1
Sadie
Sadie was damn lucky to have gotten her old job back at Bottoms Up, considering she hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms.She’d simply left work one night and never returned, no notice, no response to any of her boss’s messages.Thankfully, Tom was an understanding and forgiving man.Once she told him about the Phantom Furies MC manipulating her and everything she’d been forced to do to protect her nephew, he’d felt bad for her and put her back on the line-up.She wasn’t proud of the fact that she resorted to playing on Tom’s pity for her, but with another mouth to feed, she didn’t have the luxury of playing nice.
Oliver was her five-year-old nephew and the love of her life.He was her brother Ryan’s son, and she’d been helping to raise him since he was born.He’d gotten a club whore pregnant, and when she found out, she told Ryan she didn’t want to be a mom and planned on getting an abortion.He’d begged and pleaded with her not to get one, and she could sign it over to him when it was born.He didn’t know anything about being a father, but he knew he wanted to be one.Ultimately, it all came down to money.He’d offered her enough, and she agreed.As soon as she popped Oliver out, she was gone.Of course, Ryan had no idea how to take care of a newborn, so he’d moved in with Sadie, and she had been taking care of her nephew ever since.
At least when Ryan was around, he helped out financially and was a hands-on father.He didn’t always have a lot of time to spend with Oliver, but the time he did carve out was quality time.She hated how much time the Phantoms demanded of him, leaving him less and less time with his son.It didn’t take long for Sadie to grow to resent the club and its dark influence on her brother.The toll it was taking on him was obvious as he tried to live two different and separate lives—one in the shadows with the club, and one in the light with his son.
When she was told that Ryan had died, there was only one logical reason as to why.The Phantoms had killed him.Ryan had always had a knack with numbers, and after he’d let it slip to her that the books weren’t adding up, it didn’t take a huge leap to think that someone within the club was skimming money.She believed that it was the president, Crockett, who killed her brother to shut him up.
The Sons assured her that they had dealt with the Phantoms—she took that to mean they annihilated them—and she didn’t have to worry about them anymore.Good riddance.She hated them all.And because of her shitty experiences with the Phantoms, she was having a difficult time trusting the Sons.
Race and his club had done so much for her that she felt like an ungrateful bitch for keeping them at arm’s length.They’d saved her from the Phantoms, gotten Oliver away from their evil clutches, and brought them both to Redemption to start over.They were kind enough to set the two of them up in an apartment and didn’t charge her rent because they knew she still had to make payments on her house in Taos.She still paid for utilities, groceries, and other necessities.
She’d managed to secret away enough of Ryan’s money to pay for his funeral and give her a little nest egg.It wasn’t much, but until her house sold, a huge chunk was coming out every month to pay for the mortgage.If her house ever sold, she hoped to find a small house here in Redemption that had a yard big enough for Oliver to play in.Apartment life wasn’t exactly kid-friendly.He had nowhere to run and play, and now that the weather was cold, he had less opportunity to play outside.
Not only did she feel like an ungrateful bitch, but she also felt like a hypocrite, given that the club also owned the place where she worked.Stripping at Bottoms Up wasn’t her ideal job, but it paid damn well and had exceptional health insurance.Without it, she would plow through those small savings in no time.She hoped that if she saved enough money from her job to add to the proceeds from the sale of her house, she would eventually find a different job that allowed her to work during the day and be home with Oliver every night.
The Sons had been fantastic to her, even though it was clear she wanted nothing to do with them.Race, the president, had gone out of his way to be as helpful as possible.He’d offered to help her sell her house in Taos, so she wouldn’t have to deal with that on top of getting settled in Redemption, getting Oliver enrolled in school, and finding a job.She had a full plate and appreciated his lightening the load even if just a little.Normally, she would take care of something like this on her own, but honest to God, if she had to deal with one more thing, she thought her head might explode.
She put the finishing touches on her makeup, then stood up and assessed her costume in the mirror.She wanted to make sure everything was in place and covered until it was time to take it off.Under her schoolgirl costume, she wore a lacy bra and a G-string.That’s as far as she was willing to go.
“You’re up next, Sadie.”Tom stuck his head in the dressing room door to tell her it was her turn.
“Thanks, Tom.On my way.”
It was strange that she never got nervous when she went on stage to dance.She would have thought that having all those people, 90% horny men, staring at her would freak her out, but it didn’t.The energy from the crowd fed into her and bolstered her confidence.
“Is he here tonight?”she asked as she met Tom in the hallway.
“Yes.He’s at the club’s table.”
“Okay.Thanks.”Ugh.She hated when Tinker was here.He made her skin crawl.He was disgusting.None of the girls were overly fond of him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he’d been recently released from prison.It had to do with the way he leered at them all.He was so skeevy it wouldn’t surprise her if he jacked off under the table while they danced, and it wasn’t her imagination that he focused on her more than any of the others.
The first time she’d been around him was the same night she and Darren had been rescued.He’d instantly given her the creep vibes.She’d seen his kind among the ranks of the Phantoms and knew to avoid him at all costs.Nevertheless, she and the other women who weren’t around when he’d been with the club before were told to never be alone with him and to always be on guard around him.He was dangerous.Yeah, she didn’t need someone to tell her that when she already felt it bone deep.
Sadie stood off stage watching one of the girls finish her routine.She peeked through the curtain, and sure enough, Tinker sat at the club’s table.It didn’t bother her half as much when the other brothers watched her, but as she said, there was something about him that didn’t sit well with her.
The song ended, and the lights came down.It was her turn.She took her position and waited for the opening strains of Warrant’s song to start up.She bowed her head, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.As soon as the lyrics “She’s my cherry pie” blared out of the speaker, her head popped up at the same time the spotlight blinked on above her.She plastered a smile on her face and strutted down the stage like she owned it.The further into the song she got, the more relaxed she became, and by the end, she was having a blast.
She lived for these three minutes on stage.It was the only time her brain shut off, and she was able to become one with the music.No worrying about how she was going to pay for her bills.No worrying whether or not her house was going to sell soon.No worrying about whether or not she was doing a good job raising Oliver.No thinking about a certain sandy blonde-haired man.
Jed was the bane of her existence.She could never figure out if he liked her or hated her guts.She was aware that he was attracted to her, and that was probably what his problem with her was all about.He was drawn to her, and he didn’t like it.He more than likely still considered her as one of the enemy despite never being a part of the Phantoms.
All too soon, the song came to an end, and she headed backstage.She accepted the white silk robe from one of the stagehands behind the curtain.“Thanks.”She slipped her arms inside, wrapped one side over the other, and tied the belt.Stepping into the hall, her shoulders tensed when she heard someone calling her name.She recognized the voice, and dread consumed her.
Oh shit.It was Tinker.
* * *
Tinker
“Sadie!”he called to her back.She was pulling a white satin robe over the red satin bra and G-string she’d stripped down to.Pity.He hated seeing her cover all that beautiful skin.
She stopped and turned on her heels.“Yes?”She finished tying the sash, her hands dropping to her sides.She didn’t show any signs of recognizing him, and he found that disappointing.
“I just watched you dance, and I wanted to tell you how great a job you did.Had the crowd eating out of your hand.”In her heels, she was eye level with him, and he was fascinated by the light green color of her eyes.
