Page 31 of Hawk

“Do you have the least comprehension of who I am?”

“I know exactly who you are.Zeb Randall.Partner of Seth ‘The Hammer’ Miles.”Knuckles leaned against one of the steel posts embedded in the concrete basement floor.“What I don’t get is how you don’t know who we are.”

“You’re a bunch of thugs!I own this city!”

“No.The Hammer owns this city.He’s had you running things here, but even if you were going to leave here alive, that’s changing as of about twenty minutes ago.”

“Nothing’s changing, Knuckles.I’ve already called Mr.Miles.He’s on the way and he’s not pleased.”

“Oh, I know he’s not pleased.”Knuckles cleaned one nail with the top of his knife.“Not pleased with a lot of things.”

“Knuckles?What the fuck’s going on?”A man who looked to be in his sixties descended the stairs to the basement.He was impeccably dressed, his silver beard short and neat.His demand was delivered without heat.In fact, there was an ice-cold look in those glacial blue eyes that gave me the fucking creeps.

“I’ll tell you what’s goin’ on, Seth.This dumb biker has kidnapped Carrie and is holding her against her will.”

“Which dumb biker?”Seth “The Hammer” Miles turned his gaze on me.This was the man who was my grandfather?

“That’d be me.”Hawk stepped solidly in front of me.He was always doing that when I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

“And you, Carrie?Are you here when you don’t want to be?”He sounded so reasonable when it was obvious I’d better answer correctly or there was going to be trouble.What I couldn’t figure out was how he was so confident when he had no muscle with him.Even if Miles was armed, this wasn’t a fight he could win.There were too many younger, stronger men, and he was in their lair.

“I’m exactly where I want to be.With Hawk.”

“He’s good to you?”

“I wouldn’t be here with him, wearing his property patch, if he wasn’t.And if he ever stops being good to me, I’ll leave his ass.Until then, though, I’m not going anywhere.”

Miles stared at me for a long time.He wasn’t as big as the men here, but he was tall and broad-shouldered.His appearance was striking enough that it was its own intimidation factor.A muscle ticked in his jaw as he looked down at me.“You’ll forgive me, my dear.I wasn’t aware of your existence until a few years ago.”

That got reactions out of Flagg and Zeb.Flagg was angry, but shiftier than I’d ever seen him.The more I watched him, the angrier I got.Just not for the reasons I probably should be angry.

“You’re lying!”I shouted, moving to stand in front of Flagg.Both Hawk and Miles moved to stay between me and the old bastard, but I managed to still be able to look him straight in the eyes.“You’re fucking lying, you son of a bitch.”

“I am not, you little whore!”He snarled.“You’ve ruined everything!”

“I’veruined everything?”The fucking nerve!“What exactly have I ruined?”

“He was going to dangle you in front of me for control of the air and seaports out of Knoxville, and with it about seventy percent of the cocaine and fentanyl traffic.”

Flagg’s mouth opened, but before he could say anything, Miles nodded.Knuckles swung one huge fist, connecting with Flagg’s jaw.That’s when I noticed the brass knuckles.Because, of course.When Knuckles stepped back, Flagg’s jaw was askew.I’d never heard my father make that particular sound before.I found I liked it far more than I should.

Zeb Randall looked on in shock.Where he’d been so arrogant before, now he was sweating and trembling.“Oh, God.”

“God can’t help you now.”Knuckles grinned as he cracked his knuckles.“And I doubt he’ll be the one welcoming you where you’re going.”

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t know about me until a few years ago?”The question was out before I could censor it, but once free I knew I had to have the answer.

Miles brought his attention to me, and I actually saw warmth there.Sorrow too.“A man I had working for Randall so he could report to me what was really going on, learned of you one of the times Flagg had to send for a doctor to see to your injuries.It took me some time to confirm you were my daughter’s child, but I finally did.The same as I finally confirmed what really happened to my daughter.”

Neither Flagg nor Randall bothered to say anything.I doubt they could do more than moan at this point.It was funny.My father, the man who was universally feared by his enemies and allies alike, who buried himself and his children so deep in anonymity and trained them to be assassins and elite soldiers, was whimpering, drooling and, I thought, might have pissed himself.

“You’re nothing like what I built you up to be,” I mused out loud.

“He’s a shadow of his former self,” Miles told me.“For three decades he’s been my muscle.After my daughter passed, I never fully trusted him but could never figure out why.He gave me no reason not to trust him, but I blamed him for Margaret’s death.”

“Wait.Stop.”Chains held up a hand, like a kid in school asking for permission to speak.

“Yes?”Miles raised an eyebrow, an expression somewhere between amusement and annoyance.

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