Page 9 of Hawk
“Stop, everyone,” I yelled and looked over my shoulder to ensure DJ and Hailey hadn’t walked back into the room. Turing my head back to the table, I explained, “I don’t owe either of you an explanation, but I will talk to my President. Alone. If that’s not good enough for you, then get fucked.” With that, I stood from my chair, lifted the bottle from the table, and walked to Gunner’s office. What I needed to say wasn’t for public consumption, and hopefully, he could give me some guidance on what I should do.
I feared he and the club wouldn’t see me the same afterward, and Matthew, Anna, and I would be cast out, losing the only family we had left.
Chapter 3
Hawk
Sitting on the leathercouch in Gunner’s office, I took a long drink from the bottle of whiskey, needing it to stop the memories from playing on a bloody loop in my brain. A minute later, someone walked into the office and the sound of the door closing echoed throughout the room. I turned my head and saw Gunner and Skid staring at me like they didn’t know me.
I guess in a way, they didn’t. They knew who I was now, not who I was all those years ago and seeing the look of disappointment on their faces at the realization that I worked not only for Devlin’s father but more criminals and monsters than I would ever admit to, was painful to see.
They each took a seat in the leather chairs in front of the couch, and Skid began. “What’s going on, Hawk? I’ve never seen you like this.” He paused briefly before asking, “Is Devlin right? Do you know something about Stella?”
I took another deep pull from the whiskey bottle before placing it on the table between us. Gunner sat, watching me intently and I tried to gather my swirling thoughts.
Running my hands through the top of my hair, I sat back against the couch with a deep sigh. “I meant what I said. I’ve never met a woman named Stella, but I do think I’ve crossed paths with her before. I . . . I don’t really know where to start.”
“The beginning is always a good place, but start wherever you feel most comfortable. And know this, no matter what, you’re family, and I won’t let either of those assholes cause problems for you. You’re DHMC and that eclipses all their noise and bullshit.”
Gunner was always levelheaded and his reassurance that the club still had my back gave me a glimmer of hope that my kids and I weren’t going to be cast out alone.
I wiped my hand down my face and looked at my President and his brother-in-law and prayed to whatever was ruling the universe that they could look past my transgressions. Licking my lips, I began to speak, the words sounding hollow and distant in my head as I tried to explain.
“After I got injured in the military, I was lost. My pops was gone, and with no other family, I rambled. A couple of months after I was discharged, I stumbled into a situation that changed the direction of my life. I was pissed that my future was gone, and when I was offered the chance to regain some of what I’d lost, at first, I was skeptical.”
“Offered?” Skid asked, and I gave him a cold stare.
I couldn’t get through this if they wanted every ugly detail, so I explained, “I’m going to gloss over some of what happened, because, quite frankly, it’s no one’s fucking business.”
Skid nodded his understanding as Gunner waited for my explanation. Guilt was bombarding me as I stood from the couch and began to pace across the office. Both brothers turned to watch me as I started again.
“I had no skills other than the ones the military gave me, and to be honest, there isn’t many jobs where killing is part of the description.” Having shed blood themselves, they both silently nodded their understanding. “One night, I was in a bar when three guys came in and started harassing another man. I watched them drag the puny man out into the back alley and, on instinct, I followed them. It wasn’t a fair fight, fueled by too much alcohol, so I decided to get involved. When the dust settled, two of the men were dead and the third would never walk again. I didn’t know until a week or so later that the puny man was the youngest son of some crime family. I won’t say which one, for everyone’s safety, but they offered me a job as his bodyguard.”
Gunner appeared unfazed by my admission, and I began to wonder how much he actually knew about my past. Now wasn’t the time to discuss that, so I walked back to the couch and sat down, leaning my forearms on my knees as I continued.
“The kid was born with a rare disease, and for the next year, I took care of anyone who thought they could bother him.” I lifted my eyes as I went on. “He died in a car accident, and once again, I feared being cast aside. Except the family kept me on the payroll doing small jobs for them.”
