Country leaned over to me as he added, “He’s right, babe. Braylon is in good hands with Doc. He’s the best.”
“I certainly hope you’re right.”
The words had barely left my mouth when the doors opened and Viper walked inside with Hawk and Shotgun. It was clear by his expression that the Ruthless Sinners’ president wasn’t pleased as he strode towards us. Without saying a word to anyone, he continued over to Jackal and knelt down beside him. He placed his hand on his back, then whispered something under his breath. After several tender moments with his fallen brother, Viper stood and shook his head as he let out a stream of curses. After inhaling a deep breath, he finally made his way over to Country and me. “Someone gonna tell me what the fuck happened here?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out, Prez.”
Grayson removed his hand from my waist, and he and Viper walked over to Hawk and Shotgun. I couldn’t make out what any of them were saying, but they all kept glancing over in Drake’s direction. Even though he’d come there for me and my business, they didn’t discuss their club’s business with anyone—including their loved ones. I stood there with Duggar, watching silently as Viper’s face grew redder and redder with anger. After several long, heated moments, I heard Viper ask, “When will they get here?”
I wasn’t sure, but if I had to guess, he was asking about the guys from Satan’s Fury MC. With all the security cameras and sensors being tracked by Riggs, I had no doubt that they knew about the attack. I leaned over to Duggar and whispered, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m good. Just hate all this shit went down like it did.” He ran his hand through his long, shaggy blond hair and sighed. “Timms was a good guy. Didn’t deserve to go out like this.”
“No, he didn’t.” I looked around at all the destruction and mayhem Drake had brought to our doorstep, and it was difficult to hold back my emotions. I’d worked so hard to get this place up and running, and things were going so well. It was amazing how quickly it could all change. I was on the brink of crying once again as I told Duggar, “If I’d only known what Drake was up to, then maybe I could’ve done something to stop it.”
“You couldn’t have known he’d pull something like this, Kiersten, and even if you did, there wasn’t anything you could’ve done to prevent it. The guy was off his fucking rocker.”
Our conversation ended abruptly as soon as Viper and the others started walking over to us. Viper seemed to have cooled off when he came up to me and said, “We’ve got a real mess on our hands with this.”
“I know, and I’m really sorry about that.”
“You and me both.” Viper tugged at his beard as he looked over the demolished office and then the dead bodies on the floor. “We’re going to have to make some real changes around here, but before we get into all that, we’re gonna have to get this mess cleaned up.”
“Okay.” Even though I dreaded hearing the answer, I asked, “What do we need to do?”
“This is more than we can handle on our own, Kiersten. We’re gonna have to call in Billy.”
“What?”
“He’s the only one I trust to do this and do it right.”
My father had always been a meticulous man—from the way he dressed to the way he kept the house. I had no doubt that he was even more so with his work, which was the main reason why Viper and the Sinners used him. It only made sense that he’d want to bring him in now, but the thought of my father coming to the Manor sent me into a tailspin. I was hoping to find a way to tell him about my work on my own, not to find out like this, so I told Viper, “But I didn’t want him involved with my work.”
“If you feel that strongly about it, then he doesn’t have to know you’re a part of all this.” To my surprise, Viper seemed to understand how upset I was over my father coming here and was willing to do whatever he could to make it easier for me. “You can leave while he’s here. We can handle things, and—”
As tempting as it was to hide and carry on with my charade of being the perfect daughter, I couldn’t do it anymore. It was time my father knew who I was along with my capabilities. I gathered all the strength I could muster and said, “I truly appreciate the offer, but I can’t let you do that.”
“You sure?”
“I am.” I cleared my throat. “Do you mind if I borrow your phone?”