“Come on,” I hear Dave tell Niles.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Niles replies.
Hawk squeezes my hand. I turn my face to look at him. He’s covered in blood. Frank’s blood. It’s there because of me. He’s savage and fierce, a killer. This time it was for me. “Are you ready?”
I turn to look at my dad’s bar and the neon sign with the burnt out ‘e’. But he’s my killer. Mine. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
As we walk toward the waiting car, the driver is now standing at Dominic’s driver’s side door, I let out a soft breath. I can breathe now. I can relax now.
I’m free.
We’re free.
Salvation doesn’t come softly. It’s lethal and dangerous. It kills with no mercy, and loves with abandon. It’s revenge dripping in blood.
His name is Hawk.
EPILOGUE
Hawk
One Year Later
I wanted to burn the place to the ground. Jo didn’t.
Jo won.
It needed a hell of a lot of clean-up, not just physically, but the trail of bodies I’d left behind as well. That was nothing compared to the cluster fuck the town was in. Half the place was facing criminal charges.
Dominic Fellini, the director of The Program, my boss, came down and oversaw the entire process himself, unofficially of course. Turned out Joe’s father was a military buddy of Fellini’s, that’s why he sent me in. It was a personal favor to him, and there would have been no way The Program would have sanctioned the assignment. If he had told me at the beginning how personal it was to him, I’d have come anyway, and it might have just been a hell of a lot worse. You don’t fuck with what’s ours.
I finally asked Jo about her friend Amy. She was shocked that I’d met her, which wasn’t surprising. I happened to run into Amy one afternoon when I was in town getting some supplies. Just like everyone else, she didn’t recognize me, so she struck up a conversation, albeit suspiciously. When I told her I was working at Joe’s Bar, the girl looked like she was going to break down in tears. I had to hear the story. She gave me some of it, and what she did divulge was horrendous, it made me want to kill Castillo all over, although I’m sure there won’t be a day that goes by that I don’t. She obviously was a good friend of Jo’s and Niles’, so I asked her to show me around when I found out she worked at the hospital. I stole her employee badge, she didn’t know I’d broken into the morgue so I could get the two souvenirs for Castillo, the dicks that were supposed to be Dave’s and Niles’. Cut both of them off the cadavers, the guys wouldn’t need them anymore, so I helped myself. I walked away from Amy knowing the three of them must have gotten into all kinds of trouble together when they were younger. I was happy for Jo for that.
Dave was the one who’d told me about the containers Castillo shipped the girls in at the port, filled me in on the entire human trafficking operation. He also told me about the trap house that Joe practically ran. He’d told me how it was Joe who was always around when shipments ended up missing. He was the one who told me Taylor and Joe were father and son, and how Taylor started showing up at places he had no business at. He was sure Joe was the traitor, and he was also sure that Joe had set him up to take the fall. I’d asked him why he didn’t go to Castillo. He didn’t want any trouble, he just wanted to do his job and live his life.
I couldn’t blame him.
He’d also said he wanted to put two bullets in me for shooting him and Niles as payback. Yeah, not even on his best day. Really, I had no choice. There had to be evidence left in the hotel room, and I knew Castillo expected at least a little blood. Actually, they were lucky that’s all I took, I let them keep their dicks. A couple of stitches and they were good as new.
After a lot of indecisiveness, Jo decided to reopen the bar. It was a decision made from the heart, and I was right there with her. Still am. I’m not going anywhere for as long as she’ll have me. It was stripped and remodeled, but she managed to retain the honky-tonk feel, this time she made sure it was a place for good people and good times. Like it used to be.
Bo works security.
Bo knew I was coming that night. Me and him had a little heart to heart fueled with some tequila and a little encouragement from me. He’d admitted he hated how things were, but he felt powerless because there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. I felt I could trust him to a certain degree. I knew I couldn’t do everything alone that needed to be done and have it coordinated perfectly, there were too many pieces to the operation. I especially couldn’t risk anything happening to Jo. Things had to be done fast, and had to be done right the first time. I’d asked him to get Jo out of the bar anyway he could. I almost killed him when he told me he had to slap her to stop her from beating the shit out of him.
