Walking towards the set of draws against the one side of the room I open the first one to find Hawk’s t-shirts. Pulling one from the bottom I drop my towel before slipping it over my nakedness. Picking the towel up from the floor I lay it over the chair that Hawk has here against the far wall. Walking towards the bed I pick up my phone from the side table before sitting on the bed cross legged.
“Hello” mom says after the third ring.
“Mom, how are you?” I wish I had good news for her, but at least she knows that I am looking for Linda.
“I’m fine sweetheart, what about you? I’ve been worried about you among those bikers.” If only she knew.
“You really don’t need to worry; they are great and nothing like you would imagine.” I state, thinking about the wild party the other night and how some of the women were practically naked by morning. I saw some raunchy things that I never thought I would see in public, but Linda had told me how wild biker parties could be.
“That’s good, have you found anything out about your sister?”
“Well, we found someone that has been friends with her, and she mentioned that Linda loved going to one of the hills near here and looking down over the town at night. Said it gave her peace.” I hear my mom sigh.
“She always loved the night, ever since she was born, she was more of a night owl. Remember how she used to sit outside looking at the stars at night.” I can hear the smile in her voice and that makes me smile in return.
“I will find her mom.” I state.
“I know you will, you have always been tenacious.” I speak to her for a few more minutes before saying goodnight. Placing the phone on the bedside table I stretch out on the bed waiting for Hawk, I must have fallen asleep a minute later because the next thing I know Hawk is pulling me against his naked chest. I murmur in pleasure but let myself drift off again.
When I wake up, I am alone in bed again, this is becoming a habit, I frown until I hear the water in the shower. A minute later the water is turned off and I hear Hawk moving around in there. Sitting up, I pull the sheet off me as I throw my legs over the side of the bed. “Morning.” I look up to see Hawk standing in the doorway, a towel around his hips, his impressive chest naked for my enjoyment.
Well Onix, with this view every morning you can call yourself one lucky lady. “Morning, I didn’t hear you come to bed.” He leans against the doorframe, his eyes solemn.
“It was late, you were sleeping so deeply I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Is there something wrong?” I ask, feeling like he is holding something from me. He stands up straight and walks towards me, the tattoo on his chest catching my eye. My fingers itch to caress the expanse of flesh visible to me.
“Yes, there is,” I tense, he comes to sit next to me on the bed lifting his hand, he strokes my cheek. “I never expected to find my mate so soon, the minute I met you my life changed completely.” He lifts my chin slightly so I can look into his eyes, “all I want to do is keep you safe, and please you in every way possible. I want you to know that I am here for you no matter what.” I can feel a knot growing in my stomach, why is he being so solemn.
“You are scaring me.” I murmur and see him tense, then he is closing his eyes for a second, when he opens them again, I see the sadness in them. No, whatever he is going to say I don’t want to hear it.
“We found your sister yesterday.” My hands fist in my lap at his words and I brace myself for his next words. “I’m sorry Onix, but she’s dead.” The words seem like they don’t want to penetrate my brain, I shake my head as if clearing my head.
“No,” I murmur but I can feel the tears building up behind my eyes. “No,” I say again this time louder. “She can’t be dead.” I feel him enfolding me in his arms pulling me onto his lap and holding me close, but my brain is frozen in shock, I am still trying to make sense of what he just told me. No, it can’t be possible, if she were dead, I would have known, wouldn’t I?
“Who told you?” I need that person to tell me themselves, I need to go to where she was buried and see for myself. Why didn’t they call her family when she passed away, I know that Linda always had a little bullet like chain which when you unscrewed the bullet it had all her private details like blood type, doctor, closest relatives contact details, I know because I was the one that gave it to her and she promised to always use it and I know that she did.
“No one told me, I saw her.”
“What, how?” I don’t even realize that I am crying until Hawk strokes the tears away from my cheek with his thumb.
“We went to the hill yesterday, we found her there.” I was always scared about that, that she would one day die alone.
“Did she overdose on the hill?” I ask, my worst fear coming true.
“I wish I could say yes, I really do but it is worse than that. I will never lie to you Onix that is why I ask you now, are you sure you want to know, or will you just take my word for it that she has passed.” She didn’t die of an overdose.
“I want to know Hawk.” I would rather not know, but I must, I need to.
“Your sister was killed, not just her but quite a few other women too.” Killed? Someone killed her? She had such a good heart, why would anyone do her any harm.
“What do you mean, how do you know?”
“We found a few shallow graves up there; they were all women.” I lift my hand to my chest feeling as if my heart is ripping out of my chest. “I will find who did this to her, and I will make him pay.” I shake my head in disbelief, I have seen enough evil in my life to know that people are capable of anything but why Linda, she has been through so much in life already why did it have to be her? And then the floodgates burst, and I can’t hold back my pain any longer.
The tears are gushing down my cheeks, I am crying uncontrollably, I had hoped that I would still see Linda, that I would take her home to mom. Oh, what am I going to tell mom? This will kill her; she has always been so worried that something bad would happen to Linda because of how wild she was but we never in a million years thought that someone would kill her.
