So, like a lot of other people, Abe Abbott didn’t take Holloway seriously for quite a while. But what he didn’t account for was that Holloway had figured out something important. Since Holloway didn’t have any experience at all, and was up against a strong candidate who did, he chose the only strategy that could have worked for him:
He attacked Abbott on his strengths to make them look like weaknesses.
Holloway started making appearances at the Rotary Club and sending out flyers with one relentless message: There’s a crime problem in Tanner Springs. He said it in every single speech, in every single appearance he made, and in every single editorial he sent to the local paper. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t true. Because after a while — after people had heard it over and over and over again — some of them started to believe it.
And from there, it wasn’t hard for him to start directly connecting the “crime problem” to the standing mayor, Abe Abbott. And to the one visible “dangerous” group in the city: The Lords of Carnage.
Shit started heating up for Abe. He started to get desperate for “wins” to show the community that he was still their best bet as mayor. Unfortunately, desperation leads people to make some really bad fucking decisions, and Abe was no different. In a last-ditch attempt to get financing for a development he was working on, Abe Abbott made the biggest mistake of his life.
He went to our rival MC, the Iron Spiders, for the money.
Of course, the Lords didn’t know that. Abe would never have told us. But when the debt he owed to the Spiders started dragging him in further than he could handle, he came to our club and asked for a loan. The Lords turned him down, and in desperation, Abe went back to the Spiders and offered to sell them information on us as another way to pay them back.
When everything came to light about his double-dealing, Abe ended up with both the Iron Spiders and the Lords looking to settle the score with him. Abe disappeared. Most likely, the Spiders got to him. Which might have been a mercy. Because if they hadn’t, the Lords would have had to decide whether to end the man who was not only the mayor of Tanner Springs, but also the father of our VP, and the father-in-law of our Sergeant at Arms.
After Abe Abbott disappeared, the deputy mayor, Duncan Mummer, took over running the town. He even put in his bid to run for Abbott’s seat. But Mummer is a bumbling, forgettable guy with an intermittent stammer, and he was no match for Holloway’s freight train approach. Holloway won the election with over seventy percent of the votes.
And ever since, the Lords of Carnage have been in his sights.
“What do you mean, Baker was asking about the permit?” I ask Rock now, confused. “We haven’t applied for one.”
“Yeah,” Rock mutters. “I think he knew that. I think he was trying to give us a warning.” He shifts in his chair. “Like, maybe he’s saying we need to move on that shit, ASAP. Len’s one of the few people of Abbott’s left that Holloway hasn’t replaced with one of his cronies.” His eyes turn dark. “He’s one of the few people we still have on the inside. And not for much longer, sounds like.”
“You think he’s trying to tell us someone could go sniffing around the warehouse sometime soon?” Brick asks, his face turning dark and angry.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Rock nods. “I don’t want to take any chances. Time’s a-wastin’. We need to get those guns gone, now. All of ‘em.”
“How we gonna do that?” Tweak asks.
“Talk to the Death Devils,” I say immediately. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. The Devils are an MC to the east of us. We’ve never had any sort of partnership with them before, but we haven’t had any trouble with them, either. Their president, Ozzy, is grizzly as fuck, but his men respect him. And we know they used to run guns around Iron Spiders territory to the south.
“Yeah,” agrees Tank, nodding toward me. “They’re the best bet of unloading everything right away.”
Angel speaks up. “Hell, we should have seen this coming,” he says grimly. “We probably should have approached the Devils with this months ago. It gets that shit gone, plus forming an alliance with them is the best defense against the Spiders.” The Iron Spiders have been trying to push north into our territory for a while now. It’s been getting tougher and tougher to beat them back.
Rock turns his head and looks at Angel sharply. He’s quick to see statements like this as a challenge to his authority.
“Is that right?” he says, his voice going cold as steel. “Then why didn’t you suggest it? Months ago?”
Beside me, Gunner gives a low whistle, quiet enough that only I can hear him.
