Page 14 of Hawk

“Look at me, Carrie.”We needed this information, but I didn’t want her to feel threatened or bullied.When she looked up at me, I reached out and brushed a tear from her other cheek.“I’ve got your back.With these guys.With the club.With your family if you need it.I will not let anyone hurt you because of information you give us.You’re not your father or your brothers.We’ve all been judged at one time or another, so we’re not gonna automatically say you’re guilty by association.”

“My father would kill me if he were here now,” she confessed softly.

“He’s not here.And if he was, I’d eliminate the threat.”My reply came without hesitation.Not only did I want Carrie to understand I meant business, but my brothers needed to understand as well.And pass it on to any motherfucker who’d fallen in love with her when she’d walked out of the fucking fog covered in the blood of her enemies.I nearly smiled at the memory.She’d liked the phrasing then, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate it now.

Her eyes widened.“You’d kill him for me?”

“Without hesitation.You say he needs killin’, I’m all over that shit.”I saw Knuckles shift, but a quick glance in his and the other officers’ direction told me they were all hiding smiles.Yeah.They knew.Killing wasn’t something we took lightly since every single one of us had done time and had no desire to go back, but they weren’t laughing at that.They were laughing at me.Because I’d laughed at both of them, and had done the exact same thing I’d made fun of them for.I’d fallen in love with a woman at first sight.Yeah.That wasn’t going away any time soon.

Carrie was silent for a long moment, then she nodded.“I believe you.”

“Good.”I smiled at her.“Tell me what I need to know.”

She took a deep breath, seeming to gather her courage before taking the plunge.“My father trained me since I could walk.I don’t know how long he did my brothers, but I’m pretty sure it was all the same.All his kids are trained to kill.He has connections.Scary connections.I don’t know who they are exactly, but they’re all the kind of people who can, and do, make others disappear on the regular, including my father.Especiallymy father.My brothers are his soldiers.Victor is the most independent of the bunch.He doesn’t always follow orders blindly and the others will usually follow his lead.He’s protective of all his siblings and always weighs his chances of success against the risks.I’ve heard him and my brothers planning to make changes to the strict protocols my father tried to make them follow on a mission.Vic puts the team above the mission.”

“Which is why he might be protecting you instead of dragging you back,” Knuckles mused.

“Yes.Maybe.”Carrie’s voice trembled slightly.“But if my father decides he wants me back, he’ll come himself or send a couple of the others.And they might not be as gentle as Victor or Zach.”

“Your other brothers hurt you?”I couldn’t keep the question back any longer.I had to know exactly how many of these fuckers I was gonna have to kill.

She shrugged.“Only during training, and never very much.They always pulled their punches.At least, that’s what Father accused them of.They’d get rougher on me when he pushed like that, but they still held back.”

“So Goddamned many people to fuckin’ kill,” I muttered.Carrie stiffened.This time, she yanked her hands away from mine, meaning it.Yeah.I knew she didn’t really want free earlier.If she had, it wouldn’t have mattered how hard I tried to hold this woman; she wouldn’t be touched by anyone she didn’t want touching her.Now, I got to see her temper in the flesh.

“You’re not killing my brothers.”Her gaze was fierce as she stood.I watched her quarter the room, assessing the men closest to her.I’d seen that look so Goddamned many times in the yard just before a fight.

Knuckles saw it too.“You’re good, woman.”

Carrie’s brow ruffled her brow in confusion.“What?”She shook her head.“I didn’t do anything.”She took another step back but hit the table behind her.

“Hey, honey,” I soothed, raising my hands so she could see them both clearly.“No one’s accusing you of anything.”

“Well, what am I good at?What did he mean?”

I smiled.“Well, not that you’re trying to deceive us, if that’s where you were going.He was complimenting the way you assessed the room.You were going to go for Tiny first.Then Pain.After that, I’m not sure who you were gonna hit, but I’m guessing me, since I’d be less likely to hurt you than anyone else.What I want to know is why Tiny first?”

She eyed me warily, like she sensed a trap but was ninety percent sure the bait was a free meal, but was still skeptical.Her gaze flickered from me to Tiny and back.“Because I can’t win this fight.He’s big.Likereallybig.Perfect name, by the way.”She gave a nervous laugh, likely trying to deflect her nervousness.

Tiny grinned, not offended in the least.“Size matters, little lady.”That got a round of chuckles from everyone.It seemed to put her more at ease and she continued.

“Anyway, if I went low, I could take out a knee with a good solid kick inside.He’d go down and everyone else would hesitate just because of our size differences.The shock value would only be a couple of seconds, but I’m betting I’m faster than everyone here other than maybe him.”She pointed to Knight.Though still heavily muscled, Knight was leaner and not quite as tall as the rest of us.“But I’m also betting that, though he can fight, I can take him if it doesn’t matter if he’s dead or alive.So, get free of the compound, disappear into the fog if it’s still as thick as it was.If anyone catches me, Tiny is probably the only one here I can’t take one on one.”Carrie sounded so confident I had to grin.She might be timid, but she knew what she was about.“Unless I got a good jump on him, that is.”

“You decide you can’t handle her, Hawk, I’ll take the little lady.”Tiny had his arms crossed over his massive chest.The man really was huge.Like fucking huge.

“I can’t kick your ass hand-to-hand, but I can stab the shit outta you.”I let go of Carrie’s hand to drape my arm around her shoulders.That got a roar of laughter from my brothers.I felt her exhale a relieved breath and leaned in to kiss the top of her head.I was afraid she might flinch at the memory of her killing the men she had, but if it bothered her, she didn’t let on.At least, not much.Her hand went to her stomach just below her breasts, like she had a cramp right before she needed to hurl again but fought it back.

“All right,” Knuckles said with a slight grin.“Settle back down.Your woman’s a badass, Hawk.Get used to brothers tryin’ to coax her away from you before you put your property cut on her.”

“So, bottom line,” Knuckles continued once everyone had settled back down, “is that your brothers and father are badasses, and we’re not exactly sure what your brother, Victor, is up to but we should assume he’s here to either take you or kill you.”

“You’d know it if Vic was here to kill me.”Her softly spoken declaration sent chills down my spine.She believed what she was saying.“Vic is his right hand.The others are all good at what they do, but Vic is the one he sends when he wants someone to speak on his behalf and either doesn’t want to go himself, or if he believes there would be a threat to him.”

“And what about you?”Torpedo’s question was soft, and I didn’t think he was judging her, but I shot him a look just the same.He merely gave me a challenging glance before he turned his attention back to Carrie.“What did your father expect you to do?”

She shrugged.“Not much of anything, I don’t think.What I mean is, I never met his expectations.If anything, I think he planned on marrying me off to one of his associates.”

“To make an alliance.”Gunnar drummed his fingers on the table even as he frowned.“Doesn’t sound like something a man with so many secrets would want to do.Especially if you could give that associate information on him.What’s your father’s name?”

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