Hawk
Taking the towel in my hand, I squat down, bringing it to the chrome of my wheels and wipe the water away. Nothing that I hate more than seeing water spots on my chrome. I don’t care if it’s on my bike or my truck, that shit digs at me.
“You almost ready to go, kid?”
I look over my shoulder and see Lick standing on the steps of the clubhouse. “Why the fuck do you insist on calling me, kid?”
“Because you look like a child trying to be a man.” Lick barks back lifting his middle finger in the air.
“I’ll show you a man. I bet one-hundy that my cock is bigger than yours.”
“Fuck, boy. I’ve seen your feet. There ain’t no way in hell that you’re dragging any more than five inches with you. Hard.”
I don’t respond which makes him laugh. If I’ve learned one thing since Lick has been around, it’s that you can’t egg that fucker on. Believe me, I give it to him when I feel it’s appropriate, but I know I always gotta be ready for his comebacks because he still has them, in spades.
“Hurry the fuck up. I got better shit to do than playing car driver.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do, and she’s shaking her ass and bouncing her tits over in the shop at this very moment.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he grumbles.
I laugh to myself as I continue to wipe down my truck. Jenni, Savannah’s friend and Lick have been playing all sorts of games since she showed up here weeks ago. She’s a cute little thing, spunky and full of attitude. That girl can hold her own, and she needs to have that gusto if she plans on dealing with Lick and all his hang-ups.
“Let me take one last pass over the truck,” I say over the shoulder again. He nods in approval and retreats back through the door.
We’re supposed to be meeting Sin and Savannah at the dealership because Daddy Sin thinks it’s time to buy a family car. That man has done a complete one-eighty in the past few months. All the years I’ve known him, I never would have thought he’d be the one to settle down first. It’s fucking crazy what love will do to a man.
The crunching of gravel has me shooting to my feet. Things have been hectic around here since that crazy fucker Tyson, Savannah’s ex, thought it would be fun to fuck with her. He believes he has rights to her because technically it’s his baby that she’s carrying, but you tell that to Sin, and he’s likely to slit your throat for even having that thought.
When I step around my truck, my heart slows—Bianca’s approaching. That woman has lost more than any one person should lose, and she still holds her head high–proud of the life she’s lived. Proud to have been an old lady to a man who was killed protecting what was his. Not many women are cut out for this sort of lifestyle. Look at Rose—the first chance she got, she dashed the fuck out of here. Leaving me, her son, in the dust. My dad never got over that shit. I never got over it either.
“Mijo.” Bianca steps towards me with timid steps and my stomach knots on the spot. Something isn’t right. In fact, something seems to be very wrong.
“Bianca.” I take a step towards her, my heart beating against my chest. “What’s wrong?” Scenarios start racing through my mind, the first being Sin and Savannah. I pull my phone out and glance down at the screen. There isn’t anything from him or Cut or any of the other guys for that matter.
“Hawking.” She twists her hands together, refusing to make eye contact with me. “I received a phone call and um… It was about your mother.”
“Rose?” I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. That was the last thing I was expecting.
“Tessa was the one that actually called me.”
My world feels as though it tilts hearing her name. “Tessa, as in Tessa Reese?”
Her brows draw together as she nods. “Your mother–”
“No! She’s not my mother.”
“Hawking, mijo, please,” she begs. “Listen to me.” I can feel my stare harden and I know she sees it too. Taking a step towards me, she reaches out, but I take a step back. “Tessa, she’s working in a facility in Los Angeles–”
“Tessa’s been in Los Angeles all these years?”
“I’m not sure, mijo. I only know that she’s there now and she saw your mother. Your mother is sick, son. Tessa wanted you to know. I know where Rose is.”
“I don’t care.”
“Mijo, don’t say that.”
“Hey, fucker!” I turn as Lick comes bounding down the stairs. “We’ve gotta go. Time’s a-tickin’.”
I hold up my hand, letting him know I got it. When he hops into my truck, I turn back towards Bianca. “Mama B, you know I love you. You’ve raised me when that woman chose to leave me in the night. I grew up in a club of bikers, and whores. I’ve seen more death and destruction in my short twenty-eight years than most people see in their entire life. I blame that on her. She could have taken me with her. She could have chosen a better life for me, but she didn’t. She left me with a father who had no clue how to raise a kid. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be dead or strung out on drugs. She turned her back on me. Now it’s my turn to return the deed.”
“Hawking Gentry,” she growled, but I ignore her.
Taking two strides to her, I brush my lips against her cheek and turn to take care of business. And that business is watching my best friend trade his bike in for a fucking minivan.