I don’t know how long I sit on Hawks lap, his hand stroking my back, every now and again he is kissing the top of my head. I can hear his heart beating under my ear, I concentrate on the rhythm trying to keep myself sane.
“I want to see her.” I murmur and feel him tensing.
“The police have gone up there, as soon as they have all the women, they will call you to go and identify the body. ” how am I going to look at her, how am I going to go on. I have the life that I have because she took my place when my father came for me, could that be me right now if she hadn’t done that?
“What am I going to tell my mother?” I cry, the thought of the pain that she will feel has me feeling like my heart is being squeezed to the point where I have to lean back as I feel like I can’t breathe.
“No sweetheart, come on, just relax. Listen to my voice, take in a deep breath.” My mind is bombarding me with images of Linda, my body is shutting down and I don’t mind. At the moment I don’t want to think about what happened to my beautiful sister, I don’t want to think about the pain that my mother is going to have to endure, I don’t want to think about not ever seeing or speaking to her again.
“Onix.” I hear Hawk call my name urgently, but I am beyond listening, I can feel myself hyperventilating, my vision blackening. I hear him roaring, as he calls Dakota’s name but at the moment I don’t care, at the moment I just want to get away from my thoughts. I don’t know if I do lose consciousness, but I can hear Hawk’s loud voice and then a woman, opening my eyes I feel like I am seeing everything in a daze.
Dakota is standing over me, an injection in her hand, Hunter and Blue are holding Hawk back. He is growling his muscles straining as he fights to come to me. I want to tell him that I’m fine, but my mind feels like it is floating and then darkness is descending over me again.
I don’t know how long I am in a daze; all I know is that somet
imes I would open my eyes and every time I would find Hawk there right next to me. Sometimes I could hear his calming voice, sometimes growls and sometimes kisses on my face, my neck. Opening my eyes, I look to my left to find Hawk there, his eyes are closed, and he seems to be resting. His hair is wild around his head, his unshaven jaw giving him a look of danger.
I remember waking up sometimes crying and he was always there taking me into his arms, calming me. My head feels slightly woozy, but otherwise I’m feeling clearer. My heart still feels like it has been wrenched from my chest, but I now feel steady enough to face what is to come. Lifting my arm, I stroke my fingers over his jaw, immediately his eyes pop open and he is looking at me.
“Hey.” I murmur and find that my voice is hoarse.
“You’re awake,” He murmurs, his eyes guarded, “how are you feeling?”
“My mind feels woozy, but it's clearer.” I say, he turns his head and kisses my palm, “How long have I been out?”
“Today is the second day.” I nod.
“I’m sorry,” At my apology he frowns, lifting on his side he rests his head on his raised hand.
“No, don’t apologise. I am the one that is sorry that I wasn’t able to protect you against this.” I feel a sadness deep in my soul, I don’t know if I will ever be able to smile again but one thing I do know is that this man that is laying next to me gives me strength.
“Thank you for being with me, I know that you have been here. I remember waking sometimes and you were always here.” He strokes my cheek and then he leans forward and kisses my forehead.
“I just wish I could take this pain away, but I promise to be there next to you every step of the way.” I feel a tear slip and roll down my cheek, I swear I thought I wouldn’t have any tears left. He wipes it away with his thumb.
“I need to phone my mother.” This is going to be the most difficult conversation of my life; how do you tell a parent that their child is dead.
“Don’t worry about that, she phoned yesterday, and I answered. Blue and Dixon have gone to pick her up and bring her here. Don’t worry, I haven’t told her, I just said that you weren’t feeling well and that we could get her to come and be with you and she agreed.” I can feel my heart racing at the fact that my mom will be here, and I will have to tell her that Linda has died, but it is better that I tell her in person then by phone.
“I don’t know how to tell he. . .” I confess as my voice breaks at the knowledge that I am going to destroy her.
“If you want, I can tell her.” I turn my head and kiss his knuckles.
“Thank you, but it will be better if it comes from me. When will she be here?”
“They will be back in a couple of hours.” I nod, I better get up and get ready. I need to be strong for her, if she sees me like this it will just be worse. Sitting up I feel my head spinning, immediately Hawk has his arms around my waist, his chest against my back.
“Slowly.” His voice is gruff against my ear. I lean back against him for a minute feeling his warmth surrounding me.
“This is so hard.” I whisper and feel him kiss my head.
“I know.” His arms tighten around my waist pulling me closer to his chest.
“I wish I could just be like this; you make me feel safe.”
“When you are with me, you will always be safe. I will protect you until my last breath.” A tear slides down my cheek, I wish I had found Hawk earlier in my life maybe then we could have prevented this from happening. “Now, I will help you into the shower, dress and then you need to eat.” The mention of food makes me feel nauseous, but I know that he’s right, me not eating won’t bring Linda back and I need to be strong for my mother now.
