Page 41 of Hawk

I feel the weight on the mattress lighten, and Hawk’s hand slips away from me before he walks to the door, looking back over his shoulder and leaving me with a wink full of promise.

SEVENTEEN

Viale and Benito

HAWK

It takes every ounce of strength I possess to leave Etain this morning. By the time I make it outside, Drifter’s waiting in the driveway, his ass leaning on the seat of his chopper, arms crossed over his chest, but he isn’t facing my direction. His gaze is set on Sasha’s house. I follow his line of sight and see the silhouette of Sasha through the curtain as she does her yoga exercise. Each pose is meaningful and completed with grace and ease. Drifter is transfixed and doesn’t hear me approach until I’m nearly at his side.

He tears his eyes away, barely. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” I expel a heavy breath. It’s going to be a long fucking day, but if all goes well, it’ll be the beginning of the end for the Jackals.

“Etain, doing all right?” Drifter asks. What he really wants to know is if Sasha’s okay after yesterday’s incident with her father.

“I think hanging out with Sasha was a good idea. Etain would have been worried sick if she had to leave her and it gave the two of them time to talk,” I tell him.

“Did Sasha say anything more about her father?”

“Nothing much. Etain said she shut it down whenever she brought it up.”

“He’s an asshole,” Drifter grits out.

“I think that’s a fair assumption based on yesterday’s antics,” I reply.

“More than yesterday. He was a fucker before he married her mother, and if anyone should have been neutered and not allowed to have kids, it should have been him.” Drifter knows more than he’s saying, and for him to get this pissed, it isn’t good.

“Then Sasha wouldn’t be here. And that would be a tragedy,” I remind him.

He lets out an exasperated breath. “Yeah, there’s that,” he grunts. “We gotta get moving.”

I climb onto my motorcycle, catching Lee’s eye. He waves us off, letting me know that Etain is safe with him. Any one of my brothers would protect my woman, but I can see that Lee and Declan are committed to making sure that she stays safe. I’d still rather be the one by her side, but this is the next best thing. I remind myself that the Jackals will soon no longer be a threat, and Etain and I will have lots of time to spend together.

The meetup point for Guard and his crew would normally be a nine-hour ride; Drifter and I made it in eight. We’re used to long rides, and since we love the open road, it’s no hardship for either of us. We make it to the gas station, where Guard is already waiting for us. He has his brother, Ghost, and his VP, Orion, with him. The other two men are Saint and Thunder. These men and I go way back. Saint, Orion, and Thunder from our special ops days in the army. Ghost was in special forces too, but I got to know him more after we were both out of the military. Couldn’t have asked for better men to serve beside, and they watched out for me. I was the youngest of the unit and worked my ass off to prove myself. They encouraged me and trained me to be the best I knew how to be. I’ll forever be grateful for how they took me in.

I climb off my bike, and without hesitation, Saint and Thunder are the first over to me. Their arms come around me in a manly hug.

“Fuck, brother, so good to see you,” Thunder says.

“You look good, man. Being the prez works for you,” Saint teases.

“Thanks. How are Izzy and Rose? All good?” I ask. The clubs have always worked together, but it wasn’t until Rose came into some trouble that Guard asked Redemption Riders for help.

“Rose is great. Still wanting you to come for a visit, though,” Thunder says.

“Izzy’s doing great. We’re pregnant, you know,” Saint tells me with a grin. Saint’s gonna make a great dad, and Izzy is one of the cutest, most adorable women I’ve ever met. She’ll make an awesome mom.

“That’s big news! Happy for you, brother,” I tell him.

Guard steps up with the others, stretching out his hand to shake mine. “Good to see you again. I see things have changed since the last time I saw you at the diner,” he teases. Guard was there when Etain caught my eye, and as he often does, he called it. I merely shake my head and smile. No point in denying it. “We’ve got to get on the road. Reno’s expecting us. Risk is already there. He went last night. They’re having their own brand of family reunion.”

“You’re going to have to tell me the story behind that,” I say. I’ve met Risk and Hanna and their son, Romeo. Hanna is shy and cute and no one you would ever imagine with a biker. Yet they make it work. Normally, bikers and Mafia men don’t get on well. At best, they try to stay out of each other’s way, but it seems like Risk has found a way to bridge the gap. This works in our favor, seeing as we need Reno Viale and his brothers on our side.

“It’s Risk’s to tell, but a fine bottle of scotch loosens his tongue,” Orion says with a chuckle.

I could use a little more time before hopping back on my motorcycle, but Risk and Reno are waiting for us. Guard and I lead the pack, Drifter and Ghost right on our tail, and the others following behind them.

If I didn’t know Guard, I would have thought we were heading to the middle of nowhere to be ambushed when we veer off onto a gravel road that leads off fields and farmland. We’re riding for at least another hour before the Guard leads us onto a long dirt pathway. It’s wide enough for cars, but I can tell that it isn’t used often. We come up on an old farmhouse, but we continue on past it to the barn behind it.

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