There’s been a weird tension building for a while between Rock and Angel. You don’t see it very often, but it surfaces every once in a while, like now. It’s not great to see. Between a prez and a VP, there needs to be absolute trust for an MC to function well. Gunner said to me a couple weeks ago he thinks Rock holds it against Angel that Abe Abbott betrayed the club, because Abe is Angel’s father. That seems pretty fucked up to me, though. After all, Rock’s the one who struck the deal with Abe in the first place, all those years ago. The club wouldn’t have had any relationship to Abbott at all if it hadn’t been for that.
“Well, whenever we should have done it, let’s do it now,” Ghost cuts in. “If Len was giving us a heads up, we need those guns out of the warehouse yesterday. Before Holloway’s men come looking.”
On the other side of the table, Striker shakes his head. “Fuck. This shit sure was easier when Abbott was mayor.”
No one says anything for a moment.
“Never thought I’d be sorry to see that fucking traitor gone,” Rock mutters angrily. “But there are days.”
I glance over at Angel, but his expression doesn’t change.
“Okay,” Rock says finally. His hand comes down on the table with a loud slap. “Let’s vote on this. All in favor of approaching the Death Devils about taking our remaining stock of guns off our hands.”
It’s unanimous. Rock tells Angel, Ghost, and Geno to be ready to head to Devils territory to meet with Ozzy and his men. Then he bangs the gavel, and the rest of us head out to the bar, to wait for what happens next.
9
Samantha
“No, please, if you could just —!”
For the fourth time this morning, I’ve been hung up on. This officially exhausts my list of every plumber in Tanner Springs I could find online. Every one I’ve called says they’re booked up and unavailable as soon as I give them Gram’s name.
Gram gave me the task of finding a handyman to fix a leak under the kitchen sink that Lourdes found yesterday. Thankfully, it’s not exactly an emergency, but the bucket that’s sitting under the pipe needs to be emptied every few hours, and it seems to be getting worse. Frowning in frustration, I go back online and try to find listings of any other people in town to call, but no luck.
I sit at Gram’s kitchen table, unsure what to do next. I can’t really go upstairs and tell her I’m striking out at finding someone. She’ll just tell me to keep trying and send me back down here. And poor Lourdes can’t really use the sink until it gets fixed.
Finally, in desperation, I go into the sitting room, find the YouTube app on my phone and start searching for “how to fix a leaky pipe.” I spend about fifteen minutes looking through videos, and wondering if there’s any way I can manage to do this myself without causing a real emergency. I finally find one that seems to give good step by step instructions, and watch it all the way through. I take note of the tools I’ll need, pushing down the little voice in my head that keeps piping up and saying, Are you crazy? This is going to turn into a scenario you’ll look back on and ask yourself what you were thinking.
No, I tell her. I can do this.
Well, at least I can try.
I go back into the kitchen, take a bunch of pictures of the pipes, and head off to the hardware store, muttering a pep talk to myself the whole way in the car.
When I walk into Sunderland�
�s Hardware, there are already four or five customers being assisted by the people working there. It looks like there won’t be anyone available to help me for a few minutes. Uncertainly, I peer up at the signs at the ends of the aisles, and walk back through the store until I find the one labeled “Plumbing Supplies.”
I’m concentrating so hard that I don’t even see the mountain of flesh until I quite literally run smack into it.
“Oooff,” I grunt as my face smashes into a broad, muscular chest.
“Steady,” a deep voice says, two large, strong hands grabbing me by the arms. Beside us, something falls to the floor.
“I’m so sorry!” I gasp. I stagger a little and finally regain my balance. The hands are still holding me by the upper arms. My face flushes hot with embarrassment, and I raise my eyes to look at the man, who must think I’m a complete idiot.
My brain registers a black leather vest. Patches decorate the chest on both sides.
A square, strong jaw with the hint of a beard. Skin tanned a golden brown.
