Page 113 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
I kissed the top of her head, and she ran to jump on the bed. She started jumping up and down, giggling as her auburn hair flew around her body. I put our suitcases in the corner and took out my phone, the battery falling to the floor as I threw all the parts of it onto the table. I knew enough to know that I had to take out the battery in order to render it useless, and I knew enough about running from something to know that I hadn’t been followed. This time I had made sure of it.
We got dressed, and I took Emery swimming in the hotel pool. She jumped into the deep end and swam around, giggling with all her might as I sank deep into the hot tub. I closed my eyes, sighing as I finally felt my body relax. I thought about ordering us pizza for dinner. Just having a total junk food day while the two of us curled up on the massive king-sized bed and watched television until we fell asleep.
For a moment, I attempted to convince myself that everything was all right. That if I could lay low in this hotel, living off my savings until things died down, that Emery and I might be able to go back. That I could apologize to Hawk, or maybe get down on my knees and grovel. That I could set us up in the same city as Hawk and we could both tell her that the man she’d grown to love was her father.
I smiled at the idea of her having a relationship with him. A wonderful relationship as Hawk watched her grow into the beautiful young woman I saw emerging slowly from her body every single day.
My thoughts were interrupted as another woman entered the hot tub. I nodded towards her, secretly hoping she wouldn’t sit next to me. But of course, she was one of those women that was probably looking to socialize, and she sat down right next to me and sighed.
“That your little one jumping around in the pool?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said.
“She looks happy.”
“She is,” I said.
If there was one thing I learned from the motorcycle lifestyle, it was to trust no one until you had a reason to. I knew this woman was probably harmless, but with us being on the run from one of the more ruthless government agencies, I couldn’t take any chances.
And my instincts were proven right when she opened her mouth to speak again.
“Then let’s not startle her, shall we?”
I slowly panned my gaze over to the woman as her face slowly came into view. I studied her haircut. The way she held her shoulders back. The muscles that weren’t always so common on women of her stature. I saw something lift out of the water as a black billfold came into view, and the moment I saw her credentials, I froze.
She was DEA.
“Agent Mahoney, DEA. I’ve got a few questions I’m sure you don’t want your daughter to hear,” she said.
“Mommy! Mommy! Watch me jump!”
“All right, sweetie,” I said as I ripped my gaze from the woman. “I’m watching!”
My daughter splashed into the pool with a massive cannonball, gigging as she came up to the surface. For a moment, I allowed myself to feel Emery’s joy before I turned my gaze back to the woman beside me.
The woman that had ambushed me.
I was petrified. I didn’t want to be questioned. I didn’t want to rat out the motorcycle club that had taken me in when I started missing the lifestyle. I didn’t want to be the snitch the Iron Souls came looking for after this was all said and done. The DEA was physically ripping that club to shreds and making it a public spectacle, and I knew they wouldn’t hesitate to haul me off in handcuffs right in front of my daughter.
But that meant if she was here, then she wasn’t back with Hawk.
Which was what I’d wanted the moment I sped out of his driveway.
“Mommy? Are you okay?”
“Everything’s all right, sweetheart. You just play, all right? Play really hard, and then we’re gonna go order some pizza.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” the agent said.
“I’d choose your next words very carefully,” I said.
“Is that a threat?”
“When it comes to my daughter, yes.”
I stared the agent down as I looked deep into her dark brown eyes. A small smirk crawled across her face as my daughter stared at us. I could see the fear in Emery’s eyes, even out of the corner of my own. Any person that came into our lives that made my daughter fearful was automatically the enemy. If she made a move towards her-- if she tried to harm my daughter in any way-- I’d be on the run for murder instead of being a running witness to some crimes.
“Let me start by saying we can’t prove anything yet,” the agent said.
“I’m sure.”
“But we know you’re connected to the Iron Souls. We know you’ve got the information we need, we just don’t have the evidence, yet. Which means we can’t subpoena you or drag you in for questioning. You did a very good job of staying away from the cameras, you know.”
I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about, but I kept my hardened stare on her as Emery slowly climbed back into the pool.
“Mommy? You gonna come swim with me soon?” she asked.
“In a minute, I promise,” I said.
“I wouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep,” the agent said.
“Trust me. I’ll be able to,” I said.
“We have footage of you riding with them. Tracing their routes. Joyriding in the middle of the night when you should’ve been at home taking care of your daughter.”
“My mother loved that time in the evenings with Emery. Don’t you dare attempt to paint me as a bad mom.”
“I wonder what the father of your child would think,” she said. “Knowing you just… left her to ride with another group. That you left your family just so you could have a little taste of freedom.”
I clenched my fists underneath the bubbling water as I heard Emery giggling in the pool again.
“Like I said, we can’t prove anything. We’ve got you riding with them, but we can’t prove you knew what those routes were. But once we can…”
I watched her slowly get out of the hot tub as Emery’s eyes were on her. I looked over at my daughter, and I could see the panic on her face. Tears fell from my eyes as I realized the type of lifestyle I’d subjected her to. Because of my selfish decisions and my inability to fully separate myself from the motorcycle realm, my daughter was paying for it.
At fucking six years old.
“Talk with you soon, Syd.”
My skin prickled at the nickname. She was cocky, and that was her downfall. She’d revealed too much, and I had a better picture of what was going on. I stayed put, eyeing Emery as my daughter watched the strange woman leave the pool area. The moment the door closed behind the agent, my daughter scurried over to the hot tub. She got in, hissing with the heat before she threw herself into my arms. I gathered her up and held her close, kissing away her tears of worry and fear as I told her about all the food we would eat and all the movies we would watch tonight.
But I had to call Hawk.
We had to have a serious conversation.
After I settled Emery and got her to bed first.
Chapter 13
Hawk
I saw a number pop up on my phone I didn’t recognize. I was sitting on the couch, enveloped in Emery’s delicate smell. Church was over, and a plan had been formulated, and now the situation was out of my hands. I was trying to figure out what to do. Trying to find a way to get Emery and Sydney back into my arms. I’d only known the little girl for a few days, and already my heart ached for my…
My little girl.
“Hello?” I asked as I answered the phone call.
“Hawk? It’s me.”
“Syd? Where are you? I’m coming to you right now.”
“We’re uh…”
I grabbed the change of clothes I kept stashed in the closet downstairs as I ran out the front door. I locked it, leaving the lights on so it looked like someone was home. I closed the garage door and stuffed the clothes into the back of my bike and threw my leg over it before I heard Sydney’s voice again.
“The DEA found me,” she said. “It’s not safe for you to come.”
“Where are you, Syd? Is Emery all right?”
“We’re in a hotel. In Monterey, California.”
“Alright. You’re about six hours away from me. What hotel are you staying in there?” I asked.
“Hawk, it’s not safe,” she said.
