Craving Hawk

by Nicole Jacquelyn

  I laughed as I walked closer to the table and tipped my head back to look at her.

  “You’re gonna break a hip,” I called up to her, laughing and dodging as she tried to kick me.

  “Little brat,” she huffed, kicking at me again.

  “Why the hell are you dancing on a table?”

  “Because it pisses my husband off,” she replied easily, giving Casper a little wave as he came walking outside.

  “Like to do that a lot, huh?” I joked, watching as Casper stomped toward us.

  “Aw, he loves me,” she told me quietly, swaying her hips from side to side. “But he’s been busy as hell, and if I don’t piss him off he won’t let loose tonight.” She looked down at me. “Boys that don’t let off steam once in a while end up dead from a heart attack.”

  “Is that your medical opinion?” I asked as Casper reached us.

  His hand shot out and grabbed Farrah’s wrist, and before I could blink he’d yanked her off the table and over his shoulder. He didn’t say a word. Then they were moving across the pavement and disappearing inside the clubhouse.

  I looked around but didn’t see anyone I knew. Some of the guys were wearing vests, but they weren’t Aces. I couldn’t see the patches clearly enough to read them, but they were the wrong colors and shaped differently than Tommy’s.

  “Hello, beautiful,” a guy said, swaggering toward me. At some point he’d probably been hot, but hard living had given his face a slightly sunken look that reminded me of a skeleton.

  “Not interested,” I said in amusement as he stopped and shifted his weight like he was posing for me.

  “You seem interested,” he said, looking me over.

  I scoffed. “I’m not, Night of the Living Dead. Go away.”

  “You hear this chick?” Skeletor asked no one in particular. “You need to learn some manners.”

  “My manners are just fine,” I replied, taking a step back as he took a step forward. “I told you I’m not interested. You just can’t seem to take a hint.”

  “See, you keep talking shit, but your body, mmm…” He shook his head from side to side. “Your body is telling me you want it.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I asked dubiously, taking another step backward. I realized way too late that I didn’t know anyone in the dark forecourt. There wasn’t a single face I recognized, and most of the people out there weren’t even paying attention to us. “That’s the most idiotic thing anyone has ever said to me. Ever. And I know a lot of stupid people.”

  He made this weird noise, almost like a growl, and then he was hurdling toward me. I let out a startled scream and scrambled backward, but my sandal got caught where the grass met the pavement and I wobbled for a second before I fell hard on my ass.

  He caught up to me before I could get back on my feet. His hand came down hard on my shoulder, but before anything else could happen something moved in the corner of my sight and the guy was tackled to the ground with a loud thump.

  I crab walked backward as the two rolled around on the ground, then let out a little shriek as I realized what was happening.

  Tommy.

  At our wedding, I’d thought I’d seen Tommy in a rage when he’d seen my cousin, but it was nothing compared to what I saw when he kneeled above Skeletor and punched him hard in the jaw. The man I was looking at wasn’t anything like the Tommy I knew. His eyes were blank as he wrapped one hand around the guy’s throat and used the other to punch him over and over again.

  Skeletor bucked and swung back, but the blows didn’t even seem to faze my husband.

  The sounds were terrifying. Thuds and smacks and the wet sound of blood and spit hitting the pavement and their clothes.

  I pushed myself up to my knees, but my legs couldn’t even hold me. All I could do was stare in horror as the guy on the ground grabbed hold of Tommy’s vest and yanked him forward, his mouth gaping as he tried to bite him.

  “Thomas!” Grease called as he and a few of the other men came flying out of the clubhouse.

  They were on Tommy within seconds, but my husband didn’t stop. He fought against the hold Grease had on him, yanking and twisting as he reached toward Skeletor again and again, finally kicking him hard in the ribs as the men pulled him away.

  “Jesus Christ,” Hulk said as he finally noticed me at the ground by his feet. “You alright?”

  “What the fuck?” I whispered, my voice shaking. I gripped his hand when he reached for me, but the minute I got to my feet, my knees buckled.

  What the fuck had I just seen?

