AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes narrowed. “It had better be one hell of an explanation,” she murmured.
Ten minutes later, they emerged from the Rolls right in front of the door to O’Shea’s Irish Pub. Hawk got out and thanked Ernie once more as he held the door open for them. “I really appreciate it, Ernie.”
“Of course, sir.” He straightened his uniform and nodded with a sober expression on his face. “But I have to say, this has been a lot more fun than driving the ladies around on their shopping trips. Been awhile since I had the old girl doing anything more than a sedate pace.”
Hawk laughed.
Ernie’s eyes twinkled. “Let me know if you need a ride back or anywhere else, Mr. Hawkins.”
He clapped Ernie on the shoulder and offered his hand with the hundred tucked into it. They shook, and Ernie nodded his appreciation.
“I’ll call if I need anything, Ernie.”
Hawk turned and opened the door to the pub for Remy. They entered and found a booth at the back. Hawk ushered Remy into the side facing the door, then crowded in after her.
A waitress came by immediately, and Hawk ordered a beer. Remy asked for a cup of tea. After the waitress left, Remy shifted her back against the corner of the booth and pinned her gaze on Hawk.
He let out a long breath. “So, what do you want to know?”
She frowned at him. “I can see you’re a man of many secrets. First, you’re an ex-Navy SEAL, and now you have superpowers. And you live in some kind of crazy-ass building.” She leaned forward. “Probably not fair to ask, but I want to know it all.”
His gut churned. He really didn’t want to get into the weird feelings thing, but it looked like he was going to have to. He wasn’t sure why, but he trusted her to keep her mouth shut about it, so it wasn’t that. He was more worried that she would become dependent on it, and that thought vaulted his heart rate into the stratosphere. He’d quit the SEALs because he didn’t want that kind of responsibility anymore.
He opened his mouth to speak when the waitress arrived with their drinks. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the wave of a hand. Connor O’Shea was standing behind the bar. When he nodded at him, Hawk nodded back. “I’ve got to go talk to Connor for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Remy scowled but didn’t say anything.
He moved out of the booth and walked up to the bar.
“Hawk, good to see ya, mate.” Connor offered his hand.
“Connor,” Hawk said and shook the other man’s hand. He tilted his head toward the end of the bar. Connor cocked an eyebrow but let go of Hawk’s hand and moved down to the end of the bar where the wait staff stood to get drinks.
“Siobhan, why don’t you go check on table twelve and see if they want some food or something.” Connor’s words held a distinct Irish lilt as he spoke with the waitress.
The young, blond waitress looked at her boss and then at Hawk and nodded.
Hawk slid into her spot and leaned over the bar. “I’m in a bit of trouble. Can we use your upstairs room for a couple of nights?”
Connor nodded. “Of course. What kind of trouble are we talkin’?”
Hawk cocked his head. “Have you ever heard of the Lock and Key Society?”
“Feck me,” Connor mumbled. “You know better than to get involved with that lot.”
Hawk shrugged. “I had no fucking clue who they were. Innocent bystander and all.” Connor snorted and a grim smile pulled Hawk’s lips tight. “There’s a lot of weird shit going on, and I don’t have much in the way of details, but there were two Asian males with what I’m pretty sure were gang tattoos at my place just now. The woman I’m with had her store tossed twice, after which we met Archer Gray. Someone is looking for something, and they seemed willing to kill for it.”
Connor made a sound at the back of his throat when Hawk mentioned Gray. “Jesus! What a cluster. Yeah, you can stay as long as you need. Do you need some hardware?”
Hawk nodded. “Yeah, that would be good.”
“I’ll leave ya a bag in the room upstairs. It’ll have what you need. Keep your head down, and I’ll see what I can find out for ya. I know a few people who know a bit about the L&K Society. I’ll see what’s what.”
“I can’t thank you enough, brother.”
The man snorted. “You’ve done more for me over the years. No worries, mate. Go drink your beer with your lady friend and relax. I got your back on this one.” Connor walked back down the bar and started pouring another beer.
Hawk made his way back to the booth. Connor O’Shea was one of the good guys. They’d met in Iraq when they were both after the same terrorist group. He’d been surprised at Connor’s accent since the SAS was a British special forces group, but Connor explained his dad was British and his mom was Irish. He’d grown up in both countries, but the Irish accent had stuck.
