Page 7 of Hawk

Knight sighed.“I managed to blow up one image.Luckily, it was on the one HD camera in this whole place other than ours.”

“That’s a good thing.Right?”I didn’t like the look on Knight’s face.It meant whatever he found we weren’t gonna like.

“You’d think, huh.”He shook his head as he tapped on the tablet again.A picture of the guy pulled from the cameras popped up.“Guy’s a ghost.Not in any database I’ve run it through.And I got access to the FBI and INTERPOL.”

“How’d you do that?”Noose sat up straighter, taking interest when not much ever made him look up from whatever handheld video game he was playing.Guy had spent the majority of his childhood in juvie before finishing out five years in a federal prison for the big boys.Once he got out and came to us, he buried himself in technology.Specifically, anything that made whatever game he was interested in at the time run faster and better.

Knight gave him a look.“Not for you, Noose.Fucked up as the system is, I like the world in a semi-stable place.”

Noose narrowed his eyes.“What’re you tryin’ to say?”

“That I’m not letting you anywhere near anything where you can cause havoc.”Knight pointed at Noose.“Got my eye on you, brother.”Knight was only half joking.The rest of us chuckled.I thought the whole thing served as a way of breaking the tension.I couldn’t be the only one wondering what kind of killer we’d brought into our midst.Suddenly, the nickname I’d given her earlier wasn’t nearly as funny.Hadn’t really been funny then, but sometimes you just gotta poke fun.

Knight continued.“Anyway, the point is, his image isn’t in any criminal database.On Torpedo’s orders, I reached out to Bones.Data, Zora, and Suzie were all over it, just like Prez said they would be.”

“And?”Torpedo crossed his arms over his chest, his feet apart.He looked every inch the grizzled biker president.Torpedo had earned his respect with me and everyone else when he’d first come here.He was hard but fair, and had a vicious streak when it came to protecting those he considered family.But he wasn’t my president.For me, Knuckles would always be the leader of Kiss of Death MC.

“And, they got a hit.I didn’t ask where or how, but the guy you see on the screen there doesn’t exist on paper.Anywhere.”

“Shit.”Gunnar scrubbed a hand over his face then the back of his neck.“Ain’t likin’ this.”

Knight looked from Knuckles to Torpedo.“Data suggested we talk to Rocket at Grim Road MC.”

“Black ops.”Bohannon muttered.“Rocket might be able to help.Every one of those fuckers was black ops.”

Bohannon and Torpedo stared at each other for a long time.The rest of us shifted nervously.I thought they’d make the call themselves, but, surprisingly, they both turned to Knuckles.

“What do you think, brother?”Torpedo’s gaze was steady on Knuckles.

There was a pause before Knuckles shook his head and took a breath.“Never hurts to have all the information.”He nodded to Knight.“Follow Data’s instructions.Let him put you in touch with Rocket.Were you able to find this guy before he took out the third attacker?”

“No.”Knight didn’t look happy about that either.“Not even a shadow.”

“Fog?”

Knight shrugged.“Maybe.Or the guy’s just that good.”

Knuckles looked at me.“I want your girl to see this guy.And I want to be there when you show her.”

That got my attention.“She’s not my girl, Knuckles.I just met her.Same as you.”

Knuckles snorted.“Right.She chose you and you let her.Now you’re stuck with her.”That got some chuckles all around.

“Look, I’ll protect her while she’s here.I’ll help her get on her feet or get somewhere she’s safe.I’ll even be her guard if you think it’s necessary.But I don’t think she’s a threat, Knuckles.She wants to feel safe, and I’m a big fucker.”I shrugged.“That’s why she chose me.”

“You ain’t as big as me.”Tiny grinned at me.“And I was standin’ pretty close to you, Hawk.”

“No one is as big as you, Tiny.”More chuckles.

“Look,” Knuckles continued over the ruckus.“I’m not telling you to hurt her, Hawk.”He gave me an exasperated look.“Make her feel safe.Let’s find out what happened to her.See if we can help her.”

“Hawk, in order to keep her safe, we need to figure out why a professional killer was tailing her.Seems like a hell of a coincidence that three random thugs attack her and a ghost appears to keep them from hurting her.”Torpedo’s voice was uncharacteristically soft, but I knew it was because the man was trying to manage me.To get me to do what he wanted.Truth was, I hadn’t considered Carrie might still be in danger.“You think she’s being followed?”

“I think it’s worth finding out,” Knuckles replied.“Because if she’s got trouble on her tail, I want to know what kind before it lands on our doorstep.”

I nodded, understanding his concern.This wasn’t just about helping a woman in distress anymore.If someone was after Carrie, it could mean trouble for the club.“I’ll talk to her,” I promised.“After she’s had time to clean up and rest.”I kept my face neutral, despite the fact that my brethren were eyeing me with varying levels of amusement.

“Get back to her.Make sure she’s comfortable.If she’s homeless like she indicated, she’s probably in need of a meal and some actual rest.”Knuckles gripped my shoulder.“Also, I’m pretty sure sheisyour woman.”

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