Talon

by Savannah Rylan

The girl’s eyes were green… like mine.

  Chapter 2

  Sydney

  I could see the shock on Hawk’s face as I stood there in the doorway. His eyes were darting between Emery and me, and I could tell he was slowly putting the pieces together. I looked at her freckles, and her hair, smiling lightly as Emery’s curls fluttered with the wind. Nevada’s heat was unforgiving, but the wind always felt cleansing upon my skin.

  But then I saw him notice her eye color.

  I had nowhere else to go. My mother met my father at a biker rally in California. She was a young, naive woman with a body to kill for and my father was part of The Road Rebels based out of Nevada. They held a tryst that lasted through the weekend, then mom left with a souvenir she didn’t understand she would be stuck with until eight weeks later. She was halfway through her college career and couldn’t stomach having a child, so she tracked down my father and left me with him.

  The problem was, The Road Rebels wanted to induct her.

  They wanted her to stay, and for awhile she considered it. She almost threw her entire life away, staying next to my father. But my father was the smart one. He knew she had brains as well as class. He didn’t want to see her throw away her life like that, so my father agreed to raise me while she went off and lived her life. She wrote me letters every week, letters I eventually started writing back to while the entity of the club thought she was dead.

  It was the only way to keep them from coming after her.

  The Road Rebels weren’t mean, they were simply protective. Once you hooked up with a member and bore their child, you were one of them for life. That sometimes came with certain protections, but it also came with a great deal of sacrifice. My father couldn’t promise her a safe life. He couldn’t even promise her a life that would be fit for raising a child. But he could promise her that she could live her life the way she wanted while guaranteeing that I would never hate her.

  I grew up being tugged between two different worlds. The one that called to me and the one that protected me. The one that raised me and the one I saw in my dreams. My mother and I sent pictures back and forth, and she would send me birthday and Christmas presents, but it was never the same. I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t understand. How she could leave me with a group like this and go on to live her life. How she could bear a child, she then gave away.

  I don’t believe I ever hated her, but I did resent her for never being around.

  As I grew older, I realized why she didn’t stay. The Road Rebels were fiercely protective and loyal to a fault. One wrong step, even for a second, and you were an enemy. They protected their family by keeping them close, and my mother never could’ve lived the life she wanted. She could’ve never finished her degree and gone on to medical school. She never could’ve become the nationally-renowned trauma surgeon she was had it not been for the promise my father made her.

  The promise he made to raise me to be the woman she always wanted me to be.

  When that fateful night happened-- that night when The Devil Saints blindsided us-- I couldn’t breathe. I understood hand-to-hand combat. I understood knife fights. I understood how to use things around me to defend myself. But I had always been squeamish around guns. My father taught me how to defend myself in multiple ways, but I never could stomach the cool feeling of that popping metal against my skin. The Devil Saints had ambushed our lodge, screaming about how my father was fucking their President’s wife.

  I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t think for one second that my father would’ve done something that stupid. Bullets whizzed by our heads while I cowered behind some barrels, clinging to my father as he tried to get me to calm down. I kept asking him if it was true. If he really was sleeping with one of their women.

  His lack of an answer gave me everything I needed to know.

  “Sydney. What are you doing here?” Hawk asked.

  His voice pulled me from my thoughts. I looked down at Emery as her big doe eyes focused on me, and for a second I had to remember. I had to take in what was happening around me. How I ended up on his doorstep.

  Tears rose in my eyes as I slowly panned my gaze back up to his.

  “We’ve got nowhere else to go, Hawk,” I said breathlessly.

  Without another word exchanged, he stepped off to the side. I ushered Emery in with both of our bags slung around our shoulders. I felt them sliding from my shoulder as I tried to catch them, then I realized Hawk was clutching them. His arms flexed with strength as the veins in his neck began to bulge slightly, and as my eyes met his, I felt that telltale electricity ricochet up my spine.

