Even though there wasn’t one empty bar stool along the bar, when she stepped up, three men jumped to their feet offering theirs.
Figures.
Hawk gritted his teeth as the men fumbled over their introductions to her. The normally drunk and rude motherfuckers suddenly became perfect gentlemen. However, she only had eyes for him.
He ignored that pull and ripped his gaze from hers, grabbed a clean glass and poured her a Gentleman Jack on the rocks. Tonight, nothing was going to be neat.
He slid the glass in front of her. “On the house,” he muttered.
She reached for it before he could let it go and her fingers brushed against his. He allowed it for a moment then pulled away.
“Thanks.” Her voice, husky and low, shot right down into his dick. Which was exactly what she wanted.
“Get lost?” he asked.
“No. I know exactly where I am.”
She sure did. She was on the “wrong side of town” for one reason and one reason only.
And, fuck him, he wasn’t going to be able to resist giving her what she wanted.
“Wanna deal with my shit only when it benefits you,” he muttered.
“It’s going to benefit you, too,” she said softly with a small smile.
Yeah it was. Fuck him.
“Talk,” he muttered with a frown. He couldn’t believe he was encouraging a woman to talk, usually he was trying to get them to shut up.
“It wasn’t what you think it was.”
“Wasn’t thinkin’ much of anything.”
She gave him a look. She didn’t believe him. Hell, he didn’t believe him, either. That’s because he was lying out of his ass. He’d hardly slept in the last week. He hated coming home to an empty bed as much as he hated waking up in one, too.
He looked at the woman in front of him. It wasn’t just coming home to an empty bed. It was coming home to a house without Kiki in it.
Fuck him. She had him by the fucking balls and she probably didn’t even know it.
“Landon’s my ex-husband.”
Hawk cocked an eyebrow, but kept his mouth shut.
“I didn’t invite him to dinner to get back together with him, Hawk. I was there to get him to sign the divorce papers.”
“He sign ‘em?” Because if the asshole didn’t, both he and Diesel could help him hold the pen.
Kiki sighed. “Yes. Finally. Two whole years of asking and it took you showing up to convince him.”
“Didn’t convince him of shit.”
“No, but I did. Because of you.”
Because of you.
“Makin’ a mistake, Keeks. Can’t give you any of that shit.”
“You don’t have to give it to me, I’m capable of getting it on my own if I want it.”
Hawk’s jaw tightened. He was the one who was supposed to provide for his woman, for his ol’ lady. She wasn’t supposed to be forced to get it on her own. Jesus. He might as well tuck his balls up into his pussy. “Don’t work that way, babe.”
“In my world it does. Take it or leave it.”
“Right,” he grunted. He’d have to think on that one. He knew he wouldn’t be thinking too long or too hard on it. He took care of his woman. Period. “Why’d you get shot of his ass?”
Her fingertip traced the rim of the whiskey glass, her eyes avoiding his. “He slipped and fell into a nineteen-year-old named Karin.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. Who wanted a teenager over a more mature woman who knew what she was doing in bed and did it well? And who had a body that wouldn’t quit with all its soft curves and who got wetter than the Allegheny River.
His dick twitched.
A stupid fuck, that’s who.
“So, what’re you here for?”
“You,” she said softly, peeking at him from under her eyelashes.
Fuckin’ goddamn. His dick wasn’t just twitching. He now sported a full-blown hard-on.
Just what he thought, she just wanted some dick. Well, fuck him, he was going to give it to her.
Digging into his jeans’ pocket, he pulled out his house keys and slapped them onto the bar next to her glass. “Got an hour before I can get outta here. Go get yourself warmed up.”
Her gaze rose from the keys to lock onto his. The look in her eyes made his gut twist.
“I can wait,” she murmured.
He shook his head. “No.” He wasn’t going to get anything done if she sat there surrounded by men who would fall all over themselves in front of her.
