Page 3

Hawk

I was in so much trouble as to not even be believed. I think I’d rather go back to prison than have to deal with the shit show in front of me. And I didn’t mean cleaning up the dead bodies. I mean that fucking girl and her fucking big eyes and trembling lips with an apparent streak of badassedness that was off the fucking charts. My cock was so hard right now the fucking room was spinning. And I felt like a fucking giant-ass prick.

Carrie was… ethereal. In some ways, she was so very innocent and timid, but after watching that fucking video feed Knight showed us? That woman was lethal. And a huge fucking question mark.

“Ain’t never seen nothin’ like that in my whole Goddamned life.” Tiny sounded equal parts awed and terrified. “You found the third guy yet?”

“Yeah.” Knight did something on the tablet in his hand and we watched as the third guy she hadn’t mentioned stumbled through the fog. She’d sliced a wide arch over his abdomen with the knife she’d taken away from his buddy but hadn’t been able to finish because one of the others had grabbed her again. He made it about a hundred yards before he was grabbed by someone out of the mist, his neck quickly and efficiently broken.

“Guy’s done that a fuckin’ time or two,” Knuckles muttered. “Were you able to identify the bastard?”

Knight sighed. “I managed to blow up one image. Luckily, it was on the one HD camera in this whole place other than ours.”

“That’s a good thing. Right?” I didn’t like the look on Knight’s face. It meant whatever he found we weren’t gonna like.

“You’d think, huh.” He shook his head as he tapped on the tablet again. A picture of the guy pulled from the cameras popped up. “Guy’s a ghost. Not in any database I’ve run it through. And I got access to the FBI and INTERPOL.”

“How’d you do that?” Noose sat up straighter, taking interest when not much ever made him look up from whatever handheld video game he was playing. Guy had spent the majority of his childhood in juvie before finishing out five years in a federal prison for the big boys. Once he got out and came to us, he buried himself in technology. Specifically, anything that made whatever game he was interested in at the time run faster and better.

Knight gave him a look. “Not for you, Noose. Fucked up as the system is, I like the world in a semi-stable place.”

Noose narrowed his eyes. “What’re you tryin’ to say?”

“That I’m not letting you anywhere near anything where you can cause havoc.” Knight pointed at Noose. “Got my eye on you, brother.” Knight was only half joking. The rest of us chuckled. I thought the whole thing served as a way of breaking the tension. I couldn’t be the only one wondering what kind of killer we’d brought into our midst. Suddenly, the nickname I’d given her earlier wasn’t nearly as funny. Hadn’t really been funny then, but sometimes you just gotta poke fun.

Knight continued. “Anyway, the point is, his image isn’t in any criminal database. On Torpedo’s orders, I reached out to Bones. Data, Zora, and Suzie were all over it, just like Prez said they would be.”

“And?” Torpedo crossed his arms over his chest, his feet apart. He looked every inch the grizzled biker president. Torpedo had earned his respect with me and everyone else when he’d first come here. He was hard but fair, and had a vicious streak when it came to protecting those he considered family. But he wasn’t my president. For me, Knuckles would always be the leader of Kiss of Death MC.

“And, they got a hit. I didn’t ask where or how, but the guy you see on the screen there doesn’t exist on paper. Anywhere.”

“Shit.” Gunnar scrubbed a hand over his face then the back of his neck. “Ain’t likin’ this.”

Knight looked from Knuckles to Torpedo. “Data suggested we talk to Rocket at Grim Road MC.”

“Black ops.” Bohannon muttered. “Rocket might be able to help. Every one of those fuckers was black ops.”

Bohannon and Torpedo stared at each other for a long time. The rest of us shifted nervously. I thought they’d make the call themselves, but, surprisingly, they both turned to Knuckles.

“What do you think, brother?” Torpedo’s gaze was steady on Knuckles.

There was a pause before Knuckles shook his head and took a breath. “Never hurts to have all the information.” He nodded to Knight. “Follow Data’s instructions. Let him put you in touch with Rocket. Were you able to find this guy before he took out the third attacker?”

“No.” Knight didn’t look happy about that either. “Not even a shadow.”

“Fog?”

Knight shrugged. “Maybe. Or the guy’s just that good.”

Knuckles looked at me. “I want your girl to see this guy. And I want to be there when you show her.”

That got my attention. “She’s not my girl, Knuckles. I just met her. Same as you.”

Knuckles snorted. “Right. She chose you and you let her. Now you’re stuck with her.” That got some chuckles all around.

“Look, I’ll protect her while she’s here. I’ll help her get on her feet or get somewhere she’s safe. I’ll even be her guard if you think it’s necessary. But I don’t think she’s a threat, Knuckles. She wants to feel safe, and I’m a big fucker.” I shrugged. “That’s why she chose me.”

“You ain’t as big as me.” Tiny grinned at me. “And I was standin’ pretty close to you, Hawk.”

“No one is as big as you, Tiny.” More chuckles.

“Look,” Knuckles continued over the ruckus. “I’m not telling you to hurt her, Hawk.” He gave me an exasperated look. “Make her feel safe. Let’s find out what happened to her. See if we can help her.”

“Hawk, in order to keep her safe, we need to figure out why a professional killer was tailing her. Seems like a hell of a coincidence that three random thugs attack her and a ghost appears to keep them from hurting her.” Torpedo’s voice was uncharacteristically soft, but I knew it was because the man was trying to manage me. To get me to do what he wanted. Truth was, I hadn’t considered Carrie might still be in danger. “You think she’s being followed?”