That’s my girl.
He’d also said he wanted to kick my ass because Jo had shot him. I told him he could try.
The one thing I had dreaded coming clean about was telling Jo that Castillo had killed her father, and why. I knew it would crush her when she’d found out she’d been tricked into believing she owed him that money, that she’d suffered and had been abused by him for absolutely nothing. I had to tell her, I’ll never keep anything from her, she deserved to know the truth. It had wrecked her, but she came back stronger.
I love her so fucking much.
Tonight is the grand re-opening of Joe’s Place, we had the ‘e’ fixed on the sign, we did if for her dad.
The customers are starting to roll in, Niles is at the DJ booth where he belongs, Dave is at the door, Bo is in the room working the floor, Daisy is not far away from him. He stayed by her side during her entire recovery, and hasn’t left her since. Believe it or not, I’m behind the bar with Jo, and this time there’s no shotgun.
“I’m a nervous wreck, Hawk.” Jo’s been pacing back and forth behind the bar, wearing a hole in the floor.
“Why?” I couldn’t believe it, but me, Hawk the cold hearted bastard, was wiping glasses. I had to do something, Jo was about to jump out of her skin.
She throws her hands up in the air. “’Because no one’s going to come!” She starts pacing again. “Everyone hates me. I stopped their money train,” she spins to face me, her eyes wide and wild. “WE stopped the money machine they all got rich from.”
She looks like she’s going into panic mode.
I snake my arm around her waist and pull her close. “Who gives a shit? What they were doing was vile. Someone had to stop it, and you were the one who was suffering. Fuck them, fuck everyone,” I bury my face in her neck and stroke her skin with my tongue. “Why don’t we lock the doors and go upstairs,” I can feel her body press into mine as she tilts her neck, giving me what I want and asking for more. “We’ll have our own celebration.”
My dick is in complete agreement with me.
With her palms lying flat on my chest, the tips of her nails pressing into my flesh, she pulls back so she can look into my face. “You are a wicked man.” Her voice sounds like a purr, thick like molasses and potent like a drug.
The corner of my mouth lifts, promising her all the dirty things I’m going to do to her. “You like me wicked. I like watching you watch me being wicked.”
Her skin flushes that sweet shade of please-fuck-me-now, the heat shoots straight to my cock. I don’t know if she even realizes she’s grinding herself onto me, I couldn’t give two shits, because the fact she is all that matters.
“Hawk, we’re working,” she breathes out heavily.
“Yeah,” I move back to take her hand, then begin to lead her out from behind the bar. “And we’re the boss. Come on, baby.”
I shrug my chin at Dave as we pass him. He turns to Daisy and nods.
“Where are we going?” Jo tugs on my hand.
“To see Ambrosia,” fucking Niles and his alter ego. The guy’s watching us with the biggest shit eating grin on his face.
“Why?” Jo asks again, this time more persistently.
“You sure
do ask a lot of questions,” we step up on the stage.
The lights dim in the barroom as the spotlight above us comes to life. The music stops.
“Hawk?”
The sound of guitar strings fills the air.
Goddamn, she’s so beautiful.
I pull Jo close and brush my lips against hers, then place my mouth at her ear, and whisper, “This is for you, baby. Only you.”
The lyrics begin…
I sing to her.
“I used to spend my nights in a barroom. Liquor was the only love I’d known…”
I can see the tears begin to stream down her cheeks. Niles comes over and holds out a microphone. The little shit is crying too.
Damn.
Jo reaches a hand out and takes it, her eyes never leaving their hold on mine, then brings it to my mouth for me to sing into. I’d rather have it in front of hers, but this is my turn. With her head on my shoulder, our bodies rocking together, there’s no one in this room but us, no one matters but she and I. I sing to her, I tell her everything I haven’t been able to with words.
