Maddox

The Devil’s Hawks.

They were sworn enemies to The Dark Saints. Not too long ago I helped Kade and his old lady get rid of two of Hawks – permanently. They weren’t the first and wouldn’t be the last.

Beefs with The Hawks had turned into blood war in my Dad’s day. There had been some sort of evil truce ever since.

A truce that was breaking on both sides with every day that passed.

It was over for Kade, I knew that. And it was over for me.

The minute they targeted my baby sister, they were all dead to me. One way or another, I was going to kill them. If I didn’t figure out exactly who did it soon, it would be too bad for all of the nearby Hawks. I wouldn’t discriminate.

The old man was trying to stop me. I knew that. Even though he sat next to Olivia every day and he saw what they did. He still wasn’t on my side. He didn’t want what happened to our family to be the thing that started an open war.

So he held me back and gave me bullshit advice to stay calm.

In the end, it didn’t matter if Sarge or the club was with me. I’d probably die doing it. And I didn’t mind one fucking bit.

Anytime they showed their faces in Port Az, we ran them out. That was still in full force. But I knew they spent time at The Wayside just outside of town and just outside Saints territory.

The Hawks were encroaching more each day.

I was going to go bird watching.

I sat in a booth at The Wayside, in a dark corner. The bar was pretty much all dark corners.

I nursed a beer and watched their mangy asses toss around a working girl. They treated her like shit and she seemed to like it. One Hawk grabbed her by the hair and the other squeezed her ass. In between times she was running whiskey shots back and forth.

It looked like a shitty way to earn a living. I would have stepped in, tried to save her, except it didn’t look like she wanted saving.

I wasn’t going to get into it. I was there to learn names and see if there were any faces I hadn’t made yet.

And there was. His patch said Jonesy C. I made a mental note of it. The waitress came over and I asked.

“Hey darling, who’s that new Hawk? Never saw him here before.”

“Oh yeah, Jonesy. He was in the joint. Went in six months ago, supposed to do a year I heard. But his lawyers sprung him. Big party tonight. Can I get you a refill?”

“Yeah.”

She left and headed back to the bar. I watched Jonesy C.

I’d never seen him before and didn’t know a damn thing about him.

Could it be him? The timing was right. Maybe he went inside after doing the job on my sister? Hell, maybe that was the best getaway. Get locked up for a while so no one comes looking for you.

I decided I needed to find out a lot more about this Jonesy C.

The waitress brought over my second beer. I fished out some cash. All The Saints operated on a cash basis. It was the best way to avoid a digital trail.

I’d finish this one and start calling around on this fucker. Right now, it was better than my other leads, in that it was something. Up to now it was one goose chase after another that just led away from Olivia, instead of to her. I’d been chasing the exhaust of a hundred Devil’s Hawk bikes and my anger had nowhere to land.

I made my way out of The Wayside and I took a mental picture of Jonesy C.

Before I could leave, a little dude with a patch that said Peck, bumped me on the shoulder.

“You’re a little far away from home, Saint,” Peck said to me. The guy reminded me of a gnat, just a buzzing mosquito designed to annoy the piss out of people.

“Fuck you,” was my answer to Peck. It was less than diplomatic and it was all it took. Apparently Peck had something to prove. He took a swing and me and I dodged it. Then I swung back. The fight was fast and bloody. And Pecker, which was a better name for this ass, was no match. I didn’t fucking care that I was causing a commotion or that I’d attracted attention.

I didn’t care about much these days and the fight felt good.

Pecker was down and I kicked him once for good measure. The rest of The Hawks didn’t do a damn thing to protect their brother. Fuckers.

This was a random grouping of low-level Hawks, except for one. He was an officer for The Hawks. He was on my list: Tusker Dunigan.

“This big dumb animal needs a fucking lesson.” One of the only Hawks that was my size showed his face from one of the shitty corners of the bar. He was ready for the next ass kicking I supposed.

“No, we’re not doing this.” Tusker was the highest-ranking Hawk in the place at the moment and the rest of them listened to him.

I stood there ready to take ‘em all. I wanted to. Hurting things was the only time I forgot about the pain my sister was in. Maybe they’d beat me to a pulp. That was okay too, since that helped me focus on a different pain instead of the ache I felt day and night.

