She was an early riser, though, and was usually one of the first people up in the mornings. Normally she would make breakfast for everyone, clean the house, then spend a little time playing outside with Toby and Lexa. I was glad that she liked playing with Felicity’s dog and my little niece, but she didn’t need to be cleaning and cooking for every-fucking-body. She’d told me that she considered it the least she could do since she was living here without paying her way.
Since I considered her mine, she didn’t have to pay for shit. I’d take care of all of that for her. It was my job to take care of her and give her anything she needed. If she wanted something all she had to do was say so and I would make it happen. I had the money to take care of her comfortably for the rest of her life.
Groaning, I rolled over in bed and then stood. Even though I’d gotten enough sleep last night I still felt exhausted. I needed a pot of thick black coffee and some food, but first I needed to get the smell of the bar off me. Entering the bathroom I reached into the shower and turned the water on to scalding before taking care of business. When I was done I washed my hands and reached for my toothbrush while the bathroom started to fill with steam.
I was scrubbing my mouth when I caught the sight of something pink on my face. Muttering a curse, I scrubbed my hand across the smear of lipstick on my jaw. The bar had been full of females last night, all of them drunk off their asses to the point that Colt and I had had to call one of the sheep to shuttle them all home. As I was pushing one into the back of Bubble’s van she’d wrapped her arms around my neck and started kissing any part of my face she could reach. Stupid gash. The sheep all knew that I was off limits. I didn’t like having sloppy seconds, something they all knew. But since Gracie had come into my life I’d been uninterested in even my usual fuck buddies.
Fuck, had Gracie seen that? Did she think that I’d been hooking up? Groaning, I finished brushing my teeth and rushed through my shower before grabbing the first pair of jeans out of my closet and tossing on a shirt in my rush to get downstairs to talk to Gracie.
In the living room I found Lexa watching TV while using Toby as a body pillow. The bullmastiff was bigger than she was and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds, but he was a big softy for the little girl. He followed her around like he was her shadow, watching over her like she was his own little angel to protect.
“Hi, Uncle Hawk.”
I gave her a small smile, all I could muster when my heart was racing a hundred miles a minute wondering if Gracie was pissed at me or not. Fuck, I had it bad. I’d never cared if I made a female mad before in my life. Not even Raven or Felicity. Now I was sweating bullets because my female’s feelings might be hurt. “Hi, sweetheart.”
Toby lifted his head to glare at me and then lay back down when Lexa kissed his nose. Shaking my head, I walked through the house and into the kitchen. Raven was sitting at the table with several accounting books spread around her. She was frowning down at the one right in front of her as she tapped on the table with her pencil.
“Something wrong?” I asked as I moved to the coffee pot and poured myself a huge mug.
“Just trying to read Uncle Chaz’s handwriting.” She pursed her lips and lifted her head. “You would think that I would be able to translate his scribbles by now, but all I end up with is a raging headache and this urge to punch that old man in the throat.”
I snorted as I dropped down into a chair across from her. If she was in the mood to punch someone in the throat I didn’t want to put myself too close to her. I loved my sister, but I’d been one of the fuckers to teach her to fight. I knew the damage she could cause and I didn’t want to bleed anytime soon.
“Gracie out with Willa?” She wasn’t in the house. Don’t ask me how I knew, because I couldn’t explain it, but I just couldn’t feel her.
It was Raven’s turn to snort. “Do you really think now that Spider has a ring on Willa’s finger that he will let her out of the apartment long enough to go anywhere with anyone? I’ll be lucky if he has enough brain cells left after fucking her brains out all week to remember the party I’m throwing for her tomorrow night.”
My back stiffened. I didn’t care about the stupid birthday party that Raven was throwing for Willa or that Spider had put his ring on the other female’s finger. All I wanted to know was where my female was. “If she’s not out with Willa then where the fuck is she?” I demanded.
“She’s at work,” Raven informed me, meeting my gaze head-on.
I jumped to my feet so fast that my chair nearly toppled over. I was already reaching for my keys. “What’s she need a job for?” I practically shouted. “She needs to focus on school, not working herself to death.”
“School doesn’t start for several more weeks,” Raven reminded me calmly. “And I’m pretty sure that she’s not the type of girl to just sit around and let people pay her way. She wants the independence that having her own money brings.”
“Where did you get her a job?” I knew that she had to be the one to do it. If it had been one of my brothers, biological or club, they knew they would risk my rage. My sister was the only one with big enough balls to do something she knew would piss me off that much.
Raven shrugged and turned her attention back to the books in front of her. “Aggie hired her. She’s working the lunch shift.”
“Fuck!” I didn’t mean to shout, but it came out much louder than expected. Aggie’s wasn’t safe enough for Gracie. The traffic that moved through that place was monstrous. She would have to deal with all kinds of assholes, perverts, and other nasty creeps that I would kill with my bare hands if they dared to touch her.
What if that motherfucker Kevin Samson showed up and tried to hurt her? Rage filled me at just the thought.
“You should probably relax before you scare Lexa,” she said, her tone still calm, but there was no mistaking the bite underneath it. “Gracie will be the least of your worries if you scare her. I’ll stab you in the throat and watch you bleed out.”