“You rescued me from reaching for the bottom…”
I can feel her body tremble against mine. I pull her closer. It’s not close enough, it’ll never be close enough.
“And brought me back from being too far gone.”
I don’t know how I sound, and it really doesn’t matter. What she hears, what I’m telling her is from the depths of my heart and soul, that’s the only thing I want her to hear.
At the last chorus, Jo lifts her head and her eyes meet mine. They’re red from crying, her face is streaked with tears, but she’s smiling, she’s never looked more beautiful as she does at this moment. She sings with me, that fucking voice of hers that owns me, captivated me, ripped me open when she stole my heart.
The song fades to silence, but we don’t move, the microphone still held between us.
“Marry me, Jo,” my words are barely more than a whisper, but they echo in the quiet of the large room over the PA.
Wait.
What?
Holy shit, what did I just say?
The world stops, everything stops as I stare into her eyes, not daring to breathe as I wait for her to either save me or destroy me. I’ve never been scared in my life, but right now, I’m terrified.
“Hawk,” she whispers. “You already own me. I belonged to you the first night you walked through those doors. Yes, yes, yes!” the last word comes out on a laugh.
I don’t say anything; I’m not sure I heard her right. It can’t be right.
A wave of applause explodes all around us, strong enough to make the room feel like it’s vibrating. The lights burst on, so bright we have to put our hands up to shield our eyes. The place is crowded, the stage surrounded by people that weren’t there five minutes ago, clapping, whistling, hollering like it’s the fourth of July. Amy is right there, front and center.
“Kiss her!” someone yells out, then the command turns into a chant.
Jo’s laughing, it’s a little nervous, but a whole lot of happy, and I’m grinning like a kid at Christmas.
She smiles devilishly at me. “You heard them, cowboy. You’d better kiss me like you own me.”
Fuck yeah, I do.
I do exactly that. I kiss her like I own her, because I do. She’s mine, and I’m going to show her how much.
Throwing her over my shoulder, I speak into microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, she said yes.” And goddamn, I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry.
Another roar of applause explodes. Niles is weeping next to us like an old lady holding a new baby.
“Here, take this,” I shove the mic at him.
I don’t slow down as I move through the crowd, their raucous chanting and applause only getting louder. The only thing I’m hearing is Jo’s words, Yes, yes, yes!
Taking the stairs two at a time, I practically kick the door in and move straight for the bedroom. I throw her down, it’s not romantic or sweet, it’s barbaric and primitive. That’s how I feel looking down at her, this intense need to mark her as my own, claim her as mine. I’m a mess of emotions, but one thing I know for certain is I love this woman more than I can imagine, and there is absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
Right now I want to fuck her so hard, there won’t be any part of her she won’t feel me.
Pulling my shirt off and toeing off my shoes, I tell her, “They came.”
Her grin widens. “I know. We should be down there.”
Shoving my pants to the floor, “We’re exactly where we need to be. Get naked. I got plans for you.” I’m growling like an animal.
Her eyes drop to my erection standing straight out in front of me. “I see that,” as she licks her lips.
Fisting my shaft, I warn her, “Two seconds, Jo. Then I’m tearing them off you.”
Her eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t.”
A wicked grin slides up the corners of my mouth. “Times up. You’re mine, remember? You said yes.”
Crimson tinges her skin as her mouth opens slightly and her eyes get that look that tells me her pussy’s soaked. “You asked me to marry you…,” she whispers like she just now realized what happened.
Jesus Christ, I did.
“I did, baby, because I love you. And I can’t imagine living my life without you. Or you without me.” There’s a stone the size of my fist lodged in my throat, my emotions welling up from deep inside me like a volcano blasting them out like dynamite. But I need to get a grip on this. I’m not the kind of guy you take home to meet your parents. I’m the bad guy they’ve always warned you about. The monster in the dark. “You know what I am.” I take a step closer.
