Filthy Love (Renegade Souls MC Romance Saga Book 4)

by V. Theia

  Hawk would have loved having two dead parents. Some kids get all the luck.

  The boy announced in a proud voice, holding up three fingers. “I’m five!” Well, he was close enough. “When it was my birfday I got a big castle bounce house. Did you see it? I bounced so high. Do you yike tree horses? I got a big one for my birfday.”

  Hawk stopped what he was doing and looked at the small boy who kept pushing the hair out of his eyes. He seemed well-balanced enough, but tree horses? What the fuck was that? Invisible friend, maybe? His big brown eyes looking at him expectantly like Hawk knew what the fuck this tree horse was. “Sure, kid.” He answered picking up the fuse case hoping he’d take the hint and go back inside.

  No such luck.

  Hawk was still giving thought to what in the great fuck a tree horse was. Giraffe maybe?

  “You mean a giraffe?” He had to know.

  The kid grinned showing a missing tooth. “Oh, yeah! That’s what I said.”

  Hawk cast him a side-eye.

  “I can runned weally fast, you wanna see?” He presented his Nikes by sticking out a foot.

  Hawk hunkered back over the fuse box, blocking out the boy.

  Maybe he’d just go away if he ignored him.

  A second later that shaggy head appeared at his side. “What you doin’ to it?”

  Hawk sucked in the hot, sticky air. Seriously, where were this kid’s owners? He didn’t take hints that was for damn sure. Was it okay to ask a kid to scram? His little bit would know and probably tell him no.

  He was more irritated that he wasn’t irritated by the kid’s presence poking his nose into the work he was trying to get through fast, so he could drive across town for Gia’s surprise. In fact, Hawk shifted to the right to let him look at what he was doing.

  “I’m changing out the fuses, so the outside lights work again, and we can see who’s coming and going.”

  The boy was silent while he nosed into the circuit box.

  His fingers twitching like he wanted to touch everything “What does that do?”

  “That’s where this goes. It makes the lightbulb work.” Hawk showed him the fuse and let him watch him pop it back in. “Where’s your dad, kid? He knows you’re outside?”

  Sebastian, fascinated in what Hawk was doing watched avidly, shifting from one sneaker foot to the other. He rolled a little shoulder. “I don’t gots one now. He did something bad and went far away. Aun’ Ruby said he’s not coming back ever.”

  Jesus fucking Christ. Hawk’s gut squeezed like he’d eaten bad seafood.

  Seb said it nonchalantly, like it was no biggie to have no parents, but Hawk knew more than most the thoughts a five-year-old could have for the abuse they received.

  Clearing the rock in his throat he jutted his chin towards the tool box. “You wanna hand me that screw driver?”

  “Yeah! I can do that.” About an hour later when he finally grabbed the right tool Hawk was aware the boy had sidled closer to watch him close the fuse box. “You do have a dad, you know?”

  The boy blinked. “I do?”

  “Doesn’t Preacher play ball with you and take you to school?” A fast nod. “And read you stories and knowing Preacher he lets you have candy for dinner?” Another nod, this time the boy held up four fingers. “Four storwies. And he lets me sit on his bike. I gonna have a bike when I get bigger.”

  Instantly the boy, wearing denim and a fire truck red Adidas hoodie, went into an animated story of how Preacher plays with him in the yard every night and how the kid beats him in races. “I gots my own football! I beat Winder last night, I made him falled over real hard.” He told proudly.

  Hawk found his mouth twitching. The boy had jokes. “Grinder is shit at football.”

  “Oh! You said a bad word!”

  Another lip twitch. The kid was earnest in his scolding. Hawk dipped his head to grab at the box of fuses he’d brought out with him to change the other four in the exterior timed lights. “Don’t tell your dad.”

  “Do I gets money? When Pweacher swored he gave me money and I don’t tell Aun’ Ruby.”

  His smile widened like he knew what he was doing.

  That little hustling punk.

  Sitting back on his boots Hawk fished in his front jeans pocket, found it empty. He checked the back and grabbed the only note in there. A five. Shit. The boy’s eyes lit up. “Here, you con artist, don’t buy smokes.”

