Hiding Out (Hawks MC: Caroline Springs Charter, #2) (17 page)

Walking out, I picked up my bag and went to my room to dump it. That was when I saw the fuckin' note. Goddamn Low tried to give the money back from the shit I bought her. It was not happenin'.

I was home. Things had to get back to what they were before I fucked it all up, and I was gonna see to it.

I'd already written my own note when there was a knock on the front door. I stalked down the hallway and swung it open to see Pick and Billy.

"Fuckin' good to have you back." Pick smiled and slapped me on the back before moving around me to get into the house. "You had dinner yet? We're thinkin' about pizza. Wanna join us at Dive's?"

"Who's ‘us’?" I asked after greeting Billy with the same slap to the back.

Pick shrugged. "Josie, me, Billy and Low."

"Sure, I'll give it ten, though," I said.

"Why?" Billy asked.

"Need you to run next door, give Low this, and the note."

"Fuck. You sure you want to get her fire goin' before seein' her?"

"Always loved a good fire brewing before I got to it." I smiled. Billy shook his head, but walked back outta the house with the money and note.

"Hey," I heard Pick say. I turned to find Texas standing in the living room.

"Don't be rude, man," I warned.

"Hi," Texas said with a glare. "You a biker, too?"

"Sure am. Name's Pick."

"Tex."

So, he didn't like Texas, either.

"Good to meet'cha." Pick smiled.

"Uncle Trey!" was screamed from Rommy as she ran down the hall. "Uncle Trey." I ignored Pick's laughter beside me as Rommy ran into the room and headed straight for me. I braced. She attacked and clung to me with her arms around my waist. She looked up at me and smiled. "I love my room. Love it. L.O.V.E it so, so, so, so much. Already I love living with you because you haven't yelled at us once. You yell at the TV, but not us and you don't get cross when we do things wrong, like when I spilt my drink. You don't smack us." Her head turned to its side. "Is it wrong to like it here when Mummy's not here?"

Fuck,
fuck
, fuck me.

"No, kiddo. I don't think it is."

Shit. I shoulda realised it. I shoulda felt the change in the room, but Rommy had all my attention.

Looking to Pick, I warned on a growl, "Brother." His eyes snapped to me. Christ, he didn't like the fact my fucked-up sister treated the kids badly. "Cool it."

"She smacked them for spilling drinks? She yelled at them?" he snarled.

"Tex, take your sister to get cleaned up. We're gonna have dinner next door."

"But," Rommy started, "I wanna meet him. Hi." She waved at Pick. With his clenched jaw, he gave her a chin lift.

"Tex. Now, kid."

"Rommy, come on."

I caught her eyes and said, "Darlin', you can meet a lot of my friends soon, yeah?"

"Okay, Uncle Trey." She smiled and walked to her brother, who took her hand. He gave one last, strange look to me and Pick then walked her outta the room.

"She smacked them about. Yelled at them. What else did she do, brother?" Pick asked low.

Running a hand through my hair, I said, "It's as much as I know. Tex hasn't really opened up to me, and Rommy isn't one to talk bad about her mum. But Tex said the first night I got there that she often told them she hated them. If they weren't around, she'd still have her low-life husband. She didn't treat them good, brother."

"Fuck," he hissed. "
Fuck
!" he roared.

Grabbing his neck, I pulled him close. "Look at me." His rage-filled eyes hit mine. "They're good now. They have a good place to stay and we'll all make sure of it. Won't we, brother?" He said nothing, his eyes closed, his breath heavy. "They'll never feel fear again. They'll never be treated like shit again. They'll know they're worth something and we'll all make it so. You get me, Pick? They'll be happy from now on, brother."

He nodded.

I let go of him and said, "I'll go get the kids and we'll head over. You calm down, yeah?"

"I'm good, brother."

"Good. Besides, I need to get the fuck over there to see to my woman." I smirked.

He snorted. "May take a while until she agrees she's your woman."

"I'm lookin' forward to the fun and games then." I left Pick chuckling in the living room and walked down the hall.

"Uncle Trey," I heard called as I passed Tex's room. I looked in and found him sittin' on his bed.

"Yeah, mate?" I asked, hands to the doorframe. Excitement ran through me from hearin’ my nephew call out to me for the first fuckin’ time. Progress was a beautiful thing.

