Hiding Out (Hawks MC: Caroline Springs Charter, #2) (9 page)

"B-but, I could, um, I could find, like a detective or something, who isn't under the thumb of my owner—"

"Owner?" Julian gasped.

"No," Talon growled. "Besides, we have one in our fold." He thumbed to the guy behind him who offered a charming smile.

"So, I could go with you?" I asked

"Not fuckin' happenin'," Dodge bit out.

Getting up the nerve, I stood and crossed my arms over my chest. I couldn't and wouldn't bring the nice people into it when I had a detective who could help me and keep me away from any trouble, even the troubles that could harm my heart. Lifting my chin, I said, "I appreciate the help so far, but I'm going with..."

"Lan," the detective supplied.

"Lan." I nodded. "I've brought enough trouble and I don't want any of this to sink into
your
lives."

Dodge took a step forward, glared down at me and said, "No. You stay here."

Leaning forward, I glowered and snapped, "I go with him."

"Low," Talon said with humour in his voice. I looked to him. It was the first time a smile—well, more like smirk—appeared on his face. "Dodge is right. You stay here. Lan has his own crap to deal with and can't keep an eye on you all the time."

"I'm a pain." I sighed and then said in a snippety tone, "No matter what, I'm a pain and I don't want to be. I'm tired of it, so if I can find another way to get out of your lives...lives that were just starting to look up, then I will."

Holy fudgetruck. I just said that to the scary dude.

Thank God, he was still smiling at my outburst. "Ain't happenin', girl, so get the fuck over it and let us help you. Look, we're in this no matter what anyway 'cause we have our own shit to handle with the Venom MC. So this is nothin' extra really, and it's a situation we can handle. So don't sweat it."

The whole event was so frustrating, I wanted to growl to the room, stomp my foot and leap at Lan, to cry and beg him to carry me out of there.

"Let's get back to the owner part," Zara said.

"Kitten," Talon warned.

"Do I need to call my posse in?"

Posse? She had a posse? Wow.

"You call your muffkateers and we're gonna have words." His hands went to his waist.

Muffkateers...now
that
was laughable; however, I didn't. I guessed not many people laughed at Talon and lived to tell the tale.

"Oh, we'll have words no matter what, Talon Marcus."

I think I had a girl crush. Zara was...amazing!

"Babe." Talon groaned and looked to the ceiling, as if he were trying to stop himself from strangling her. "Dodge is handling it."

"Yes, why
is
Dodge handling it?" she demanded.

"Zara," Josie put in then shook her head. I could have kissed that woman again because she didn't want to embarrass me over my obvious obsession with Dodge and him keeping me safe. But Dodge came with Josie and her men, and she didn't need any more trouble.

Stuff it. From the determined look in Dodge's eyes earlier, I knew I had no choice but to play along. They wanted to protect me? Fine. It didn't mean I couldn't help with the protection part, and my help would be in the way of keeping who I could safe.

I was strong. I had balls when I had to. I just happened to be dazed, confused and very scared yesterday. No longer, though.

"He's the new president of this charter," Talon announced to the room.

"Oh, yay!" Julian cried.

Wow, again. Dodge...Mr Sinful himself, was the president of an MC.

"Okay, well, okay," Zara said. Talon smirked at her. "Keep that smile off your face. If he can't deal with the protection Willow obviously needs...if I'm getting this right, from her
owner
," she snarled, and a look of disgust had her nose scrunching up. "Then I'm calling in the girls and we'll come back here to help deal with keeping her safe."

A sniff sounded in the room.

I realised it came from me when all eyes landed on me.

"A woman's crying, I'm outta here," a large mountain man hissed.

"Dallas," Dodge growled.

"Hell no, brother. I'll call in later. Tonight, I'll take care of the cameras in the garage," he said then quickly walked out the front door like his pants were on fire.

Besides, I wasn't exactly crying. Only a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Dumpling," Julian cooed at me like a little child, which would usually annoy me, but coming from Julian it didn’t. So instead of punching him in the throat, I let him wrap his arms around me. "Don't cry about it. You'll see, once you get into this club, you'll want to stay forever. Our group is awesome and now you're in it so...I officially welcome you to the pussy posse."

