Hawk left the house pissed off. Blade had called and asked him to come do something for the MC which normally wasn’t a big deal. The club knew exactly which members had which skills and they used them to their full advantage. It was part of being in the club, part of your dues. You help the others and they help you. It was that simple.

 

But he’d asked for a reprieve, a chance to straighten things out, and instead of accommodating him they’d threatened him instead. If Blade had said he’d kick his ass or punch him or even cut him, he would have laughed it off. Even if he’d threatened to kill him, he would have been fine with that. But he’d threatened to take his patch and that was no light threat.

 

Taking someone’s patch meant they were gone from the MC for life. It was like being excommunicated except worse since it entailed a bunch of angry bikers who had no problem doing stuff like slashing your tires or trashing your bike if they came across it just because you’d wronged the MC. Threatening to take a patch was the very highest form of insult there was. The fact that Blade had issued it to him had him writhing in rage.

 

Hawk knew he hadn’t been at the headquarters as much as he should be but what he said on the phone was accurate. He was raising a baby alone and that was no easy business. Yeah, the old ladies at the club would watch him, but that wasn’t the best solution, either. They were busy enough, and if they had to leave, he’d be stuck.

 

He pulled up to the address Blade had given him. It was some old bar with a line of bikes out front. Blade stood against his car, which was odd enough – seeing him without his bike was like imagining him as a different sex. Hawk shivered and stopped himself right there.

 

He gave Blade a head nod and walked over to him. “What was so deathly important that you threatened my patch over it?”

 

Blade looked at him, then looked away. “First, swear your absolute silence.”

 

“What the hell, man? Do you know me at all?”

 

“Swear it!”

 

Hawk rolled his eyes. “Fine. I swear. What they hell is going on?”

 

“I locked my keys in my car.”

 

Hawk blinked at him. “And?”

 

“And I need you to open my door so I can get them out.”

 

“And?”

 

“And… it’s not my car. It’s Allie’s car.”

 

Hawk blew out a long sigh. “I thought that was over, man.”

 

“It was. Then it wasn’t.”

 

It was a good thing he kept a few tools with him at all times. Either for crap like this or if he happened upon a car he was searching for while he was out doing something else.

 

“This is some bullshit, you know that, right?” Hawk glared at him and went to retrieve a tool. “Threaten to take my patch because you need me to come right this instant because you locked your keys in your girlfriend’s car and can’t let your old lady find out? Messed up.”

 

“I wouldn’t have taken your patch.”

 

“You sounded pretty serious over the phone about it.”

 

“I had to get you here somehow.”

 

“That was a low threat.” Hawk stuck the slim jim down the window and popped the lock.

 

“I’ll make it up to you.”

 

He crossed his arms. “How’s that?”

 

“Come inside. I’ll buy you a beer. The baby has a sitter, right?”

 

He nodded. He had told Alexa it might be a while, and this had been super quick. He had plenty of time to sit and have a drink. They went in and sat at a table where Allie was waiting. She smiled at Blade and gave Hawk a sheepish look.

 

“Heya,” Hawk said to her.

 

“Hi.” Generally, she didn’t talk much, and right now she had her hand on Blade’s thigh and kept looking at him.

 

Blade set a beer down in front of Hawk. “Let’s just say I owe you a favor, okay? You helped me out big time today.”

 

Hawk took a sip of his beer. “Favor.” This was a big deal. Blade didn’t do favors or give them out. He would have to use this carefully, like a child with his one wish. “Thank you.”

 

He stayed for a while and caught up with some of the boys and drinking a little but after an hour and a half he figured he better get back. Wasn’t fair to Alexa to leave her there with Damian all the time. And now that he’d alerted Blade and the MC about this Jessica chick, he felt much better about the situation. He might not be able to own a gun right now, but at least he had lots of friends who did. He just hoped he wouldn’t need to call in his favor too soon.

 

He texted to let her know he was coming, then hoped in his car. At the stop sign before he turned onto his street, he glanced at his phone. Usually she texted back quickly, but maybe she was in the middle of putting Damian down for a nap or giving him a bath.