  Grease and Will were dragging Tommy back toward the clubhouse, but he wasn’t going easily. He was rabid as he stared at the man being helped off the ground, but even scarier than that was the silent way he was losing his mind. He hadn’t made a sound the entire time he’d beat the hell out of that guy.

  “Come on, Hawk,” Hulk said gently, lifting me into his arms. “Let’s get you inside, yeah?”

  I nodded as I watched Dragon walk up to one of the guys on a picnic bench, shaking his head.

  Skeletor was on his feet again and was wiping at his face angrily as someone tried to help him. He shoved them away and turned toward the guy Dragon was talking to, throwing his hands up in the air.

  Hulk carried me into the clubhouse, and I didn’t even try to protest. My entire body was shaking and I could barely hear beyond the sound of my heartbeat in my ears. I’d seen men fight. I’d been to a lot of parties, and when people got drunk enough, there was usually someone that wanted to prove his dominance the old fashioned way. But I’d never seen anything as brutal as what I’d just witnessed.

  That wasn’t a brawl. If Grease hadn’t come out when he had, there was a good chance Tommy would have killed that guy. Even the group of strangers had seemed hesitant to step in.

  “Is she okay?” my sister asked, as Hulk carried me past the bar. She got to her feet and rushed toward us. “Heather?”

  I couldn’t answer her. My throat felt so tight I wasn’t even sure I could speak.

  “She’s fine,” Hulk said, stopping as my sister stepped in front of us. “We’ll be back in a minute.”

  “What?” Mel asked incredulously, as Hulk moved around her.

  “Rock,” Hulk called out for my sister’s boyfriend to come get her.

  Then we were moving through the room and into the back hallway. As soon as we were away from the music I could hear Tommy.

  “You stay right here,” Hulk ordered, setting me on my feet. He opened up the door to Tommy’s room and stepped inside.

  “Where is she?” Tommy roared, making me flinch.

  I slowly walked around the edge of the doorway, and when I came into view, Grease cursed.

  Tommy stormed toward me and was knocked back against the wall when Will punched him in the cheek.

  “Motherfucker,” Tommy ground out, his eyes shooting to his brother.

  “Stay the fuck there,” Will ordered. “Jesus.”

  I reached out and braced my hand against the wall as I took in the room. Tommy’s dresser was on its side, the wood splintered. The bed seemed untouched, but it looked like someone had used the tall lamp next to his bed like a baseball bat and there was glass all over the floor.

  “Are you okay, sugar?” Tommy asked, his eyes on me. “You hurt?”

  My eyes watered as I watched him try to calm himself down. There was blood everywhere. I didn’t know if it was his or Skeletor’s. His face was swollen and his knuckles were so torn up I could see the bone.

  I shook my head. No, I wasn’t hurt.

  “The fuck was that?” Grease asked tiredly, dropping to the edge of the bed.

  “Up!” Tommy ordered, moving forward until Will stepped in front of him. “Get the fuck off our bed.”

  I swallowed hard as Grease stood back up, looking at Tommy like he was insane.

  “You wanna tell me why the fuck you just beat the hell out of the Rabid Dogs president’s son?” Grease said lowly, his jaw clenched ti
ght.

  “That fuckin’ tweaker?” Tommy asked, his eyes shifting back and forth from me to Grease.

  “You think we invited them here for shits and giggles?” Grease asked, nodding at Hulk.

  I stepped inside the room as Hulk reached behind me and closed the bedroom door.

  “You think we want those fuckin’ tweakers here?” Grease ground out. “We got shit in the works that you just fucked up. We need those motherfuckers to cut off the Russian’s meth supply and now your president is out there tryin’ to smooth shit over.”

  “He put his hands on my wife,” Tommy spit, his nostrils flaring.

  “Why the fuck was your wife outside alone?” Hulk said softly, making me stiffen.

  “I wasn’t,” I said, my voice shaking. “When I went out there, Farrah was there. Casper came and took her inside. I—” I swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat. “She was out there by herself so I didn’t know that I shouldn’t be. No one told me.”

