Page 3 of Hawk

Lyle steps forward. “If I hear anything about this uncle, I will call you, Hawk. You just keep her safe.” He holds out his hand to Hawk, and they shake hands.

“Will do.” I can feel Hawk’s stare, and it’s taking everything in me not to squirm.

With a wave goodbye, Hawk holds my hand as we walk out of the diner and into the afternoon sun. I look around the parking lot for Hawk’s bike, but all I see is a truck. He must see my confusion.

“The bike is in the shop, so it’s the truck for the day. When it’s fixed, we can go for a ride if you like.”

I look up at Hawk as he holds the door open for me, helping me inside. “I would like that.” I think I surprised him just as much as myself by agreeing to go on a ride with him. He smiles at me and closes my door as I watch him round the truck. He looks around the parking lot before getting in.

He starts the truck up and turns to me. “So I figured we can swing by your apartment and pick up a few things and head on over to the clubhouse. Blade and the others need to be told what’s going on so we have no more surprises with your uncle. We need to get the full story to know what we are dealing with. I know it’s difficult for you to ask for help, but I promise you, the club and I are going to fix this for you.”

My throat goes dry at the prospect of having to air my dirty laundry to these strangers. But I know if I want a real chance at staying alive, I have to at least try. I push a piece of hair behind my ears, as I look at Hawk from the corner of my eye. “Okay, whatever you think is best. I live over on Whitsbury Road.” I watch for his reaction to where I live because it’s not the best part of town. It’s where all the drug deals and prostitution happen. His knuckles turn white against the steering wheel, and I know he doesn’t like that I live over there. I stay silent the rest of the way, staring out the window, wondering how my life went from working at the diner to being in the truck with Hawk.

Before I know it, we are pulling into the rundown apartment complex, and I cringe knowing that Hawk is about to see the inside of my place. “So I will just run inside real quick and pack my things. I won’t be long.”

He whips his head around and throws his head back and laughs. “Yeah, not happening, darlin. Not with the two drug deals I just saw go down while we pulled in here.” With that, he gets out of the truck and looks around.

Well, shoot, there goes that idea. He has my door open and helps me down before I know what's happening. I walk in front of him, pulling out my keys, dreading this part, but it can’t be helped. He is about to see that I literally have nothing. I walk to my door and take a deep breath, then unlock it and walk inside. A worn couch that’s seen better days, which was already here when I moved in, is the only piece of furniture. No TV, as I couldn’t afford one; no pictures of friends or family line my wall. Sadly, my bedroom isn’t any better, as it only has a mattress on the floor.

I turn to look at Hawk, and his expression shows nothing except for the small tick I can see on his forehead. “I’m just going to pack my things.” I whisper in a small voice as I walk away and head to my bedroom. Closing the door quietly, I lean against the door taking a couple of deep breaths.You can do this, Avianna.I open my eyes and go into my closet, taking out my suitcase and throwing all my possessions inside. It’s sad that everything I own fits into one bag. I’ve survived with less; I can do it again. I pick up a picture on my nightstand of me and my parents when I was just ten years old. They both had their arms around me, smiling while we were at Disney World. That was the last family vacation we took before they were taken from me. God, I miss them and wish they were here right now. I stuff the picture into my bag and zip it up, heading back into my living room to see Hawk pacing the room on the phone. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I know he’s angry. He wraps up his phone call and stuffs his phone back into his pocket.

He takes a step forward and smiles at me. “Are you ready to go, darlin? I can have a prospect pack the rest of your things tomorrow.”

“There’s no need to do that. Umm this is all I have.” I hold up my suitcase, my face going red with embarrassment.

He doesn’t say anything, but the vein in his forehead is telling a different story. Hawk takes my bag for me as he ushers me out of the apartment without saying anything. I lock it back up as we head back to the truck. He helps me back inside and waits until I buckle up before he’s peeling out of the driveway.

I can’t help but notice his rigid posture. “Are you mad at me, Hawk?” I wrung my hands in my lap, feeling so out of sorts.

