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Two months later —
A model-perfect woman glided into the lobby of the Grimaldi Building on four-inch heels. Poised and strikingly sexy in a deep cleavage black suit and white blouse. "Mr. Grimaldi will see you now."
Lena looked at Thad and stood with him. She smoothed the front of her shirt and held her jacket in front of her. Others might not see her five-month baby bump with her oversized shirt on, but she was highly aware of the bundle she needed to protect from the unknown.
Alexander Grimaldi had a record of being a shark in the courtroom. He could chew her up and spit her out easily.
"If you want to leave, we leave," whispered Thad. "If I want you to leave, we're going to fucking leave, babe."
She nodded, knowing he'd haul her out before she could blink if he thought her or the baby were in danger or emotional distress. That's what she loved about him.
"I'm okay." She blew out her breath and followed the woman down the hallway, thankful for Thad's hand on her back pushing her in the right direction. She needed to know the truth.
Mr. Grimaldi's secretary stepped to the side of an open door and motioned with her hand. "Right inside."
"Thank you," said Lena.
Knowing if she hesitated now, she'd turn around and leave, she stepped inside the room and finally looked at the man her mother said was her father for the first time in person. In reality, he appeared older than his picture.
His hair, cut in the same meticulous style fitting a lawyer, was solid gray and not peppered with black as depicted in his website picture. His black power suit and red tie only accelerated her anxiety.
Mr. Grimaldi raised his gaze from his desk. "Please, come in."
Thad guided her to one of the chairs. She sat, thankful for the support. Thad stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders instead of sitting in the empty chair. Lawyers couldn't intimidate her biker. Nobody could.
Mr. Grimaldi half stood and reached across the desk, holding out his hand. "I'm Alexander Grimaldi."
Lena shook his large hand. "Lena Hollis."
"Thad Bowers," said Thad, shaking her could-be father's hand.
Mr. Grimaldi sat back down and gave them his full attention. "What can I help you with today."
Lena opened her mouth, and the rehearsed conversation she'd planned escaped her. Thad squeezed her shoulders, but her suddenly dry mouth distracted her. What if the answers she received were wrong or that she wasn't wanted?
"My secretary was unable to verify if your appointment with me is business or personal. Why don't we start there," said Mr. Grimaldi.
She swallowed. "It's personal."
"Okay." Mr. Grimaldi tilted his head. "Let's talk."
"Thirty-five years ago, did you know a woman named Amelia Grayson?" She clamped her lips shut. There were softer ways to get information out of others, and she'd barreled forward ready to nail him to the wall.
"Thirty-five years ago? I can't say that I do remember the name." He studied her intently. "Can I ask why you're asking?"
"I have no other way of saying this, so I'll be blunt. My mother, Amelia Grayson, claimed that you were my father before she died." Lena scooted forward. "I would only like to know if that's true so that I can put the pieces of my past together. I'm not looking to know you or seek emotional or monetary support from you, of course. I'm thirty-four years old and quite happy with my life the way it is."
Mr. Grimaldi never shifted, raised his brows, or reacted to her declaration. Maybe she said too much at one time. Even to her own ears, it sounded like too much drama, and he was a stranger used to meticulous facts in the courtroom and probably lived a normal lawyer-ish life.
"I'm afraid I don't know an Amelia Grayson," said Mr. Grimaldi.
Her jaw tensed. "Are you sure—?"
"I'm not finished. If you'd please give me a few minutes, I'll be right with you." Mr. Grimaldi stood and walked out of the room, leaving the door open.
Lena turned in her seat. "This isn't going well. Maybe we should leave. He's probably making a run for it because he thinks I'm crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a security team that will charge in here any second and throw us out."
"Give him a few more minutes," said Thad, bending over and kissing her forehead. "I don't know any man who wouldn't take fathering a child seriously and not listen, babe. It would be a hard thing to accept after all these years."
"I know," she whispered. If there had been a better way to ask, she would've tried that approach first, but she wasn't here because of some long buried need to know her father. She only wanted to learn the truth and then she could go home. If she could blame her mom's hatred on the fact Amelia Grayson hated her father, maybe there would be a time when she believed nothing was wrong with her and let the past go.
Mr. Grimaldi walked back into the room holding two yellow folders and sat down at his desk. He opened both of them, turned them around, and pushed them closer to Lena.
