“Yeah?” he asks.
“You gettin’ along here okay?”
He nods his head, lifting his beer to his lips and taking a pull. “Got a sweet setup here,” he points out.
My eyes widen and my lips curve into a grin. “You thinkin’ of applying to be a prospect?”
“You sponsor me?” he replies quickly.
You could blow me the fuck over with a feather. “You ever been part of a club before, know anything about one?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Brother was in a local club when I was a kid. Killed in a rival thing. Don’t remember much about it. Got my love of bikes and the open road from him.”
“That club affiliated with any other?”
“Don’t know, doubt it. They were really just a group of guys playing badass.”
“Give me your name, social, and all your information. I’ll give it to our tech and see if you’re eligible.”
He nods his head a couple of times, taking another pull from his bottle. I think about walking away from him, but I can tell that he has something else on his mind. I wait a few more minutes, then finally he gets the courage to say what he’s thinking.
“You guys figure out who’s after Avah?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll get him?” he asks.
“Why do you give a fuck?” I demand.
He shrugs a shoulder. “Because it’s not right. Terrorizing a woman like that. She didn’t do shit. She goes to work and comes home. No men in and out, no partying late.”
It’s clear he doesn’t know Avah in her past life and maybe she really should be with him, but it doesn’t matter because she never will.
“You want her still?” I ask.
He shakes his head, his gaze drifting over my shoulder. Turning my head, I look back to see where he’s staring and hiss. His eyes are for Sable and Sable only.
“That one has teeth, brother,” I reply as I turn my gaze back around to meet his.
“No, I don’t want to fuck Avah. I like her, and I did, but it’s obvious she doesn’t want nothin’ to do with me. And no need for warning, I know Sable’s got teeth. Don’t know why, but I like ‘em.”
With a laugh, I leave him to his woman and decide to go for a ride. Just talking of the open road has me itching to get out for a bit.
Chapter Nineteen
HAWK
I spend longer than I should out on my ride. Ignoring everything, I ride in the desert, the hot sun beating down on me until that sun sets.
I spend hours not thinking of a damn thing, then eventually my mind drifts to Avah. To the future, or lack thereof, with us. I think about her finding someone else, settling down, and starting a family, but I just can’t see it.
I can’t imagine her living out her life with someone else, not when I want to keep her all for myself. Not when I feel it deep in my marrow that she’s mine. She was meant for me, our lives have collided in a way that it’s obvious, but it’s also obvious that we want very different things.
Pulling over to the side of the road, I close my eyes as my head falls backward. I think about her, the sight of her as she comes—everything. The way she is when she’s all made up, or barefaced. I fucking love it all, because she’s the first woman I’ve ever actually loved.
The sound of crunching car tires and an engine coming up behind me forces my eyes open. Taking my gun out of its shoulder holster, I turn my head and look behind me. There is a blacked-out sedan making its approach.
The car lights flick off just as he stops the vehicle and turns the engine off as well. I think about starting my bike and taking off, but I have a feeling something is about to happen here and the last thing I want to do is guide this person straight to Avah or Trista.
The back door swings open and I watch as a man unfolds from there. Disengaging from my bike, I keep my gun held loosely at my side, my gaze never leaving this man as he approaches. He’s tall, barrel chested, and around my age. The closer he gets, I realize this is the man in the picture that Worm showed me earlier today.
This is the senator.
“Senator Walsh,” I growl, deciding not to pretend that I don’t know exactly who the fuck is.
This motherfucker is going to be a dead motherfucker tonight. This is good, this is great actually. I can end this right here and right now without some big elaborate plan to enact. I can just get rid of him and his lackeys.
“My reputation precedes me,” he purrs.
I don’t bother responding, he’s not worth bantering back and forth with. He’s honestly not worth very fucking much in my opinion.
“You’ve followed me, because?” I ask, ignoring him. I’m not going to buy into his ego, not in the goddamn slightest.
He shrugs a shoulder, he’s cool, calm, and collected in his suit and tie, his hair styled perfectly, and if I had to guess, his nails are manicured professionally too.
“I need you out of the picture and doing it while you’re alone is a lot easier than when you’re at your little club.”
Figures he’s a coward. Though it’s no surprise to me, not really. He stalked a woman, threatened her, and even terrorized her at work. None of this shit he does surprises me. He’s a worthless piece of shit who thinks he has some kind of power, but he doesn’t in my world and I give zero fucks about ending him out here in the middle of nowhere.
“If you were going to kill me, I’d be dead already. What do you want?” I demand.
His lips twitch into a small smile and he shakes his head once, his gaze finding mine and holding it steady. “If I wanted Avah, I’d already have her
