Page 52 of Property of the Hellfire Riders

“The hells’ wrong with me? The hell’s wrong with me?! I should just show you what the hell is wrong with me!” Hawk grabs the joint from Tank’s mouth and throws it on the ground.

“That’s fucking rude,” Tank mutters, washing as the joint’s embers go out.

“I thought I made it clear that she was off limits until we figured out what the hell was going on.”

I watch the confrontation unfold before me. Hawk and Tank are two different forces, and when they collide it’s hell. Tank shouldn’t have touched Izzy, not when Hawk made it clear she’s his girl.

But I can’t blame him.

The idea of having her has been a constant torment, pulling at my sanity. If she was willing, I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself. Tank stands up then, getting in Hawk’s face, using his height to his advantage.

“You’ve been playing games with her for the past few fucking days. Give her a god damn break!”

“We still don’t know if she’s lying, you goddamn moron!”

“So, it makes it okay to fuck with her head? How the hell is that okay, Hawk? She can do what she wants with who she wants.”

Hawk grabsthe collar of Tank’s shirt, drawing him up and against the clubhouse’s outer wall. His eyes burn with wild intensity. The muscles in his arm tense as he holds onto Tank.

“Sure. That might be true, but if you stop giving a fuck about what I tell you then we’ve got a big problem on our hands. I run things here. Not you. Got it?”

I step forward, ready to pull the two of them apart if I need to. It’s not the first time they’ve thrown fists at one another

Tank swallows, cold dread replacing the confidence he had a moment ago.

“Yeah, I get it.”

Hawk releases him and Tank straightens his shirt out.

“We should let her decide who and what she wants,” I say to them both.

“I still don’t trust her.”

“Of course you don’t,” Tank mutters under his breath. “You haven’t trusted anyone since losing Axel.”

Hawk falters, stepping back. The weight of everything is settling over him. He bears too much of the burden and at times forgets himself. The stress, the strain of it all like one massive mountain that he lies under.

“I don’t think she knows what she wants or needs right now.”

“That’s not up for us to decide,” I say.

“Ever since she’s shown up, it’s like everything is going haywire. But I do know she needs our help.” He stops himself. “Well, she claims to need it.”

“With finding her friend?” I ask.

“No. There’s more. She thinks the Puppeteer has her marked.”

Tank starts to pace back and forth in a small path.

“Jesus—what the hell,” he mutters. “That’s the doll serial killer running around town right?”

“The one Detective Reynolds is hunting,”Hawk says with a distant voice. At his sides, his fists curl tightly. There’s no one Hawk despised more than him. He’s the reason we lost Axel, though I know Hawk blames himself.

“What else did she say?” I ask Hawk, but he doesn’t meet my eyes, instead, he looks up to the night sky.

“If her friend’s missing and the Puppeteer is targeting her…” I start, but I don’t need to finish it. It’s what we’re thinking. Izzy’s friend might not still be alive.

Jesus Christ.

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