"Is...your friend, he okay?"

I nodded. "He just hates to hear about kids being treated the way you and your sister were. But he'll be cool now."

"Okay," Tex uttered and glanced to the floor.

"You all right, kid?"

His eyes met mine and he said, "I-I think I will be."

"Good, I'm glad.” Bloody ecstatic, I couldn’t comprehend the relief I was feeling. “Now, where's your sister?"

He actually smiled then, and fuck was I glad to see it. "She's in her room trying on clothes."

Fuck.
There'd be a huge mess of girly shit everywhere, one I didn't want to see.

"Ah, you wanna go get her and we'll head next door for some pizza."

"Cool."

Knocking on the doorframe twice, I moved off towards the living room smiling. Hell, things could actually work out. I just needed my little bird back in my life.

W
illow

The front door opened and first in was Pick, then came a boy around thirteen or fourteen. He had blond hair and blue eyes. I saw his uncle's features in him immediately. The cute lips, the bottom one bigger than the top. The messy hair, the pronounced cheekbones. But then, when a blonde little girl bounded her way into the room, she took my attention. She must have been around six or seven and she was the cutest Skipper, as in Barbie's little sister, I'd ever seen. Her smile was bright, her eyes alight with excitement, and she wore the clothes I'd picked out. She'd chosen a sweet flowery pair of shorts, which could probably cause her legs to become cold since there was a breeze outside, and a purple tee, which didn't match her shorts at all. Still, nothing she wore would make her any less cute.

"Hi," she said to the room. "I'm Romania, but I like to be called Rommy. And that's my Uncle Trey." She beamed and thumbed behind her to Dodge, who placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up to her uncle with devotion in her eyes. "Oh, and that's my grumpy brother, Texas, but he likes Tex better. Uncle Trey said we were having pizza with his friends. It's really nice to meet you all."

Swoon. Totally adorable.

"Rommy," Dodge began. "You met Pick next door. But that's Billy. The women are Josie and Low."

"Low." She giggled.

Stepping forward, I held out my hand to Rommy. She took it attentively. "It's actually Willow." I smiled and added, "But I like Low better."

"Cool." She grinned.

"Little bird." His voice was deep and growly. I tensed.

Standing tall, my eyes roamed up and glared at the sinful man, looking sexy as ever, as he stood behind Rommy. "
Dodge,
" I said blandly.

"Why do you call her ‘little bird’, Uncle Trey?" Rommy asked, looking from her uncle to me and then back again.

Not giving him a chance to answer, I turned to Tex and walked over to the coffee table, gesturing to the pizza boxes. "Hey, Tex. We've got all kinds of pizza. What do you like the best?"

He shrugged and said quietly, "Anything, really."

"Awesome, I'm the same. I'd eat just about anything, except snails."

Rommy giggled and walked over to us. "No one eats snails, silly. That's yuck."

Nodding, I said, "People in France love them."

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really," I uttered back.

From then on, everything exploded into action. People talked to the kids, made them laugh—though, I could see Tex was holding back a bit more than his sister—so Billy and Pick took up picking on their uncle, which seemed to relax him more and enjoy a laugh without feeling as if he was being watched or judged.

We ate pizza while we discussed what they didn't like to eat. For Rommy, it was vegetables. Josie managed to talk her around, saying that eating a few most nights was good because it helped people grow and become smarter. Since she wanted to be a monster truck driver, she knew she needed to be strong, because if that fell through, she wanted to be a stunt-girl—her words. I noticed Dodge blanched at those ideas of possible future positions. Tex, after some encouragement, told us he hated broccoli. I managed to get a smile and chuckle out of him when I told him that if his uncle tried to feed him that stuff, I would come to the rescue because I hated it, also.

The night went smoothly until I stupidly went into the kitchen on my own to get rid of the rubbish. I'd just placed the boxes on the counter when I felt heat at my back. I stiffened and went to shift to the side, but hands caged me in on both sides when they landed on the kitchen counter.

"Dodge," I hissed. "Move away."

"Call me ‘Dodge’ one more time, little bird, and I'll have you over my knee in seconds."

He was so full of it.

"Sure, Dodge, with the kids in the house and all."

"You think I'm lying?" His tone told me he wasn't messing around, but still I pushed.

"Yes."

