by S. K. Hardy
THE PATTELS (HAWK & RAVEN) ©Copyright 2019 S. K. HARDY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means without the written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events is entirely coincidental.
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you.”
BOOKS BY S.K. HARDY
The Honey Trap
Sins & Betrayals
Compromising Circumstances
Deceptions
Second Chances
Badge of Honor
BARRON TRILOGY
Being Barron
Being Barron 2: Reed & Skye
Being Barron 3: Taylor & Max
SIN CITY HEAT SERIES
Buried Secrets ~ Book 1
Twisted Obsessions ~ Book 2
Beginning of an Eclipse ~ Prequel
No Secrets No Lies ~ Book 3
Angel’s Wrath ~ Book 4
Shadows of Deceit ~ Book 5
No Greater Loyalty ~ Book 6
Total Eclipse ~ Book 7
The Pattels: Hawk & Raven ~Book 1
Find S.K. on Facebook: S.K. Hardy, Twitter: S_Karamel, Instagram: @AuthorSK
Visit my website at www.skhardy.com
THE PATTELS: HAWK & RAVEN II
By: S.K. Hardy
CHAPTER 1
“After tonight, don’t call me. Don’t text me. Don’t try to see me. Save every one of those lies you tell so beautifully and use them on someone else. You’ve made a fool of me for the last time. I’m done.”
Hawk stood rooted in place as he watched Raven leave. The air in his chest felt bounded by a steel trap; it hurt to simply breathe. Her last words to him rang out repeatedly in his head. Every single instinct screamed for him to go after her, fix things, but he resisted the urge. He told her he would give her time, and no matter how much he wanted to revolt against the promise he made, that’s what he intended to do.
Besides, something told him that if he followed her now and forced a confrontation, it would do more harm than good. He knew Rae. She needed time to process everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours.
He spared a brief glance at the neon yellow Ferrari that drove up and parked behind him in the circular driveway. Great. His cousin and brother. Hawk guessed either his father or uncle called them when they found out he was headed back to New York. He had no doubt that his adoptive brother, King, would’ve been there as well but he was out of the country on business.
Hawk’s features shifted to stone as his thoughts went back to the elder Pattels. Remembering what they just pulled made his temper flare. What was wrong with them? It was bad enough that his father discounted his wishes and went to see Raven after he expressly told him to let it go. But when he walked into the mansion and saw his uncle standing over Raven like he was ready to do her harm...
“Hey, cousin. Who is that we passed coming in?” Lorenzo walked up to Hawk and stared at the taillights of the car exiting the gates.
Hawk took a deep breath before answering. “That was Raven.”
Lucas joined them and stood on Hawk’s other side. He looked at his brother with probing eyes. “Raven? What was she doing here?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Hawk snorted.
“Okay, what’s going on, Hawk. Pop called and told us we needed to come over but wouldn’t say why. What happened?”
“What happened?” Hawk repeated. “Our father and uncle ‘happened’, that’s what.”
“Shit,” Lorenzo swore quietly under his breath. “What did they do?”
Images of the last thirty minutes unfolded in Hawk’s mind. He had never in his life spoken to his father and uncle the way he had tonight. The two of them raised his brothers and cousin practically single handedly. The older Hawk got, the more he respected them for that. They all turned out to be well-rounded, intelligent men who used their education to strengthen the family organization. The loyalty they felt to each other couldn’t be stronger. The familial bond was extremely tight and unbreakable¬–or it had been until now.
Hawk’s anger reached the boiling point. He needed to get this straight with his uncle and father right fuckin’ now. He wanted this to be the last time they interfered in his personal business. Without answering either Lucas or Lorenzo’s questions, he turned and headed towards the house.
Lucas and Lorenzo exchanged a glance. They both recognized the look on Hawk’s face and knew what it meant. Although he’d calmed down a bit over the last couple of years, he was still quick to act when anger struck and damn the consequences.
