Hawk
“If I never see the inside of this fucking ER again, it will be too soon,” Cut says as he drops down in the seat next to me.
“I agree, but I don’t think I’m going to get so lucky.” I know this is only the beginning when it comes to Tessa and her trips to the hospital.
She’s a fucking Sinclair. Her best friend was actually her half-sister. My mind plays back memories of our childhood, times when the guys and I would sit and talk shit about the chick we wanted to bang. Sin never brought her up. She was his honorary sister, all because of Sienna.
I watch the medical staff hustle down the hall. There was a massive crash an hour ago on the interstate. “Have you got ahold of Sin?” I ask Cut.
“No. He’s not answering. Savannah isn’t answering either, so I take it they’re together, not wanting to deal with the outside world yet.”
“He’s going to need to deal with it sooner or later.”
“You know Sin. He does shit in his own time.”
“What do you think of everything?”
“Fuck man, I don’t know. I always wondered how my father could be one hundred percent faithful to my mother living the life that he did. Not when I saw other members openly cheat on their wives. I thought my father loved my mother too much, but I guess fucking doesn’t usually involve feelings. Not everyone stays faithful to their hearts when their dick is hard.”
I think of my father and what he did to my mother. If he’d be willing to share his wife with the enemy, I’m sure he didn’t give two fucks about the sanctity of marriage.
Brass walks into the room and gives a tight nod. “Did you know?” I ask. His eyes narrow at my question. “That Tessa was Devin’s biological daughter?”
“Fuck,” he sighs. “Had no clue. Devin and I weren’t close when you kids were younger. I was new to the club, too much shit going on in my own life that I didn’t have the time or desire to get involved in anyone else’s shit. He never said anything to indicate that Tessa was more than just a friend of Sienna’s.”
Silence keeps us company, each of us in our own heads. My mind is reeling with the things that I need to do. A clearing of a throat has my head snap to the entrance of the waiting room.
“She’s being admitted for observation,” Gloria says with Bianca standing next to her. They both step farther into the room. “Her blood pressure spiked,” Gloria continues, “and her heart is weakened. They want to get her blood pressure under control before they release her.”
“They pulled her charts and found the result of the test they ran earlier this week. They determined the cancer hasn’t spread past the marrow, which is a good sign,” Bianca says. “She needs to rest. They’re concerned the weakened state of her body isn’t boding well for what they need to do to treat cancer.”
“Do they know what their plan of treatment is?” I ask.
“They’ve told us their options, but we won’t know anything until they stabilize her blood pressure.”
“Gloria?” Frank Reese, Gloria’s husband and the man who raised Tessa, comes into the room. He wraps his arms around her as she buries her face into the crook of his neck. His eyes harden as he takes in me, Cut, and Brass. “What have the doctors said?”
“They’re keeping her for observations,” she mumbles into his shoulder. She backs away from him and busies herself with her purse, pulling out a tissue.
He turns his back from his wife and shoves his hands into his front pockets. “Thank you for being here for Tessa, but we’ll take it from here.”
I stand from my seat. “Wait... excuse me?”
“This is a family matter. We’ll make sure she gets the help that she needs.”
“Bullshit you will.”
“Hawking!” Bianca scolds me. “This isn’t the place.”
“The place? You’re right. This isn’t the place for either of them to try to take control over Tessa, not when they haven’t had a thing to do with her for over seven years.”
“Not to be a dick or anything, but you’re probably the last one in this room which has a say in what happens to her since you technically aren’t her father or any blood relation,” Cut says.
His nostrils flare. “Listen here you a little piece–”
Both Brass and Cut stand up from their seats. Cut steps towards Frank, only about a foot from the man. “Let’s get one thing straight,” Cut speaks up. “Tessa is more Sinclair than she’ll ever be a Reese, and that means that she’s family. My family. She’s my sister, and I’ll be damned if I let you or anyone else tell me that I’m not needed. You have no say in who comes and goes from this room, not while Tessa is lying in that room fighting for her life. No fucking way.”
His eyes flash in anger. “Blood or not, she’s my daughter. It’s my name that’s on her birth certificate. You don’t get to push your weight around in here. This isn’t a biker bar.”
“Enough,” Bianca growls. “Tessa isn’t a child. We’re all here to support her. It doesn’t matter who hasn’t or has been in her life. We’re all here now, and we’ll continue to be here until she says otherwise.”
“Hawking Gentry?”
My name gets called making me step away from the argument. “That’s me.”
“Miss Reese is asking for you.”
I follow her towards Tessa’s room.
“You okay?” She asks when she see me enter. Her voice is husky like she just woke up.
I grab a chair and set it next to her bed. When I sit, I grab her hand in mine. “Yeah, just remembering the last time I saw you in a bed like this.”
“I’m scared, Hawk.”
I’m fucking scared too, but I don’t want her to see that. Not when she needs me to carry her worry. “Everything is going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.”
“Sam. I need you to take care of Sam. I don’t want my mother to get him. He doesn’t know–”
“Tessa.” I pull her chin towards me. “Listen to me. You’re going to be fine. Sam isn’t going to lose you, so you don’t need to worry that Gloria is going to get her claws into him.” I wipe the tears from her cheeks. “You can’t let this consume you. You have too much to live for.” I lean into her and place a kiss on her forehead.
She reaches out and wraps her arm around my neck. “I love you, Hawking Gentry.” The warmth of her breath sends chills through my body. “Please know that.” She sniffs, and it breaks my fucking heart that there is nothing I can do to protect her from this pain.
“I love you too, Tessa. More than you know.” I kiss her temple then stand up. “You need to rest. I’ll tell everyone to go home.”
“Who’s out there?”
“Your family.”
“I can’t even wrap my head around that.” She turns her head towards me. “You never knew?”
“No. We asked Brass when he showed up today, and he said he didn’t have a clue. Devin kept it to himself—well and Bianca.”
“I love my dad, Hawk. Even though he allowed my mother to cut me out of our family, he’s the only dad that I know. I don’t see Devin as that man.”
“You don’t have to, Tessa. That doesn’t make you any less of a Sinclair. You’re just as much a Sinclair as Sin and Cut. But we don’t need to concentrate on that right now. First things first, you need to get out of here so we can start on getting you better.”
I take her hand and give her a squeeze, but she doesn’t let go. “The last time I was in this hospital I lost everything. I’m afraid.”
“You’re never going to lose anything ever again. I’ll be back in the morning, I promise you.”