  “What’s a con artist?”

  “It’s you, kid.” Hawk moved several feet along to the next light box, squatted down and found his shadow following. Seb was Preacher’s kid. Poking his nose in. Asking too many questions. Hawk answered them all.

  “You got a bike?”

  “Yep.”

  “Pweacher’s bike is better.” He told Hawk with a grin, holding onto the screwdriver waiting to be tagged in for the task of passing it over.

  Hawk arched his brow. The balls on this kid. “Is that so?”

  “He lets me wide it. I’m gonna gets a big one when I get older, he said I could.”

  “Keep conning assholes out of cash and you’ll afford one before you’re ten.” Hawk muttered.

  “Oh. You saided ‘nother bad word.” And didn’t the kid just hold out his hand. Shit.

  Hawk nearly grinned. “You cleaned me out. Catch me tomorrow.”

  A vigorous nod. “Okay, I will ‘member.”

  “Sebastian!” Bellowed from inside and the kid giggled, leaning against Hawk’s shoulder, both sets of eyes watched the doorway as Preacher rushed out, looked right and then left. He visibly exhaled with relief.

  “Jesus, Seb. Where the fu—fudge did you go to? I told you to sit tight, didn’t I?”

  The taller, wider brother, with his hair tied in a knot on top of his head and arms and torso tattooed completely under the black wifebeater looked between Hawk and his boy with a quizzical twist to his face.

  Hawk was the last babysitter anyone would think of. He tried to appear disinterested by gathering up his shit from the ground without knocking the kid from his shoulder.

  “Dad!” Seb launched himself at Preacher and Hawk had the rare privilege of seeing the road captain completely stunned as he caught the kid up into his arms.

  “Dad?” He asked the boy who nodded with a grin, arms around the bigger shoulders. “Hawk said you’re my dad ‘cause you played football and wead me tons of stories.” It was simple to the kid.

  Hawk met Preacher’s emotion stained green eyes.

  A lot of unsaid words in his gaze.

  Hawk chin jutted him and ducked his head.

  Too much demonstrative shit for him to cope with when the pair bumped their foreheads together and laughed.

  Hawk left them to their moment.

  Until the kid slithered out of Preacher’s arms and came back over, leaning into Hawk’s side.

  “Let’s head inside, little man, and leave Hawk to it.”

  “I helping! Aren’t I helping, Hawk?” He verified it by running around him to find the screwdriver, showing it to Preach. “See!”

  His face impassive, Hawk cleared his voice. He should tell the kid to go, he talked too fucking much, and any more conversation he was bound to owe him a couple hundred bucks. Instead found himself saying. “That’s right. He’s fine, Preach. I’ll bring him in.”

  What the fuck was he saying? He wouldn’t even volunteer to watch one of Lawless’ bitches, or his cats.

  Seb pumped the air with his little fist. “See, Dad. I’m helping the lights to work.” Hawk hid amusement while his club brother barked a low powered laugh, obviously proud of his boy.

  “So, you’re okay with him, H?”

  Hawk nodded. “Leave the men to work.”

  Seb belly laughed. “It’s men’s work, Dad.” Duh.

  “Okay. I’ll just be inside with Ruby, send him in if he gets annoying, which is alllllllll the time.” Winked Preacher striding off inside.

  “Yo, road captain?”

  The tatted man turned.<
br />
  “Fudge?” An entertained, taunting Hawk asked and watched the big man scowl narrowing his eyes.

  He flipped him off. “Fudge you, VP.”

  An hour later he pulled up outside Gia’s place. He’d needed to take his barely used SUV to cart his surprise and all the shit he’d bought that came with it.

  With a tickle of apprehension, he let himself in and called out her name. “Hi, baby.” She answered. Fuck, his heart careened like it was made of slop. He loved hearing that from her. “I’m in my office.”

  He noticed she was dressed for the cookout in knee-length cut off white denim shorts and a thin strappy top that floated loosely around her belly and a pair of multi-colored sandals on her feet.

