“Inside,” Hawk clipped at me.
“No f**kin’ way,” Tack clipped back.
Hawk didn’t take his eyes off me. “Inside,” he repeated.
Tack pushed down the bike stand and I knew he was losing it too so I hopped off.
“Gwen –” Tack started.
I whipped my head around so fast my hair flew over my shoulder.
“It’s cool, I’m fine, I’ll be out in a minute,” I assured him.
“Peaches –”
“I’m fine, Tack, honestly, I’ll be out in a minute.”
Then I didn’t wait for his response, I skirted Hawk, pushed through his line of commandos, or, more accurately, between Fang and Jorge, and stomped into the warehouse.
When I got to the area just beyond the space under the bed platform I saw that rumor and Tack were right. When Hawk was done, he was done. I knew this because my two suitcases were there, my desk, my disconnected computer and my box of desk shit.
Why he wanted me there, I didn’t know. Maybe because he was an ass**le. But then, most men were.
I grabbed my suitcases, lugged them up, turned and ran smack into Hawk.
My head tipped back. “Get out of my way,” I snapped.
He bent, pulled the suitcases out of my hands then his hands were on me. I barely got the chance to struggle before I was up against the paneled room under the platform and I was held there with his hand at my chest.
“Now, babe, you’re gonna let me explain.”
“Take your hand off me.”
“Her name was Simone,” he stated bizarrely.
“Who, your new toy?” I shot back.
“No, my dead wife.”
My stomach clutched, my heart stopped beating and I stared.
Then I whispered, “What?”
“My daughter’s name was Sophie.”
His daughter. His daughter. His f**king daughter.
Was.
He said was.
He kept talking. “She had a brother, Simone did, and he was just like Ginger. But there was a reason he was a total f**kin’ piece of trash shithead. Their parents were nightmares. Made your Mom a candidate for Mother of the Year. Simone, she was smart, she got out from under that shit as soon as she could. But for good reasons, but reasons that made her make f**ked up decisions, she was tight with her brother. Too tight. And they stayed tight. I told her, unless she was with me, she didn’t go visit him. But his woman was pregnant, I was away on assignment and he called because his woman was in labor. Simone, she loved kids, she loved her brother, she loved his woman, she was so f**kin’ excited to be an aunt. So she went to their place and took Sophie with her. He walked out of the house, his woman walked out and Simone was walking with Sophie up to the house to meet them. He had some of his boys with him. They were all out on the lawn. Easy targets. Simone didn’t know he was in the middle of a war and died not knowin’ it. Doesn’t matter, that entire neighborhood was a warzone and she knew it because she grew up in it. The enemy took their shot and did their drive-by and didn’t hesitate to add collateral damage to their play. Simone went down, Sophie went down, Julian, Simone’s brother went down and his woman went down. She died before she gave birth but they saved the baby. That kid was the only one who survived that massacre.”
I was listening at the same time trembling and I wondered if my ears were bleeding but I knew my heart was or at least it felt like it.
“Hawk,” I whispered.
“I can’t go there again. I can’t do it again. Trust me, babe, I promised you I’d handle you with care and when I say I’m doin’ it, I’m not lyin’. This ends now before you get too deep.”