Why did I say that?
I shouldn't have, because he picked me up and a moment later, I was laid out over his knee after he'd sat on a kitchen chair.

"Dodge," I warned while pushing up to get away from him. I couldn't move, though. He had his arm over my upper back and the prick was strong.

"Last chance, little bird. Call me ‘Dodge’ one more time and see what happens."

Stilling my struggles when his hand roamed over my jean-clad bottom in a circular motion, I said, "Don't be silly, let me up. The kids could come in here."

He chuckled. "Noticed your game tonight. Talked to everyone but me. The kids were a good distraction for you, Low. But no more. Josie, with my brothers, took them home while I have the chance to have a talk with you." While he spoke, his hand never stopped running over my arse.

Snap. Snap. Snap!
Why did I like it? Why did I like that he wanted the chance to talk to me? Why did I like that he made it happen?

Still... "Dodge, you're being a—"

Crack.

His hand slapped down on my butt. My back arched and I cried out in surprise and...dang it, desire.

"Don't you dare—"

"You gonna stop calling me ‘Dodge’?"

"You can't do this. We have to talk properly. You can't just do what you did and expect me to be—"

"I'm not and I didn't. But the ignoring game ends now. You willing to talk about what happened like adults now?"

That just pissed me off.

Turning my head, I glared up at him. "Act like adults? Like you did before you left? Like you gave
me
a chance to explain how I ended up in Beast's lap? Don't be an arse,
Dodge
, and think—"

Crack.

A stupid moan slipped from my mouth.

Oh, God, I was panting. "Don't," I uttered.

"Don't call me ‘Dodge’ and I won't. Though, I think you like—"

"Let me up!" I yelled and pushed against his leg again.

"No," he growled. His hand rubbed around where he'd slapped it. "Two weeks, Low. Two weeks while I was dealin' with my fucked-up sister's funeral, taking care of her kids and feeling like a loser, all the time you were on my mind."

Oh, man, oh, man. Why did he have to be sweet when I was still annoyed and hurt? My heart, already erratic, sped up.

"Dodge, you seriously can't."

Crack.

God. Damn. It.

Licking my lips, I panted through them until I stopped breathing altogether when his fingers ran down over my pussy. Thankfully, I think, I had jeans on. Still, I felt that heated touch. I felt it and liked it too much.

"Low," he growled. "I'm sorry for being a dick." His fingers pressed in more, causing me to moan. The prick chuckled. "I'm sorry for leaving you after what we nearly shared that day." His fingers slipped down further, and I jolted when he pressed them down hard on my clit and rubbed them up and down upon it. "Most of all, I'm sorry I hurt you."

"You're," I panted. "Two weeks," I moaned. "Too," I groaned. "Late," I snapped and swiftly rolled and fell off his knees, my butt hitting the ground hard. However, I was on my feet and straddling his lap next. I took note of his surprised look with satisfaction before I got close and hissed, "I don't forgive you yet, but I'm willing to
use
you." With that, I kissed him. It was a hot, heavy and dark kiss, one I enjoyed very much, especially when his fingers slid into my hair and gripped to tilt my head to the side to deepen it. Our tongues slipped and slid over one another, as though they were memorising the way they moved and felt against each other.

I rocked back and forth on his hardness, causing him to growl low down my throat.

"What do we have here?" a highly amused voice asked. We broke apart and I quickly stood, taking a few steps away from my desire.

"Dive," I breathed. "You're, um, home."

"Sure am." He beamed. "Good to have you back, Prez. I'd come and welcome you back, but it looks like I could get my eye poked out." His eyes dipped down to Dodge's crotch, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to hide my laugh. Even though Dodge had jeans on, somehow, his pecker was so hard, it just about tented in the denim.

"You reckon you could come back later?" Dodge snarled at his brother.

"Nope." Dive smirked.

"He, um..." I licked my dry lips. Had Dodge sucked all my saliva out of my mouth? Too bad I wanted him to do it again. "Dive and I. Uh, we have something to tell you. We're together," I said my lie and crossed my arms over my chest.

"What the fuck?" Dive cried. "We're not. No way would I touch her, brother." Dive's tone was high-pitched as Dodge stood slowly. Dive backed up, and his glare to me meant I would pay. "You trying to kill me, woman? After I take you in, you want my own brother to kill me for
thinkin'
I touched you?"