Page 64 of Hawk

“Your ex is Organized Crime, isn’t he?” I said.

Laura looked surprised, “How do you know?”

“I waited half an hour for you today, when you didn’t turn up, I went looking for you. Spoke to Kristy and she filled me in on a few things.”

She reached for the wine bottle again.

“Is this a solo pity party or can anyone join in?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Here,” she handed me the bottle, so I took a swig. I could tell she was coming down from whatever mindset she’d talked herself into, so I sat beside her on the sofa with my feet on the table knocking half of whatever crap Detective Shit-For-Brains had been feeding her, to the floor.

“You know what these are?” I asked.

She shrugged, “Evidence?”

“Nope. If they were evidence, then me and my club brothers would be locked up or awaiting trial. These are surveillance photographs. Someone has been watching the Steel Demons MC.”

I threw my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close, she didn’t resist so I knew that she didn’t want to turn my balls into paperweights anymore, I continued, “Care to think of anyone who might happen to have in their possession numerous surveillance photographs of a motorcycle club?”

“Eric,” she said on a long sigh.

“Babe, the cops try and investigate us all the time. We aren’t angels and I’m not gonna lie, some of what we do is skirting the boundaries of legality. And some has gone way beyond that.” My eyes drifted to a photograph taken a few months ago of me standing beside a box of semi-automatic guns, we’d gone to scope out the hardware at another MC’s clubhouse. We’d not bought the guns because they had no fucking firing pins, and that was probably the only reason why we’d not been pulled in that day. I needed to bring that particular bit of intel to my prez, going forward we were gonna have to be more careful.

I reached up and cupped her chin with my hand, “Sweetheart, you have to believe me. My club is not involved in dark shit, we don’t traffic people. If whoever took these photos had any actual evidence, then I wouldn’t be sitting here with you.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you, again,” Laura said. Her eyes were glossy, and I wiped away a stray tear with my thumb.

We sat in companionable silence for a while as I mused over everything.

“Your ex,” I started, “how far would he go to get you back?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I made it plenty clear that I wanted nothing to do with him anymore. I even threatened to get a restraining order if he kept bugging me.”

“A restraining order? Has he ever been violent?” I sat up and turned to her. I’d never met the fucker but already I hated him.

“No, he was just a cheat and a liar, why? What are you thinking?”

“Someone has been putting word out that I’m a snitch, that’s the reason the deal is off with Los Ochos.”

“Eric wouldn’t do something like that,” she said.

“Can you be sure?”

“He’s a good cop. I know he’s a shitty man and I want him out my life, but he’s good at what he does, and he was just looking out for me, as fucked up as it seems.”

“Sweetheart, I hope you’re right, because if this is his doing, then he’s putting you in the crosshairs.”

She rested her head on my shoulder, “Can’t you just tell them the truth?”

I placed a kiss on her cheek, “I wish it were that simple, babe. But whoever is spreading shit around about me is convincing. No one wants to deal with a snitch, and that’s what I am.”

I felt her relax against me and snuggle in. I want to put everything out of my mind right now and just focus on what’s right with my life, and that’s Laura.

Tomorrow I’m gonna see if Slate can dig anything up on her ex. She might think he’s squeaky clean, but I want to see fucking evidence of it. And I’d bet my last dollar on him being behind the rumors being spread about me.

“How do you like the sound of an early night? Reckon you’ve got some kinks that I might need to work on in the shower.”

She giggled and it was the sweetest sound I’d heard, “Kinks? You feeling kinky?”

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