As a lonely kid, Seb remembered following the VP around, fascinated by the quiet guy. Hawk’s unintrusive personality became a safe space for him. Although it must have annoyed the VP, he’d never sent Seb away.
He held a lot of respect for him as a man and as the MC VP. To avoid misinterpretation, he had to be completely honest.
“I know you keep your family safe, Hawk. But this isn’t me talking to you as a club brother. I’m talking about me as a man taking care of Sunny.”
If anything, Hawk’s eyes narrowed even further, and the temperature dropped in the room, with a blast of cold coming from the VP.
“You better be careful what you’re saying right now, son.”
Seb kicked back his chin, his eyes unwavering. He confessed his thoughts, prepared to die in the clubhouse’s back office. “I mean what I say. Sunny is mine. I’ve always known it. Even if you don’t wanna face it because she’s your daughter, you’ve had an idea, too. This isn’t just a club duty to me, Hawk. It’s personal.”
“I don’t believe this shit,” Hawk muttered, rubbing a hand on his forehead. “You’re gonna add killing you to my ever fucking growing list of shit I need to do, huh?”
Seb let out a laugh. Hawk wasn’t known for his humor, so any threat from him was severe.
“Not if I can help it.”
“Have you been fucking around with my daughter?”
“No.”Not yet. “She’s hardly talked to me all year.”
Hawk slit his eyes again, accusingly.
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew you were the reason she wanted to go out of state to school. We lost seeing our girl every day because of her crush on you.”
Seb’s pumping organ banged in his chest. “It’s not a crush, Hawk.” He was banking on Sunny’s feelings being stronger. “And I didn’t want her going that far, either.” He left out the details of his stalking, figuring a father wouldn’t enjoy hearing the man interested in his daughter was half unhinged.
“Why isn’t she talking to you?” He then waved a hand. “Second thoughts, I don’t wanna know, or I will kill you.”
“It’s a surprise to you. I get that. And if not for the situation, I would have told you differently. I wasn’t gonna hide it, VP.”
Hawk finally moved, but it was only to perch on the corner of the lone desk.
“You know me, Priest.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not an amiable man.”
“It depends on who you ask.” He half smirked.
“Yeah, that’s fair. With my girls, they walk all the fuck over me, and I don’t give a shit because it’s my girls and I love it. But anyone else, I don’t play right if I think they’re doing something that gets on my wrong side.”
Oh, fuck.
He’d readied his mind for pushback from the VP. Hawk would be the most likely person to object to his relationship with Sunny. He sensed Gia would support him.
“I was in this same position over twenty years ago with Rider’s sister. There’s an unspoken rule around here, isn’t there? No touching female relatives. It’s just not the thing to do. But I did it, and I’d do it every single day of my life to have my Gia. But here’s the thing, Priest.” Hawk said, holding his stare like a goddamn soulless ghoul. He felt like Hawk was holding a guillotine to his throat. But it didn’t matter what Hawk said next. Short of death, nothing was stopping him from pursuing Sunny and getting his sunbeam back in his life in every way possible.
His spine tightened, and his fists flexed, hanging like tree stumps at his sides.
“Even though I know what that shit is like, bumping up against someone you respect, my instinct is still to put you through the fucking wall because she’s my baby girl. Anyone sniffing around my girls brings out the serial killer in me.”
“I get that. I’ll feel the same when Sunny and I have kids, especially a daughter. I’ll probably come to you for killing tips.”
Hawk’s eyes flashed, the mask of his poker face dropping. “You’re not helping your cause to go on breathing. You are Preacher’s son. Anyone else, I’d be trampling through slops of his blood at my feet.”
