Page 6 of Falcon

“Shit.”

We sat in silence, but it was pretty clear…something bad happened to the Prez. Something bad happened to his pop.

I pushed off the truck. “I’m gonna go make some calls.”

Hawk tipped his head. I walked to the end of the parking lot and called Red.

“Yo.”

“Red. What the fuck is going on?”

He sighed into the phone. “Listen man, we’re holding off on y’all to get back to have church.”

“Okay, but what the fuck for?”

“Man, don’t do this.”

“Do what?” I barked into the phone. “It’s Raven, isn’t it?”

“Man, how soon ‘til you get back?”

I looked toward the truck and Hawk was still in the same spot. “Just fucking tell me. What the fuck are we coming home to?”

He coughed. “Listen, some shit went down.” He took a beat. “Yeah, it’s Raven, but don’t tell anyone you heard it from me.”

“Shit. And his old lady? Hawk couldn’t reach her.”

“They’re at the hospital. But they’re only keeping him alive so Hawk can say his goodbyes.”

I paced, trying to keep my composure. We had to get him home now.

“Details at church man. I’ve already said too much. Y’all just get back in one piece.” He ended the call.

Looking back down at the truck, I swallowed hard. Hawk and I went way back, and his pop took me in when I had nowhere else to go. I wasn’t old enough to drive when my stepdad kicked me out. Raven wouldn’t let me prospect until I was eighteen, but they gave me a place to sleep and work to keep money in my pocket. He may as well be my dad, too. I kicked the side of the building so I didn’t scream out. This was fucked and I had no information. And now I had to tell my brother that he lost his old man while we were hundreds of miles from home.

Chapter 4

Falcon

After delivering the news of Raven, everyone was ready to go. A quiet fury had fallen over the room as I explained what I found out, and how little I knew. Hawk paced for what seemed like hours, seemingly holding it together with the exception of balling his fists so tight that his knuckles were white. He finally stopped and said he was going to head back and Eagle would take his place, but everyone stood and got their shit. We had to make more frequent stops for caffeine and to piss, but nobody was letting Hawk make the ride alone.

It was still up in the air if Hawk’s mom was okay or if she was also admitted. Red didn’t give me shit to go on. So instead of trying to pull info out of anyone since they were being tight-lipped anyway, we decided to just get back.

The ride was long and hard. The weather was perfect, traffic was light, and we didn’t pass one state patrol or cop. It would have been the best run in months, but even driving, you could feel the anger and tension pouring from us and we were all functioning off adrenaline and fury.

Every time we stopped to piss and down some coffee and No Doz, the people inside the gas stations, including the cashiers, had fear in their wide eyes. People’s reactions to us were always either flirty women, dudes sizing us up, or everyone scattered like roaches when the lights came on. But today, the rage we all exuded sent everyone into a paralyzed terror.

After adding a total of an hour to the ride due to all our stops, we finally drove past the small sign to our town. Once we got closer to the compound, Hawk and Eagle took off toward the hospital and I led the truck and Rooster home.

A few of the guys walked out and headed to the garage so they could pull it in. I parked my bike and walked over. “Hey,” I barked out.

Butch stopped in his tracks. He was an Enforcer and should have been called Thor if you asked me. He was probably bigger than that dude that played the God in the movie, but they had the same look, once he cut his hair off anyway. It was shaved on the sides, and he had a thick blond fauxhawk. He was also one of the fuckers who didn’t answer me last night.

“What the fuck happened?” I asked once I closed the distance between us.

He glanced around then leaned in. “Not sure man. Someone got a few shots off on Raven downtown. Got the call from Knox. It’s been a shit show ever since. With you and the others gone we didn’t want it getting out, so we kept it on the low, low.”

Goddammit. There hadn’t been any problems at home, so we left the Prez with an Enforcer and some of the long-time members to hold shit down. It hadn’t been an issue and Raven was the one who wanted to be sure the convoy had enough coverage.

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