Either way I win. I didn’t need this Tusker to step in. And I didn’t want it.

“What the fuck, Tusker?”

“Get the fuck out of here Saint. Tell Bear he owes me one. And future reference? The Wayside is a Hawk’s bar now. Tell the rest of the cunts.”

I spat on the floor of the shitty bar and turned around. I didn’t care that they all wanted a piece of me. I hoped they all tried it.

I had what I needed from tonight. A new name of a possible target, Jonesy C. Plus, I’d beat the shit out of at least one Hawk.

It was what substituted for happiness in my life.

And I was okay with that.

The ride home fueled my rage. I meandered. I got coffee. I stayed away from the house until the sun came up. I didn’t want to be home because it wasn’t home anymore.

It was a place Sarge held vigil over my sister. He never prayed a day in his life but now he prayed all the time.

It was my job now to be sure that no one took advantage of Sarge’s old age and to be sure the nursing care for Olivia was what she deserved. If she had even a moment of pain or discomfort, there would be hell to pay.

When I got back, the nurse’s vehicle was in the front of the house. Like it always was these days.

I would check on Olivia later. For now, I was headed to my office to run down the real name of Jonesy C. And to see where he was the day my sister was shot.

I always came in through the old service entrance and used the back stairs to the kitchen. The rest of the rundown place was a reminder that my mother was now gone too. My Dad and I would rot here, and we deserved it.

I walked into the kitchen and was immediately aware of something different.

The windows were open and there was a breeze in the room. This room had been fetid for days. The lights were on. Hell, some of the bulbs that had burnt out were replaced with new ones.

And Bella wasn’t coming out to greet me. My dog had found greener pastures somewhere in my house, with someone else it seemed.

And there was music playing. It was bullshit music. And it was out of place.

I stomped into the kitchen, looking for the source. Dad had mentioned a new live-in was starting today. Apparently, this person thought this was their place to do as they pleased.

They better understand that we needed it quiet for Olivia. And to stay out of my way.

The floor was slick, and I slid forward. I grabbed the countertop to stop me from crashing down. What the shit had this new employee done? It had been less than a morning and I hated them already.

“Whoa! I need those orange cones it looks like! I’m so sorry, you just came in so fast!” The most beautiful girl I’d ever seen was on her hands and knees in the hallway that led to The Castle’s massive formal kitchen.

Except she wasn’t just any girl … she was familiar.

I’d seen her dark hair, those rosebud shaped lips, and those impossibly big blue eyes before but I couldn’t remember where.

She looked like a Snow White drawing come to life. That’s what she fucking looked like. A modern Snow White in a tiny white t-shirt, rolled up jeans, and I swear, a vintage apron. If I didn’t know better I would have thought I was high, or drunk. I blinked and she was still there. Fucking smiling at me.

“Let me help you get across this skating rink. It’ll dry quickly with these windows open.” She stood up. I spotted Bella around the corner, cozying right up to this familiar stranger in my kitchen.

“If you track this up, no treats for you!” she said and bent down again to nuzzle the top of Bella’s head. I was staring and I was dumbstruck.

Something about the way she handled Bella started to ring a bell in my head.

“Maddox, I’m Tracy Plumb, I’m the new employee here. I used to work at Ruff Life. Remember, we met?” She put out her hand. She was wearing one of those yellow cleaning gloves. I didn’t make a move to shake it.

“Oops, duh, sorry.” She took off her glove and put out her hand again. I didn’t respond.

I wanted out of there. There was nothing about my smoke stench, road-hardened, self that should be anywhere near her. I cursed my Dad for letting her in here.

I also wanted to be sure she didn’t get the idea that I had interest in talking to her, or anyone, at all. Ever. She could take that cheerful shit somewhere else.

“Just keep it down in here. My sister doesn’t need to be disturbed and neither do I, Miss Plumb.”

I turned and took the back stairs two at a time. I made sure to slam the door behind me.

There was no place for Tracy Plumb in this house.

Her pretty eyes flashed through my mind, unbidden, and I forced that image out.

There was no place for Tracy Plumb in my life.