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For her, I will be better.
“There is no amount of money or threats that could keep me away from Sasha,” I inform them, my confidence taking them aback. Perhaps they are used to people dropping to their knees for favors, but there is nothing these two can offer me that I want.
Money, I have enough of that. Maybe not enough to buy a palace like theirs, but enough to support Sasha and myself. Their threats don’t do much for me either. I have brothers who would stand by my side when push comes to shove. The Steel Order can be a real menace when it wants to, and these men don’t want to see how far we are willing to go.
“This is my last warning to stay away from my daughter. It would be a shame if you and your little band of criminals woke up to an FBI raid, don’t you think?”
My smirk falls at the older man’s threat, and I meet his stare dead on. I don’t doubt that he could do it. Hell, I bet he’d just need to make one phone call, and by tomorrow, the place will be flooded with sniff dogs and armed men.
Although the MC has been edging toward legal businesses, we still are not fully there yet. What we keep on the clubhouse property could easily land my brothers in jail and hurt many people in the process.
My twin, Cash, has told me time and time again that I have no concept of consequences, and I bet he’d be screaming “I told you so” if he was here right now. Heck, these people probably would even preferred him to me.
I breathe out a sigh, unwilling to be backed into a corner just yet. I don’t want to lose Sasha, but the stakes are high. I cannot afford to be the downfall of the club that took me in when I had nothing. It’s easier when the threat is just on me, but to add my brothers to the mix . . .
“You’re looking at it the wrong way,” I say, my eyes on Sasha’s brother. “You’re running for governor, and if the rumors are to be believed, your father will be campaigning for Congress in the next election.”
The room falls into a dead silence following my words. “What are you getting at?” says the younger Greenwald eventually.
“I bet the two of you are thinking of marrying Sasha off to someone for a connection.” I push off the door and walk toward them, seating myself on the empty couch without waiting to be invited. “I could be an asset or a liability. Depending on how you look at it.”
The son scoffs. “What could someone like you offer us?”
“Bragging rights and votes,” I say.
Ever since Cash told me about Sasha’s family, I’ve been expecting something like this, and I thought the whole thing through. I knew these people would never want me to be with their daughter, not out of concern for her but for the bargaining chip they would be losing. To them, Sasha is a means to an end.
“We have plenty of support,” Sasha’s father counters. “And everything we have done for this great state is well known.”
“Everything you’ve done? Tell me, Attorney General Greenwald, what exactly have you done? Do you even know who your core constituents are?”
He laughs mockingly. “Crime is down across the state, but especially in Austin. Just recently, a major human trafficking ring was uncovered and dismantled! We have a solid base among the middle class and the wealthy elite. I’ve been in the game a long time, boy. I know what I’m doing.”
“Crime might be down, but it has nothing to do with you. Austin’s police force is known to be full of crooked cops. Hell, some of those traffickers you mentioned were cops. They certainly didn’t break up the trafficking ring, the Steel Order MC did, among other things. We got rid of the Broken Chains MC, one of the most violent organizations in the South. You only look good because of us. As for votes, you might have the support of the wealthy elite, but that’s only a small percentage of Texans.”
“What do you know about voter demographics?” David demands with scoff.
“I know that the majority of Texas voters are blue-collar workers and suburbanites. Know who cares about crime rates? Soccer moms. And who can relate more to a blue-collar worker pulling eighty-hour work weeks to put food on the table for his kids, you or the mechanic he knows from his local bar, who happens to be a member of a motorcycle club? Who do they trust more? The politicians raising taxes or the motorcycle club sponsoring free meals at the city’s shelters and youth centers to keep their kids off the street?”
“What are you getting at?” Sasha’s father demands, red in the face.
“Since our current prez, Priest, took over the club, he’s established a dozen club chapters across Texas and more in Louisiana. We’re over two thousand members strong. Crime across the entire state has dropped, but most significantly in Austin. What I’m getting at, sir, is that without everything the Steel Order has been doing behind the scenes to bring stability to Austin in particular, but also Texas as a whole, your son’s campaign—and your career, for the matter—would be dead in the water. What do you think will happen if we go public with evidence of who really stopped the trafficking ring and dismantled the Broken Chains? You’ve been taking credit for our good deeds, Mr. Greenwald. What would the public say if they knew?”
Both men splutter with indignation, and I give myself a mental pat on the back. It was a long shot, but it looks like the research I’ve been doing at night after Sasha falls asleep is paying off.
“You can’t go public with anything without admitting you’ve broken the law. You’re bluffing,” the attorney general growls.
“Maybe, but you can’t prosecute the entire club, and you’d have no proof which individuals were directly involved. And what will the public say about an AG who goes after the good guys? We’d win in the court of public opinion, and we both know that’s the only one that really matters when it comes to elections. Public office is won or lost in the media these days. By coming after us, you’d only be giving us a platform to further denounce you and your son. Are you willing to take that risk?”
“So, what do you want?” David asks, standing and pacing away from his father.
“What I’ve been saying all along. Sasha,” I tell him.
“And what do we get in return? There has to be some benefit for us,” he responds, sliding smoothly into negotiation-mode like the lawyer he is.
I pause for a moment, pretending to think it over, but the truth is I’ve already talked this all out with my club brothers when I’d stopped by the clubhouse for Church the day before. True to his word, Cash had ratted me out to our president, and Priest had a thing or two to say. But he is nothing if not fair and was willing to hear me out. Things might have gone differently had this all happened before meeting his fiancée, Sky, but these days, Priest knows how it feels to be in love. He, along with Knight, Reaper, and Cash, helped me devise a plan for this very scenario.
“You agree to leave Sasha alone to live her life the way she wants, with whomever she wants, and you can continue to take credit for the Steel Order’s good deeds. We’ll also make it known that the Greenwald’s have our full support in the upcoming election.”