  It was like he was looking right through me. Piercing through my act as I licked my lips.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I… don’t know,” I said honestly.

  “Come sit down. I’ll get you a beer. Would…?”

  He looked down at Emery who was slowly exploring the house. She always had her father’s adventurous spirit. Not afraid of anything. Not even strangers. She’d take off in a crowd chasing a balloon because she wanted that damn balloon and wouldn’t give a second thought as to the danger she was in.

  Every time I looked at her, I saw Hawk.

  “If you have milk, that’ll be just fine for her,” I said.

  “Her…” he whispered.

  “Emery,” I said.

  “Huh?”

  “Her name is Emery.”

  Hawk nodded before he dropped our stuff to the side. He shuffled on into the kitchen, and I slowly approached our daughter. I couldn’t imagine the shock surging through Hawk’s system right now, so I knew I had to tread lightly.

  If he threw us out, we would be homeless.

  “Here,” he said as he placed the cold glass against my skin. “Take it. Ya look like you could use it.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  I watched him go over and kneel down next to Emery. Her eyes met his, and instantly she smiled. Her fingertips came up and touched his eyes, recognizing the color as her own while she giggled. Her hands migrated over Hawk’s nose, something else of his she’d stolen while she was growing within me, and for a second I saw a smile tug at Hawk’s cheeks.

  “Milk?” he asked.

  “Thanks,” she said lightly.

  He stayed kneeled down, just taking her all in while she looked out into the backyard. I’d been to this house so many times, but a lot had been added on in the time I’d been gone. Hawk built a guesthouse out back as well as installed a hot tub. He’d always been one to enjoy the finer things in life. When his father was living, the house was bare. The only furniture in the home was what his father absolutely needed and nothing else.

  With Hawk, however, there were a few decorative pieces as well as a fresh coat of paint.

  “The place looks nice,” I said.

  “Took some work after Dad died,” he said.

  “What’s your name?” Emery asked.

  “My name?” Hawk asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hawk. What’s yours?” he asked.

  “Emery.”

  “Well, Emery. It’s really nice to meet you,” he said.

  “You have my color eyes,” she said.

  I froze, the beer bottle tipped up at my lips as Hawk slowly threw his gaze my way. I knew there were questions he deserved answers to. Questions he would eventually ask before I could even consider asking if we could stay. He deserved all those answers, but I didn’t want to do any of that in front of Emery.

  She wasn’t ready for that just yet.

  “Would you like to go play outside?” Hawk asked.

  “Mommy? Could I?” she asked.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Just stay where I can see you.”

  Emery took her milk outside and went to lay on the grass. She could spend hours looking up at the sky and naming all the shapes in the clouds she saw. I walked over and stood by Hawk while the both of us sipped our beers, and after a few minutes, he finally broke the silence.
>
  “What do you mean ‘you have nowhere else to go’?” he asked.

  “Mom’s dead, and we’re on the run,” I said matter-of-factly.

  “You’re gonna have to unpack that a bit,” he said.

  “You know how my father said my mom died?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Well, she didn’t. He just said that so she could go live her life.”

  “Oh.”

  “Those letters I always wrote as a kid? You remember ‘em?” I asked.

  “Yep. I remember you stuffin’ ‘em away so I couldn’t see them,” he said.

  “They were to her.”

  “Oh.”

  His eyes were trained heavily on Emery. He watched her lay there in the grass and giggle at the clouds. He watched her roll around and run in circles. He wanted her to entertain herself and study the bugs on the ground.

  And I could’ve sworn the shadow of a grin was wafting across his face.

  “She’s just fine by herself, isn’t she?” he asked.

  “Yep. Reminds me of someone I know,” I said.

  “She’s mine, isn’t she?” he asked.

  I turned towards him and downed the rest of my beer. He turned his head but kept his body towards his daughter, silently showing where he already stood regarding his loyalty. I couldn’t blame him. Not after leaving him in the middle of the night like I did. If he never wanted to see me again, I wanted to make sure his daughter had access to him. Access to both parents.

