Page 101 of Hawk
He stretched his hand out to me, and I took it, allowing him to pull me close to his body as he glared down at Falcon. Skid joined us, followed by Gunner and Jackal, as Falcon attempted to get off the floor.
“You’re lucky all she did was break your nose. If I was her, I would’ve kicked you in the fucking balls,” Colton remarked as everyone in the room stared at us. He pointed at him and warned, “Call my old lady a bitch one more time and I swear, the vultures can have what’s left of you after I get done.”
“Are you okay, Stella?” Gunner asked, and I nodded, shaking my sore hand at my side. “You’ve got a pretty mean right hook.”
Skid chuckled as I turned and tried to soothe Colton before he lost his temper any worse than he already had. “I’m fine, and I think Falcon knows now that if he touches me again, I’ll gut him like a fish. Don’t you, Falcon?”
He pushed off the floor and dusted himself off as Jackal handed him a towel for his bloody nose. “I’m sorry, Hawk. I swear I didn’t know she belonged to you.”
“You owe my woman an apology,” Colton said with anger dripping from his voice.
Falcon looked at me, and I could see his resentment toward me before he said, “My apologies for the misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re damn right it won’t. Falcon, you’re on probation for the next three months. One more unwanted advance on any of the ladies and I’ll strip you of your colors. Are we crystal fucking clear?” Gunner asked, and Falcon nodded without saying a word.
I felt like I’d caused a problem, but he had no right to touch me without permission. I just hoped I hadn’t broken a rule or stepped over a line with my actions.
Falcon glanced at me and Colton before walking away, mumbling under his breath. Jackal looked at Colton and said, “I’ll go have a chat with him.”
Skid approached me and asked, “Can I look at your hand?”
Colton turned all his attention to me as I showed Skid the bruising on my right knuckles. It was sore, but not broken, so I wasn’t in need of medical attention. After he was satisfied that I was okay, he patted Gunner on the back and turned to walk outside.
“I’m sorry that happened, Stella. Not all the brothers are as virtuous as Hawk,” Gunner joked, and Colton shook his head with a half-smile. “Now, let’s finish our conversation. Stella, would you like to join us?”
“I don’t want to intrude,” I said, and Colton turned to me.
“I want you to hear what we’ve been discussing since it affects you too.”
I gave him a quizzical look but followed Gunner and him back to the table, all while Colton kept my hand in his. He kept giving the brothers close to me glares as we moved past them, and I kept my eyes diverted, not wanting any more unwanted attention. Gunner and Colton took their seats, and I pulled one away from the table, only for Colton to pull it directly next to him.
I sat down, and he placed his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek before turning back to Gunner. They began to talk about the conversation with Matthew and Doris when Skid approached the table. He handed me a black shirt and smiled before walking over to the bar to stand next to Grace.
I caught her eye, and she smiled and winked before giving Skid her attention. I’d taught her it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission when it came to personal safety, so for me to punch a random man in the face for touching me wasn’t so far out of the normal. I just felt bad that I did it in front of the club and that I emasculated a brother in public.
“What can the club do to help?” Gunner asked, and I gave their conversation my full attention.
“I need someone to be at the school, just in case she comes back, and when they’re with Doris, I need two guards to watch the house. I don’t put it past that bitch to try and take them when I’m not around,” Colton explained.
“And Doris hasn’t heard from her?” Gunner asked, and Colton shook his head.
“Doris said she’s been a ghost to her for over a year and if she contacts her, she’ll immediately call me.” He ran his free hand through his hair as he continued. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but I worry just her presence is upsetting the kids.”
“Matthew’s scared she’s going to come back,” I added, and Colton looked at me. “I’d like to leave Zeus with him for a while, just to help control his anxiety.”
“I think that’s a great idea, and I’d like to convince you to move back to the compound for a while,” Gunner requested. “We can move you to a bigger cabin since Smokey and Piper just moved to be closer to her niece. And it will be easier to keep an eye on the kids if they are here instead of your place.”
Colton started to shake his head as he reasoned, “I don’t want them seeing too much of the goings-on that happens around here. No offense,” he added, and Gunner nodded his understanding. “Besides, they’ve just started to settle from the move off the compound. And we don’t even know if it was her that he saw.”
“Does Matthew believe it was her?” Gunner asked, and Colton nodded.
I raised my eyebrows, and Gunner saw me. “Do you have something to add, Stella?”
“Why don’t we compromise?” They both looked confused, so I explained, “Colton and the kids can stay here for a few days, and you can ask Devlin to investigate her. From what I’ve gathered, if anyone can find her, it’s him.” They both nodded, so I pushed on. “Once we have a better understanding of where she is and what she wants, we can take the kids back to the house, and between the guards and me, you don’t have to worry about her getting to them.”
Colton leaned over and whispered, “Are you sure, darlin’? I don’t want you to think you have to take care of them. They’re my responsibility.”
“If you and I are going to be together, then they’reourresponsibility,” I explained. “And they don’t deserve to be haunted by her and whatever she’s trying to do.”