“Hawk!” Lucas called his name while hurrying after his brother, but Hawk didn’t break stride. “Man, wait a minute.”
“Save it, Luke.” Hawk pushed the heavy wooden door open and stepped inside. “They never listen. Everything has to be their way. This time they’ve gone too far.”
“Okay, but whatever they’ve done, it’s best to discuss it with a cool head,” Lorenzo said quietly as he and Lucas followed Hawk down the corridor. “You walking in there half-cocked will only make the situation worse. Hawk...Hawk! Got dammit, did you hear what I said?” He asked when only silence greeted him.
Hawk turned right and continued until he got to the main living area. Once he entered the room he paused in the doorway. His eyes zoomed in on his father and uncle standing in the middle of the room talking. The two of them turned at the same time when they saw him. However, it was Isaac, who stood with arms crossed and an expression of amusement on his face that pushed Hawk over the edge.
“You think this is funny?” Hawk scowled darkly, walking further into the room.
Joseph stepped forward with a stern expression. “Hawkins, before this gets any more out of hand than it already has–”
“It got out of hand the minute you two decided to go after Raven even though I told you to leave her alone.”
Isaac’s brow lifted in an arch of arrogance. “Told us? You don’t tell us anything. Son, I don’t know what in the hell has gotten into you, but maybe you need to leave out the room then come back in and try this again.”
Anger flashed beneath the surface of Hawk’s face. With jaw clamped tight, his legs ate up the distance that would take him to his uncle. “Don’t talk to me like I’m on punishment or something. I’m a grown man. Speak to me like one.”
However, he only covered a short distance before one of his uncle’s soldiers stepped forward and blocked his path. “Hawk, you need to stand down.”
Hawk’s features hardened like unyielding steel. Mac was his uncle’s first lieutenant. The man was loyal to a fault and would die for Isaac Pattel if need be. Hawk didn’t have a problem with that. Loyalty was a must. What he did have a problem with, was Mac getting in his face trying to tell him what to do.
Tha’ fuck?
Mac took a step closer. “Show your uncle some respect because...shit!”
The words barely passed his lips when Hawk kicked Mac’s legs out from under him. He landed flat on his back with a loud thud that knocked the breath out of him. Placing a foot on his chest, Hawk grabbed his wrist and pushed it down so that Mac’s fingertips almost touched the bottom of his palm.
“Fuck!” Mac yelled out in agony when Hawk gave it a sharp twist. The seemingly simple move propelled Mac to curl his shoulder forward to try and relieve the pressure.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye Hawk saw a figure barreling towards him. As natural as breathing, he reached down and whipped the gun from Mac’
s shoulder holster. Hawk pointed it at Mac’s foot soldier who was stupid enough to come at him to help his boss.
“What?” Hawk taunted. His aim held sure and steady. “Is there a problem?”
The man came to an immediate halt and raised his hands in the air. “Nah, Hawk. No problem.”
Lifting his chin at an arrogant angle, Hawk cocked his head to the side. “You sure ‘bout that? Because if there is–”
“Hawk, that’s enough!” Isaac roared. “Let go of Mac and put the fucking gun down! Now!”
Ignoring him, Hawk’s finger rested on the trigger of the gun as he continued to stare at the man in front of him. He had no idea what possessed them to interfere. He wasn’t going to harm his uncle. It was true that things had never escalated to the point they had tonight, but he would never hurt a member of his family. In their defense, the men were just doing their job and protecting his uncle, but they needed to back the fuck up. This was family business.
Eyeing Hawk closely, Lucas took a step forward. “Hawk, do as Uncle Isaac said. Let Mac go and give me the gun.”
For several tense filled moments, Hawk didn’t act; he was still thinkin’ about it. He should fuck both their asses up on principal alone but finally, he lowered the gun. Removing his foot from Mac’s throat and flicking his bent wrist away, Hawk expertly spun the gun around on his finger and handed it to Lucas.
