“Lavender! Where are you, woman?” I turn around so fast I’m sure my long hair whips my father in the face.
“No freaking way.” I take off running, bobbing and weaving through the crowd until I reach Sailor. It feels like forever since I’ve seen her. Even though we talk on the daily, it’s not the same when your best friend lives thousands of miles away.
“Oh my god, woman! Love looks good on you.” Sailor and I collide, hugging one another, jumping up and down, acting like the crazy loons we are.
“What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Wyoming looking for a cowboy to tie you up in more than just rope?” I watch as Sailor throws her head back laughing, not caring that the two of us are putting on quite the show for the club.
“It’s too fucking cold, and let’s be real, I missed my best friend. So, before I got too settled in, I figured I’d pack my truck back up and head south.” How Sailor and I are friends is so unreal to me. Now, her and Daisy? Yes. Both are free spirited, getting a wild spur up their asses and moving; it’s more like them than me.
“I’m so glad you’re here. Come on, I want you to meet Ryder and the family.”
“Right here, Ender.” Ryder’s hands squeeze my hips, then he starts to introduce himself when another voice carries through the night, one I don’t recognize.
“You’ve gotta be shittin’ me,” Ryder breathes. Apparently, he knows it, and apparently, I’m about to find out, whether I want to or not.
CHAPTER 21
HAWK
That fucker has some balls callin’ out Ender’s name, actin’ like they’re welcome in our house, even if the club is open to the public tonight. It’s called respect. Clearly, somethin’ this dumbass hasn’t gotten the memo about.
“Ryder, who is that?” Ender spins around, facing me and looking up at me with confusion written all over her face.
“No one you’ll ever have to worry about once I’m done with them.” I kiss her lips, squeeze her hip in reassurance. “Nice to meet you, Sailor. I’m sure I’ll see you later on. Keep an eye on my Ol’ Lady, yeah?” She nods.
“Sure, Lavender and I will just sit down, watch the show. Maybe I’ll find me a man here in Texas. Mhhmmm, I like the sound of that. Hey, why don’t you tell me who’s single and who’s married?” Sailor has that settled, and my brothers all got their eyes on the same lowlife I do, one who’s about to be dealt a real bad hand.
“You good, Hawk?” Bullet asks, coming up beside me. The flexing of my hands at my side gives away the anger that’s pulsing through my body.
“Will be as soon as this dipshit is in the hangar.” As kids, the only place we weren’t allowed was the hangar. Once I became a club member, the reason why was apparent.
“Atta boy.” My dad claps me on the shoulder, like this is my first time getting my hands dirty. He knows better than that.
“See the fool didn’t learn his lesson the first time.” This comes from Shovel. Not sure how he knew. I guess you could call it a father’s intuition. He’d somehow managed to know this dumb fuck got a little too close to Ender. The first time this little needle-nose dick was around her, they were just walking. The next time I happened to be in town was when I saw my woman shrug off his arm from her waist only for him to place it there again. She got in his face, and he backed off. That’s when I did my due diligence. Could have gotten in a world of shit with the club had I been caught. That’s the reason they call me Hawk. The way I watch my prey, figuring out every detail so no stone goes unturned. Too bad this dumb fuck didn’t heed my warning.
“You think I’m dumb enough to turn up here without letting someone know, you’re fucking stupid. I’d watch out if I were you all. The feds are watching you with a fine-tooth comb.”
“Seems we’ve got a squealer on our hands. Ready for this, brothers?” Shovel asks. We all circled around him when he announced his presence. Now, without him even realizing it, we’ve corralled Justin closer to the hangar. Yep, that’s his name. Justin Stewart, twenty-three years old, parents cut him off from his trust fund after they learned he likes to get a little rough with his girlfriends.
“I should have gutted the fuckboy when I had the chance.” Acid burns in my stomach. Had I not checked on Ender damn near weekly, he could have gotten closer to her, could have fuckin’ marked her, and that’s something I should have prevented.