 

He pulled in the driveway, but shut the garage door when he looked at the house. Something wasn’t right. The door was open. Not much, just a crack, but given what had happened with Jessica and the break in the other day, he wasn’t taking any chances. He parked in the driveway and grabbed a screwdriver. His PO couldn’t keep him from all weapons.

 

Hawk rushed to the door, but paused before entering to listen. Nothing came from inside the house but the usual hum and buzz of things. He pushed open the door and looked around. He stepped inside, still listening. He wanted to call for her so badly, but if someone was in the house, he didn’t want to alert them that he was there.

 

As he came to each room, he put his back to the wall and peered around the corner. After getting a full view of the empty room, he moved on. He came to the living room and when he poked his head around the side of the wall to look in his heart dropped.

 

Alexa lay on the couch, a big red splotch on her forehead. He rushed to her.

 

“Alexa? Alexa!” He gently shook her shoulders. She was out.

 

He took her pulse and it felt strong. Someone must’ve come in and knocked her out. The next thought made him go cold. Where was Damian?

 

He tore through the house, careless now in his searching. Every room, every closet and nook and cranny. After two sweeps, he had to admit the truth. Damian was gone. He went back to Alexa to check on her. She hadn’t moved. He considered calling an ambulance, but that would send the cops here, and he didn’t want to deal with all that just yet. He took a washcloth and wet it with cold water, then laid it on her forehead. After a moment, she stirred.

 

He called her name and put his hand to her cheek. “Can you hear me?”

 

She nodded slowly and muttered something he couldn’t make out. He sat her up and gave her a glass of water. She sipped it, then tried again to speak.

 

“Damian,” she said in a croak. “Where is he?”

 

Hawk shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s not here. What happened? Do you know who took him?”

 

She took another sip of water. “Jessica. She came back.”

 

Hawk sucked in a breath. “Was she alone?”

 

“Yes, but she barged in and hit me on the head. I didn’t expect it. I should’ve been ready for her, I should have—”

 

“Stop.” He pressed his lips to hers. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I wouldn’t expect you to fight off an attacker like that.”

 

“No, I should have, you don’t understand. It’s my job.”

 

“I know you did your best to protect Damian. It’s not your job to fight someone like that.”

 

“Hawk, no, I—”

 

“All we need to do now is find her and figure out why she took him.”

 

“At one point, I started to come to. She admitted to me that she’s not his mother.”

 

“I knew it. I didn’t think she was.” His hands balled into fists. He didn’t care if she was a woman, he would knock her cold when he got his hands on her. “If she’s not his mother, then what could her motive possibly be? Sell him on the black market?”

 

“I don’t think so. She kept asking about the diaper bag. Did you see it?”

 

Hawk pulled his eyebrows together. “I didn’t, but I wasn’t really looking.”

 

He got up and helped Alexa to her feet. She held his arm, but was walking fine on her own after a few steps. They searched through the nursery and the rest of the house but there was no sign of the diaper bag.

 

“It sounded like it was really important for some reason. But then she hit me again before I could find out more. And that must’ve been when she took him and left. And the diaper bag, too, apparently.”

 

“If the bag was so important, why wouldn’t she just have taken it and not him? I don’t get it,” Hawk said.

 

“I don’t know, but we have to get the police on this before she can get any farther. It’s already been far too long. She wanted the bag for a reason, and she took Damian for reason. Whatever those reasons are, we need him found and brought back, and the cops are the best ones equipped to handle that.”

 

Hawk shook his head. “No way. I am not calling them. I’ll do this my way. I’ll start with that car and that Rucker Marshall guy. If he’s not involved, fine, but I need to know.”

 

“This is out of your league. You can’t go chasing after criminals like that. Let the cops do their job.”

 

“Oh right. Like they did their job when it came to finding Hugh’s killer? I don’t think so.”

 

“They’re your best chance at finding him.”

 

“I don’t believe that for a second. I don’t need them, and I don’t want them involved.”