Hawke Read online

  And three, I didn’t respond to Yuri because the entrance door opened and Hawke walked in.

  eight

  Tyler

  I felt disarmed when I saw him.

  He came.

  He… actually came.

  I wasn’t prepared for this. Nothing ever prepared me for the sight of Hawke.

  Standing by the entrance of the bar, Hawke’s eyes searched the room slowly, roaming over every inch of the place with a look of determination. When he found my face, his eyes stopped moving. He stared at me for a long moment; at my face, at what I was wearing, at the awkward sitting position I was in, before turning his attention to Yuri. Some dark thought showed in his expression before he masterfully concealed it.

  Then he moved.

  The guys noticed him immediately and the room quieted down. Hector and Jesse were already on their feet. Meanwhile, Yuri smiled in Hawke’s direction, looking calm and relaxed. The slimy bastard was uncomfortably smug, and something about it made me feel on edge.

  Hawke was wet everywhere and his boots squished along the floorboards. I knew right then he’d ridden his bike from the city; a forty-minute hike that must not have been comfortable in the rain. He was wearing a black leather jacket and faded jeans. His beard was still unnecessarily long, and his hair was loose down his back. Still, I could see the prominent facial features hair couldn’t hide. Like his long straight nose, and his high cheekbones poking out behind the scruff. His eyes were dark – darker than Hector’s – and almond shaped. His skin was bronze, and I could see the top part of his chest tattoos peeking out from the collar of the black shirt he wore beneath the jacket.

  He was exquisite, to be honest. Not handsome in the classical way. He was scarred, he was tatted, and he had the eyes of a caged animal looking to break loose. He carried himself well, concealed every emotion expertly, and the product was a brooding biker any girl would happily lust after from a distance. Maybe, after everything, I sought to find beauty in him; a beauty that was rough around the edges, and you only ever saw it in the right light when his face softened, or when he smiled.

  God, when he smiled…

  It had the same effect on me since I was thirteen.

  My heart thundered in my chest, and every part of me felt more alive than moments ago. I straightened my spine, suddenly conscious of what I was wearing. The shirt sucked, goddammit. It’d been over eleven months since he last saw me, and he had to find me looking like a hobo in tiny pink shorts, a baggy shirt, and my tits probably visible through the white fabric.

  “You showed up fast,” Yuri remarked on a smile as he neared.

  Hawke didn’t look at me once as he slid into the stool next to Yuri and faced him. “It took a lot for me to come out like this,” he replied coolly. “This better be serious, Yuri.”

  “It is.”

  Hector and Jesse stopped alongside Hawke, and Jesse whispered something in his ear. Hawke’s face remained clear of emotion as he told him quietly, “Clear the room, Jesse.”

  Jesse immediately moved and began clearing out the room; all the while Hawke stared at Yuri, his lips pressed tight in a line. It took about five minutes for Jesse to kick the women out. The workers disappeared in the back and half the members of the club, drunk and useless, meandered to the second floor of the clubhouse, leaving behind a few others, including Gus who was now on the other side of the bar facing us. He watched Yuri warily, an unimpressed look in his eye. Hector and Jesse moved swiftly to the entrance doors, feet behind Yuri’s men still seated at the end of the bar, and I knew that was a deliberate move.

  Feeling dramatically out of place, I began to slide off my stool when Yuri snapped, “You’re staying, baby. This concerns you too.”

  I froze and looked confusedly at the side of his disgusting face before I glanced at Hawke. He didn’t look back at me. His eyes remained on Yuri, unperturbed in the slightest that I was being ordered to stay like a piece of property.

  The bar, moments ago alive and buzzing with noise, was dead quiet now. As the silence continued to build, Hawke idly licked his top lip and said, “Let’s get to the point. You refused the deal and asked for me to be here. What’s going on, Yuri?”

  “Abram wants a change in our supply and he wants the discussion to be made with you,” Yuri explained, bopping his knee up and down anxiously or…because he needed another hit. “He wants to triple our demand. Shipment made every month now instead of every two. Problem is he wants a better price.”

  “It’s going to mean getting paid upfront before the shipments are organized.”

  “How about half before and the rest after?”