“I think it’s worth finding out,” Knuckles replied. “Because if she’s got trouble on her tail, I want to know what kind before it lands on our doorstep.”

I nodded, understanding his concern. This wasn’t just about helping a woman in distress anymore. If someone was after Carrie, it could mean trouble for the club. “I’ll talk to her,” I promised. “After she’s had time to clean up and rest.” I kept my face neutral, despite the fact that my brethren were eyeing me with varying levels of amusement.

“Get back to her. Make sure she’s comfortable. If she’s homeless like she indicated, she’s probably in need of a meal and some actual rest.” Knuckles gripped my shoulder. “Also, I’m pretty sure she is your woman.”

“Knuckles --” I stopped myself. There was no point in arguing, especially when I wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong. Something about that girl had gotten under my skin immediately. I couldn’t explain it, and I didn’t like it. I also wasn’t entirely sure I could fight it. “I’ll get her settled and find out what I can.”

Gunnar laughed. “Man, you should see your face right now. Like you swallowed something sour.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered, which only made him laugh harder.

Knight tapped the tablet again. “I’ll update you when I hear from Rocket. In the meantime, maybe we should increase security around the compound. Just in case this ghost decides to pay us a visit.”

“We have to be careful here.” Bohannon glanced at Torpedo. “I’ve already doubled the prospects on guard, but this place isn’t secret. Every parole officer in the state knows about this place.”

“The local authorities seemed to like that we’re keeping to ourselves.” Noose shuffled uncomfortably. “No one else wants us and no one from here has ever been rearrested.”

“I’ll keep a lid on everything,” Knight offered. “Main thing is to keep the noise down and control the camera feeds. I’ll keep an ear out on the dispatch center. If anyone is headed our way, I’ll know about it in plenty of time.”

“Go take care of your girl, Hawk. Get as much as you can before she goes to bed. Maybe while she’s eating.” I could tell Knuckles didn’t like having someone interrogate a woman who’d been hurt, but the fact was he had a whole club of people to worry about.

“I’ll get anything important from her, and I’ll be careful doing it.”

Knuckles gripped my shoulder. “Come with me.” Odd, but I followed him inside. Where the party had been in full swing before, now the place had quieted and all the club whores had gone to the basement of this building to the panic room. All the security, the compound, all the shit we had for Kiss of Death and ourselves -- all of it -- was because of Knuckles. Even from prison he protected us as best he could. The club had taken a dark turn those first few years, but Knuckles came through for us.

He led me to his office, and I took a seat in front of his desk. Knuckles braced himself on the edge and stared at me. He was the one who’d brought me here, so I wasn’t breaking the silence.

“Look, man. I’m sorry.” Knuckles popped his neck, looking uncomfortable.

“What for?”

“I’m going to need you to look after Carrie’s best interests until we’re sure of what happened and who that fourth man was.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not cruel, Hawk. Not unless someone really deserves it. But my instinct is to protect the club. I need you to make sure I consider Carrie in any decision I make after we get all the information.”

That surprised me. “That’s why you said she was my woman.”

Knuckles shrugged. “Fewer complications if there are problems. I don’t like deceiving my family, but I’m pretty sure I’m not far off the mark, so I’m not gonna feel too bad.”

“And if Knight finds something on her? If she’s deceiving us for some reason?” I was surprised at how much my heart rebelled at the mere thought of Carrie betraying us. Not for the reasons I thought, though. Much as I loved my brothers, we could take care of ourselves and our women. Carrie didn’t seem to have anyone. And a betrayal of my brothers would forfeit her life. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of sitting back and letting that happen.

“You think he will?”

“My gut led me to her, Knuckles. That instinct has never let me down. Not in prison. Not in life.”

“And?”

“My gut says she’s exactly what she says she is.”

“That’s good enough for me. She gets every benefit of the doubt. But I still want you to watch out for her. Don’t let any of us run over her if there’s trouble.”

“ If there’s trouble? You know Goddamned good and well there’s gonna be trouble.”

“You got me there.” Knuckles held out his hand to me, which I stood and took immediately. “Go take care of your girl. Let her know she made a good choice of a protector.”

“All over that, brother.”

“Hey. Before you go, I need your opinion.”

“Name it.”

“How would you feel about being sergeant at arms again?” That got my attention.

“How should I feel?”

Knuckles shrugged. “Completely up to you. Just know that you’re one of the few men left here I know and trust. You were exactly what we needed then, and I believe you still are.”

“You takin’ the reins back?”

“Up to Torpedo. That was the deal. But I don’t think it will be long.”

“Put me where you need me, brother. This is my family. I’ll go where you tell me to go.”

He clapped my shoulder and grinned. “Get on with you. Be careful with that one. I don’t think she’d stop at takin’ your balls if you got fresh and she didn’t want you to.”

“I know it makes me more than a little crazy, but watching her kill those guys tipped me over the edge, Knuckles.”

“You mean it wasn’t her being covered in the blood of her enemies?”

I winced. “Heard that, did you?”

“It was a memorable exchange all around.” I wanted to wipe the smug look off the bastard’s face but was on the verge of grinning my own damned self.

“Are we all gonna take our women the second we see them?”

“Kinda looks that way, but my advice is to not fight it. Roll with it. Make her want to keep you around.”

“I’m all over that shit.”