Page 92 of Hawk
Devlin lifted his hands in a mock surrender before pushing his empty plate to the side. He ran his fingers through his hair, and I could see the years of secrets on his face. They were enough to wear anyone out.
“I meant no disrespect. It just seems there’s so much about all this I don’t know and it’s driving me crazy.” He turned to look at me and continued. “Like why you didn’t tell us you knew Stella, or that Rhys was the one who took care of her when she escaped wherever she was being held. And why won’t either of you say who had her? Why not tell me, so I can handle him once and for all?”
“She already handled him, and there is no more threat to her or Hailey. That’s all you need to know unless she says otherwise.” Devlin went to speak again, but I held my hand up, silencing him from speaking while I finished. “I know you’re used to being the one to ride in and save the day, but that isn’t necessary in this situation. Hailey has Hatchet to take care of her, and Stella has me. And both of them are more than capable of protecting themselves from people who want to harm them. Not that we’ll let that happen. In this case, Devlin, you need to be the brother and uncle, not the protector.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” he admitted.
“You have to trust that we love them enough to keep them safe, and if anyone thinks about hurting them, they’ll have the wrath of the Death Hounds to contend with,” Jacob proclaimed, and Devlin lifted his eyes to him.
“You’ve grown up to be a kind and honorable man, Jacob. I’m glad Hailey has you in her corner.” His eyes slid to me and he reluctantly said, “And thank you for saving my sister all those years ago, Hawk.”
“She saved herself. I just gave her the tools to do so,” I admitted, and he cracked a small smile. “And you never have to worry about anyone from the past coming back to haunt her or Hailey. Anyone who could’ve hurt her is dead or spending the rest of their life behind bars.”
“Do you . . . do you know who Hailey’s father is?” Devlin asked, and all eyes at the table turned to me.
I shook my head and explained, “I don’t know, and I’ll never ask her. That’s her secret to keep or tell, and no one is allowed to ask her. Are we clear?”
Devlin nodded and his eyes moved to the table briefly before turning to Skid. “You messaged last night that you needed to talk to me about something. What’s going on?”
I could tell Skid was reluctant to say anything after this intense conversation, but Devlin needed to know so he could decide how to handle Lucian. While this was club business, it was also family business for Devlin, so we all needed to be on the same page. The five men sitting at the table had a vested interest in this information, and I prayed we could keep everyone calm.
Skid glanced at Gunner, and the look that passed between the two of them hinted that something big was about to be discussed. He reached into his cut, pulled out two huge blunts, and lit one before passing it to his left. Jacob took a hit and kept it moving around the table as Skid tried to find a place to start.
“Before I say anything, I need your word, on Elise and DJ, that you will remain calm and not fly off the handle.” Devlin gave him a curt nod as he inhaled and passed the blunt to me. “I did some digging into a few things after Stella spoke with Hawk.”
“What did she say?” he asked.
“The specifics aren’t important. What is important is what I discovered,” Skid started, and Devlin sat up straighter. I could see the wheels turning in his head, and Skid needed to get on with it before the madman lost his mind. “There were some concerns expressed about . . . your brother.”
“What does Lucian have to do with anything?” Devlin asked, and I wished he would shut up long enough for Skid to explain.
“That’s just it. I wasn’t sure what he had to do with anything until I started digging. Then, I uncovered some pretty disturbing things, so I dug deeper.” Skid’s eyes connected with mine briefly, and I knew whatever he was about to say was going to be bad. “There was a file on him from when your . . . from when Sergey spoke with the feds. There was a single piece of paper, buried in the back of the file, almost like they were trying to hide it.”
Devlin leaned his forearms on the table and looked Skid directly in the eyes as he demanded, “Tell me exactly what you uncovered.”
“There was a report taken from a girl shortly before her eighteenth birthday. She went to the feds and made a sworn statement saying . . . fuck.” He paused and briefly closed his eyes before looking directly at Devlin. “She said Lucian was responsible for her kidnapping and repeated rapes and, after a few months, he left her on the side of the road with some cash, a bus ticket, and instructions to get as far away from Missouri as possible.”
“How the fuck is that possible? From everything I’ve seen, he worked for the feds, so how in the hell could something like that happen?” Devlin asked. Jacob was clenching and unclenching his hands as he listened but remained silent.
“From what I gathered, he was being shielded by them to remain an active asset. I’ve been looking for the girl, but so far, I’ve had no luck finding her.”
“So, you’re telling me he’s as bad as Sergey? That he violated and hurt an innocent woman and the feds protected him, so he could continue to kill for them without any ramifications?”
Skid sighed deeply. “That’s what all signs point to, but until I can find the girl, we don’t really have a way of knowing the truth.”
“Where is Lucian now?” Jacob asked, and Skid rested his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“I told him Hawk’s cell phone pinged in rural North Dakota, so he’s on a wild goose chase for the time being. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep him diverted away from Stella, but I wanted everyone to know what I uncovered,” Skid explained.
“The front gate has been instructed to keep him off the compound. If any of what Skid discovered is true, then I don’t want him around. Especially around Hailey. If she finds out what he’s suspected of doing, it may break her,” Gunner replied, looking at a visibly angry Jacob. “You need to get it together, Hatchet. Hailey is in the dark, and that’s where she needs to stay until Skid finishes his investigation.”
“Does James know?” Devlin asked, and Skid shook his head.
“I didn’t want to say anything to him until I spoke with you, but I’m going to have him start doing his own digging. Bastard seems to be able to find ten needles in a haystack, so he’s our best defense until we learn everything,” Skid remarked as he inhaled deeply from the blunt then tossed the roach into the ashtray on the table.
I could see how pissed everyone was, but I needed to add something to the conversation, just so everyone was aware. “Stella knows something where he’s concerned, but she doesn’t want to discuss it with me. I don’t know what has her so mad, but you should know she isn’t aware he’s been around. She’s hostile and will kill him if she sees him.”
I could see everyone’s wheels turning, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the mental image of Lucian hurting some innocent girl out of my head. It made me think of everything I’d witnessed with Stella and Adrik, and if it meant killing her brother to save her any additional heartache, I would gladly send him to hell.
