Page 42 of Redemption

“You shouldn’t,” Bridget says. “If you all go racing out of the here before the cops arrive, they’ll think it’s a rival club. Here, give me your gun. I’ll go hide it, you do what Sloane says and don’t hide from your service record when the cops start questioning you.”

“She’s right,” I quietly reinforce her suggestion and tug him over to sit near Swann and Evon.

“You’re really fast,” Evon says to me, still hiccupping a bit.

“Thanks,” I smile at her even as I lift Vector’s hand to wrap around my shoulder.

“Daddy’s gonna let you be a certified driver,” she informs me.

My eyes widen as I look up to her father for confirmation. When our gazes lock, his green eyes show me the gratitude he doesn’t have the words to express right now.

“What’s a certified driver?” Vector asks and I clap my hands together, eager to tell him of the great honor that’s been bestowed on me.

Epilogue

Vector

“There’s something that I’ve been chewing on mentioning since you had me in here the first time,” Paul says, slowly standing up and walking over to the mantel. “It was the kind of things that clients would pay a little extra for over the years, and I’ve been wondering if you know about it.”

I’m certain that the look Bridget is giving Sloane matches the expression on my face, but my Ol’ Lady shrugs her shoulders, looking as baffled as we are. Looking between us seems to give Paul the information he was looking for in order to continue.

“Jigsaw had me build this in,” he says, pushing on a small section of the elaborate carving. It takes him a second try, but then there’s an audible click and a section of it opens up, revealing a metal box.

Stepping forward at the same time as Bridget, I give her a nod since she’s as eager as I am to see what our father hid away. I’m directly over her shoulder when she pulls out the rectangular box and find myself holding my breath as she quickly opens it to reveal a couple of stacks of cash and an envelope—addressed to her, in Jigsaw’s handwriting.

“There’s nothing else in here,” she says, visibly upset when she looks up at me. “Why didn’t he leave you a letter?”

Turning my head, I lock eyes with Paul and see his answer before I ask the question. “There’s another one in the office, isn’t there?”

“Yes,” he simply says.

Looking back toward the mantel, I nod my head, having an idea of where I’ll find the hidden compartment. My eyes land on Sloane next.

“Text me if you feel like company,” she says softly, understanding that I want a moment.

The fact that this is who she is, that I’ll never have to make up an excuse for a moment of privacy, makes my heart swell with more love and certainty that I found the right woman at the right time in my life.

Fuck it, I think when I get outside. Climbing into Bridget’s truck and after confirming that the keys are in the cupholder, I start it up and drive up to the main building.

Did the old man write me a letter? Or am I about to find a stack of Playboys and an old pack of smokes?

Pulling up to the front door, I head directly to my office without acknowledging anyone inside. I have two possibilities as to where the compartment is, but I guess it in one and see that the inside of this box is set up like Bridget’s was.

Right before I open the lid, I look at the fine work Paul did, making both of the compartments invisible to the naked eye and I once again wonder about the top step in his own house.

There’s no way that man would accept a flaw in his own house unless there was a pretty good reason for it being there.

Looking inside, there’s a letter addressed to me on top of similar sized stacks of cash. Smiling to myself, I know damn well that the old man never told Nadine about the compartments. Neither Bridget nor I would have received any cash if that was the case.

I love my sister dearly, but her mom is, and always has been, a greedy bitch. Dad might have loved Nadine, but he obviouslywasn’t blind to her faults. Of course, it would have been nice if he had let me know about the items he hid.

If not for Paul, another decade could have passed. I let out a sigh, knowing that I’m stalling, but also that if we had opened the compartment when Nadine still lived here, she would have taken Bridget’s share.

After his funeral, I gave her a fifth share of the cash he had on hand, considering how much there was, I figured that was more than fair. Jigsaw and me were joint tenants on this property, so it passed to me as soon as he died. I never put any pressure on her to move out of the house, but I was quick to offer help when she announced she wanted to live in Florida.

If Bridget asked me for half the value of the land tomorrow, I’d give it to her, no questions asked. Not that it was something that Dad and I ever discussed, but in my heart I know it was understood.

Finally, I quit stalling and open my letter.

---