happened to Mack’s last shipment.
” He set it down and turned it on. “I found out that they knew Tommy was one of Mack’s main dealers.
I also remember that when Shay got his hands on Mack’s boat, most of the shipment was already missing.
For some reason, Roger has been dodging the cartel boys and they don’t like that sort of thing as you can imagine.
I would guess Mack’s last deal was a big one.
Roger needs some answers about where it went.
” He shook his head. “Tommy must have already gotten his cut and he hadn’t paid yet.
The cartel probably doesn’t know he’s dead and Roger can’t find him. ”
Sage looked angry. “And he followed me here to try to find my missing father? He must really be desperate.”
Dax nodded. “But desperate men make colossal mistakes. His biggest mistake was coming here.”
Erika sat there beside Saint and shook her head. “But how did he know to follow Sage? I mean think about it, Sage never met Tommy, so why would Roger follow her all this way?”
Sage looked around the room. “I swear I never met him and I had no idea about Roger and Mack. I mean really? How would I know a drug dealer? I’ve never taken drugs in my life.
I know they claim my mom was an addict but she wasn’t.
Tommy tried to get her into the drug scene when they first met but she told him no.
Then he turned it around and gave her enough to kill her, why? Why would he do that?”
“Because Tommy never thought there was a woman out there that would turn him down.” Erika growled.
“He used drugs to entice the woman and when they were high he would use them and because your mom told him no, she became a challenge to his masculinity. But as soon as he got what he wanted, he walked away. Then he must have found out about you. The scumbag watched you from a distance, just like he did me. He watched me my whole life. He kept in touch with my mom too.” Shaking her head she admitted, “Mom and I weren’t close and I was gone a lot as soon as I was old enough to work.
I knew she was meeting someone but I didn’t pry into her life.
I was out there working to keep a roof over our heads and food in the house.
But I knew she was meeting with a man named Tommy, she just never told me who he was.
She also didn’t talk about him around me because I never wanted to meet her dealers.
But mom used to mumble in her sleep and she mentioned him a lot when she was coming down or asleep.
” She shrugged. “She mentioned his name more than once. And on more than one occasion when Mack had me doing her drop offs, I never saw his face but I did see his eagle tattoo. That was how I knew who he was when he came here after my newborn son.”
“He went off his rocker when my brother stopped him,” Saint added. “Lucifer told him that his grandfather already changed his will and the money would go to our child, not him or his father.”
Erika spoke up and told her, “I didn’t need or want the money, not even through our son.
I think great grandpa was upset when I told him we did not want the money but what the hell would I do with it all?
I’ve always worked and I know Saint would never let us go hungry and we had already bought this farm free and clear. ”
Sage nodded. “I hear you. I just got out of college but I have worked too. I never relied on any family and especially not for financial support.”
“What did you study in college?” Erika asked.
Sage grinned. “Would you believe... cybersecurity?”
Dax smiled at her. “Hey, maybe you could work here with us?”
Sage shook her head. “I’m not here to ask for anything, really.
I told you, I came here to see if Erika was my half-sister.
I just wanted to see if I had any other family.
Nobody from mom’s family wanted me when I needed them so I don’t consider them family.
” She wrinkled her nose. “I think they were looking for a large payout. So when they found out there was no money for them to get, they wanted nothing to do with me.”
Erika snorted. “I’ve had to deal with people like that. I’m glad they never took you home with them. Your life would have been ten times harder than it actually was. Even in foster homes. It sounds like they would have used you like a slave.”
Sage nodded. “Yes, I think you are right. They found me just before my eighteenth birthday. Since I was all grown up, they expected me to come and live with them. When I asked them why they told me if I lived with them now, I could get a good job and help with the bills. When I told them I was going to college, they told me that wouldn’t do, that they needed help with the bills, not for me to go to college.
And so with no shame at all, they turned around and left me there. ”
Saint smirked at her. “Yeah, people like that have no shame. But you went to college anyway, right?”
“I sure did. And I never saw them again.” Then she chuckled and added, “I got my degree right after the middle of my third year so I left school. But I heard from someone in my class that on graduation day they showed up and caused a ruckus because my name wasn’t on the program.
I believe they weren’t happy at all because they expected me to support them when I was done with college. ”
Thrasher’s alarm on his laptop went off and he checked his security cameras. He looked up at Saint and said, “Boss, we got a breach. Ole Roger is trying to get close to the house and he’s armed. I am texting Turbo, Phantom and Snake.” His phone pinged. “Wait... they are already out back.”
All three men came in through the kitchen.
Saint smiled and got up. “Well boys, it’s time to meet this idiot up close and personal.
Let’s go hunting and teach this motherfucker it ain’t nice to turn up with a weapon and just trespass on someone else’s land.
” Saint went over to the wall just off the kitchen and entered a code.
When the wall slid back it opened to another complete room.
Sage leaned forward to peek inside and her eyes widened at the sheer amount of guns she saw there. She snapped her gaze over to Erika.
Erika just shrugged at her astonished look. “They have the right to protect their home. And this is their home. Besides, all of them have wives too. They were all in the service so they know how to handle weapons. I will be back in a little while. I gotta check on the babe.”
“Ok, I will be here.” Sage nodded then looked at Dax. “Aren’t you going hunting with the others?”
Dax shook his head. “No, I’m their medic, I’ll stay behind and protect the house here. The women here know how to shoot if anyone gets through the first line of our defense.” Then he nodded at the men grabbing their weapons. “And they are our first line of defense. Nobody gets through them.”
Sage turned her head and just stared as the men left the house. Looking over at the laptop she could see them on camera. Each of them split off in different directions. When the last one disappeared from camera view, she settled back in Dax’s lap.
He smiled and rubbed her back with his hand.
“This is so nice,” she said with a sigh. “I mean I should be afraid to sit on your lap. It is kind of personal, I know...since I don’t really know you but I feel safer than I ever felt in my whole life.”
“You never felt safe?”
She let out a sigh. “No, for some reason I always believed someone was watching me? Yeah, it sounds crazy but I still believed my gut instinct.”
“Well no shit, first Tommy then this Roger creep. Besides, that is what you should always trust. Your gut,” he agreed. “It has saved my butt before. I rely on it. Like I knew you were watching me this morning.”
“Yeah...” She smirked. “I wasn’t so good at stealthing was I?”
“Nope, you weren’t. But that is because you just aren’t good at being a creep.”
They both laughed.