I turned to face the little blonde standing with a tray of drinks in her hand. Quinn was the smallest chick I’d ever seen in my life, but she was tough as nails. She didn’t chase after the club like her sisters did. All three of her sisters, one younger and two older than her, were club sheep. Quinn was a good girl and had the biggest crush on Raider. That crush was going to destroy the poor female when she finally realized that my brother was basically a sleazy slut who only wanted to get his dick wet, not settle down.
Quinn was definitely the type of girl a guy needed to settle down with. Someone needed to wife that girl
fast before she wised up and got the fuck out of Creswell Springs.
“Hey,” I said and nodded my head then shifted my gaze around, looking for any sign of what was mine.
“Jack is in the back if you’re looking for him,” Quinn informed me as she moved around me. “He’s sitting in the new girl’s section. Lucky chick. Jack is the best tipper.”
The mention of the new girl had me turning and pushing through the crowd that had just stood up from a booth. I didn’t bother to apologize as I hurried toward the back of the restaurant. A few familiar voices called out to me, but I ignored them all as I glanced around for Gracie.
I knew that I probably looked like a wild-eyed crazy man but I didn’t give a fuck. I could already feel her slipping away from me, damn it. And I hadn’t even told her that she was mine yet. Fuck, I’d tried to be noble—a first for me. Tried to give her time to get over what had nearly happened at that damn frat party. I didn’t want to scare her and go all cave man on her by telling her straight up that she was mine and I planned on her being a huge part of my life. That I was going to make her my ol’ lady.
Now I felt the panic of knowing that maybe I’d left it too late. I was going to slap a ‘Property of Angel’s Halo MC’s Hawk’ patch on her and never let her out of my fucking sight again.
I spotted Uncle Jack before I saw her. The old biker was sitting at a booth in the back corner, a glass of sweet tea sitting on the table in front of him while his brown eyes were glued to something to my left. I followed that gaze and my heart twisted in my chest as I found Gracie standing at a booth full of some of Uncle Chaz’s construction crew.
She was smiling at them with that angelic smile that I wanted reserved for me and only me. Her thick, burnished red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her long, graceful neck. She wore a pair of jeans that should be considered illegal with the way they hugged that perfect ass of hers. The ‘Aggie’s’ work shirt she had on was way too tight, molding over her tits and ending an inch above the top of her jeans.
The construction pricks were eating up the sight of her, grinning up at her as if she were fresh meat and they were starving wolves.
I’d slaughter them all and spit on their mangled bodies as I wiped their blood from my face, I promised myself as I took a step toward her.
A plump little woman with a slightly wrinkled face and clear blue eyes stepped into my path. “Two Hannigans in one day. I’m honored,” Aggie said with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her very, very generous chest.
I didn’t smile at her like I normally would have. She’d hired Gracie without even talking to me about it. Aggie had put my female in danger just by giving her a job. “I want you to tell Gracie you don’t need her working here. Tell her that you’ve got too many waitresses and you have to let her go.”
Aggie lifted one brow at me, her smirk not dimming even a little. “Now why would I want to do something like that?” She glanced over her shoulder at Gracie, who was still chatting with the construction crew, taking their orders and getting a few chuckles from them. “She’s a sweet girl, not to mention a fast learner and maybe one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. The girl has been here only a few hours but she’s worked harder than any one of the other girls, even Quinn.”
“She doesn’t need the job. I’ll take care of her.”
The woman who had once been my mother’s closest friend narrowed her eyes on me. “You gonna make her an ol’ lady, Hawk Hannigan? Or are you just playing around here? ‘Cause if you’re just playing, I’m gonna have to tell her granddaddy.” She tipped her graying head toward the booth where Uncle Jack sat. “Can’t have you breaking that sweet girl’s heart, now can I?”
My own eyes narrowed on her. “Gracie is mine, Ag. Mine. Now go tell her that she’s fired.”
“Don’t go ordering me around, boy. I won’t hesitate to take a wooden spoon to your ass.” She glared up at me and I knew that she wasn’t kidding. If I’d been twelve years old again I might have cowered away from her. But I wasn’t twelve anymore and I didn’t back down from anything, especially when it came to protecting what was mine. She continued, “You don’t want her working here, you tell her. But I’m not firing the girl. I like her and most of the customers like her too. Even some of my other girls have offered her smiles and kind words. That’s saying a lot for some of those bitches.” Aggie stepped back. “Good luck with that, though. She might be sweet, but I can see Jack’s temper simmering underneath.”
Muttering a curse under my breath, I walked around Aggie and reached Gracie just as she was turning from the booth full of construction workers. When she saw me her eyes softened, but the smile she gave me didn’t reach her aged-bourbon eyes. It wasn’t the usual smile I was used to getting from her. It wasn’t that mysteriously angelic smile that would make me want to make sure everything she ever needed or wanted was placed at her feet like the queen she deserved to be.
The smile I was seeing right that minute told me without my even having to ask. She’d seen the lipstick on my face that morning. She’d seen it and now she was pulling away from me, slipping away from me. Panic wasn’t something I was used to feeling, but it was making my chest tight and my heart race faster than it had ever raced in my life. I had this sudden need to grab Gracie, toss her over my shoulder and take her back to the house. To keep her locked in our room until I could convince her that she was it for me. That I only wanted her.
“Hi,” she murmured in a soft voice.
“Hi.” I cleared my throat when it came out sounding thick. “Can we talk?” I didn’t want to embarrass her out here in front of everyone.
“I’m busy, Hawk.” She gave me another smile, this one tighter. “Can’t it wait until I get home?”
Some of the pressure on my chest lifted when she mentioned home. “So you’re going to come back to the house tonight?”
Evenly spaced white teeth sunk into her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have anywhere else to go right now. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you for a little longer.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck, sweetheart. Of course it’s okay. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay with me.” Forever, I should have said, but of course my suddenly chicken-shit ass didn’t.
The smile came back and I was glad to find it a little brighter this time, even if it still didn’t reach those eyes of hers that I loved so much. “Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.”
I shook my head and reached for her. “No. I’m not leaving here without you. Get your things. I’ll take you home.”
“What? Why?” she demanded, her smile long gone now. “I just started and I kind of like it. I need this job, Hawk. My bank account is running low and at this point I only have enough for one semester of law school. I have to do something.”