Page 18 of Hawk (Road Rebels MC 1)
“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.
“Syd. What happened when the agent found you?”
“She… she, uh… um…”
I could tell she was panicking and I wasn’t there to hold her. I just knew her little hands were shaking. Her delicate hands that had seen so much blood spilled onto them. I could hear Emery in the background lightly snoring, and I knew-- at least for now-- that she was all right.
“Sydney. Peel yourself from Emery, go sit in the bathroom, and take some deep breaths.”
I switched the call to the bluetooth set in my helmet as I cranked up my bike. I got on the road, merging onto the highway at top speeds as I tried to make up as much time as I could. If I stopped once for gas and nothing else, I could get there around three in the morning.
Which meant I could hold Syd for the rest of the night if I had to.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “I’m here.”
“I’m on the highway now. With one stop, I’ll be there around three in the morning.”
“Hawk you can’t-”
“Damn it, Syd, where are you!?”
“The Monterey Inn! The one that… that sits right off the main road as you come into town.”
“I know where that is. I’m headed for you now. What did the DEA agent say to you?”
?
?She… she said that they didn’t have enough evidence on me.”
“That’s a good thing. Means they can’t legally get you into court or nail you with anything,” I said.
“She said they’ve got footage of me joyriding up the Iron Souls trade routes, but that they had no solid evidence that I knew what I was riding.”
“Did you know? Wait, don’t answer that. Did they threaten Emery?” I asked.
