Page 48 of Hawk

“You put the fear of god into ‘em, so I ain’t worried. Ow, that hurts, missy.”

“Sorry,” I murmured. “Need to disinfect it.”

He held up a fifth of whiskey. “This will do that just fine.” His eyes sparkled with mischief as he turned to Hawk. “I see you’ve gone and found yourself a good woman. Finally. Good for you, man.”

Hawk smiled at me and warmth spread throughout my body, dammit. “Yeah, I’m definitely getting the better end of the deal, that’s for fucking sure.”

“Yep, that’s how it’s meant to be. Us lucky bastards land a woman far too good for us and then we spend the rest of our lives trying to live up to who she sees when she looks at us.” His smile grew when he turned back to me. “Thank you, missy.”

“You’re welcome. Call me Laura.” He was a sweet older man, and I was curious as hell about who he was to Hawk.

“Wasn’t sure if I’d find you here today.” Hawk tried for a casual tone, but even to my ears the worry was evident. “You’ve been gone a lot lately.”

Axel waved off his concern. “Too many new people around here.”

“Yeah, I can see that. You know those little shits?”

“Nope. Another group of brand-new shits who enjoy hanging out here lately. Maybe it’s time for me to move on.”

Hawk grinned. “You leave the desert? I doubt that, old man.”

“Still young enough to take you on, boy.” The tone between them was playful, almost familial. “What’s in the bag?”

“Burgers loaded with the works and ketchup dripping off the sides.”

Axel’s eyes grew wide and sparkled with want. “No fries?”

Hawk’s smile spread as he shook his head. “Onion rings fresh from the fryer. Lots of ‘em too.”

“Whooo boy, now you’re speaking my language!” He rubbed his hands together gleefully and accepted the bag with a smile. “You’re too good to an old man.”

“I’m just good enough,” he answered with an affectionate smile. “You want to sleep inside tonight?”

Axel opened a burger wrapper and took a big bite as he shook his head. “No need. It’s gonna be warm tonight and the stars are gonna be shining like diamonds in the sky. Yours truly,” he patted his chest and let out a rumbling laugh, “will have the best view.”

“If you’re sure,” Hawk said, his tone filled with concern.

“I’m sure, Hawk. Don’t waste your time worrying about me when you have this pretty little thing to occupy your time.” He winked at me and took another bite of his burger.

“Call me if you need anything, Axel. Anything.”

“Will do. Thanks, little brother.”

Hawk nodded once and walked away. His broad shoulders were stiff, and he wore a frown. I guess he was thinking about our earlier unresolved argument.

“He’s your brother?”

“Not by blood, no.”

Okay, well, that wasn’t exactly an answer. “That was nice, what you did for him.”

“Even human traffickers have their moments, Laura.” With those words he put the helmet on his head and swung his leg over the bike before starting the engine. I stood and watched as anger radiated off his big body, probably with a good bit of worry for Axel mixed in, not to mention a healthy dose of pissed off aimed at me.

He’d always seemed easy-going, but it was clear that me accusing him of trafficking had affected him badly, and I wished with everything I had, that I could take back my words.

When his gaze met mine beneath his mirrored sunglasses, I nodded and grabbed the other helmet and slipped it over my head. I hopped up on the back of his bike and wrapped my arms around him, which felt wrong for the second time today.

I wasn’t too proud to admit that I’d made a mistake with Hawk. I let Eric get in my head when I shouldn’t have, and I hurt someone who’d been nothing but nice to me. Kind and sweet, protective as hell. He’d dropped everything whenever I called and came to help.

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