I didn’t know if her threat was real or not, but I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. My bike was parked in front of the Chevelle I was letting Gracie drive, blocking me in tight. I didn’t waste time trying to get it out, just climbed into the old cage and burned rubber as I took off.
The parking lot was packed when I got to Aggie’s. I had to park across the road with a few other vehicles and a dozen or so tractor-trailers. As soon as I had the cage in park I was out and jogging across the street to the restaurant.
It was only then that I realized that I’d left my cut at home. Fuck, Gracie had me all kinds of twisted up today. She had to have seen the lipstick and that was why she wanted this job. I could feel it in my bones. She was going to try and leave me.
That thought alone made me want to rip something apart.
There were people standing by the entrance, waiting for tables to open up. Normally it was a “seat yourself” kind of place, but there were times of the day when there wasn’t anywhere to sit, so they had to wait. I pushed past the three men standing in front of the hostess stand.
“Yo man, we were here first,” one of them called after me. I shot him the finger and a hard glare over my shoulder before turning to look for Gracie. The idiot had to be an out-of-towner or he wouldn’t have dared question me.
“Well hello there, stranger,” a soft, sweet voice said from just behind me.
I turned to face the little blonde standing with a tray of drinks in her hand. Quinn was the smallest chick I’d ever seen in my life, but she was tough as nails. She didn’t chase after the club like her sisters did. All three of her sisters, one younger and two older than her, were club sheep. Quinn was a good girl and had the biggest crush on Raider. That crush was going to destroy the poor female when she finally realized that my brother was basically a sleazy slut who only wanted to get his dick wet, not settle down.
Quinn was definitely the type of girl a guy needed to settle down with. Someone needed to wife that girl
fast before she wised up and got the fuck out of Creswell Springs.
“Hey,” I said and nodded my head then shifted my gaze around, looking for any sign of what was mine.
“Jack is in the back if you’re looking for him,” Quinn informed me as she moved around me. “He’s sitting in the new girl’s section. Lucky chick. Jack is the best tipper.”
The mention of the new girl had me turning and pushing through the crowd that had just stood up from a booth. I didn’t bother to apologize as I hurried toward the back of the restaurant. A few familiar voices called out to me, but I ignored them all as I glanced around for Gracie.
I knew that I probably looked like a wild-eyed crazy man but I didn’t give a fuck. I could already feel her slipping away from me, damn it. And I hadn’t even told her that she was mine yet. Fuck, I’d tried to be noble—a first for me. Tried to give her time to get over what had nearly happened at that damn frat party. I didn’t want to scare her and go all cave man on her by telling her straight up that she was mine and I planned on her being a huge part of my life. That I was going to make her my ol’ lady.
Now I felt the panic of knowing that maybe I’d left it too late. I was going to slap a ‘Property of Angel’s Halo MC’s Hawk’ patch on her and never let her out of my fucking sight again.
I spotted Uncle Jack before I saw her. The old biker was sitting at a booth in the back corner, a glass of sweet tea sitting on the table in front of him while his brown eyes were glued to something to my left. I followed that gaze and my heart twisted in my chest as I found Gracie standing at a booth full of some of Uncle Chaz’s construction crew.
She was smiling at them with that angelic smile that I wanted reserved for me and only me. Her thick, burnished red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her long, graceful neck. She wore a pair of jeans that should be considered illegal with the way they hugged that perfect ass of hers. The ‘Aggie’s’ work shirt she had on was way too tight, molding over her tits and ending an inch above the top of her jeans.
The construction pricks were eating up the sight of her, grinning up at her as if she were fresh meat and they were starving wolves.
I’d slaughter them all and spit on their mangled bodies as I wiped their blood from my face, I promised myself as I took a step toward her.
A plump little woman with a slightly wrinkled face and clear blue eyes stepped into my path. “Two Hannigans in one day. I’m honored,” Aggie said with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her very, very generous chest.
I didn’t smile at her like I normally would have. She’d hired Gracie without even talking to me about it. Aggie had put my female in danger just by giving her a job. “I want you to tell Gracie you don’t need her working here. Tell her that you’ve got too many waitresses and you have to let her go.”
Aggie lifted one brow at me, her smirk not dimming even a little. “Now why would I want to do something like that?” She glanced over her shoulder at Gracie, who was still chatting with the construction crew, taking their orders and getting a few chuckles from them. “She’s a sweet girl, not to mention a fast learner and maybe one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. The girl has been here only a few hours but she’s worked harder than any one of the other girls, even Quinn.”
“She doesn’t need the job. I’ll take care of her.”
The woman who had once been my mother’s closest friend narrowed her eyes on me. “You gonna make her an ol’ lady, Hawk Hannigan? Or are you just playing around here? ‘Cause if you’re just playing, I’m gonna have to tell her granddaddy.” She tipped her graying head toward the booth where Uncle Jack sat. “Can’t have you breaking that sweet girl’s heart, now can I?”
My own eyes narrowed on her. “Gracie is mine, Ag. Mine. Now go tell her that she’s fired.”