We stop at a red light, and Hawk looks at me. “I could never be mad at you, Avianna. I’m just mad at your situation. You never deserved to live in those circumstances or be forced to run for your life. I will make your uncle wish he had never been born once I get hold of him.” He has the same intense look in his eyes as he did in the diner when he talked to Uncle Jamie.

“And while we are fixing this, I want you to know I plan to take you on a date.” He smiles that smile I’ve come to know and turns back to the road.

I’m stunned speechless. There is no way I heard him correctly. “Wait, what?” I whisper-yell at him.

He looks over at me and smirks. “Darlin, why did you think I was always at the diner? I mean, sure I love Helen and Lyle’s cooking, but I was there to see you.”

Oh wow. I dreamed, but never thought this would happen. “Are you sure? I mean, look at you and look at me. As you can see, I don’t have much to offer you.” The self-doubt creeps in thanks to years of my uncle telling me how useless I am and that I won’t amount to anything in this life.

Hawk pulls into the clubhouse and shuts off the engine, turning to me. “I don’t know what horse shit someone fed you,but you have it wrong, darlin. Not only are you beautiful inside and out, but your heart, baby, is what I admire about you. You helped Bailey when she had no one in her corner before Joker and Madison got to her. Or how about helping Grandma Silvia on your days off? By the look on your face, you didn’t think anyone noticed those things, but you will soon learn. I'm not most people. So what if you don’t have a lot of shit? Stuff can be bought over time. Someone's worth is not measured by what they have, Avianna; it’s what’s inside that counts. I see the real you, and I want to get to know you better. My life in the club is not an easy one. We don't go around doing bad shit, but we protect those that need it, and we draw that line when we have to. My wanting to go on a date with you is separate from protecting you from your uncle, so I don’t want you to think those two go hand in hand. Give me a chance to get to know you, what do you say?”

My heart beats so hard and fast I think it’s going to fly out of my chest. Think Avianna. This incredibly hot man wants to date you. Hawk waits patiently for my answer and doesn't rush me, knowing this is big for me. I would be stupid to say no, so for the first time in my life, I’m going to take a leap of faith. Despite the fear and ‌uncertainty of my uncle, I find myself nodding my head and smiling. “I would like that Hawk.”

Three

Hawk

I held my breath, waiting for her to answer me, and as soon as she said yes, it felt like I could breathe for the first time. “Alright darlin. Let’s head inside and we can talk more about it later.”

I’m out of the truck and opening her door faster than she can move, surprising her. A pretty blush spreads across her face, and I chuckle under my breath. I gently pick her up. Her scent isintoxicating; she smells of vanilla and something that’s uniquely her. Not being able to help myself, I slide her down my body, hearing the sharp intake of breath, knowing she’s just as affected as I am. She looks up at me with her beautiful, innocent blue eyes that hold so many secrets. I can’t wait to find out each and every one of them.

I take her hand and steer her toward the clubhouse. Before we left her apartment, I made a call to Blade to let him know we were coming. Her uncle is as good as dead for putting hands on her. She should have been taken care of, not living the way she was. As soon as I saw her apartment, I wanted to hunt that bastard down and teach him a lesson. Avianna deserved to be treated like the queen ‌she is. That’s okay because I now have time to convince her how good we could have it. She will be my ole lady, my queen.

I open the door to the clubhouse and can feel the slight shake of Avianna’s hand in mine. I look down at her to see her taking it all in. “It’s going to be okay, darlin.”

She looks at me, nodding her head as we both hear a loud squeal enough to make my eardrums bleed. Avianna whips her head around, and a massive smile overtakes her face as we both see Bailey running her way. Bailey throws herself at Avianna, and I brace her back before they both fall over. I watch the exchange with a smile. I know Avianna helped Bailey when she was living on the streets. She would feed her and looked out for her when she could.

“Avianna, I'm so happy to see you.” Bailey gives her a big smile. Bailey has come such a long way.