Page 47 of Hawk

Gunner knew what he would be subjected to if Reno got his hands on him. The torture would have been excruciating and long. The Mafia men are as demented as we can be and could have Gunner hanging in the balance between life and death for days before finishing him off. He chose a quick death for himself instead.

Ghost emerges from behind the trees, along with Demon and Saint. They begin to walk toward Reno. I do the same, with Drifter, Shooter, and Decker following close behind.

“Well, he took the fun out of it,” Reno grumbles.

“I was looking forward to seeing the life drain out of him,” Sebastian complains.

“You’re welcome to join us at the Jackals’ clubhouse,” I offer with a laugh. Reno grins, then laughs along with me.

“A deal is a deal. Although, Sebastian wants his collection of motorcycles,” Reno adds. “Let’s unload the truck, then we can all be on our way.” He looks at Cicco. “I have other matters to attend to.”

“Please, Reno, I can make this up to you, I swear,” he begs. Reno grabs him by the throat, cutting off his air supply. Cicco is gasping for breath, turning purple, his hands clawing at Reno’s grip and getting nowhere. When Reno finally lets go, Cicco drops to the ground, coughing and gasping.

“I trusted you once. Never again,” Reno replies menacingly. “Take him inside,” he tells one of his men.

We all pitch in to unload the truck. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to the Jackals’ club. We still have the element of surprise. They won’t be expecting Gunner back anytime soon, and the senior members are dead.

Once we’re done, I call the rest of the brothers and tell them where to meet us. The Redemption Riders will ride together to finish the job.

Iwatch the Jackals’ clubhouse burn to the ground. Guard is beside me to my right, and Drifter’s on my left. The flames are high, and the black smoke drifts with the wind. Sebastian, driving the truck loaded with Gunner’s motorcycle collection, gives a wave as he takes off. We have to leave soon; the cops have been held off with a call from Sebastian, but the fire department has been alerted by the locals.

The clubhouse is a bloody mess. The Jackals are no more. The only ones who escaped with their lives were the young prospects. And I do mean young. Gunner had the audacity to recruit kids as young as fourteen. It’s not to say they got off scot-free. We roughed them up to teach them a lesson. Ghost and Steady took the lead on the young recruits. Most are just street kids, and Gunner was molding them into Jackals by showering them with praise first, then he’d make them really work for it. To become a full member of the Jackals, they would have to go a round with each of the other members in a ring. I’ve heard horrific stories about some of the outcomes.

“We’ve got to go,” Guard says, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah,” I sigh.

“Fucking glad to be rid of them,” Drifter mumbles.

“There’s always another monster that pops up,” Guard says. “Can’t get too comfortable, brother.”

“Christ! Let me enjoy the moment,” I counter.

Guard chuckles. “I get it. This”—he waves his hand out at the flames—“is over. But Etain”—he shakes his head—“has a cloud hanging over her. Eyes wide open, Hawk.”

I’ll never doubt Guard’s instincts. I’ve seen the results personally. I raise my hand and call out to my brothers for us to be on our way. I call Declan to check in, and he assures me that everything is good. Etain is asleep in her bed. I order him to stay inside the house until I get there. Guard reminds me that danger never sleeps.

TWENTY

On the Mend

ETAIN

Aweek later…

Hawk’s being just as careful as he was before the Jackals were taken care of. I’m not sure what went down that day, except that the rest of the Redemption Riders have been riding a high, knowing that the rival troublemakers are no longer an issue. All but Hawk, who still seems tense. Not as bad as before, but tense all the same.

We’ve fallen into a great little routine where we go to work together and come home together, although Hawk’s taken me to the clubhouse and introduced me to his room and bed there. Hawk is a fabulous lover and extremely creative, proving to me that the time on the car was just the beginning.

Sasha and I make time every week to do something together. This week, we’re spending the day at Haven’s Spa. It’s a lovely little spa in town. The owner is a sweet young woman named Gennie. She’s a native of the town and has never had the desire to live anywhere else.

“I’m leaving now,” I tell Hawk and drop a kiss on his cheek as he’s going over the rest of the books I’ve finished adding to our new computer system. I’ve finally reconciled last year’s books, and Hawk’s livid with both himself and the previous parts vendor for taking advantage of RR Mechanics.

He lifts his head. “I’ve got to go pay a visit to Gerry.” He indicates the invoices I set in front of him earlier. “Get Lee to go with you.”

“I highly doubt that Lee wants to sit outside and wait for Sasha and me to be done. I’m more than capable of driving myself, and besides, Sasha and I need some girl time.” Hawk doesn’t seem happy with my decision. “You need to trust me, Hawk.”

“I trust you,” he replies quickly.

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