  Something I never had growing up.

  “I swear to you, I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left,” I said.

  “Why did you leave?” he asked.

  “I just…”

  Tears rose in my eyes as I recalled how much blood there was. How much blood my father bled out into the sand. How much blood had gurgled up into his throat. How much blood he’d spat onto my clothes.

  How the life slowly drained from his eyes.

  “I get it. Don’t worry,” he said.

  “I’m sorry, Hawk,” I said, whispering.

  “I take it you went to live with your mother,” he said.

  “In Utah, yeah.”

  “You said she’s dead. I’m sorry,” he said.

  “It happens. Cancer. Took her as quickly as it popped up.”

  “Were you happy?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “With her. Were you happy?”

  “I was content. I was angry. I was lost and hurt. I blamed that type of lifestyle for taking my father, and when I found out I was pregnant I wanted my child to have more than that,” I said.

  “So you kept her from her father.” A knot formed in my chest. As much as I didn’t want to agree with Hawk, he was right. I had kept Emery from him.

  “It wasn’t like that, Hawk. I didn’t think it was-”

  “Don’t worry. I get it,” he said with his words slightly clipped.

  He always said that when he didn’t get it. It was his way of dodging hard things he didn’t want to talk about at the time. I wanted to try and explain it to him. To tell him that I did try to get back to him. I was pulled between my mother trying to keep us safe and my duty to him. We’d grown up together. Trusted one another. We were stuck at each other’s sides, even when we didn’t want to be. I wanted to tell him that I was never really settled with the decision that I made.

  I wanted to get on my knees and beg for his forgiveness.

  “Why are you runnin’?” he asked.

  “I guess when I first ran, I was trying to get away from the motorcycle life. Went to live with my mom. Tried a normal life. You know, like I used to always imagine growing up.”

  “Did you like it?” he asked.

  “I guess not. I fell in line with the Iron Souls,” I said. As hard as I tried to stay away from a club, it was all I ever really knew. The more I was away from The Road Rebels, the more I missed the club.

  “They’re a good club,” he said.

  “Not as good as you’d think.”

  “They were friends with your father,” he said.

  “Apparently many people were,” I spat.

  “Did they take care of you? While you were pregnant?” he asked.

  “They did. I didn’t ride with them or anything, but I guess I missed that familial bond. They all had stories of my father I’d never heard of before. They’d apparently been watching over my mom ever since she moved from Nevada to Utah to get away from The Road Rebels.”

  “Did you piss ‘em off or somethin’?” he asked.

  “No, they pissed off the DEA,” I said.

  I knew I had Hawk’s attention when he turned his body fully towards me. His eyes raked up and down my form as I crossed my hands over my chest. Emery was giggling at a butterfly she was chasing after, and for a moment I simply lost myself in her beautiful innocence. From the moment she was born, she had these massive eyes that conveyed an innocence I don’t think I ever had.

  I guess, in a way, I wanted to preserve that in her.

  “I’m so sorry, Hawk,” I said breathlessly.

  “Why did you keep her from me?” he asked.

  “I didn’t intentionally keep her from you. I just-”

  “Just what? Wanted her to grow up without both parents like you did?”

  “No. No, fuck. That’s not it at all,” I said.

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “I just wanted to preserve her innocence,” I said as I let out a sigh.

  “Lot of good that did you since you’re on the run,” he said. I could tell he was angry but trying his best not to lash out at me.

  “Hey. I’m trying the best I fucking can.”

  “And you could’ve tried harder and been better with me by your side,” he said.

  “Oh, is that so?” I asked.

  “It’s a tried and true fucking fact, Sydney. We were always better together. Stronger. Smarter. You know I would’ve taken care of you. Done anything in my power to have gotten you what you needed. I would’ve taken you to doctor’s appointments and stayed up while you got sick as sin. I would’ve been there and held your hand through the birth of our daughter, but instead you chose to leave me out of any of it.”