"I went from associate to owning my own firm over thirty-seven years ago. Thirty-five years ago, I rarely stepped out of this office, except to go to the courthouse." Mr. Grimaldi leaned back in the chair. "I keep scrupulous records. Over those years, I've employed two women with the first name of Amelia. Neither one of them had the last name of Grayson. You will find their picture on the front cover of their employee records."
Lena leaned forward. The first file was not her mother. Wrong hair, coloring, and build. She swung her gaze to the second one and inhaled swiftly. "This is my mother, Amelia Grayson."
Mr. Grimaldi swiveled the folder around to him. "Amelia Morgan?"
"Th-that was her maiden name." She slid back into the chair and reached over her shoulder for Thad's hand and latched on to him tightly. "She got married to a man who left her before I was born. I don't know how long that marriage lasted, but her married name was Grayson. I didn't think when I came here that there was the possibility that you knew her by her maiden name."
"I see." Mr. Grimaldi studied the folder. "I don't have a habit of having affairs with married women, Ms. Hollis."
"I think we need to cut the back and forth and end this meeting if you could answer one simple question for Lena." Thad's hand in hers remained steady. "Did you have a relationship or have sex with Lena's mom thirty-five years ago?"
Mr. Grimaldi gazed at Thad and back to Lena. His eyes softened. "You do realize that I will require a paternity test?"
Lena slumped in her seat. "You believe me?"
Mr. Grimaldi stood and walked over to the credenza at the back of the room. He returned carrying two picture frames. His thumb stroked the glass before he set them in front of her on the desk. Lena swallowed, her thoughts swirling, she couldn't stop and grasp what was happening.
"I got married fifteen years ago and divorced eight short years later. The only good thing that came from that marriage were my children." He pointed at the pictures. "These are my kids. My son, Jeffrey, and my daughter, Kerianne."
Lena dropped her gaze to the pictures and pressed her fingers to her lips to hide her surprise. His children could've been her twin. Both of them had dark hair, brown eyes, but it was the daughter, wearing a backward baseball cap, staring at something off camera while holding what looked like a pom-pom cheerleaders used at sporting events. She looked so much like Lena when she was younger that if she hadn't known better, she'd think she was looking at herself.
"Legally, I want the test done." Alexander Grimaldi picked up his daughter's picture. "But, I can see for myself that the possibilities of you being my daughter are high. The Grimaldi family has always had strong genes...and strong women."
Lena's heart raced. She laid a hand on her stomach, and her jacket slipped off her lap onto the floor. Ignoring the fallen coat, she said, "Did my mother hate you?"
Mr. Grimaldi returned to his seat, moving slower but remaining in control. "I made the mistake of sleeping with her when she worked in my office filing records. Simply put, I was full of myself and success came to me early. If I remember correctly, I'd walked out of winning a big case and decided to celebrate alone in my office when Amelia Morgan walked past my door...after hours, of course. I invited her in for a drink, and we had sex."
"Once?" asked Lena.
Mr. Grimaldi's mouth softened. "Like, I said. The Grimaldi gene is strong."
"Did she tell you she was pregnant?"
"No." Mr. Grimaldi exhaled loudly. "I came to my senses, sobered up, and fired her with a generous check for my lack of judgment. I never saw or heard from her again. I got the feeling she was trying to...see me for my wealth. That even though I had asked her to celebrate with me, she'd planned the whole thing and had often put herself in my path while working for me. Even back then, despite a few mistakes and questionable behavior on my part, I protected my investments. So, to answer your question, I'm sure she wasn't pleased with me over my behavior the morning after we were together."
Lena stood and held out her hand. "Thank you for answering my questions. I won't bother you anymore."
"Ms. Hollis? Lena?" He stood without letting go of her hand. "I'll set up an appointment for you to—"
"That's not necessary." She removed her hand from his grasp and smiled, reaching for Thad. "I have my family, and I'm happy. My intent on coming here was only to find out the truth and make sense of my past."
Mr. Grimaldi cocked his head. "I'd like to know more about you."
She leaned against Thad, reeling from her father's accepting reaction to her. "Right now, I would like to go home and think about everything that I've found out about today. I'm...a little overwhelmed at the moment."
"I understand the feeling. No one has ever walked into my office and claimed to be my daughter before." Her father dropped his chin in acceptance.
She looked up at Thad, picked her jacket up off the floor, and walked with him to the door.
In the hallway, Alexander Grimaldi called her name, stopping her. She turned around. "Yes?"
"Did you have a good life? Your mother was a good mom?" His forehead wrinkled in worry.