  She smiled when he walked in then looked at him speculatively as expected since he wore his leather coat zipped to the chin.

  “You’ll roast in that. You need shorts, Colton.”

  “Got something for you.” He cleared his throat and unzipped just the slightest inch before a gray head with pointed ears poked out of the top.

  The French bulldog pup yapped on a continuous excited loop, and Gia squealed almost deafening him.

  “Oh my god, what do you have there?” She was across the room in a second. He pulled open his coat and handed her the small, wriggling bundle. “Oh my god, Hawk. He’s so cute!”

  “She,” he told her. “Do you like her?”

  “Like her? I love her! What are you doing with a puppy?”

  He looked at the floor, rubbed his beard. Fuck, this romantic shit was hard as fuck. He’d gotten the idea when he’d heard some guy bred his French bulldogs.

  Gia wanted a puppy, she’d told him, and it stayed with him.

  “She’s yours if you want her. I got shit for her too. A bed, food, and other things out in the truck.”

  Beautiful, blue eyes filled with tears suddenly and Hawk’s brow dropped as did his fucking confidence for doing something nice for his woman without being prompted first.

  Had he done the wrong thing?

  “You bought me a puppy? You really got me a puppy? Colton!” With the dog cradled in her arms like a baby she flung herself at him, he barely had time to register before Gia was against his chest crying.

  “Little bit. Don’t. Stop crying. I wouldn’t have gotten the mutt if I knew it would upset you.” Shit. Panic rose in his mid-section, making his brain ring trying to figure out what to do. “Stop that,” he said forcibly, palming the back of her skull. He kissed the crown of her head and shushed her.

  She tipped her chin, grinning and tears and all she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “You got me a puppy. I love you so much.”

  “This is you happy?” He was fucking sceptical.

  “Yes,” she beamed and kissed the puppy all over her yapping face. She seemed equally as ecstatic to have Gia for an owner.

  He left them on the floor while he carted in all the dog stuff, leaving it in the hallway. Gia once again attacked him, this time he caught her up and she wound her legs around his waist.

  His cock grew.

  He could get used to this.

  He bent to kiss her, but she avoided his mouth.

  The hell? Didn’t she want to kiss him back?

  The pup trapped between them gave him a lick on his chin.

  “Thank you for my gift, baby. I love her so much. And I have the best name for her!”

  “Killer?” He suggested.

  Gia laughed. “No.” She slithered back to her feet, held the pudgy gray thing out. “Meet Khaleesi Stormborn.”

  Hawk had his arms full again of sweet, happy woman cooing to her new baby.

  He knew two things; he’d done alright with his first try at romance. And two, he was never fucking ever calling out that name if he walked the fucking dog. Anyone asked, she was called Killer.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  “She’s your pain in the ass now. Good luck, brother.” - Rider

  “Grabbed you a beer, hermano.”

  Taking the cold bottle from Capone, Hawk took a slow pull, rested his arms on the deck railing looking out into Rider’s sizeable back yard where the cookout was in full swing. Jed was in his element at the helm of the grill throwing out orders to the prospects. Old lady’s and a slew of the boys from the club milling around, eating, knocking back the liquor and generally having a good time in the first of the approaching summer weather.

  According to Rider, his old lady liked to have the club boys over, and it appeared that entertaining a rowdy crowd suited the girl when she flittered from group to group passing the baby off into asshole biker hands who turned into cooing clowns when it was their turn.

  Preacher and his girl Ruby were here. Same for Grinder and Luxe. She was a jack of all trades in the thieving world and Hawk approved of her skill.

  The kid, Seb, had bound up to Hawk when they’d arrived, full of stories of getting his own tool box for Christmas.

  He didn’t take in much of anything else other than Gia. She was a social butterfly, a smile wide showing off the pup she insisted couldn’t stay at home alone because she’d cry, he suspected Gia meant herself and not the dog.

  “I heard what happened with Tag.” Capone said mirroring Hawk’s resting stance. He turned his head, but otherwise said nothing. “So, I thought it was best I tell you. Me and Gia…”

  Caution made Hawk’s brow arch.

