“Because the club is dealing with a lot, and I don’t need this on top of it.”
“What exactly is this?” his mother asked.
“I don’t know, Ma, you tell me. Twenty questions? Love connection? All the above?”
“Is that what you want it to be?” his mother asked.
Yes. The thought took the wind from his sails. His anger dissipated as swiftly as it had arrived. Her comment about them being nothing rubbed him the wrong way and pissed him off. It didn’t matter how or why things had started between them. Ariel belonged to him now. “Shit.”
His mother chuckled. “Just like your father, a bull in a china shop. Go fix what you broke before the crack widens.”
For once, he was going to listen to his mother.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, turning to leave the kitchen. He was halfway down the hall when he heard his name called. The sound of Tiny’s voice stopped him short. “We got a problem.”
Naturally. “What’s going on?” Hawk asked.
“Angels are selling again in our territory.”
“Fuck man. Why are they pushing this?”
“I wish I knew, brother. The new pres is green and pissing off the wrong people. I say we deliver a message he’ll remember. The last one didn’t stick too well.”
“What do you have in mind?” Hawk said, fully immersing himself in the business at hand.
“It’s time we hit one of their production centers,” Tiny said.
Hawk grinned. He could use a little mayhem and destruction right now. “I’m always down to ride, brother.”
“I want to take down their main location in the southeast area and the one up north.”
“When?”
“We need to hit him hard. Get your cut on. This could be bloody. We need to shut down the Angels’ main source of income. I want these fuckers scrambling to put their shit to right as business grinds to a halt and I want his people questioning his leadership.”
“You’re trying to mount an assault.”
“Damn straight,” Tiny said. “I want the buildings burned to the ground. Once that place catches, it’s all going to go up. All the chemicals they used to manufacture the drugs are accelerant on crack.”
“We need guns,” Hawk said thinking of the warehouse where they stored the heavy firepower.
“I know. I’m going to get the prospects to pull the vans around and rally the troops.”
“Let me get my vest on and I’m good to go.”
“See you out there, brother,” Tiny said.
Hawk jogged to his room and slipped inside. He spotted Ariel splayed across the bed, belly first. Maybe she did have a headache. He knelt beside her and ran a hand over her silky hair.
“It figures you were the one to fuck up everything I had going. Now other bitches don’t even make my dick twitch.” He kissed her crown. “I’m going to fix this shit when I get back, but between the two of us, I’m in love with you, siren.” The words rolled off his tongue with ease. The weight on his shoulders lifted. “When I get back we’re going to talk this shit out and you’ll know who you belong to. Right now, I got to go to work.” He stood, and walked to the closet, stripped off his cut, hung it on a hanger. He grabbed his bulletproof vest off the top shelf, pulled it over his white T-shirt, and tightened the straps on the side. He Velcroed it shut and patted the chest for good luck. Slipping a black hoodie over his head, he added his cut.
She stirred on the bed. “Hawk?”
“I’m here,” he said, secretly happy he’d get a chance to speak with her before he left. She rolled over, rubbing her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“I got to run an errand. I won’t be back until later. But when I so get home you and I are going to have a talk, siren.”
“Are you still mad at me?” she asked softly.