  “No deal. For a shipment that size I need to make sure I’ve got the money. I can’t be making deals without covering my ass. You’ve dropped this on us at the very last minute.”

  “Abram did,” Yuri corrected sharply. “Not me.”

  Hawke just stared at him for a beat. “Alright, Abram did. It doesn’t make a difference. We’ll need the payment beforehand.”

  Yuri let out a long irritated sigh. “Fuckin’ fine! We’ll get you the payment beforehand, but that shit’s on my shoulders. I can’t afford a bad batch.”

  “Has there ever been a bad batch?”

  “Well, no.”

  “So there won’t be a bad batch, and it’s settled. Anything else?”

  “From now on, the exchange is to be made in random locations. We can’t afford the heat from the law if we’re picking up your shit at the warehouse, or having it dropped off at our place.”

  “Fair enough. I can see the logic in that if we’re going to be making more frequent transactions.”

  “Abram also wants to discuss limiting your supply dealings with rivals of his that are encroaching on our territory.”

  Hawke looked thoughtful about that. “That’s tricky for us. This is one of our main sources of income, and we’re supplying for a number of key players. Axing somebody out means dealing with some kind of retaliation.”

  “Better it come from them than us.”

  “This is something I’d have to discuss with Abram in person.”

  Yuri shrugged. “Well, fine, that’s up to you, but Abram has a bad side, remember? You don’t want to oppose him too much, you understand what I mean?”

  Hawke didn’t look like he gave a shit. “Sure. Anything else?”

  Yuri nodded and gestured to me with his head. “And I wanna take this one back with me tonight.”

  Whoa, whoa, whoa.

  My heart spiked in my chest. Where in the hell had that come from? I balled my fists and opened my mouth to speak when I saw Gus at the corner of my eye furiously shaking his head at me. Was he seriously ordering me to keep my mouth shut?

  Hawke still didn’t pay me attention, or at least he didn’t seem to care that my eyes had widened into saucers and I was pissed beyond belief. In fact, he looked bored as he watched Yuri carefully and replied, “Who? Tyler?”

  Yuri sniffed and nodded again. “Yeah, I want her.”

  This time Hawke pointed in my direction, still keeping his gaze locked on Yuri. “Just to be clear, her?”

  Another sniff. “Yeah.”

  “Then you’ve misunderstood.”

  “Misunderstood what?”

  “Tyler doesn’t come around here whorin’ herself.”

  Yuri just shrugged. “So what? I want her.”

  “We have others.”

  “Look, I’ve done this before. I’ve had others, and I don’t want others. If I did, I would have said that, but I didn’t say that, right? I want her and that’s all there is to it.”

  This time Hawke’s eyes flickered to me. It was half a second, but it was enough to make my blood turn warm and ease my anger. There was no way in hell Hawke would pass me up like some prostitute. No way in hell.

  As the feeling of tension arose, I noticed Jesse and Hector had briefly exchanged glances. They moved even closer to the entrance, like they were planning on blocking anyone from leaving. It was
such a coordinated move, like they’d done it a million times before.

  “Look,” Hawke calmly replied, “I’m not going to have this back and forth banter with you, Yuri. Truth is, she’s part of the club, not some hangaround that’s looking for a next fix.”

  “I know that,” Yuri retorted confidently.

  Hawke gave him a strange look. “Then you know she’s not for sale. She’s free to come and go, and she gets to decide who she wants to spend her nights with. You can’t just come around here and lay claim like this, right? It’s not normal.”

  Yuri shook his head repeatedly. “No, no, you don’t seem to be understanding me, Hawke. These-these are my fucking conditions, alright?”

  “Alright, and I’m listening –”

  “No, no, you’re hearing, not listening. There’s a big difference.”

  “Either way, we can’t be talkin’ about throwing people into the mix of our deals. I mean, this is a drug operation, if we’re going to be honest. This isn’t human trafficking. I can’t go, ‘oh yeah, sure, have the girl and do what you want with her’ like she’s a fucking cigarette you’re bummin’ off me. I can’t turn a cheek to that. That’s rape, right? There’s a lot I do but rape? Rape’s not one of them.”

