Page 53 of Hawk
I scratched Zeus’s head and explained to him, “I need to pack the car, then we can go. Does that sound good?”
He barked, and I smiled down at him as I lifted his food containers from the floor. He watched me as I made trips back and forth to my vehicle, securing everything in the back. The last thing I did before locking the house up was take the picture of Hailey and me down from the wall. It was always the first thing I brought into my house and the last thing I took out. I wanted a piece of her with me, and knowing by tomorrow I would be face-to-face with her gave me anxiety.
She would want to know about my past, and I didn’t know how much I could tell her without uncovering truths she didn’t need to know. Truths only I knew.
I took one last look through the house, ensuring I’d taken everything. Whatever was left could be thrown away as far as I was concerned. There was a bed, couch, dining room table, and some dishes in the cabinets, but other than that, everything of a personal nature was packed away in the Jeep.
“Let’s get moving,” I said to Zeus, and he followed behind me as I locked the house up one last time.
After stopping at the neighbor’s house and giving them all the food from the fridge and freezer, I pulled away from the small Alabama town I’d called home for the last three years. But it wasn’t really home, and as I pulled onto the highway and headed north, I said goodbye to the life I’d lived, not fully knowing what the next step would be.
I also asked for forgiveness from Colton, even though he didn’t know it. I promised I would call when I got on the road, but I knew it was a lie when I said it. Before I saw Hailey, I was going to have a face-to-face with the person he called the madman and the man I used to call ‘brother’. For my own peace of mind, I needed to speak with him and see if Colton was correct or if Devlin was a liar like my father.
Zeus rested comfortably in the front seat of the Jeep as we traversed for miles. Portstill was six hours away, and it was just enough time to get there before the sun went down. I needed the cover of darkness to make my move, and I hoped my plan didn’t blow up in my face.
My phone chimed from the cup holder, but I didn’t pick it up. Whoever it was could wait until I stopped for fuel and to take Zeus potty. When I stopped an hour later, I checked the phone while Zeus was doing his business. A message from Colton waited for me.
Colton:I spoke with Hailey and she’s eager to see you. Call me before you go to bed so I can hear your voice.
I wanted to send a reply but couldn’t figure out exactly what to say, so I closed the phone and slipped it into my back pocket. After putting Zeus back into the vehicle, I gassed up the Jeep and ran inside the store to grab a coffee. I was going to need the caffeine if I wanted to get to Pierce Bluff tonight. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to Devlin, but I’d figure it out.
For hours, the miles passed by in a blur, and more than once, I realized I’d zoned out. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the memories from playing like a broken film in my mind.
I’d been looking for her for almost two years, and every time I’d felt like I was close, they’d slip through my fingers.
Alyona, or Melody as she’d been calling herself now, had been on the run, and I finally got a good lead on where she and Halina—I mean Hailey—were now. It took threatening one of Adrik’s former henchmen for me to get the information, and once I verified he was telling me the truth, I silenced him. She didn’t need to get a heads up I was coming for her, so I made sure he would never speak again.
I should’ve felt guilty for the amount of blood I’d spilled, but I didn’t. I’d never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, and the people I’d killed wouldn’t be missed. At least, not by anyone who mattered.
Driving through the night, I found the address and parked my vehicle down the street, where I had a full view of the house. I needed to catch a glimpse of Hailey with my own eyes, so for three days, I watched and waited. During that time, I never saw her once, but I did see a young thug coming and going around the same time every morning. The third time I saw him leave, I decided to follow him, and when I saw where he went, it wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on.
The house he hung out in had people coming and going, always twitchy and looking strung out. I’d cornered one of them and they’d confirmed my suspicions. Heroin was being dealt out of the house, so the next evening, I decided to make a buy.
“No offense, but you look like a cop,” the guy said to me when I asked him to sell to me.
“I’m offering triple your asking price and for you to not deliver to my sister tomorrow. I’m going to give her one last hoorah before I force her into rehab. I could give a fuck about anything else. So, are you going to turn down my money or do we have a deal?”
He looked me up and down, and I rolled my eyes at him before peeling off three one-hundred-dollar bills and handing them to him. “Give me the best you’ve got.”
He smirked and walked out of the room. I wasn’t worried about him stealing from me as I had more than enough money. I just wanted him to give me what I came for so I could get out of the disgusting house. It smelled of chemicals and urine, and the longer I was there, the madder I was getting.
The guy came back a few minutes later and handed me a baggie filled with white powder. “I just got this in and haven’t had the chance to sample it, but it’s fresh from overseas and they say it has a kick. It should give her a good trip.”
I smiled sweetly at him and pocketed the baggie. “Thank you.”
“I would say anytime, but we never met, right?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know you,” I returned and pivoted on my feet.
Walking out of the house, I heard him say, “It’s time for a new traphouse.”
I chuckled to myself because I knew he saw something in me that scared him. He should’ve been scared, but I didn’t have drug dealers on my list. Saving Hailey and dealing with Alyona were the only things I was concerned about. I sat outside her house all night, keeping an eye on things.
The next morning, about the time the guy usually delivered Alyona’s drugs to her, I tucked my brown hair into a hat and pulled my hoodie over my head. With any luck, she wouldn’t recognize me until it was too late. Knocking on the door, I prayed Hailey didn’t open it. I didn’t know how I would react to seeing her and not being able to embrace her.
Melody opened the door with a cigarette hanging from her mouth as she muttered, “You’re late.”
Without looking at me, she turned and walked into the living room. The house was filthy, with dirty dishes filling the sink, trash and debris on the floor, and burn holes in the ratty couch. Rage unlike anything I’d ever felt washed over me as I looked at the place she was raising my daughter in.
