Page 23 of No Mercy

“So we’re a bunch of pussies now?” That came from Painter again.

I glanced at Hawk, wondering how long he was going to let this go on, realizing that he was letting the men have their say. He sat at the head of the table, a serious expression on his face, revealing a patience he wasn’t known for. It was just another change that had taken place in him since Audra had come into his life. I couldn’t fault her for that, she was good for him. She’d taken a monster and turned him human again. She’d saved Hawk from himself.

“There’s a lot at stake here, brothers. We’re not going to take a vote today. I want you to think about your decision carefully, make sure you’re prepared for the consequences, because once we’re in, we’re in till the end. Questions?” Everyone remained quiet. “Meet back here the same time tomorrow morning.”

Chairs scraped back. Murmurs between the men filtered back to where Hawk and I remained sitting. When the room was empty and the door had closed, a calm remained behind that spoke volumes. It was the kind of peace we’d craved during so many years of chaos, and savored now that it was ours. Tomorrow’s vote could change everything.

“I get why you’re reluctant to take this job.”

Hawk shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah. But I’ll stand behind my brothers if they decide they want to do it. Five million is a shit load of money to pass up. We’ll send our families to the safe house in Canada.”

I stared at him for a moment, digesting what he’d just said. “Since when do we have a fucking safe house in Canada?”

His expression gave nothing away. “Since I used club money to purchase one. A place big enough to house our families became available a few years ago in Canmore, so I purchased it under an alias. Thought it made sense to keep it quiet until it became absolutely necessary.”

Some of the brothers shared club information with their old ladies. They weren’t supposed to, but it happened. We had a couple of safe houses the members knew about, and there was always the possibility that their existence and locations had been compromised over the years. Old ladies came and went, brothers talked in their sleep. Shit happened. A secret safe house that only Hawk was aware of? In my opinion it was a damned smart move. There was a reason he was the president.

The fact that he’d made a major purchase using club money without taking a vote may piss some brothers off, but they’d get over it, especially if it turned out that we needed the place.

I frowned. “Where the fuck is Canmore?”

“Alberta.”

“You going to mention the place to the brothers tomorrow?”

“If I need to, otherwise it remains our little secret.”

I thought about it for a second before nodding in agreement. I rarely questioned Hawk’s decisions. Most of the time we thought alot alike. Grinning, I got to my feet. “Come on, I feel like a drink.”

Then I’d go home to my son and to a woman who didn’t know she was mine yet.

Chapter 13

Allie

I puffed out a noisy breath and stood, surveying the end result of a day of hard work. The two bedrooms Rock had given Sam and me had been empty except for a bed and a chest of drawers in mine, and I’d decided to tackle Sam’s room first. Apart from the size and neutral color of the walls, it looked pretty darn close to the room he’d had back in Cedar Key. Looking around at all the pirate stuff we’d brought with us, I couldn’t help wondering when he’d outgrow it and move on to the next phase. He’d been into pirates for a couple of years now.

Satisfied that there was nothing else for me to do, I moved on to my room. I could at least make up my bed for the night, and then I would get a shower and look around to see what I could make for dinner. Rock had left us as soon as he and the boys had unloaded the U-haul truck, saying that he’d order for a pizza to be delivered at lunch time, but I didn’t feel like eating it again for dinner. Besides, Sam had picked off all of the pepperoni and cheese on the remaining pieces.

Smiling at that, I moved to the boxes against the wall and searched over the labels until I came to the one marked “bedding”. I resisted the urge to keep going once my bed was made. There was always tomorrow, but first on my agenda would be to get Sam enrolled into school. I wanted him back into his normal routine as soon as possible.

After grabbing some clean clothes I padded barefoot to the metal railing at the edge of the loft, and glanced down into the living room where Sam was watching TV.

“You okay down there?”

He glanced up at me with a big smile. Sam had started out helping me, but halfway through the day he’d grown bored and restless, getting in the way more than he was helping out. That was when I realized that it was time to send him downstairs to watch his shows. “Yep! I’m hungry though.”

“Me, too,” I agreed. “Let me get a quick shower and I’ll come down and fix dinner, okay?” He just nodded and turned his attention back to the TV.

I turned and headed toward the bathroom. Rock had a nice house, much nicer than I’d been expecting. It was a large home tucked deep into the Maine woods. The second story was designed like an open loft, yet it had separate bedrooms and bathrooms, and an industrial railing as the only thing keeping anyone from toppling down to the first floor. The downstairs had an open floor concept, combining the kitchen, huge living room and informal dining area all together. The only other room was a bathroom. It was an older home that had obviously been renovated.

Everything was masculine, just like Rock. There were no frilly things to indicate a woman’s touch. The place was clean and orderly, which made me wonder if he had a housekeeper. I couldn’t imagine Rock dusting and vacuuming, or cleaning the bathrooms. It would certainly put a blemish on the macho, manly image that he had going on.

When I’d known him all those years ago he’d lived at the clubhouse. Since then he must have made a lot of money to be able to afford a place like this. Nothing looked cheap. The kitchen had high-end stainless steel appliances and concrete counter tops. The furniture in the living room was leather, and faced the biggest TV I’d ever seen. I’d made a good home for Sam, but it was clear to see that I would have never been able to compete with what Rock could give him.

I went to the bathroom, stripped down, and stepped into the glass enclosed shower. Seconds later I was shampooing my hair and lathering my body beneath the steady rainfall shower head. Next time I’d dig out my own toiletries, but for now the earthy scent of sandalwood would have to do. I had to admit that the fact that Rock didn’t have anything for a woman in his shower pleased me.

I turned off the faucet and opened the glass door. Just as I was reaching for a towel the bathroom door opened. I sucked in my breath and spun around to see Rock standing there, looking big and dangerous. There was a smile on his rugged face, and a look in his eyes that I didn’t like, especially since his smoldering gaze was moving over me. I brought the towel up in front of me too late.

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