Page 7 of Phantom Riders MC: Hawk

Chapter 4

Audra

His cold, indifferent comment floored me, and I wasn’t sure why. He didn’t have to take me when we were back at the gas station, I hadn’t made him do anything. His lack of empathy caused me to slow down from following him into the bar. For the first time since I’d been on the run, I felt tears fill my eyes. I really was on my own. He didn’t even glance back to see if I was behind him before the door closed.

I leaned against the building, pissed at myself for the tears that fell down my cheek. Pissed that I was in a hopeless situation that was probably not going to end well, and the only true friend I had that I could count on was a thousand miles away. I’d had plenty of friends with Dane, but after what had happened, I didn’t dare trust any of them now.

What in hell was I going to do? I glanced down at the crinkled money in my palm. The dim light above the door next to me was enough to show me it was a couple of hundred dollars. Was there a bus stop around here? I didn’t remember passing any on our way here, but I hadn’t been looking for one. I decided that I should just go inside and get something to eat, spend the night, and think about what I was going to do in the morning.

Cramming the money into a pocket, I opened the door. The first thing that hit me was the thick flume of smoke, a combination of the open grill behind the bar and cigarettes. The place reeked of cheap perfume, grease, smoke, and sweat. The reason became apparent as my eyes began to adjust to the dim lighting. Every bar stool, booth, and table was occupied with the kind of men who looked like they worked hard and played harder, and it was obvious that personal hygiene wasn’t at the top of their list of priorities.

The women walking around with trays of drinks were dressed like the girls that were working the stripper poles, nearly naked in tiny G-strings and sky-high stilettos. They were clearly there to provide the men with eye candy and whatever else they wanted because several of them were giving lap dances, and there was a couple fucking in plain sight in a booth.

People really did that kind of thing out in the open? Well, I was seeing it firsthand. The places Dane and I frequented were filled with upper class, stuck-up, dressed-to-the-nines couples who held themselves in such high regard that their noses disappeared in the clouds. I’d been part of that circle, though I’d never felt as if I belonged. Looking back, I could admit that I had let Dane shape me into the kind of woman that he wanted me to be.

I decided that the safest thing I could do was focus on the bar and make my way there to order a hamburger. It was easier said than done, considering that I had to weave in and around closely spaced tables. By the time I reached the bar my cheeks were burning from all the pinches and pats I’d received along the way. The filthy comments were somehow worse, but I decided I could put up with them if it meant not being dragged down on someone’s lap for something else.

“Help you?”

The man was thin, wearing a dingy gray t-shirt and jeans beneath his heavily stained apron. He had a bandana tied around his forehead, and stringy, greasy-looking hair that hung down to his shoulders, and it appeared that he didn’t own a razor. My empty belly wouldn’t let me turn around and walk away.

“A cheeseburger and coke, please. No fries.”

“Sure.” He turned halfway around and yelled over his shoulder, “One cheeseburger, Sam!” Then his eyes came back to me. “Haven’t seen you around here before. A pretty lady like you, I would of noticed. You with someone?”

“I, ah, came in with some bikers.” I thought it would be better and safer for me to at least admit that.

He frowned. “What bikers?”

I glanced around the room until my gaze landed on the three men I’d ridden in with, crammed into a circular booth in the corner. Two of them were heavily involved with women, while the man I’d ridden behind all day sat back with a bottle and glass in front of him. He was anything but relaxed, even I could see that. As if something had passed between us, he suddenly looked up, locking his stony gaze on me.

“Fuck, don’t tell me you’re with Phantom Riders.” I nodded. “You with Hawk? He’s a mean son-of-a-bitch.”

Hawk? Since the other two had women on their laps, I assumed the bartender meant the steely-eyed beast eyeing me from their group. So now I knew his name, and it suited him. I glanced back at the man behind the bar, wondering if I should lie. But then, since he knew Hawk’s name he must know what kind of man he was. He certainly knew him better than I did.

“Burger up!”

Before I could answer him he turned, grabbed the plate the cook had set down and placed the cheeseburger down in front of me. “That’ll be eight dollars.” Then he went to the soda machine and poured me a coke.

“Do you have rooms for rent?” I questioned, digging out one of the hundred dollar bills.

His snort was followed with, “This ain’t no fuckin’ hotel, lady. The only rooms we have here belong to the working girls.” He leaned over the counter, saying in a low tone, “You want to earn a little money?”

I just glared at him until, laughing, he backed away and went to the register. When he returned with my change I picked up my plate and glass and turned around. There was nowhere for me to go but to the booth where Hawk was sitting. He watched me approach, like a predator scenting blood, and the closer I got the more nervous I felt. I was thankful his friends sat on either side of him, which meant that I wouldn’t have to sit next to him.

I sat down on the very edge of the seat. “Sorry that I have to invade your space, but there’s nowhere else for me to sit.” His grunt, the only acknowledgement he made, made me want to throw my coke in his dark face. His two friends were oblivious to everything but the naked women on their laps. “Would you like some?” I held up my burger before biting into it. Maybe I could kill him with kindness.

He remained silent, reaching for the glass in front of him. I shrugged and took a big bite, starved. “You know, there aren’t any rooms for rent for tonight.” I kept eating my burger, not really expecting him to respond. But the more he ignored me, the more I wanted to bug the shit out of him. “This burger is really good, nice and juicy. Sure you don’t want a nibble?” I was stupid for taunting him, he looked anything but friendly right now.

I smiled and took a sip of my coke. “So, where are you going to sleep tonight?”

“Where’d you come from, baby?” The biker next to me had finally realized that I was there. His girlfriend gave me a look, dismissed me, and went back to sucking on his neck. “Shell and I are getting ready to call it a night. You can shack up with us as long as you let me inside your sweet pussy.”

He was drunk. I felt my cheeks burn, but I was determined not to let Hawk see how uncomfortable I was. “That’s a tempting nice offer. I’ll think about it.” When hell freezes over. I kept that thought to myself. I moved so that they could exit the booth, and then sat back down.

I finished my burger, which was surprisingly good, and drank down my coke. Having food in my stomach felt good. Now all I had to do was find a place to sleep for the night. Hawk’s other friend and woman finally crawled out of the booth and left, to go to her room, I supposed. It dawned on me that the reason Hawk had said they were staying the night there was because he knew they would be sleeping with the women there.

I wondered who Hawk would be sleeping with. Would he touch her, fuck her? And why did it matter to me? We’d just met, and I knew we’d never be friends. He was just the means to get me somewhere far away from Dane. Yet I couldn’t help but be aware of him, the way he looked at me, as if I were something he wanted but hated at the same time. Maybe I reminded him of someone.

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