  “It’s not rape. She wants it.”

  “She wants it?”

  “Yeah.”

  Hawke made a face. “Really?”

  Yuri twitched. “Yeah, really.”

  “Then turn around and ask her if she wants it. If she says she does then all is good and we didn’t even need to bring this shit up in the first place. So go on, then. Ask her, Yuri, don’t just stare at me –”

  “Look, don’t tell me what to do, alright?” Yuri snapped, baring his teeth. “Nobody tells me what to do! I’m not a fuckin’ follower, man! I’m just as high as you, Hawke. Just as high. I’m fuckin’ Abram’s cousin, remember? You think he’d take kindly to you telling me what to do?”

  Hawke nodded steadily, his patience impeccably intact. “Okay, I won’t tell you what to do, but I want to hear her say it. I want to know she wants to go home with you.”

  Yuri sniffed again and looked around the bar for several moments. He glimpsed at Gus, smirking at him, which made Gus even more pissed. I kept waiting for him to turn to me and ask me, but he didn’t. Because he knew damn straight what the answer would be. Instead, he cracked his knuckles one by one. Then he grabbed the bottle of beer and downed another big gulp. Hawke kept his gaze fixed on him, like all the others. I couldn’t believe they were even entertaining this hotheaded bastard.

  He slammed the beer back down and belched loudly. “Hawke,” he started, clearing his throat, “how much money do you want? Because we’ve got lots of it, man!”

  Hawke furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about?”

  “Name a price.”

  “Why?”

  “So I can give it to you and be on our way.”

  “I don’t want your money, Yuri.”

  “Well, we want the girl.”

  “We? I thought it was just you.”

  Yuri stiffened and ran a hand through his hair impatiently. “This is fucking ridiculous. You are being very stubborn, Hawke, and it’s really pissing me off, man.”

  “You’re pissed because you’re not getting your way.”

  “No, no, no, that’s not why.”

  “Yuri –”

  “You know, I didn’t want it to come to this, but if you don’t fucking do this, we’ll find someone else to buy our fucking shit from.”

  Hawke looked completely unconcerned. He tapped the index finger of his wounded hand on the top of the bar and shrugged. “Then go find another supplier.”

  “You’ll lose a lot of business.”

  “We’ll lose some, but not a lot.”

  “Just gimme the girl, Hawke. She’s just a fuckin’ girl, man.” It startled me how desperate Yuri sounded. I didn’t understand it. In fact, it made me terrified. Had this creep been watching me and I didn’t know it? I was beyond unsettled now and fighting to keep my body from trembling.

  Hawke still spoke calmly and slowly when he replied, “Don’t insult me by coming to my place and not taking no for an answer. This thing with the girl, it sounds really desperate and pathetic, and frankly, it’s starting to wear me down, Yuri. Now we can agree to up our supply for Abram at a discount and you can go on your way… or you’ll start seein’ a different side of me, and you’ll regret bringing out that side of me.”

  “Don’t fucking threaten me,” Yuri barked, completely dissolving now as he pointed in Hawke’s face. “You’re just a fuckin’ wash out. Not even part of the fuckin’ club anymore, either! You think I won’t go back to Abram and tell him you didn’t give me what I wanted? You think I’m that fucking beta? You don’t intimidate me, Hawke. Nothing about a fuck-up ex-biker intimidates me.”

  Hawke didn’t respond. He just watched Yuri detonate with empty eyes. I’d quickly learned this was Hawke at his most dangerous.

  “Now this is how it’s gonna go,” Yuri continued, talking speedily. “You’re going to accept the discount and the shipments every month, and you’re also gonna let me walk out with this bitch on my arm.”

  Hawke tapped his fingers on the bar some more. He stared intensely at Yuri long and hard before softly responding with, “But that’s not going to happen, Yuri.”

  “No? No it’s not going to happen?”

  “No.”

  Suddenly digging a hand into the waistband of his jeans, he produced a gun and aimed it in my direction. My heart lurched in my chest and I jerked away, about to jump off the stool when his other hand grabbed at my hair. I sucked in a breath as he smashed my head against the bar, my vision going blurry. My entire body seized at the lightning bolt of pain shooting through my nose and skull. Tears sprang to my eyes and I let out a small cry, my face pinned to the bar so hard I couldn’t move it.