“I can wait, Hawk,” she repeated, this time more firmly, but still more quietly than normal.
Her feistiness seemed to be gone tonight, leaving behind a soft, pliable woman who was subdued. Not at all like her normal self. It made him wonder what was up.
Maybe she wasn’t proud of herself for having to come down to his level to get laid.
She might not want it any longer from her ex but he couldn’t imagine that ol’ Mikey from her law firm wouldn’t offer up his.
It is what it is.
“Don’t want you here. Want you in my bed waiting.”
She took a sip of her drink, avoiding his eyes.
Something was definitely up. He softened his tone. “Babe. Do this for me, yeah?” Otherwise, he’d be dealing with an unruly cock, too.
Her gaze tipped back up to him. And there was something behind her eyes he couldn’t quite get a bead on. “Okay.”
Relief flowed through him. “An hour. Tops.”
“Okay,” she repeated. Tipped her glass to her lips, drained the liquid, then pushed to her feet.
Then he and the rest of the men in the bar watched his woman walk back out the same way she came in. Everyone seemed to take a collective breath once the door closed behind her.
Fuck him.
Kiki pulled into Hawk’s driveway, put the car in park and sat staring at the house. The living room was lit up so she assumed Jazz was home. Her eyes flicked to the keys she had thrown onto the passenger seat. She didn’t need his keys after all.
“Don’t pass on somethin’ good, babe. You got it, keep it.”
And that’s exactly why she went to the bar tonight. Even though her brain kept telling her that this was mistake, that it wouldn’t last, her heart kept laughing at her and saying otherwise.
There had been a hole inside her for the past week after watching him walk out of the restaurant and that emptiness had turned into an ache as soon as she stepped through the door at The Iron Horse, as soon as she’d seen him working behind the bar.
She needed to stop denying that pull between them. She didn’t even know whether Hawk himself wanted something more than what they had. Something regular. Possibly even permanent.
Now that she was officially free of Landon since she had filed the signed papers this week, permanent was a possibility.
She shook her head and blew out a breath. She had no idea how all of it would work. They lived in two different worlds.
Yes, she was focused on her career right now, but she eventually wanted kids, a family. She looked at the house again trying to imagine raising children in a house like this in the ‘burbs. With a man like Hawk.
The doubt niggled at the back of her brain again. It would never work.
Not only were they worlds apart, he was too domineering, too possessive. Would that eventually make her bitter? And possibly even tear them apart?
She unfastened her seat belt and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the steering wheel.
She had no idea how to approach him with all these things she’d been contemplating. She’d had a million conversations in her head, trying to work through it. She’d hardly slept a wink.
When she decided to head to The Iron Horse tonight, she wasn’t sure what her final decision would be. Whether seeing him in his element would cement the fact that they just didn’t belong together, like he kept insisting, and that she needed to move on. Or whether when she saw him, she would want to do whatever was needed to get b
ack into his bed, into his life. The decision had been clear the minute she saw him.
Her heart had exploded and warmth of her love for him seeped out of every pore of her body. Now, she could only hope he felt the same way.
And then they’d have to deal with the rest.
That hour she would have to wait for him was going to seem like an eternity.
Without warning, her driver’s side door was yanked open and she expected to see Hawk standing there.
Instead, a hand reached in and a deep gruff voice yelled, “Get outta the car, bitch!”
She was grabbed and yanked out of the car and thrown roughly to the ground. Even in the dark, she recognized the Warrior who tried to steal some of the money at the fundraiser. The one that grabbed her and Slade knocked out.
Ice ran through her veins and she screamed, hoping Jazz would hear her and call 911.
“Shut the fuck up!”
“Just take the car!” she cried out as she attempted to climb to her feet.
A heavy boot kicked her in the chest, knocking her back on her ass with an oomph. “Shut the fuck up! What the fuck!” His head turned as he looked toward the road.
Kiki looked the same direction, still trying to catch her breath from the kick, and saw a van along the road blocking the driveway with someone in the driver’s seat.
