“Well you’re not completely fucked in the head like they are either,” Hawk said.
“Says a lot after all the time I did in the service,” Maverick muttered.
“So we’re all on board with what’s happening? Because I want to get this shit started now. Mav, I’ll need you to do your legal thing and make sure it’s all airtight.”
“I can do that. I’ll need to talk to the girls and see what they’ve signed. Do we have them on board?”
“We’ll get things smoothed over with them soon. I think Hil’s been working on them for a while now,” Hawk said.
“She keeps a lot of secrets,” Shooter said. His frown spoke volumes. He didn’t trust her.
“Won’t be any soon,” Hawk said.
“You make sure of that,” Tiny said.
Hawk met Tiny’s gaze and nodded, silently giving him a promise. They had a lot riding on Hilary. It wouldn’t take much to get what he needed from her. She had the aura of a soda filled with Mentos and shaken. A few more gentle nudges and she’d blow. Secrets were a slow poison. They crept in and began to turn things bad little by little until suddenly they were at max capacity and someone’s life was on the line. There was no room for them here in Mayhem.
“That being said. We’re going off lockdown. We need to make these clowns think they have the upper hand. This weekend we go back to our houses and our regular lives. We’ll keep tails on the girls. Security’s been tightened. I don’t anticipate any trouble. Once this case hits their door, the focus will shift off us, and that’s when we’ll start tearing down the organization them from the inside.” Tiny grinned. “They don’t really need all that money and with the media circus they’ll be doing they won’t notice a thing right away. By the time they do, the money will be safely stowed in an offshore account made for someone who doesn’t actually exist. Mayhem can be called many things, but dumb isn’t one of them.”
Laughter filled the space. “Now that you know the basics you’re dismissed, except for tech squad, Hawk, and Maverick. I want this shit wrapped up with a bow and ready to be delivered by the end of the day.”
Legs of chairs scraped on the floor as people stood and began to leave the room. Hawk watched them wistfully, settling in for a long night.
When he finally emerged from the room the sun had long set and the hallways and main room were quiet. He pulled out a cold bottle of beer, popped the tab, and took a long pull.
He could hear Hilary’s voice through the door to her room. “Because I need a break, Mom, that’s why. You can’t keep blowing up my phone. I’m a grown woman and I made my decision. I need to be away from this mess. I’m in way deeper than I should be. It’s not my marriage.”
His eyebrow quirked. So the opinionated woman had been listening to him. Right on, Harpy. Stand up for yourself. He heard her feet move across the floor as she paced in her room. The crack in the door let out light and allowed him to see glimpses of her as she walked past the threshold.
“What do you mean how can I abandon you? Mom, what can I possibly do?”
He sat at the bar and waited to see how her argument would pan out.
“No. I told you I’m not going to take sides. No I don’t think Dad was right for what he did. But he’s still my father. You know what? All you need to know is I’m going to be away for a while. If you need me, leave a message on my voicemail. Bye Mom, I love you.” She took a shaky breath, and he knew she’d hung up. She slipped out of her room.
He cleared his throat to announce his presence. “I take it you told them.”
She jumped, then turned to face him, wiping at her eyes. “How long were you there?”
“Long enough. You did what you needed to.”
“You didn’t give me any other choice,” she snapped.
“There wasn’t one.” He shrugged. Used to being the bad guy, he let her disdain roll off him like water on a slip-n-slide.
“You’re all heart, Hawk. You know that?” she said, exasperated.
“We have bigger things on our plate than your parental issues.”
She scoffed at him. “Asshole.”
“You keep talking to me like that I’ll think you’re starting to like me, sweetheart,” he said.
“You wish. What are you doing out here? You were gone ten minutes ago.”
“Just got out of church. It was a long one. We got everything figured out. Tomorrow people will start heading back home. You take care of those loose ends?” Hawk said.
“Yeah. I’m ready. Disappearing for a while is looking better by the minute, actually.”