  “Is it going to happen now?!” Yuri shrieked, the tip of his gun tapping at my head. “You listening to me now, Hawke?”

  “Oh, you fuck,” Hawke whispered, “you really shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Or what –”

  I didn’t see it happening. All I felt was the harsh tug on my hair as Yuri was tackled off his stool, a bullet ringing out of his gun and narrowly missing me. He took me down with him, and I fell in a heap to the floor, air knocked out of my lungs. I heard a struggle and turned my head to the commotion. They weren’t more than a foot from me, on the ground. Hawke was on top of Yuri, straddling him. With one arm across the asshole’s throat, Hawke effortlessly ripped the gun out of his hand and threw it haphazardly away from them.

  Then he turned his dark gaze back to Yuri and smashed his fist into the man’s face. Yuri’s head snapped back against the floor, a sickening crack sounding out.

  “It could have been easy,” Hawke calmly murmured as he dug his free hand into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade. “You could have been on your way and none of this would be happening.”

  My heart thundered inside of me, desperate for oxygen, but I couldn’t suck in a breath. Everything went still around me. To my horror, my body refused to move. My gaze locked on them. This was my curse: my inability to look away.

  With wide eyes, I watched the gruesome scene. Watched as Hawke murmured more words and dug the tip of the blade into Yuri’s eyes. He carved them out of his face one by one, quickly and steadily. Yuri screeched at the top of his lungs, his entire body exploding in tremors beneath Hawke’s mountainous frame.

  “I’m not unreasonable,” Hawke continued, breathing quietly as he worked the blade into the man’s throat. Blood splattered everywhere. Over his jacket. On my face. All over the space between us. “I’m just surrounded by unreasonable fucks that take advantage of my hospitality.”

  Then he stood up, drenched in Yuri’s blood and stared down as the man gurgled and fought for life.

  With a shake of his head, Hawke spat out with disgust, “Now look at the mess you mad
e.”

  nine

  Tyler

  Oh, my God.

  Oh, my God.

  Oh, my God.

  I was…immobilized. Just a part of the scenery as I stared on with wild eyes.

  Yuri had stopped gurgling and convulsing for a full minute when Hawke turned to Hector and Jesse across the room. His face cracked with anger. I could feel it radiating out of him, and I didn’t know how detached he was, or whether he was going to mutilate somebody else.

  “Isn’t it just great how we allow people who aren’t part of the club to just come blowin’ through the door armed with guns?” he growled.

  Hector stared at the bloody scene and frowned. “I wasn’t here.”

  “The sign of a good president is taking responsibility over the actions of your members,” Hawke retorted. “No matter what!”

  Hector looked away from his brother’s stare and stiffened a nod. Hawke turned to Yuri’s men, drunk and crimson red with horror, and spread his arms out, asking them, “Does anyone else have any fuckin’ problems?”

  Four of them shook their heads.

  “Are you sure? We can keep discussing this girl if you want.”

  They shook their heads again.

  “Fine. You pussies can go back to Abram and tell him I’m fine with the arrangement. But first, you can get off your drunken asses and clean this mess up. I want the floors sparkling like a sea of fucking diamonds before the sun comes up. We’re not responsible for the body either, so you take that maggot on your way out.”

  All four heads nodded.

  He then proceeded to turn in my direction. He casually stepped over the unmoving body and bent down to my level. He didn’t pay attention to my startled face and terrified eyes. He just slid his arms around me and picked me up.

  “Come on, darlin’,” he murmured gently, moving us in the direction of the staircase in the back of the bar. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  *

  Hawke carried me upstairs to our room. Upon entering, he vaguely looked around it, at all my stuff covering every surface of what was technically his before he opened the bathroom and gingerly set me down on the counter. Then he took his jacket off and threw it on the bed. Turning back to me, he bent down and opened the cabinet under me, moving aside my dangling legs for a moment with his bloodied hands to grab a pink hand towel. Standing back up, he turned on the faucet behind me and soaked it with warm water.