  Here we fucking go again, he thought. Ready to ditch his beer bottle and give the Hispanic brother the same damn warning he’d given to Tag.

  He was saved when Capone went on with a smirk. “Her and I are friends. No funny shit. We talk now and then. Thought you should know, so you don’t put a bullet in me if the way you watch her is anything to go by.”

  Hawk didn’t chime in and Capone carried on, pulling on his beer first, he looked out into the yard, his voice went a shivery tone of low. “She helps me, hermano. About my family. We talk, and it helps me. You have a good girl there.” Then he looked at Hawk. “Think you can hold off on killing me for being near her if I talk to her again?”

  Cracking a smirk, and in a show or rare tactility, Hawk placed his hand of support on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s all good, Cap.” He told the man who got his name because of the scar on the right side of his face. “You know how many hunting knives I own anyway…” Capone threw his dark head back and laughed causing several faces to look their way.

  One of them being his little bit of a thing who grinned at him.

  She cuddled the pup like it didn’t have legs to use and she looked so damn happy doing it as she cooed and kissed the gray head snaring his eyes every few seconds when she flirtily looked over at him.

  Irrational jealousy hit his belly. Fuck, jealous of an animal, what next, dickhead?

  He’d had a hand in that, he realized. Making her happy, he’d done that. Warmth kicked around his chest, his eyes happy to go on fucking her from across the yard.

  And right as he was gonna throw his own suggestive look for her to meet him inside the house where he could slide a hand down into her snug shorts and find out how happy she was down there when his phone vibrated.

  Fishing it out of his pocket seeing the number had bile in his throat in seconds.

  Bathroom fuckery with his Gia forgotten as an anxious gut-wrenching pain tugged at his insides.

  The past refused to let him live.

  ******

  Rider took a swig of beer, scraped back his long hair out of his face and let go of an exhale, only slightly worse for wear with a small buzz streaking through his brain to relax him, not so much that he couldn’t be on Harper duty tonight and let his old lady sleep for more than two hours at a time. Letting his loose hands dangle between his spread legs he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, the bottle held in two fingers, the air cooler tonight, most of his boys left already.

  Only he and Hawk remained.

  Not that Hawk was ever much for chatting if he could help it, Rider noticed he was
extra pensive. His VP had strolled over more than forty minutes ago, took a seat and not said a word since. Any other day not far in the past his quietness would have meant his VP needed an outlet to his brooding moods and would have taken off for a while.

  Only now Rider knew the truth and wasn’t it still a kick to his temple.

  All this fucking time he’d had no idea, not a fucking clue what had been going on between them.

  Hold up, I’m trying to be acceptin’ about it.

  Yeah, it might take a little more than Icy banging his brains out each time he growled about Hawk dating Gia and how he was gonna rip out his VP’s spleen through his nose.

  Not that he’d stop Zara in her efforts, he wasn’t an idiot.

  Across his well-kept yard with the custom-built grill over in the far corner, the remnants of the fire pit were still burning its embers into the sky and beyond that was his sister and his Icy-girl sitting talking and laughing together like the best friends they’d become. The sight of her in something yellow and floaty around her thighs never ceased to stop his heart and then restarted it with a charge directly to his dick. He loved his woman something fierce.

  It was because of the influence of his heart outside of his body laughing her sweet laugh he was trying to be the reasonable friend and brother to two people he gave a fuck about.

  It wasn’t easy.

  It’s none of your business, biker-man, they’re adults capable of falling in love with each other if they want to, you don’t get to decide who makes who happy even if you do have a bossy God complex, now take off your pants. His Zara told him right before his boys were due over at the house.

  He loved her fucking methods to drag his efforts off killing Hawk.

  Casting a side look towards the man in question. Hawk staring straight ahead.

  No fucking guesses at who.

  Seriously, of all fucking women it had to be his baby-sister. It didn’t matter her age, or she was a career woman in her own right, she was always his baby sister. Rider’s back teeth ached. He was gonna need Zara to distract him again soon.