That person yelled out of the window, “Grab the car. Let’s go!”
“This is the bitch with the money!” the one standing over her yelled back. “I’m taking her with.”
Holy shit!
Kiki wheezed as she tried to suck in air. She rolled onto her hands and knees and attempted to crawl toward the house. A boot kicked her in the head, knocking her down flat. “Comin’ with me, bitch.”
Then his voice was low and near her ear. “Paybacks are a bitch, you cunt.”
“Just take the car... leave me.”
The man laughed sharply. “Shut the fuck up.”
“No... I—” Movement caught her eye and she looked up to see Jazz running out of the house toward them, barefooted, hair flying wildly behind her, her cell phone in her hand. “No... Jazz,” she groaned.
Fuck. She never should’ve shouted her name.
Kiki watched in horror as Jazz was tackled by the Warrior that had been waiting in the van. She tumbled to the ground, the weight of the biker on top of her. She turned into a whirlwind as she screamed and scratched, her hands and feet flying.
Then Kiki saw the Warrior who had her pinned to the ground backhand her twice, and as if in slow motion, watched him pull his elbow back and slug her in the face. Her body went limp and Kiki cried out her name.
Holy shit, now would be a great time for Hawk to show up.
The first Warrior squatted in front of her, grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head up. “Takin’ you with me, bitch. You gonna fight?”
Kiki spit in his face. “Fuck you!”
With his free hand he wiped the spit off his cheek and he dropped her head. She struggled to get back onto her hands and knees. She needed to get up. She needed to get to Jazz. They needed to get away.
That plan quickly went south as the Warrior stood up, a wicked smile on his face, and drop kicked her in the ribs. Kiki gasped, once again losing all her breath as she fell to her side.
Then he kicked her again on the other side. Shards of pain shot through her. Her ribs had to be broken. Her head was spinning and she couldn’t breathe.
She had enough energy to lift her hand and give him the finger. He laughed. “Fuckin’ feisty bitch. Like feisty. Can’t wait to get a piece of you.” He looked over his shoulder at the other Warrior.
“Throw her in the van. This one, too.”
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
She and Jazz were done if those assholes took them. No one would be able to find them. Hawk had explained that the Shadow Warriors were nomads. No permanent clubhouse, no home base. Nowhere for the Dirty Angels, or even the cops, to look.
With a groan, she tried to roll to a seat. She couldn’t let them take them.
“Jazz,” she tried to call out, but it ended up sounding more like a cough. Her hand immediately went to the pain shooting through her ribs. She gasped.
“Leave... us... get... cash...”
“Fuck the cash. This car will bring us good scratch. An’ after we’re done with you, you bitches might, too.”
Kiki pushed through the pain to roll to her knees.
“Think you’re gonna get away? Think again, bitch.”
She never saw what hit her.
Chapter Fourteen
Hawk roared into the driveway, rolled to a stop and dropped his boots to the pavement.
“What the fuck,” he muttered.
Kiki’s car wasn’t in the driveway and he couldn’t imagine her parking in Jazz’s spot in the garage.
He crab-walked the bike closer to the garage and kicked the stand down. After flinging a leg over his sled, he went over to punch in the code on the keypad to activate the garage door opener.
He blinked as the double door lifted. His truck sat in its normal spot and so did Jazz’s old Honda.
He glanced over his shoulder at the house. Downstairs was lit up, so Jazz was definitely home. Maybe she had talked to Kiki. Maybe Kiki needed to run to get something at a twenty-four-hour store.
Maybe. Or she thought better of coming over to his house and hooking up with him again.
He should head over to her condo, bang on her door and wake up all her fucking neighbors.
He wanted an explanation. And he needed his keys back if she hadn’t dropped them off with Jazz.
Didn’t make sense, though, why she’d show up at the bar acting like she wanted some dick, and then change her mind immediately.