“I do…,” she nods slowly.
I reach down and grip the waistband of her pants with both my hands. “You know I’m not the good guy. You’ve seen what I do.” Castillo’s heart at her feet, his blood dripping from my hands, the same hands I touch her with.
I’d rip it out every day for the rest of my life. For her.
Her eyelids dip. I’m not sure if it’s from uncertainty, fear, or lust. Then her head slides slowly from side to side. “You’re not the good guy, Hawk.” I think my heart seizes. “I didn’t need a good guy. I needed you, and you found me, I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but you showed up, and you saved me.”
I’m breathing heavily, and my heart’s pounding an insane rhythm inside my chest. “No, baby, you saved me.” She did, she saved me from the living hell I’d been existing in, with her warrior attitude, her strength and power, and that body I want to worship again and again, every day for the rest of my life. “I’ll never be gentle, I like it dirty, I need it hard. I’m going to give you this one chance to change your mind. Take it now, you’ll never get it again.”
I rip her pants open, if for nothing else to make my point.
I’m fucked up.
My eyes flick to hers at the sound of her gasp. The expression on her face sends a rush of blood straight to my dick, making it pulse, greedy to be inside her. Her eyes have that glint to them and her jaw is slack, until she pulls her lower lip between her teeth
“Hawk,” her eyes burn a hole into me, tearing down all my bullshit. I can’t hide from this woman. The thing is, I never wanted to. She pulls her shirt from her body, those tits spilling out from her bra, calling to me, begging to be lavished. “You’re my dirty. You’re exactly what I need.” A slow smile spreads across her lips. “I want to watch.”
Jo
He’s rough, dirty, and one of the most dangerous men I’ve ever known.
And he’s mine, all mine.
He’s stunning in his ferociousness, he’s beautiful in his wildness, he’s captivating in his intensity. He’s perfection in his lethal strength.
He’s broken, we both are, but our brokenness makes our pieces fit perfectly together.
He is dirty and hard, which is what I need. He answered the cry I didn’t know I was calling. He heard it, and gave me wha
t I didn’t know I longed for.
An evil grin lifts those lips I love all over my body. “What do you want to watch, baby?”
I’m quivering inside, the things he does, the things he makes me do. “You. I want to watch you.”
He shakes his head slowly. “Not good enough.”
I lick my lips, even after everything we’ve been through together, I still hold back.
He jerks my pants off; and I have to hold on tightly to the bedding not to be dragged off with them. “Tell me, Jo.” His voice rubs across my skin, rough and demanding, making my entire body vibrate from within. “Where do you want me?”
I want to tell him. I want to command him to own me entirely, to take every piece of me and don’t leave anything left.
I want to beg him to claim the only part of me he hasn’t yet. He’s marked my body everywhere. Except one.
I don’t want to live my life with any memory I have of Frank. I need Hawk to exorcise him from me completely.
My gaze locks with his as my breaths come short and quick and my heart pounds an erratic beat inside my chest. He lifts my knees without breaking our stare and spreads me wide, the cool air like a caress against my exposed slit.
“I want you…,” the words trail off.
He glides a finger down the inside of my thigh, his eyes boring into mine, until he reaches my clit. Tracing circles around the already sensitive nub, my hips buck into him. He arches an eyebrow at me, asking me with his gaze, Here?
Everything clenches, hungry to latch onto him, yearning to pull him deep inside me. I whisper, “No.”
The hand still holding my leg squeezes the meaty flesh as he takes my clit between finger and thumb and pinches. My back bows off the bed with the surge of sensations as a long moan escapes me. When he rubs the captured point, my eyelids dip and I groan.
“Eyes open, baby. Watch,” he growls.
I’m trembling, I know I am, I can feel it, but I’m not sure if it’s nervousness or lust.
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