  “Farrah’s well known,” Will said, shaking his head. “No one wants to fuck with Casper so they steer clear.”

  The door opened behind me and I jumped, stepping quickly to the side as Dragon walked in and slammed the door shut again behind him.

  “Someone wanna tell me what the fuck is goin’ on?” he asked. The fury in his quiet words was chilling.

  “Fucker put his hands on my wife,” Tommy answered, his jaw tight.

  Dragon looked me over then turned back to Tommy. “Looks fine to me. You wanna tell me why I just had to go kiss Sickle’s ass so he wouldn’t take off and ruin every fuckin’ hour of work we’ve put in to get them on board?”

  “I found her on the fuckin’ ground with that tweaker on top of her,” Tommy hissed. “The fuck did you expect me to do?”

  “You alright?” Dragon asked, his eyes on me.

  “I’m okay,” I replied, crossing my arms to hide my shaking hands. “Skeletor just wasn’t taking no for an answer. I tripped and…” I shook my head, closing my eyes as I remembered the way Tommy had tackled him.

  “The fuck am I supposed to do with you, Tommy?” Dragon asked, running his hands through his hair and tightening the ponytail at the base of his neck. “Kept you a prospect until I thought you had your shit together, then you go provin’ me wrong the same goddamn day.”

  “You woulda done the same goddamn thing!” Tommy spat back, his eyes bulging.

  “Difference is, I can fuckin’ get it under control before I goddamn kill someone in front of an entire group of people!” Dragon yelled back, making me jerk in fear.

  Dragon quietly angry was scary, but when he finally raised his voice he was terrifying. I understood then why he was president.

  “I just paid your bail—thank fuck you even got bail—for a fuckin’ murder charge, Tom,” Dragon said, his voice once again at a normal level. “You killed a motherfuckin’ teacher. For what? You fuckin’ lost it? You couldn’t manage your temper enough to not kill a fuckin’ polo wearin’ poindexter? What’d he do, Tommy? Cut you off in motherfuckin’ traffic?”

  Tommy’s head jerked back and his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word. He just lifted his chin in defiance and took it.

  “Explain it to me,” Dragon ordered ominously. “ ’Cause at this point, it’s lookin’ like you need to be put down.”

  I whimpered as my eyes shot to Grease, but Tommy’s dad didn’t say a word. He just stood there staring at his son, waiting for his reply. The room was silent as I took in the men. Will was watching Tommy, his eyes practically begging his little brother to say something, and Hulk was expressionless.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I finally whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

  “Not another word, Heather,” Tommy said through stiff lips.

  “It wasn’t,” I whispered again, meeting Tommy’s eyes.

  “Don’t say another fuckin’ word,” he ordered, his voice growing louder.

  “He was bad,” I said, my voice strangled.

  “Heather!” Tommy roared. He took a step forward and Will shoved him back against the wall.

  “Mark Phillips was bad,” I choked out as Tommy completely lost it, shoving at his brother as he tried to get to me.

  I shrank back against the wall as my eyesight grew blurry, but I didn’t take my eyes off of Tommy.

  “He hurt you?” Dragon asked quietly, ignoring the way Tommy fought with Will across the room.

  I shook my head.

  “Don’t you say another fuckin’ word, Heather!” Tommy screamed, his eyes wild.

  “It wasn’t me,” I said, watching my entire relationship with my husband implode.

  Hulk made a noise of disbelief, and my gaze shot to him as he shook his head and ran his hands down his face. “Mick,” he mumbled. “Fuck me.”

  “What?” Grease asked, his face full of confusion. “What the fuck are you sayin’?”

  Tommy roared and suddenly Will was flat on his back, one hand on his throat as he gasped for air. The room broke into chaos then.

  I dropped to my knees and covered my head with my arms as Tommy threw punches, slowly making his way toward me as he fought every man in the room. I screamed as arms wrapped around me, but calmed as I heard Grease’s voice in my ear. He carried me swiftly out of the room and the minute we reached the hallway we were surrounded by silent women, watching us in horror.

  “You stay back,” Grease ordered them, his voice shaking. “Let the boys handle it.”

