Page 5 of Falcon

“What’s up man?” I asked as we walked to our bikes.

Hawk seemed tense. “Got a text. They need us back home ASAP.”

I grabbed his shoulder. “Hey man, these guys need at least a couple hours of shut eye or that shipment won’t make it back.” I stepped closer. “What’s going on?”

He clenched his jaw. “They didn’t say. Said we needed church ASAP.”

“Fuck.” I wiped my hand down my face. There was no way to get the bikes back besides riding them, so we couldn’t take shifts. But if they wouldn’t tell Hawk what’s up, it wasn’t good. “Listen man. We need at least a couple hours of sleep. Plus, daylight is less suspicious for the truck. Let’s go to the hotel and pass out and we can pull out early. They know what we’re doing.”

Hawk nodded, so I gave a tilt of my chin to the others, and we all headed out in the normal formation.

After driving about forty-five minutes we made it to the hotel. They took cash, had broken cameras, and didn’t ask questions.

Hawk told the members driving the truck to head inside and sleep, while he leaned against the front bumper smoking a cigarette.

I walked over and sidled up next to him. “So, what’s up?”

He shook his head. “That’s the thing. They won’t say.”

My brow furrowed. “Still nothing? What the fuck, man?”

He blew out a huge plume of smoke. “Yeah. Got a bad feeling.”

Hawk was the VP. I couldn’t imagine why they wouldn’t give him at least a tip off. “Why would Prez keep something from us?”

He gave a humorless laugh and flicked the cherry off his cigarette. “That’s the thing. Didn’t hear from pop.”

Shit. “Listen man, we all need some rest. Why don’t you go get a little and I’ll watch the truck?”

He shook his head again, kicking gravel. “Naw. I can’t sleep. You go.”

I wasn’t about to let him stay out there here by himself, especially knowing some shit must have gone down.

Why the fuck wouldn’t they tell him?

I pulled out my phone and texted some of the members.

We sat against the front of the truck in silence for several minutes.

I kept checking my phone and texting other people. As I scrolled through different numbers, the woman from the club kept popping into my mind.

If everything hadn’t moved so fast, I was planning to ask her about the handprint on her arm. Among other things.

The silence was making me antsy. “Did you see that bruise on that lady’s arm back there?”

Hawk shrugged. “I wasn’t looking at her arm, man.” He didn’t even crack a grin at that. “She probably gets tugged on by handsy fuckers all the time. But the bouncer seemed to be paying attention, so I’m sure they don’t get too rough.”

“Maybe. But I ran into her in the hall not five minutes before the dance and I don’t remember seeing it.”

“Hmm.”

He couldn’t argue that. One of the reasons I was Road Captain, and my name was Falcon, was my excellent sight. And not just the obvious, but I noticed little shit. Shit other people didn’t see. Things you don’t see with your eyes but with your gut, and mine was damn near always right.

“You wanna go back and get a better look?”

With a grunt I said, “Naw. Just making small talk.”

He sighed. “Yeah. Something’s fucked. Ma won’t even answer.”

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