“Same one we’ve been saying for the past fifty years. I don’t know why you’d thought it would suddenly change,” Hawk said. His words were spoken quietly, but the force behind them was anything but calm.
“New people come to power, shit shifts.” Ice shrugged.
“Not with Mayhem.”
“You might want to reconsider it. A new age is coming,” Ice said.
“We always have been and shall remain rock solid,” Hawk said with a smirk.
Ice’s face turned red. “We’ll see.” Ice turned and trudged back over to the table that held two other men in the same cuts.
“What was—”
Hawk shot her a death glare that made her look down at the bar.
“We need to go collect your girls and get out of here,” Hawk said. “No way am I leaving them here alone after the Angels saw them with us.”
She nodded, finished her drink, and accompanied him back to the table where Hawk invited the girls to the clubhouse Sunday afternoon and accompanied them to their car, hanging back to make sure they weren’t followed. The silence between Hawk and Hilary felt deafening as they climbed onto his bike and drove out of the bustling parking lot.
* * * * *
In the clubhouse, Hawk watched Ariel talk to her friends at the bar. He took swig of beer. In the end, they’d teamed up with the Eights to discuss the Angels of Death. Neither club wanted to bring the law into their areas, and it was a good show of kinship. Having Joey married to Moose, which still skull-fucked him, had turned out to be a genius move. Their relationship with the Eights had never been better, and in this world it paid to have heavy hitters you could call in for backup.
“Shit, she’s fitting right in, isn’t she?” Tiny asked gesturing at Ariel with his bottle of beer.
“Yeah, can’t say the same about her new additions.” Hawk shook his head. They’d taken Lorene, Nic, Maddie, and Karla under their wings a few weeks ago, but the poor things still looked like frightened rabbits.
“Give it time. They’ve been hiding for years; this must feel like being completely exposed,” Boston said.
Hawk grunted. Personally he couldn’t care less. He had his hands full with Ariel. The minute their case had been solidified, and the papers had been served, shit hit the fan. Hilary. As time went by he’d begun to confuse the two women, a fatal error. At the end of this, Hilary would walk away, and Ariel would cease to exist. But he had to admit, he liked the redhead. She was good company, not too chatty, surprisingly funny, and easy as hell on the eyes. The fact that she kept her mouth shut and didn’t ask questions was a major plus. Don’t get a hard-on over it; she’s just playing her role.
“There he goes sniffing around her again,” Tiny said laughing.
Hawk moved his gaze from Karla and her crew back to Ariel and frowned. She giggled as Casanova talked to her, encroaching on her personal space. When she shook her head no and stepped back, his temper flared.
“I’ll be back,” Hawk said walking over to stand behind Ariel.
“We have a problem?” Hawk said watching the blond brother through narrowed eyes.
“None here, right, Ariel?”
“I was just telling your friend here. I wasn’t interested in taking a walk with him,” Ariel said with a forced smile.
“I think you just like playing hard to get.” Casanova winked. “It’s okay. I like the chase.”
“If you like your teeth how they are, you’ll step off,” Hawk said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Didn’t I tell you she was off limits?”
“To fuck. I’m interested in much more than that.” His eyes trailed over her body and Hawk tightened his grip.
“I catch you sniffing around her again and we’re going to have a problem. She’s off limits period. You feel me?”
“Y-yeah.” Casanova started holding up his hands. “I honestly didn’t think you cared. You never have before.”
Hawk growled and Casanova clamped his mouth shut and backed away slowly.
“Thanks,” Ariel said glancing up at him almost shyly.
“Anyone else giving you problems?” Hawk said.