HAWK 16
I look over at Onix that is sitting at one of the tables near the front of the club with Dakota and Sam, these last two days have been hell. I never want to feel like that again, a feeling of uselessness, seeing my woman hurting and I am not able to do anything. I lost my shit the first day, if it had not been for my brothers holding me back, I don’t know what I would have done. Seeing my vixen brought down like that because a fucker decided to have his perverted, sick way with her sister had my wolf in a frenzy to go hunt and kill.
“She will be fine,” Goliath says as he comes to stand next to me in the doorway. “Just give it time,” I glance over at him to see him looking at the three women.
“What if she wants to go home now that she knows what has happened to her sister?” The thought that Onix will still want to go home after everything has my stomach knotting. I can’t leave my pack; I could go see her maybe every month but that would drive my wolf and me insane. Not knowing what is happening with my mate, not being able to be there to protect her would drive my fury.
“The bond has taken Hawk trust in the process. I can see the way your woman looks at you, the way she glances this way every couple of minutes like you do with her. Don’t worry brother, whatever you are feeling for your mate she feels it too.” I know that what he says is true, but I have also come to see how strong headed Onix is.
“Now come, King wants to talk to you.” Fuck, I can just see him take a bite out of my hide for the way I lost control when Onix passed out. My shoulder is still as sore as fuck from the Initiation bite he gave me, the bruising and teeth marks in clear evidence.
“Shit, is he in a mood?” I ask glancing behind me, down the corridor that leads to the back of the club and the comms room and King’s office.
“With everything that has been going on, what do you expect? He doesn’t like his pack in trouble.” I grunt and then glance at Onix again, I see the way she sits there just listening to Dakota and Sam talking, not participating but not leaving either which is a good thing.
I make my way towards her, she glances my way and the lively, hell bent on putting me in my place woman that I know is gone, in her place is the sad, quiet, and hurt woman that I will do anything to see that spark flare up again. I squat down next to her chair, my eyes in line with hers “I need to go and speak to King, I will be back soon.” She nods, lifting her hands she strokes my face which has me turning my head and kissing her palm.
“Will you be here when my mom arrives?” I can hear the hesitation in her voice and know that her asking for any type of support is new to Onix, but I am pleased that she wants me by her side when she has to go through the ordeal of telling her mom.
“Yes, I won’t be long.” She nods again and drops her hand; I lean forward kissing her gently on the lips before standing and making my way towards Goliath. “Okay, hope this doesn’t take long.” I mutter.
“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the women,” he says, which has me tapping him on the shoulder in thanks as I pass him making my way towards King’s office. Approaching I see him leaning against his desk, a folder in his hand he looks up as I enter his office.
“You wanted to see me?” I ask.
“Close the door,” oh fuck, it is never good when his door is closed. I turn from closing the door to find King placing the file down on the desk. “Come here.” I frown as I approach, when I am but a step away, I am surprised when King throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. King doesn’t go into shows of emotion often, as the alpha of the pack it is harder to keep men like us on track if not with a firm hand.
“Are you okay?” He asks as he steps back, “I heard you lost your shit.” I nod as I pull my fingers through my hair.
“King, I can’t explain it but seeing her like that when I couldn’t do anything,” I shake my head, “It was heart wrenching to see her like that.” King nods making his way around the desk he takes a seat.
“I wanted to talk to you about what is happening, you have been locked up with your woman for two days so you might not know.” I frown, with everything that has been going on with Onix, I haven’t even thought about everything else.
“The cops have been up on the hill, so far they have found twelve women.” Twelve? More than we thought, “but they are still
looking, so far the oldest corpse has been dead at least six years.”
“Fuck King are you saying that there has been a sick motherfucker killing women right under our nose for over six years?”
“Looks like it,” King grunts, “but that isn’t the problem, you are still a suspect in that woman's death. I don’t want them to try and link all of this to it.”
“Shit, we need to prove that she was still alive when we left there.” I mutter.
“I have Fang and Blue talking to the neighbours to see if they can find anyone that might have seen her after you left.”
“This guy is intelligent King; it isn’t easy to kill that many women and never get caught. If it wasn’t for my woman’s sister, we still wouldn’t have known there was someone here killing women.”
“The only problem is that whoever the killer is will either lie low for a while or disappear which means that we won’t catch him.” King says as he rubs his face with the palms of his hands.
“I want to find him, I promised Onix that we would find her sister’s killer.” King looks at me for a minute then he nods.
“You can carry on investigating this, but you know this might take a long time to figure out who this killer is.”
“I know, but sooner or later he will make a mistake and I want to be there when he does.” King nods.
“Was there any kind of evidence up in the hill?” King asks with a frown.
“Nothing, it was like a ghost. Linda was buried up there over a week ago, and since then it has rained but nothing at all King. I think that the only way to catch this asshole is by trying to find what he takes from these women. He must keep it somewhere, and if we are close enough then we can smell it.” Just then my phone beeps which tells me that the men are close with Onix’s mother.
“I have to go, Onix’s mother is about to arrive.” King motions with his hand for me to leave but I see a frown on his face as he continues considering what I said to him. Making my way towards the front I prepare myself for the upcoming meeting with Onix’s mother.
TAMED: Wolverine MC (book 2) Page 12