"I have a good life now." She raised her chin because she was not going to hide behind her abusive past. "My mother hated me. There was no love exchanged between us, and I left after I turned eighteen years old."
The lines at the corners of her father's eyes deepened. "I hope you know no child is ever responsible for how a parent behaves."
Her throat constricted with emotions. "I’m learning."
Her father cleared his throat and watched her walk away. She put her arm around Thad. The walk to the elevator at the end of the hallway took all her strength. As they waited for the doors to open, she tilted her head to take Thad's kiss. She couldn't have done this without him silently supporting her, protecting her, guiding her.
The doors swished open. She stepped over the threshold and turned around, looking down the hallway one more time before the elevator swept her away. Alexander Grimaldi stood outside his office still watching her. He raised a hand. Lena raised her hand. For the few seconds they stood facing each other across the hallway, she'd connected with her father. The elevator doors swished closed, sucking all the air out of the small area. She dropped her hand and would've dropped to her knees had Thad not wrapped his arm around her waist and held up her weight.
They rode the elevator down six floors to the ground. Outside of the building, she stopped on the sidewalk and inhaled the cool air. Thad curled her in front of him, keeping her warm against the chill.
"I don't believe that'll be the last time you see your father, babe," he said. "He doesn't look like a man who would walk away from his daughter."
She tilted her head. "Did you see the pictures of his son and daughter?"
"Hang on." He shifted, pulling out his wallet, and removed a folded white paper. "Open that up and look."
She unfolded the paper and looked at the picture. "That's me. Why are you carrying this on you?"
"It was the only picture Jake had to give us when Notus was searching for you. Your sister is the spitting image of you. Even down to the serious expression you get when you're unsure." Thad took the paper back from her, put it in his wallet, and then guided her down the street to where he'd parked her car. "I'm going to give you something to think about."
"What's that?" She pulled up the collar of her jacket.
"If my sister were alive, I would do anything to be in her life." Thad glanced over at her. "It wasn't only your father you found today. You have another family out there that don't have the pleasure of loving you. A sister and a brother."
"But, we're having our own family." She laid her hand on the front of her coat.
"Our baby will be raised to love a lot of people. There's room." He stopped at the car and unlocked the passenger door. "It's something for you to think about."
She stopped in front of him. "I love you."
"And, I'm going to love you." He kissed her. "Now, get inside out of the cold, babe. Pop's supposed to come over with a load of lumber for your gazebo."
She sat down and buckled up, happier than she thought possible. Today, went amazingly well. Her fear that Alexander Grimaldi would deny what was right in front of his face if he refused to look or listen to her never materialized. She found herself curious about his strong pride in the Grimaldi name and wondered if she was handed any of the traits he'd mentioned.
Thad pulled away from the curb and reached over and held her hand. She looked out the window as he wound his way down the streets of Portland and back into St. John's. Her heart swelled with love for Thad. Without him, she would still be alone. She would've lost out on all the love she received from him, his parents, his club.
He turned left onto the street to go home. She looked out her window at all the houses they passed. In front of the house, his dad stood leaning against the truck filled with lumber. She warmed and smiled, squeezing Thad's hand. She lived in a normal house with a normal family. She no longer needed to look into other people's houses.
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading Hard Drifter, the third book of the Notus Motorcycle Club series. As with each book in the series, I cover one of the four reasons why people go missing. With drifters, it can go two ways. The missing person wants to go back and needs incentive, such as someone looking for them, or they can choose to stay away. I chose the more difficult path for Lena Hollis because Thad Bowers needed to see how lucky he was to have the family (both parents and his MC brothers) that has stuck by him through a great loss. Of course, he also needed to be an example for Lena so she could drift toward him.
There are two more books in the series that will release soon. The next book will be about Chuck. Oh boy, do I have some readers who have already planned out his story and will be surprised about how Chuck gets his happily ever after.
Just to keep all readers, new and old, updated. I like to bring a different purpose to all my biker series. With Notus, we have men who learned to be loyal during childhood and as adults learned to be deadly when trouble threatened their path. It was through an unconditional bond grown over time, they learned the true sense of Brotherhood. I believe that their purpose of finding missing persons, understanding their drive, and seeing the good and the bad, depicts how we all feel toward crime. There is no right or wrong, only a deep sense of wanting better for ourselves and others (our community).
I'd also like to thank the readers who leave an honest review and invite everyone to come over to my Facebook page and join my other readers to keep up to date, share your love of reading, and have fun with me.
Love,
Debra