“Don’t go ordering me around, boy. I won’t hesitate to take a wooden spoon to your ass.” She glared up at me and I knew that she wasn’t kidding. If I’d been twelve years old again I might have cowered away from her. But I wasn’t twelve anymore and I didn’t back down from anything, especially when it came to protecting what was mine. She continued, “You don’t want her working here, you tell her. But I’m not firing the girl. I like her and most of the customers like her too. Even some of my other girls have offered her smiles and kind words. That’s saying a lot for some of those bitches.” Aggie stepped back. “Good luck with that, though. She might be sweet, but I can see Jack’s temper simmering underneath.”
Muttering a curse under my breath, I walked around Aggie and reached Gracie just as she was turning from the booth full of construction workers. When she saw me her eyes softened, but the smile she gave me didn’t reach her aged-bourbon eyes. It wasn’t the usual smile I was used to getting from her. It wasn’t that mysteriously angelic smile that would make me want to make sure everything she ever needed or wanted was placed at her feet like the queen she deserved to be.
The smile I was seeing right that minute told me without my even having to ask. She’d seen the lipstick on my face that morning. She’d seen it and now she was pulling away from me, slipping away from me. Panic wasn’t something I was used to feeling, but it was making my chest tight and my heart race faster than it had ever raced in my life. I had this sudden need to grab Gracie, toss her over my shoulder and take her back to the house. To keep her locked in our room until I could convince her that she was it for me. That I only wanted her.
“Hi,” she murmured in a soft voice.
“Hi.” I cleared my throat when it came out sounding thick. “Can we talk?” I didn’t want to embarrass her out here in front of everyone.
“I’m busy, Hawk.” She gave me another smile, this one tighter. “Can’t it wait until I get home?”
Some of the pressure on my chest lifted when she mentioned home. “So you’re going to come back to the house tonight?”
Evenly spaced white teeth sunk into her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have anywhere else to go right now. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you for a little longer.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck, sweetheart. Of course it’s okay. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay with me.” Forever, I should have said, but of course my suddenly chicken-shit ass didn’t.
The smile came back and I was glad to find it a little brighter this time, even if it still didn’t reach those eyes of hers that I loved so much. “Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.”
I shook my head and reached for her. “No. I’m not leaving here without you. Get your things. I’ll take you home.”
“What? Why?” she demanded, her smile long gone now. “I just started and I kind of like it. I need this job, Hawk. My bank account is running low and at this point I only have enough for one semester of law school. I have to do something.”
I started to open my mouth, to tell her that she didn’t have to worry about that. I would pay for her school. I would give her anything and everything she needed. It was my right; my duty—my fucking privilege—to take care of what was mine. She shook her head adamantly. “No,” she bit out. “No. I’m not taking your money. I don’t take handouts, even if that might be what I’ve led you to believe by staying at your house without paying my way. Which stops now, by the way. I’ll be paying you or Raven, or whoever will take my money, for rent and groceries.”
“The hell you will,” I growled and scrubbed my hands over my face again before raking my fingers through my hair. Shit. She was slipping away; all because I hadn’t taken a shower last night and hadn’t washed off that fucking gash’s lipstick. It had been innocent enough, but Gracie didn’t know that.
Fuck! I mentally screamed the word over and over in my head before dropping my hands. “Sweetheart, please. You don’t have to work. I don’t want you to work. I want to take care of you.” Her eyes turned stormy and I gritted my teeth, quickly trying to think of something, anything, to get her to leave and come home with me. “It’s not safe here, Graci
e. Kevin Samson could come in here and do anything and I won’t be here to protect you.” My gut twisted at that thought even as rage ripped through me like a rusty blade.
I saw a quick flash of fear in her brown eyes before she clenched her jaw and took a step back. “I’m not worried about him. He hasn’t even attempted to approach me since the night he...” She broke off and inhaled deeply, causing her cute little nose to flare, before speaking again. “Samson won’t bother me, so stop worrying. Now, unless you want something to eat, you should leave. I have work to do. We can talk at home.”
She stepped around me and hurried toward the kitchen. I clenched my hands at my sides. “Fuck,” I growled and turned around. I’d give her today, let her come home with her feet aching and her back hurting, and then she would be more agreeable. I could talk sense into her stubborn head and then, once I’d convinced her to quit, I’d tell her how I felt.
A chuckle stopped me before I’d taken more than a few steps toward the door. Turning, I glared over at Uncle Jack. In the two weeks since I’d found out that the man I loved and respected was the grandfather of the girl I considered mine, I’d steered clear of him. I was pissed that he’d just left Shannon and Gracie with Gracie’s father, never getting in contact with either of them, and basically letting her dad murder her mother.
The rational part of me, a part of myself that I’d really just discovered since meeting Gracie, knew that it wasn’t exactly fair. If Shannon was even half as stubborn as Uncle Jack she’d probably kept her mouth shut and not told her father that her husband was beating her. I knew that the man who had been my father’s best friend would have been across the country within a day with the rest of the club. He wouldn’t have left her there, would have probably killed that bastard who was beating his daughter if she’d just said something.