Sensual lips curved into an amused smirk.
Oh, shit.
“Huh,” Hawk rumbles, a mocking laugh in his voice. “Of all the places to run into the wedding photographer.” He takes his hands off my arms and crosses them in front of his chest.
Humiliation instantly starts to transform into indignation. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask hotly.
He shrugs. “Nothing. You just don’t seem like the kind of girl who hangs out at hardware stores.”
“What, just because I’m a woman means I don’t know anything about hardware stuff?” I demand. Then I remember that I don’t actually have any idea what I’m doing.
“I didn’t say that,” he chuckles softly. “I know plenty of women who know how to use a wrench.”
I’m only slightly mollified. “Well, okay, then,” I huff.
“So, what’s the project?”
“What?” My face starts to flush.
“What’s the project you’re getting supplies for?” His tone is indulgent, and it infuriates me. Somehow, I just know he can tell I don’t know what I’m doing. It makes me want to smack that smug smile off his face.
Hating that I’ve let myself be backed into a corner, I consider lying to him. Then I realize I don’t even know enough about repairing things to concoct a convincing lie. I toss my head defiantly. “I’m fixing a leaky pipe under my gram’s kitchen sink,” I say, trying to sound like this is something I do all the time.
Hawk lets out a low whistle. “I’m impressed. You actually know how to do that?”
Ugh. Can this conversation just be over now? “Not exactly,” I admit, a challenge in my voice. “But I found some videos online about how to do it.”
“I see. Videos.” He nods seriously. “Very instructive.”
I know he’s teasing me. I shouldn’t let him get to me. But since I’m already worried that maybe I can’t do this, the fact that he doesn’t seem to think I can either makes my brain start telling me that this is all a fool’s errand, and that I should just give up now.
A wave of uncertainty rises up inside me as I glance around the store. All the employees are still talking to other customers. I look back up at Hawk, who’s still standing there with his arms crossed and that damn cocky smirk on his face.
Hawk’s probably the kind of guy who knows how to fix things. I bet he knows all about how to fix a leaky kitchen sink.
Am I really going to screw this up? Is it really stupid that I’m even trying?
“It can’t be that hard… can it?” I ask him in a small voice.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret them. I don’t know why I just gave him an opening to keep making fun of me.
But instead of doing that, he surprises me by taking my question seriously.
“No. It’s not that hard,” he concedes, nodding slightly. “Unless something goes wrong, that is.” Hawk cocks his head at me and frowns. “Why don’t you just call in a plumber?”
“I tried,” I admit. Frustration creeps into my voice, and in spite of myself, I feel my guard slipping a little. “But everyone I’ve called says they’re booked up.” I sigh. “Handymen hate my grandmother. I literally think they’ve all banded together and taken a vow not to do jobs for her anymore.”
Hawk smirks. “Oh, come on. How bad could she be?”
I eye him. “You don’t know my grandmother, do you? Phyllis Jennings?”
He splutters, laughing. “Oh, Jesus. Phyllis Jennings is your grandmother?”
“Yeah,” I nod wryly. “So you see what I mean.”
“I do.” He continues to snicker for a moment, and then something in his face changes.
Hawk bends down then, and pick a small, flat square up off the floor. It’s a packet of sandpaper. He must have dropped it when I ran into him, I realize, remembering that something fell.
“Well, then,” he says, drawing himself up to his full height. “Tell you what. Let’s grab what we need, and I’ll come over and take a look at it for you.”
In the “I’m a strong woman who doesn’t need help from any man” version of this story, I tell Hawk to go to hell. Then I go back to Gram’s and fix the leak myself.
This isn’t that version of the story.
I take a deep breath and let it out. “You really don’t need to do that,” I say, shaking my head.
“I know that,” he rumbles, giving me a cocky smirk that makes my heart speed up just a little. “I don’t do shit I don’t want to do.” He turns down the plumbing aisle. “Come on,” he says, not looking back. “Tell me what’s going on with the leak so I know what we’re looking at.”