  He moved toward the end of the hall and pushed his way inside another door, then froze in the middle of the room. He took a shaky breath, then another.

  “Asa?” Callie’s trembling voice called as she came in behind us.

  “Come in, sugar,” he ordered. “Close the door.”

  Callie followed his directions and walked around us slowly until she was standing right in front of us. I was still curled up in a ball with my arms covering my head, and even as Grease’s breathing evened out, he didn’t set me down. He just stood there with me in his arms, completely still.

  “You’re scaring me,” Callie said softly.

  Grease’s chest heaved in what might have been a sob and he cleared his throat. “Sit down, Calliope.”

  He moved slowly and sat down on the bed, but his hold on me didn’t loosen. He just continued to hold me tight as he rested me on his thighs.

  “Heather,” Callie said gently, running her hand down the back of my head. “You okay, baby?”

  I shuddered, but didn’t answer her.

  How could I even answer that? I’d just watched the man I’d married completely lose control. He’d been coming for me and if the men in the room hadn’t stopped him, I had no idea what would have happened. I didn’t know that man. The Tommy I knew had never even raised his voice at me.

  “You need to start talkin’,” Grease said roughly, resting his chin on the top of my head. “But you just take a minute, girl. It’s alright now. You just take a minute.”

  I let out a small sob, and bit my lips to stop any more sound from escaping.

  “What the hell is going on?” Farrah snapped as she pushed inside the room.

  “Get outta here, Farrah,” Grease ordered.

  “Hawk?” she asked, completely ignoring him. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  “She’s fine,” Grease replied. “Shaken up.”

  “Casper’s in with the boys talking to Tommy,” Farrah said, closing the door behind her. “They’re calming him down.”

  I whimpered and Grease’s arms tightened.

  “My son is not the priority here,” Grease said softly.

  I sucked in a desperate breath as I tried to get myself to stop shaking. I just wanted to be home in my apartment, away from all of those people. I didn’t want to lift my head and deal with their concern. I didn’t want to answer their questions or assure them I was fine. I just wanted to be alone.

  I shifted and Grease’s arms dropped as I straightened my legs. My arms were the last thing to u
nfold, and it was almost painful as I moved them away from my head. My biceps had muffled all sound, and when I dropped my arms down at my sides I could hear the music and people out in the main room of the clubhouse, partying like nothing was wrong.

  I stood up on shaking legs, and put out a hand to stop Grease when he reached out to steady me.

  “I’m okay,” I mumbled, my eyes darting around the room. “Nice digs.”

  “Farrah,” Grease said, ignoring my compliment. “Out. Now.”

  She looked me over and huffed in annoyance, then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  “Start talkin’,” Grease ordered.

  “Asa,” Callie snapped.

  “I ain’t bein’ mean,” Grease said, watching me. “And I ain’t angry. But you will tell me what I wanna know.”

  “Tommy,” I murmured, glancing at the door.

  “I ain’t gonna let him hurt you,” Grease promised, making Callie lift her hand to her mouth in horror. “But somethin’s goin’ on with my boy, and if you don’t tell me what that is, there ain’t no way I can help him.”

  I shook my head and stared at the floor, my mind racing. I’d kept the secret for so long I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to say it out loud. I’d come close in the room with Tommy, but I didn’t know how I could look at Callie and Grease and tell them what I knew.

  “You said Mark Phillips was a bad man,” Grease said roughly, his hand finding Callie’s thigh. She laid her hand on top of his in support.

  “Yes,” I replied hoarsely.

  “He hurt you?” Grease asked.

  “No,” I whispered.

  “He hurt my son?” he ground out, his voice shaking.

  I closed my eyes and sucked in a sharp breath, clenching my hands into fists. “Yes,” I answered through gritted teeth.

  Callie moaned.

  “Which son?” Grease rasped.

  I couldn’t look at him. I could hear their unsteady breathing, loud in the room, and I couldn’t even look at their faces.

  “Micky,” I cried quietly, the word breaking right down the middle.

  I dropped my head in my hands and shuddered as I heard Callie start to cry.