Page 8 of Hawk
“I dare you to try it, lunatic,” I challenged, and Lucian tried to jump at me, not caring that the bar was separating us.
“Stop right where the fuck you are, Lucian. You’re a guest in my house, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to lay a hand on one of my brothers,” Gunner yelled as he, Jackal, and Claw, the club’s VP, entered from a side door and briskly walked toward the quickly escalating situation.
Gunner shouldn’t defend me. He wouldn’t if he knew what kind of person I was all those years ago, but having him support me without knowing any of the facts made me realize the club really was my family. As the three of them approached the bar, Lucian and Devlin took a step back, and Jackal came around the back of the bar, clapping Skid on the shoulder and offering me his fist. I tapped mine to his and turned my attention back to my President.
“Your brother knows something about my sister, and I demand he tell me,” Lucian shouted, and Devlin cut his cold blue eyes to him.
“Lower your fucking voice, Lucian. My son and our niece are in the other room, and I won’t let them see any of us fighting.” Lucian rolled his blue eyes and turned his gaze back to me as Devlin pivoted and began to speak to Gunner. “I don’t know what he knows, but we—and by that, I mean Hailey—deserves to know where her mother is. If Hawk knows something, he needs to tell us. Now.”
“Where is this even coming from? Don’t you think if Hawk knew anything about Hailey’s mother, he would have said something by now?” Gunner asked, and Devlin cut his cold eyes to me before turning back to Gunner.
“One glance at a picture of my sister and he’s going white as a sheet. We all have pasts, and if his is connected to Stella, I want to know.” I could see the desperation deep in his eyes, and after all the conversations with Hailey over the last few months, I’d come to understand how close Devlin and Stella were.
Gunner looked at the man who had become an honorary Hound throughout the situations we’d endured over the last few years. “Whatever Hawk does or doesn’t know is his business, until he decides otherwise.”
“This is bullshit,” Lucian barked, and Jackal cracked his neck in anticipation of a fight. “I bet I could make him tell us.”
“I fucking dare you to try,” I spat back, not knowing where the anger was coming from.
They had a right to know what happened to Stella, but I wasn’t going to tell them a fucking thing. At least, not yet. The situation was spiraling toward a fight, and the last thing we needed was punches to be thrown, especially with DJ and Hailey a few rooms away. Skid cleared his throat, and Gunner turned his attention to him.
“Why don’t we all sit down and have a drink? Then we can figure out who knows what and maybe we can come to an agreement,” Skid suggested, and I turned to look at him.
He was one of the calmest brothers in the club, unless you upset his old lady, Grace. Then, he was a killing machine, hellbent on war. I took a cleansing breath before nodding to him. If he could remain calm, so could I. Unless Devlin or Lucian popped off at the mouth again. Then, I was going to kick the crap out of them just for fun.
Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, I snatched a handful of shot glasses and moved around Skid and Jackal as I made my way out from behind the bar. Silently, they followed as Gunner, Claw, Devlin, and Lucian fell in behind us.
The large table in the center of the room was my destination as I walked away from everyone. I sat down and poured myself a shot before quickly downing it and refilling the glass. Everyone silently took their seats as I filled all the glasses and pushed them around the table.
Devlin and Lucian sat across from me, and Skid was on one side of me while Claw was on the other. Gunner sat in his normal spot at the head of the table and Jackal stood sentry next to him, obviously ready to throw a punch. Or knowing him, blow something up.
Looking into Devlin’s eyes, I could see pain emanating from them, and suddenly, I felt like the piece of shit I always thought myself to be. For years, I tried to do good, somehow hoping to clean the slate of all the horrible things I did in my past. I knew one day, it was all going to come back to bite me in the ass, but I never expected it to come this full circle.
“I need someone to start at the beginning and maybe we can figure this whole thing out,” Gunner began, leaving the room in silence as he threw back his shot.
I lifted my glass and downed the fiery liquid, needing the moment to collect myself. Deep inside, I felt like I was spiraling, and I needed to keep it together. The last thing anyone, especially Matthew and Anna, needed was for me to go off the deep end. It didn’t end well last time, and I had no doubt this time could be just as bad.
Devlin started as I felt the past and the present colliding. “A few days ago, we found an old picture of Stella, and I began to run it through my software, hoping to find her.” Gunner nodded his understanding as he downed another shot and placed the glass onto the table. “Today, we gave Hailey a copy of the picture and explained what we were doing to locate her. Hawk, seeing the picture, goes white as a ghost and suddenly gets angry and defensive. In my experience, that means he knows something. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize.” He turned his eyes to mine as he said, “But somehow, I don’t think I’m wrong. Am I, Colton?”
“Call me that again, madman, and I’ll knock your fucking teeth down your throat and the only way to retrieve them will be when you take a shit. Do we understand each other?” I returned with a coldness in my voice that I hadn’t heard in years.
“Do you really think I don’t know what you did for all those years?” Devlin asked as Lucian sat back, almost content to watch us argue. “Do you think I’m not aware you worked for my vile father and anyone else who would pay you? While I don’t know exactly what you did, I can venture a pretty good guess.”
I smirked at him as I replied, “Why would I tell you a damn thing when you think you already have all the answers? If you’re so fucking smart, figure it out for yourself.”
“You son of a bitch,” Lucian said as he started to stand from his chair.
Jackal placed his hand on Lucian’s shoulder and menacingly warned, “Sit down or I’ll throw you off the property.”
“I’d live to see you try,” Lucian taunted, and I knew this situation was about to get messy.
“I’ll ask this directly, Hawk,” Devlin sneered. “Have you ever met my sister, Stella?”
“I’ve never met a woman named Stella,” I replied honestly and lowered my voice before lifting my eyes to Devlin. “The person in the picture looked familiar, but I can’t be certain of anything. There were a lot of people in my past, a lot of drugs, too much alcohol, and maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.”
“I think he’s lying,” Lucian taunted, and the calmness I was hoping to interject into the situation was vanquished into thin air.
Voices began to rise as everyone started speaking over each other.