As we stand in the aisle, Hawk asks me what exactly the problem is, how bad the leak is, and where it seems to be coming from. I show him some of the pictures I took and point to where I think the water’s coming from.
“Good idea to take photos,” he tells me approvingly. “That was smart.” I try to ignore the flush of pride I feel at his words. So at least I’m not a complete idiot, anyway.
“Okay,” he says when I’m done explaining. “It sounds like maybe it’s a leak at the valve stem. The gaskets and O rings might need to be repacked and replaced.” Hawk finds some small packets and pulls them off the display, then wanders further down to the end of the aisle and picks up a small plastic jar. “Sealant,” he tells me. “Just in case.”
I follow Hawk to the checkout counter. Somehow, his bearing has changed, and the cocky bastard I met at Jenna and Cas’s wedding has disappeared. I get out some money to pay for the supplies, but he stops me. “Don’t worry about it,” he tells me. “I’ll get it for now. I’ll swing back by here afterwards and return whatever we don’t use. You can pay me later for what we end up needing.”
We go out the back door toward the parking lot. Hawk’s motorcycle is parked a few spaces away from my car. I start to tell him my address, but he stops me with a grin. “I know where Phyllis Jennings lives,” he says. “Across the street from Abe Abbott’s old house, right?”
I nod. “That’s right.”
“Anyway, I’ll follow you.” I get into my car and pull out onto the street. Hawk pulls out behind me. I drive back to Gram’s, casting occasional glances in the rear view mirror. Hawk’s dark blond hair shifts in the wind, his mirrored sunglasses obscuring his piercing eyes. I remember with a shiver what it felt like to be in his strong, muscled arms.
In my chest, my heart pounds just a little harder.
10
Samantha
Gram isn’t home when we get back, thankfully. She’s gone to some meeting for a flower show she helps organize. I’m pretty sure she might have something to say about having a man who looks like Hawk in her house. I pray he manages to get the sink fixed and leaves before she gets back.
But although Gram’s not around, Lourdes is. As Hawk and I walk in the front door, she’s coming down the stairs, a dust rag in her hand. I brace myself for her questions and try to act natural.
“Hi, Lourdes,” I say. “This is Hawk. He’s, uh, come to fix the sink.”
I’m worried this exchange might be a little awkward. After all, Hawk is hardly dressed like a plumber. But to my surprise, the exact opposite happens.
“Hey, Lulu!” Hawk says to Lourdes. “¿Así que trabajas para la bruja?”
Lourdes erupts into loud laughter. “Hawk, ¿qué haces aquí, amigo?”
And then, before I know what’s happening, the two of them are conversing back and forth in rapid-fire Spanish.
I listen to the two of them for a few seconds, and just manage not to let my jaw drop on the floor that Hawk can speak another language. Finally, Hawk says something that makes Lourdes giggle like a schoolgirl and mock-slap at his shoulder.
“Hawk will fix the sink, no problem,” she says to me with a wide smile. “But you keep him out of my refrigerator. He’ll eat us out of house and home.”
“Lulu,” Hawk frowns, pretending to be hurt. “You wound me.”
“It’s good to see you, Hawk,” she grins. “It’s been a long time. Help yourself to coffee.”
“Will do,” he nods. We watch as she retreats toward the back of the house.
“Wow. How do you know Spanish?” I ask Hawk as I point him toward the kitchen.
He shrugs. “My parents got divorced when I was a little kid. My dad moved to Mexico. My brother and I spent summers there until he turned eighteen.” He takes off his leather vest and sets it on the counter.
“You have a brother?”
“Had,” he says flatly.
Oh.
I don’t say anything for a few seconds. Hawk kneels down and opens the cupboard doors under the sink. Wordlessly, he starts handing me bottles of soap and boxes of trash bags. I take them, helping him clear everything out so he has space to work.
HAWK (Lords of Carnage MC) Page 5