Claimed by the Biker Giant (Maxine and Tank) novel Chapter 118

Maxine/Fixer POV

Breakfast was fun; every hand came to help prepare, and even my uncle helped in the kitchen, which at first surprised me. Our first meeting gave me the impression that everyone pandered to his needs, but after getting to know him last night, I should have realised he was not like that. He might be all-powerful, but only when he needs to be. Uncle Simon was soft, kind, and caring. Well, to me, that is, I don’t ever want to be on the bad side of him.

We laughed a lot.

Uncle Simon knows how to captivate the audience.

The more we talked and joked, the more little fragments of memory filtered through. I hadn’t seen him since Grandpa’s death, and had forgotten he was my uncle. When he visited, it was fun, and I called him ‘uncle,’ but I had thought that was an honorary title, not a true uncle. But I see I was wrong; he was my true uncle, my Grandma’s twin brother. He regrets not being involved in our family much more, for all the times he had lost and never gotten back, for his work keeping him away for long stints, and for missing important events. Like his family’s’ funeral, my birth, and my mum’s death, all missed because of his government job, which he can’t explain to us, what it was, what he does, just that he regrets not taking more time to get to know us all, while the others were alive, and wishes he had known how short life was. That he wasted so much of it and wants to make up for lost time while he still has some life left in him.

“Do you remember that fishing trip, where your grandpa caught the biggest fish ever in that river? He was so impressed with its size, he let it go, saying you managed to live this long, get out there and make more babies, for me to catch. It was such a photo moment. He bragged about that fish for years.” Uncle Simon reminisced, his eyes twinkling with joy, as he recounted some of his visits, which mainly involved fishing. His niece’s wedding and my birth, yet the other important ones that he missed, he will never forgive himself for not trying harder to get back. When Mum died, he was out of contact; no one could raise him. When he surfaced again, and the task was done, he was shattered and spent a week with us, crying with Grandpa, Grandma, and cuddling me, or so I am told; I don’t remember that.

Now it was box time again.

Tank suggested getting the bad out of the way first, so we have good things to look at afterwards, to cheer us up. Uncle Simon has ordered clothes and his laptop to be delivered. He is going to stay for at least a week. He can work from anywhere and has no pressing responsibilities at home. He desperately wants to get to know me better, guide me through the minefield that my sudden wealth might have caused, because I have a lot of businesses under my name that I knew nothing about, and on both sides of my family, meaning from my Mum and Dad, who I am still hoping were alive,

Uncle Simon was going to use his connections to find out what he could about Dad’s last known location; maybe he could get extra help in that area, now that he knows the family is stuck, his nephew-in-law. I know Uncle Simon was a big shot in whatever area he worked in for the government, so fingers crossed, he has better pull to get things done. Money might talk in the world, but not in all areas of government. That way, my Grandparents A couldn’t get information, all their wealth, and still that door was closed to them.

I am beginning to dislike what was in this box; it was a mixture of good and bad.

At the moment, not enough good information, and way too much bad.

All new to me, so it was extra bad, seeing and hearing a lot of this for the first time, the sadness it invoked, and the deep need to understand what really happened.

Grim photos of the accident, never been released or seen before, neither Tandy nor Uncle Simon had seen these, and it rattled Tank; he wasn’t prepared to see his parents’ bodies like that. Me, it was terrible and unsettling for me, but with me having been so young, it didn’t hit me the same way. It was like watching a very graphic movie, and being told that was your mum, I don’t remember her like Tank remembers his family.

That was what we worked on first, the scrapbook, every news clipping, photo, a list, itemising it all, dates, where they came from, who they talked to, copies of police interviews, that never surfaced at the inquest.

How did Grandma get all these? That’s a big question.

“That dirty rotten…” Tandy said at the same time.

“Who is that?” Came from Blaze, the bodyguards, and Sticks.

Uncle Simon and Tank were cussing.

Jenny rushed to my side, and Prez stood and paced.

“Before we go racing over there and killing the man, we need more answers, like did he work alone? Who was his connection to have all this squashed? Was the rest of the family part of this?” Uncle Simon announced, stopping the men who were ready to race out and drag that scumbag over here so we can work on him, in the underground cells. Yeah, I was surprised to find them, but they are there, a secret passage going down, it was part cell, part safety room, this place has everything, although it looks like that area hadn’t been used in a long time.

“Grab that whole family and send them to the cells.” Uncle Simon smiled at me. He knows about the cells and most likely knows more about this house than I do, having grown up in it when he was small. They moved out and put it up for rent before the children started high school. That was the house my Uncle got, and he seemed happy to get it, but I have no clue how he didn’t know about it. He appears to be oblivious to much of what was owned, perhaps because his wife was out of the loop.

Still confused, I piece it all together, and I no longer believe that my aunt and uncle could be related to me at all.