  “Hawk that’s not-”

  “And I didn’t even get a say so!” he exclaimed.

  “I’m sorry, okay!? I’m sorry. I-... she came out so innocent and I wanted to preserve that. To raise her better than I had been. But I missed it. Mom never really felt like… Mom. We’d spent so much time writing but not enough time bonding and I felt like she was just a… a roommate. She didn’t understand how I was raised, so during the times, she wanted to have alone time with Emery I went and hung out with the Iron Souls. I-I-I… was pulled between-”

  “Two different lives, I know. I’ve heard the lament many times,” he said.

  “Well it’s fucking true, whether you mock it or not,” I said.

  “So, you’re here because you need a place to stay. Right? Not because you wanted Emery to be with her father?”

  “Why the fuck can’t it be both, Hawk?” I asked.

  That question silenced him, and I drew a deep breath. Luckily, Emery was still running around with the butterfly, so I don’t think she heard the commotion we had created. My heart hurt, and my stomach rolled. My blood was boiling, and my heart was thumping against my chest.

  “I was petrified, Hawk,” I whispered.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I-... I watched my father bleed out in… in my arms. I saw bullets whizzing by your head. I-I-I… listened to my father gurgle out his last breath. It didn’t matter the strength I had or… or the fact that I knew how to fight. I couldn’t… couldn’t protect him. Or-... or help him. In any way. He just…”

  Tears streamed down my face as I turned my gaze slowly towards the horizon. I lost myself in my memories as my arms slowly fell to my sides. I was short of breath and felt my knees quivering. Flashes of that day slowly came to the forefront of my mind
as I took a step closer to the window.

  I needed something cool against my brow.

  “You’re all right, Sydney,” Hawk said. “You’re safe here.”

  “The DEA is tracking everyone down,” I choked out. “And with Mom dead, I didn’t know where else to go. I wasn’t going to bring Emery to the Iron Souls. I didn’t want to risk her being taken away. I don’t care if you throw me out, but Emery’s gotta be safe, Hawk. She’s gotta be safe.”

  I closed my eyes as I pressed myself into the cold glass. My palms flattened out against the window as my chest pressed into it. I could feel my breathing coming in ragged pants as I felt something cool fall against the back of my neck, and that’s when I felt it.

  Hawk’s hand hit the small of my back before his fingertips began to dig in.

  “All I ever wanted for her was to be safe,” I said, whispering.

  “You guys can stay in the guesthouse. Long as you need. It’s usually rented out and shit, but it’s been vacant for a couple months. You guys got anything else other than those bags?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “Nothing but those bags.”

  “I can get ‘em to the house. Just… stay here and try to calm down, all right?” he asked.

  I saw Emery fall on her butt and I waited for the shriek that was coming. Emery hadn’t had a nap all day, and I needed to lay her down. I watched her face crinkle up as Hawk ripped the back door open, and he went running for her and scooped her up into his arms.

  But all she did was push him away and cry for me, and I could see the part of his heart she already held breaking into two.

  “Come here, sweetheart,” I said. “You ready for a nap?”

  “No. I want Mommy,” she said.

  “Come on, we need to go lay you down,” I said.

  “No. No nap,” she said as she curled into me.

  “The guesthouse is unlocked,” Hawk murmured. “I’ll go get your bags.”

  “Why don’t we go lay down on the couch, huh?” I asked.

  “The guesthouse has furniture. Lay the girl down in bed,” Hawk said.

  I held a crying Emery in my arms as her face began to nuzzle into my neck. I walked into the guesthouse and flipped on a light, gawking at how beautiful it was. The couch was plush, and there was a small kitchen off to the right, and down the small hallway were two rooms that sat opposite of one another at the end of the hallway. I walked her down and flipped on a light as a full-sized bed came into view, and I immediately put her down onto it. We pulled back the covers, and she scurried under, her eyes already drooping shut as I reached over and cut off the lamplight.