Turning his head, he glared at his uncle and saw that he was absolutely furious. Hawk smirked. Good. He guessed things weren’t so amusing now. “Your boys need to up their protection game. If it had been anyone in the streets they approached like that they’d be dead.”
CHAPTER 2
Isaac glowered at Hawk a few seconds more. Sliding his attention to his men he gave them a sharp nod, indicating to them that they could go. Mac stood up slowly, cradling his wrist in his other hand. Fixing hard rimmed eyes on Hawk, he slowly ambled out the door with the other men following behind him. Once the room was clear of everyone except the family, Isaac turned frigid eyes back to his nephew.
“I’ll ask you once more. What is your problem tonight?”
“You know exactly what my problem is.”
A speculative gleam entered Isaac’s eyes. “You’re really upset about Raven Randolph? I thought that was just an angle you were playing for her benefit.”
“Why would you think that when I specifically told you that we needed to use another plan? Don’t act like both of ya’ll forgot that because–”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Lorenzo stepped between them and held his arms out like a referee in the ring between two prized fighters. “Let’s just slow down a second, all right? First of all Hawk, tell Lucas and me what happened tonight. How did Raven end up here at the Manor?”
“I already told you. Because of them.” His face arranged in a rigid canvas, Hawk nodded towards the elder brothers. “First, Pop goes to her apartment and practically blackmails her into coming here, and when she does, I walk in on Uncle Isaac standing over like some shit done jumped off before I got here.”
Remembering the expression on Raven’s face, Hawk started pacing and glaring at his uncle. “What did you do to her? Huh? Did you touch her, because if you did, I swear to God...” He was so angry his hands trembled. “I wanna know what happened, and I wanna know right got damn now.”
“What do you mean ‘what happened to her’? I don’t know what she told you once you got outside, but I didn’t hurt the little bitch.”
“Pop!” Lorenzo frowned. “Come on, don’t disrespect her like that.”
Isaac directed a hellishly mean glare towards his son. “That woman is coming after our family and you want me to respect her for that?!”
“What did you expect her to do?” Hawk shouted. “You backed her into a corner! She’s not like her friend. She can’t be bought and she won’t be threatened.”
“She’s not like her friend, eh? You screwed both of them and they let you,” Isaac taunted. “I’d say that makes her no different than every other woman out there whether you want to admit it or not.”
Hawk knew his uncle was deliberately trying to antagonize him. He was very close to succeeding, but Hawk refused to take the bait. Instead, he divided his attention between his uncle and his father. “I’m only gonna say this one time. Stay from Raven.”
Isaac folded his arms and stared at Hawk with abject interest. “Or what? What do you plan to do if we don’t?”
“I guess you’ll find out if you go near her again.”
“Jesus, Hawk,” Lorenzo muttered.
Isaac slowly unfolded his arms. “Are you threatening me? Is that what I’m hearing from you? You’re putting some woman you’ve been fucking over your family?”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Joseph snapped. He had remained quiet throughout the entire exchange between his brother and youngest son, but he had enough of the back and forth between them. “You’re uncle’s right, Hawk, you’re out of line. We’ll talk about this later, but as for now, we have more pressing things to discuss.”
“Such as?” Hawk sneered.
“Such as who’s in charge in Miami since you’re here?”
“Miami’s taken care of.”
“Taken care of by whom?” Joseph persisted, wanting an answer. “You know how important this shipment is, Hawkins. We can’t afford even the slightest mistake. Especially now.”
“Yes,” Isaac interjected. “Instead of turning the plane around mid-flight to come running to your girlfriend’s rescue you should’ve had your ass at the warehouse making sure everything went smoothly.”
“I wouldn’t have had to turn the damn plane around if you two had done as I asked.”
