Page 22 of Heart of Stone (Stoneheart MC #1)

HAWK

T he call comes at just after midnight.

"We need you," Lee's voice is tight with tension. "Axel's caught up in some shit with Summit's guys. It's bad."

I am already moving, sliding from bed and reaching for my cut. Beside me, Andi stirs.

"Everything okay?" she mumbles, voice thick with sleep.

"Club business," I say, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Go back to sleep. I'll be back soon."

She makes a soft sound of acknowledgment, already drifting off again. I watch her for a moment, memorizing the curve of her face.

Fuck she is beautiful. Feels good to have a woman like her next to me, in my bed, in my life.

More than I'd ever thought I'd deserve.

The night is thick with humidity, my bike's headlight cutting through fog as I ride to the meetup point. Lee is waiting with Tank and two prospects, their faces grim in the weak light of dawn.

"What happened?" I demand as I kill my engine.

"Axel was doing recon, when security showed up for an early shift change." Lee's jaw is tight. "He's stuck in the records room. They've changed their schedule. These guys look new and eager. They're doing rounds every fifteen minutes. He can't get out without being seen."

"Fuck." I study the building's layout on Lee's phone. "How many guards?"

"Four that we can see. Camera five is compromised." He taps his phone. "So we can get him in but getting him out is gonna be harder."

My phone buzzes—Andi. I hit ignore, focusing on the situation at hand.

"We need a distraction," I say. "Something to draw them away long enough for Axel to slip out."

The prospects nod eagerly. Young, dumb, and ready to prove themselves. Perfect.

"No violence," I warn. "Nothing that can be traced back to us. We're here to get our brother out, not tip these fuckers off that we're starting a war."

My phone vibrates again. Andi's face lighting up my screen.

"Fuck," I mutter, hitting ignore again. Whatever it is will have to wait.

We split up, the prospects heading to the far side of the complex with instructions to trigger some car alarms. Tank positions himself by the emergency exit while Lee and I work our way toward the security office.

My cell buzzes a third time.

"Jesus, Hawk, you wanna give our position away?"

Andi's call stops, only to start up once more. I hesitate, a rock settling in my gut. I don't have time to deal with her, Axel needs me.

My club needs me.

I hit decline and power off the cell, pushing away the guilt I feel.

The Summit's temporary building looms ahead, all white panels and steel wrapped in scaffolding. The three story-modular would house their operations over the next few years as they slowly corrode our town, buying up business and housing to create their pipeline.

I want to burn the fucking thing to the ground.

We slip through the shadows, using the construction equipment dotted across the grounds like sleeping giants as cover.

"There." Lee points to a second-floor window. Light flickers behind the blinds just once—Axel's signal.

I study the guards. They move with the rigid precision of ex-military, weapons visible on their hips. These aren't the usual rent-a-cops Summit usually hires.

"They're professionals," I mutter. "Summit's stepping up their game."

"Makes you wonder what Axel might have found in there," Lee replies.

The sound of boots on gravel has us pressing deeper into the shadows. A guard passes within feet of our position, radio crackling with updates from his team.

"Third floor clear," a voice reports. "Moving to records."

Fuck. They are closing in on Axel's position.

A metallic crash echoes from the far side of the building, followed by the wail of car alarms.

The prospects, right on schedule.

"All units, check the disturbance," the radio squawks. "Could be kids again."

"Negative," another voice cuts in. "Hold positions. Wilson, check it out."

Shit. These guys are good.

"Plan B," I growl to Lee. "Tank in position?"

Lee taps his earpiece. "He's ready when you say."

"You got a spare one of them?"

Lee hands it over. I study the building once more as I slip it into my ear. We need something bigger. Something that would force them to investigate.

The construction site catches my eye. Specifically, the electrical junction box controlling the temporary lighting.

"New plan," I say. "Get Tank to the breaker box. When I give the signal, cut power to the whole block."

Lee's grin is feral in the darkness. "Create some chaos?"

"Exactly." I check my watch. "Axel's got eight minutes before the next sweep. We do this fast, clean, and quiet."

"And if they catch us?"

I think of the guns on their hips, the way they move like soldiers instead of security. "Don't get caught."

The night presses in around us as we move into position. Tank's shadow slips between the construction equipment while Lee makes his way to the emergency exit. The prospects have gone silent, waiting for the signal.

One shot at this. One chance to get it right.

I wait, watching for the perfect moment.

There.

One of the guards has bent to tie his shoelace.

I give the signal and the night explodes into chaos.

The block plunges into darkness as Tank hits the power. At the same instant, a series of car alarms begin screaming from the far lot, while the prospects throw what sounds like half a hardware store worth of metal pipes across the concrete.

"What the fuck?" a guard shouts. Flashlight beams cut through the darkness, dancing across the construction site.

"Control, we've lost power to the whole sector," another radios in. "Possible breach."

"All units respond," the reply crackles back. "Secure the perimeter."

Perfect.

I tap my earpiece. "Tank, secondary target."

A moment later, the sprinkler system kicks in, sending water cascading through the building.

I hear cursing as the guards scramble to protect their electronics.

"Lee, you're up."

I watch Lee slip through the emergency exit, using the chaos as cover. The guards are too busy dealing with the water and power loss to notice one more shadow among many.

"Two minutes," I murmur into my comm. "Get our boy and get out."

The security team has split up—two checking the power box, one circling the building's perimeter, the last trying to coordinate from his position by the front door. Their training works against them now. They are following protocol, maintaining formation, when they should be adapting.

Amateur hour.

A grunt of pain comes through my earpiece, followed by Lee's whispered, "Found him. Moving to exit point charlie."

I shift position, getting eyes on their escape route. "Tank, light it up."

The construction floodlights on the opposite side of the site suddenly blaze to life, powered by the generator we'd set up hours ago. The guards spin toward the new threat, momentarily blinded.

In that instant, two figures slip from the building's shadow into the tree line.

"We're clear," Lee's voice is barely a whisper.

"Prospects, fade out," I order. "Tank, kill the lights in thirty. Everyone roll to point beta. Do not engage."

One by one, my team confirms they are moving. I wait until Tank kills the floodlights before melting into the darkness myself.

The guards are still scrambling, trying to figure out what hit them. By the time they sort out their systems, we'll be long gone.

We regroup at the abandoned gas station two blocks away. Axel is soaked from the sprinklers but grinning, a thick folder tucked into his jacket.

"Worth it?" I ask.

His grin widens. "Oh yeah. I found who's bankrolling this little escapade."

"Do tell."

Before he can elaborate, my phone buzzes to life as I power it back on. Seventeen missed calls. Voice mails. Texts.

My blood runs cold as I read the messages.

Andi

Hawk, I need help. Abby's got a fever and she won't stop coughing.

Andi

We're in an ambulance, she's turning blue.

Andi

Answer your fucking phone!

Andi

We're at the hospital. She's in ICU.

Andi

Don't bother calling. I've got it handled.

The last message is from Ginger.

Ginger

I get it, Hawk. Club business comes first. But not like this. Andi and that baby needed you tonight, and you left her to go in that ambulance alone. You better pray that baby is okay, asshole. Because if anything happens to her, Andi will never forgive you.

"Fuck," I breathe, already moving to my bike.

"Hawk?" Lee calls after me. "We need to?—"

"Handle it," I snap, kickstarting my engine. "I've got somewhere I need to be."

But even as I roar through the pre-dawn streets, I know it's too late.

I'd made my choice. I'd put the club first.

And for the first time in my life—that was the wrong fucking choice.