Unless, again, she came to her senses.
Fuck if he didn’t leave the bar early tonight to hurry home to settle himself between her sweet thighs.
Fuck.
Maybe she was playing some sort of game with him.
Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.
He fucking hated it.
The more he thought about it the hotter he became as he strode down the driveway and then up the front walk.
Why was the front door wide open? He frowned and walked faster. At least until he stepped on something that crunched beneath his boot.
He hopped off whatever it was and looked down. Even in the dark he could see it was a cell phone. He snagged the crushed phone off the concrete.
Jazz’s.
What the fuck.
Cold dread ran through him and turned his stomach as his gaze rose from the broken phone in his hand to the open door.
“Fuck,” he barked and ran the rest of the way, up the porch and through the doorway.
The large flat-screen TV was showing some late-night talk show with the sound muted.
“Jazz!” he bellowed. He snagged the remote off the couch and hit the power button.
The only thing that greeted him was his heart pounding in his chest.
“Yo, Jazz!”
His eyes landed on the plate of nachos on the coffee table. The melted cheese had congealed. He touched it anyway just to confirm his suspicion. Cold.
As thin as Jazz was, she had a bottomless pit for a stomach, there would be no way she’d leave a plate of nachos untouched.
No way.
“Jazz!” he bellowed again as he rushed down the hall to her room. Empty. Bathroom. Empty. His gaze swept the kitchen. Empty.
“Jazz! You better answer!”
The silence crept over him creating a blanket of fear. He rushed back to the front of the house and took the steps to his bedroom two at a time.
He let out a curse when he got to the top and saw just what he expected: nothing. Neither Kiki nor Jazz were in the house.
He swallowed hard as his blood started to rush in his ears. His rapid heartbeat rose into his throat.
He pulled his phone out of his back po
cket as he hurried back down the steps. He hit the switch for the porch light as well as the floodlight that would shine on the driveway. Kiki’s cell phone rang three times then the voicemail picked up.
He hung up and hit redial. Again, no answer. This time at the beep he barked into the phone, struggling to keep his shit together. “Call me as soon as you get this. Got me?”
He jogged back down the porch steps as he dialed Diesel’s cell.
“Yo,” his brother answered, his voice gruff. “What the fuck? Busy, brother.”
“Gotta problem.”
Silence for a moment. “What?”
He stopped at the location where he had stepped on Jazz’s phone. Now with the light on, he could see a dark discoloration on the concrete. “Hang on.”
He squatted down and tilted the screen of his cell phone toward the dark area. He quickly put the phone back to his ear. “Definitely gotta fuckin’ problem.”
“What!” his brother barked, now sounding way more awake than he had when he first picked up.
“Think Jazz was snagged.”
“What!”
“Jazz. Not at the house. Car’s here. Found her phone on the sidewalk. Door wide open. TV on. Food cold on the table. Dark spot on the concrete. Blood.”
More silence on the other end of the phone.
“D,” Hawk said, trying not to panic.
“Gettin’ dressed.”
Really trying not to panic. “Yeah. Gotta move on this.”
“Yeah, brother, hear you. Gonna make some calls.”
He dropped his head back to stare up at the night sky. “Right. Brother,” he began but his throat closed up.
“Yeah?”
He forced the words out. “Keeks was supposed to be here. She ain’t. Car ain’t. Not answerin’ her fuckin’ phone.”
“Fuck,” Diesel muttered.
Hawk strode over to the driveway and looked around where Kiki normally parked her Vette.
“Brother,” Hawk breathed.
“Fuck,” Diesel muttered again.
“Dark spot on the driveway, too. Nothin’ else. No other sign. Can’t tell for sure.”
“Warriors,” Diesel grumbled.
“If so, they’re all fuckin’ dead.”
“All of them,” D agreed. “Hangin’ up. Gonna get my crew on this.”
Down & Dirty: Hawk (Dirty Angels MC Book 3) Page 15
