Page 11 of Hawk

Fuck, I don’t want to tell her, but I made a promise I wouldn’t hide anything from her. She has a right to know that she has family out there, even if he is the head of the mob. “Yeah, darlin, we are sure. Crow made sure of it, and he’s good at what he does. Declan O’Feeney is your mom’s cousin, and he is the head of theIrish Mob in Boston. He’s here with his cousin, Nolan, as well. Which makes them your second cousin.”

I watch as different emotions cross her face. Happiness at the prospect of maybe having family again, fear of the unknown before she realizes what I said. “Wait, did you say the Irish mob?” Her eyes get big at the implications.

Splitting the distance, I pull her into my arms, feeling her body shaking. “Yeah darlin. I’m sorry you had to find out this way. Blade didn’t say much as he wanted to do this in person.”

She sinks into my hug, making me feel fucking things I shouldn’t right now with having her body close to mine. She sighs and pulls back. “It’s okay, Hawk. I just don’t understand why my mom never told me. She made it seem as if she didn’t have a family. I always grew up thinking it was just Uncle Jamie as my extended family. There were never any pictures, and anytime I asked she kind of shut it down, so I stopped asking, and now I know why.” I can hear the sadness in her voice at being lied to all her life. But I have a feeling we are about to get all the answers.

I push a piece of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know, darlin but we will get to the bottom of this. You have my word on that. We should head over; everyone is there waiting for us. Before we go, I have one more thing for you.” I walk into the dining room and grab the box sitting there. The prospect dropped this off for me this morning.

I walk back into the kitchen and place it on the island with a smile on my face. I laugh as Avianna looks at it as if it might bite her. “Hawk, what did you do?”

“Just open it, darlin.” She looks at me and shakes her head, smiling.

I hold my breath as she slowly opens the lid and sets it aside, and pushes back the paper. A slight gasp leaves her mouth as she pulls out the cut I had made for her. I know it might be too soon,but fuck it. I know she’s mine, and it’s time the entire world knows about it as well.

She pulls it to her chest, and I can see tears in her eyes. “Are you sure, Hawk?”

I know she doubts herself and that shit pisses me the fuck off. One day soon she will see her worth. I will make sure of it if it’s the last thing I do. “I’m as sure as the air that I breathe, darlin. You are mine, and now everyone will know it.”

She touches the patch that says property of Hawk smiling. She slips on the cut and turns around so I can see my name. “How does it look?”

My cock grows hard, and I know my zipper is leaving an indent. Fuck, I can’t believe she’s all mine. I spin her around and pull her into my arms, leaning down until our lips are almost touching. I can hear the intake of breath she takes as she shivers in my arms. “Like fucking mine.” I growl against her lips before I take her into a deep kiss.

I consume her; there are no other words for it. I can taste her minty breath with a hint of coffee as her scent wraps around me. Hints of vanilla and something that is uniquely Avianna. She practically melts against me as I pull her closer. God, the things I want to do to her would scare her. I know she’s not ready for any of that, so I slow down the kiss and pull back, putting my forehead against hers. My heart beats widely in my chest as she opens her eyes and smiles at me, hitting me right in the chest.

“So, does that answer your question?” I fix her hair that’s come out of her bun, making me laugh at how frizzy it is now.

“Yeah, Hawk, it does.” She gives me a smile, and I pull back as she fixes her hair.

I grab my keys and open the door as Avianna steps out. Locking the door, I head for my bike. I help Avianna on the bike and she’s never looked better than with her cut on. Fuck, if that makes me a possessive asshole, then so be it. I get on and startthe bike and make my way to the clubhouse. As I pull in, I can see all my brothers' bikes there as well as two black SUV’s and I can feel Avianna stiffen behind me.

I park my bike and get off, helping Avianna off as well, and grab her hand in mine, and I can already feel her shaking. She looks at me with fear in her eyes. “He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, darlin it seems that he is. If he makes you uncomfortable at all, just say the word and I will get you out of here. Mob boss or not, I don’t give a fuck.”

“Let’s just get this over with then. I think I’m going to need more caffeine before this starts.” She gives me a little smile, making the tension in my shoulders drop slightly. I meant what I said. I will go to war for Avianna, and if I don’t like what Declan says to her, I’m going to make him wish he never stepped foot in Bridgewater Bend and send his ass back to Boston.

“You got it, darlin.” I grab her hand as I watch her lift her head ‌high, making pride fill my chest. Even though she’s going into the unknown, she still holds her head high.

As soon as we walk in, all the talking stops, and you'd be able to hear a pin drop. I let my eyes adjust and scan the room, looking for any potential threat. I don’t see Declan or his men, which makes some of the tension in my shoulders drop. Blade walks over with a pissed-off look on his face. We don’t like people just walking into our territory without having all the information, and having Boston’s notorious mob boss here can pose a serious threat.

He masks his expression before reaching us. “I have them in the back room with Stone and Ghost and will bring them into church when we are in there.” He turns to Avianna and gives her a tight smile. I know he’s not happy about the situation. “Are you ready to face this, Avianna? I don’t know anything, as they wouldn’t tell us shit until you got here so we are walking into this blind. If you're not ready, I’ll tell them to go home, and we candeal with this another day. I won’t have anyone coming into our house if our family isn’t comfortable with it.”

Avianna looks at me, and I can see the moment she’s going to agree to meet Declan. Even faced with the unknown, she’s ready to face it head-on. She’s been through so much already, but I know she’s dying for some answers as to the reason why her mom lied to her.

I nod my head at her, and she smiles before turning to face Blade. “I’m ready.”

I don’t like this one fucking bit, but I will be by her side through it all. I’d bury every enemy with my own hands if it meant she could sleep peacefully another night. Anyone who tries to hurt her will discover just how far devotion can descend into darkness. Declan might be the mob boss, but I will drag him straight to hell if he hurts one hair on Avianna’s head.

Nine

Avianna

Oh god I can’t believe I just agreed to meet with the mob boss of Boston, who is apparently my mom's cousin. If it weren’t for Hawk holding my hand right now, I would probably be on the floor. My knees are shaking so hard. As soon as I give Blade the okay, Hawk leads me to the back room and has us waiting in there while Blade gets the rest of them.

Hawk pulls me to his chest, and I close my eyes and lean into his touch, gaining strength from him. “Hey, we can call this entire thing off if you're not ready for this. I can tell Declan to go the fuck back to Boston.”

I pull back, looking up at him, feeling my heart flutter at the fact he’s willing to tell the mob boss to fuck off for me. “I appreciate that, but I need to deal with this. I need to know why my mom lied to me and what all this means.”