“I’ve had just about enough of your insolence, boy, do you hear me?!” The vein in Isaac’s temple throbbed incessantly as he pointed a finger at Hawk. The tension between them practically sizzled. “One more smart word from you and–”
“Okay, stop! Both of you!” Lorenzo’s divided a cool glare between Hawk and his father. “You two are gonna have to talk about this in a civil manner, but like Uncle Joey said, for now you need to put your differences aside so that we can discuss business.”
“Lo’s right,” Lucas chimed in. “Hawk, answer the question. Who did you leave in charge of the shipment that’s coming in?”
Several beats passed before Hawk reluctantly answered. “Cole. He’s waiting at IFT’s warehouse.”
“And you don’t expect any problems with the shipment clearing customs, correct?”
“The customs officers on our payroll are there now. Once it goes through, armed guards will transfer it to an armored car, then to the warehouse. Matter of fact...” Hawk looked down at this watch. “They should be getting ready to load it up now.”
“And the laboratory on the export papers state it’s a government certified facility?” Lucas persisted. “We don’t need anything to invite suspicion that the shipment isn’t on the up and up.”
Hawk didn’t bother to hide his impatience. “Of course. I don’t need an interrogation, Luke. I’m not new to this. Everything’s in order.”
Joseph shook his head and glanced at his brother. “First marijuana is legalized and being traded on Wall Street, now this. It still amazes me that gold sold on the black market brings in more revenue than we’ve ever made from selling product.”
“We need to diversify and change with the times, Uncle Joseph,” Lorenzo said, walking to the bar to fix himself a drink. “Dirty gold equals clean cash. Mining and then selling it allows us to wash staggering amounts of money we make off the streets while generating even more of a profit. It’s a win-win situation.”
“Exactly,” Lucas nodded. “Last year, over twenty billion dollars in gold cycled in through Miami alone. Best believe we’re getting our share. Even with the price of gold continuing to rise, the demand for it is even more insatiable than our customer’s appetite for coca. Once IFT buys the inventory and blends it in with the legitimate supply, it’s purchased by over a hun
dred Fortune 500 companies, including the likes of Apple and Tiffany’s.”
“And the vaults of the Mint, the Federal Reserve, global central banks...” Lorenzo added with a smirk. “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Ironic and pure genius.” Pride gleamed in the depth of Joseph’s eyes as he fixed them on Hawk. “This was your brain child, son. Positively brilliant.”
Hawk hesitated before nodded once in acknowledgement.
“I agree,” Isaac added. “Just make sure you proceed with caution. Someone’s always watching and waiting to take you down. Always. Don’t ever get cocky or complacent. Your father and I have always stressed that to you boys.” Isaac walked up to Hawk and placed his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. He looked him deeply in the eye. “If anything were to ever happen to you–any of you–holy hell would rain down on whatever man is responsible as well as his family for generations to come.”
His jaw working furiously, Hawk held Isaac’s intense gaze. The two of them might argue and bump heads but he never doubted his uncle’s love. “I’ll make sure I’m careful.”
Isaac’s gaze narrowed. “And that goes for that Randolph woman as well. I don’t trust her, Hawk. I meant what I said. If you insist on pursuing this thing between the two of you, I’m holding you responsible for keeping her in line, because if you don’t–I will. I hope we understand one another.”
Hawk’s first instinct was to let loose with a blistering attack, but he kept himself in check. Leaning his face closer to Isaac’s, Hawk searched his eyes to make sure his meaning was clear. “For the last time, Raven belongs to me. Make tonight the last time you ever come near her like that or else holy hell will rain down–but it’ll be in-house.”
Isaac’s grip on Hawk’s shoulder tightened for several seconds before his mouth lifted in a tense smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Ever since you were a little boy, you’ve always been like a dog with a bone when you wanted something. The more we tried to take it from you the harder you fought to keep it.” He gave Hawk’s shoulder a sharp pat before dropping his arm to his side. “Alright, Hawkins. I’ll be watching, but I won’t interfere again.”
