Chapter 18
Kiersten
It had only been a couple of weeks since the night of Drake’s attack, but things were already starting to get back to normal—at least partially so.
Guardrail and several of the other Satan’s Fury crew came and completely redid my office.
They even added a few upgrades that I wasn’t expecting.
The place looked incredible, and it only took them a couple of days.
We also had a few new faces on the grounds.
Braylon had gotten in contact with a few of his old platoon buddies, and just as he’d hoped, they’d agreed to come work with us.
Having them there seemed to lift Braylon’s spirits, and he was starting to get around a little better.
I was concerned that he was pushing himself too hard, but he assured me that getting back to work was exactly what he needed.
While I was pleased that things were going so well, it still seemed strange not having Timms around.
I had no doubt that Grayson and his brothers felt the same about Jackal.
We’d done our best to give them both a proper burial on the grounds, but I couldn’t help but feel like I should do something more.
They’d both died trying to protect me and the others at the Manor, so I got in touch with Menace and had him anonymously wire a large sum of money to their families.
I knew it wouldn’t replace their loved ones but hoped it might give them a little peace to have some help with some of their financial burdens.
There was one big change that I couldn’t have been happier about.
Grayson had talked it over with Viper, and like we’d both hoped, the Ruthless Sinner’s president gave the okay for Grayson to move to the Manor full-time.
I loved having him there with me. I truly did, but there was one small catch.
Every morning, just like right now, he’d ask me the exact same question.
“Are you going to go talk to your father today?”
Normally, I would come up with some random excuse not to go, but I’d spent most of the night thinking about it and decided it was time to face the music.
Grayson was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his boots, when I sauntered by him in nothing but my bra and panties.
I glanced back over my shoulder and answered nonchalantly, “Actually, I am.”
“What?”
“I’ve decided to go talk to him.” I found it endearing that Grayson cared so much about my relationship with my father.
I knew he was concerned, not only for me and my wellbeing but also for my father’s.
He was an integral piece of the Ruthless Sinner’s puzzle, and since I was now in business with them, I needed to be in my father’s good graces.
But business was the last thing on my mind when I contacted my father.
There were times when I was angry with him, but I’d always loved my father.
I hated that this estranged distance had settled between and hoped an honest conversation with him might actually bring us closer.
I grabbed my jeans out of my drawer and started to pull them on.
“I messaged him while you were in the shower and told him I was coming.”
“And he was good with that?”
“I guess so.” I pulled on my hoodie and tugged it down around my waist. “He told me he was looking forward to seeing me.”
“That’s great!” He stood up and walked over to me. As he slipped his arms around my waist, he smiled and said, “I’m really proud of you for doing this. I know it won’t be easy, but I think you’ll be glad you went to see him.”
“I hope so.” I inched up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. “I better get going. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can get back and help Braylon finish putting those bookshelves together for the office.”
“I’ll help him with that. You just go and try to make the best of your visit with your dad.”
“Okay.” I slipped on my shoes, then started for the door. “I’ll let you know when I’m headed back.”
I grabbed my keys and purse, then headed out to my car.
As soon as I started driving towards my dad’s, the dread set in, and I was tempted to turn around and put our talk off for another day.
Then I remembered the look on Grayson’s face when I told him I was finally going to see my father.
He’d done so much for me, and I couldn’t bear the thought of letting him down. So, I did the only thing I could.
I swallowed my apprehension and pressed forward.
I tried not to overthink things as I continued to drive towards Dad’s house, but it wasn’t easy.
Every few miles, I would start to think about the night of Drake’s attack and the look on my father’s face when he saw me standing with the Ruthless Sinner brothers.
It was enough to make my heart ache with regret.
I wished that I’d talked to him sooner, then maybe all this wouldn’t be so hard.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t go back in time and change things.
I had to face the music and try to make things right between us.
When I pulled up at the house, Dad was sitting on the front porch swing waiting for me.
I got out and couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t smile as I made my way up the front steps.
Usually, he greeted me with open arms and a big hug, but today, he remained seated and didn’t say a word as I walked over and sat down next to him.
I feigned a half-smile as I muttered, “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Thank you for letting me come today.”
“Of course.” His brows furrowed. “I’d never turn you away, Kiersten. You’re my daughter. My pride and joy. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Not even the fact that I’ve been lying to you?”
“We’ve both done our fair share of lying.” He turned and looked at me as he said, “But I never meant to hurt you. I do hope you know that.”
“I know that’s not what you intended, but you did.
The night I found out what you were doing in the basement hurt me in ways I still can’t comprehend.
” I could feel the emotion building inside me as I told him, “I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d never gone down there.
I wish I’d never seen you burning those bodies in the incinerator.
Because seeing you do that stole something from me.
It stole my trust in you, and that nearly killed me.
I just couldn’t bear knowing there was this dark side to you that I never knew was there.
It was almost like you reached through time, and you stole my trust in everything I ever thought was real. ”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But you have to know you were never supposed to see that.”
“Maybe not, but I did and I’ve spent years waiting for you to tell me why.”
“I had many reasons for not telling you, Kiersten, but all you need to know is that I did what I did for our family.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t just blow it all off like it was something you had to do,” I fussed. “You could’ve gone back to your job in forensics, but you chose to do this instead. I need you to tell me why.”
“I’ll tell you, but only because you’re in bed with them now.”
“In bed with who?”
“The Sinners.” His tone was cold and harsh as he said, “You’re part of their world now.”
“But what do they have to do with...”
“I’m getting there.” He took a deep breath as he turned to look out at the pond.
It took him several moments, but he eventually said, “Losing your mother nearly destroyed me. My head went to a place it never should’ve gone.
I tried to keep it together for you, but I couldn’t let go of the anger.
I needed someone to answer for what happened, and other than myself, there was only one other person who came to mind—her doctor.
I started looking into him and discovered that your mother wasn’t the only patient he’d lost under his care. ”
“But Dad things happen. Doctors lose patients all the time”
“Yeah, they do,” he interrupted. “But this was different. This was negligence.”
“Yes, it was.” I was eager to hear the rest of his story, so I asked, “So, what did you do?”
“I went to see him. I wanted to hear him admit what he’d done, and as stupid as it may sound, I needed him to apologize for making such a careless mistake.”
“And did he?”
“No. He did not.” Dad stood and walked over to the front porch rails.
It was clear that reliving this story was hard for him, but that didn’t stop him from telling me, “He had no remorse over what had happened to your mother. He blamed her for the mistake and said I had no proof of my claims of his malpractice. I wasn’t surprised that he tried to blow me off.
This guy had a real God complex, and I that only made me angrier.
I knew in my heart that he was the reason why your mother was dead, but there was nothing I could do about it. ”
I hated seeing the anguished look on his face.
It was the same expression he had after Mom died, and it remained there for years.
I always thought it was just the grief of losing Mom that haunted him, but now I saw that it was so much more.
After several long moments, he finally continued, “I won’t lie.
I became a little unhinged about this doctor guy.
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t let it go.
I started following him and even hid cameras in his patient rooms—all in hopes of peeling back all his vicious layers.
It was through those cameras that I finally discovered his dirty, little secret. ”
“What secret?”
“He was drugging his female patients. He told them it was to ease the pain of their migraines or neurological pain, and when they passed out, he raped them.”
“Oh, God.”
“I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done the same to your mother.”