Numbly, I nodded. Never had I felt so much love and friendship in my life.

"Kitten," Talon growled, which he seemed to do a lot. "We better get back to the kids."

Zara rolled her eyes at him. She turned and stepped towards me, taking me in her arms for a long hug. "We'll talk soon. I'll call you and I'll call Josie for all the information I need to know about what in the heck is going on."

"Zara," Talon warned, again.

She ignored him, smiled and added, "You're in good hands. It's Dive you need to stay away from."

"Hey!" Dive yelled.

"Though, Dodge has been known to have—"

"Wildcat," Dodge snapped.

Wildcat...I liked that for Zara.

"Anyway, I'll be in touch, and one day you
so
have to come to Ballarat to meet everyone." She hugged me again, then hugged Josie, Julian, Matthew, Dodge, Pick, Billy, Dive, Lan, Memphis and a young man whose name I didn't know.

"Kitten," Talon groaned.

"Coming," she sang then walked to her man, who placed his arm around her shoulders. He sent a chin lift to the room, which seemed to be normal for these men, and walked out the front door.

"Right," Memphis started. "Church tomorrow, announce the changes, see if that'll scare any snitch out of hiding. For now, I'm out." He turned to the youngest in the room. "You coming, kid?"

"Yep," was his reply. He shook Dodge's hand then gave him a manly hug and loud pat to the back, which Dodge replicated, and left after Memphis.

"Going to get gone, as well," Lan said. He walked up to me, leaning in.

"Lan," Dodge said with a tone of warning.

Lan kissed my cheek, causing me to blush. He then handed me a card. "If you ever need anything, even time away from this guy, I'll make it happen."

"Goddammit, brother."

"Catch ya." He smiled. Before I could get my brain to fire, he turned, stalked to the door in his tight jeans, and patted Dodge on the arm. Dodge just glared back. "Talk soon," were his parting words.

Dodge slammed the door closed and turned to me scowling. My eyes widened for a second and then I met his scowl with my own, placing my hands on my hips. Maybe the fire under my belt, which had me standing up to the scary bikers, was the fact that...I felt safe. In fact, I felt very safe for the first time in my life. I also felt as though I
could
be myself, which was a wonderful feeling. So even though I was glaring at Mr Sin, I fought the smile of glee wanting to spread across my face.

"This is all so exciting," Julian chimed in.

"Ah, you guys staying for dinner?" Josie asked.

"No, sorry, we should get back home," Mattie replied.

"But it's just getting good. I can see the storm brewing. How long have those two known each other?"

Was Julian talking about me and Dodge?

"Just about twenty-four hours," Pick said.

Julian snorted. "No joke. Wow, I can see the sexual—"

"Julian, we're going," Matthew snapped.

"Poppet, you ruin my fun, but I still love you."

They broke mine and Dodge's staring competition by hugging me goodbye. All of a sudden, I wanted to cry again. I'd never been hugged so much; it was like I was already a part of their family.

Once they left, Josie announced, "I'm going to get dinner started and then my guys and I will leave."

"I'll help," I said and followed her to the hallway.

Halfway down, I heard Dive say, "Hell, I'm staying for the show."

"You eat, you leave, fucker," Dodge growled.

Yikes. Alone with Dodge was a recipe for disaster.

D
odge

She'd changed. No longer was she the timid woman in the garage. This one had a backbone, and fuck, it made my cock sing. Especially since she was wearing my goddamn clothes and she looked fuckin' superb in them, made even better if I could've removed them. Christ, when she stood tall, her chin jutted out as
she
told Talon what
she
wanted to do? I could have fuckin' clapped.

Hell, I liked how she was before. But now, I was in deep shit and it was rising with every glare she sent me as we sat and ate with my brothers and Josie.

Her fight was back, and I liked it a shitload.

My dick happily agreed.

Talon mentioned round-the-clock protection for Willow. It seemed the fuckhead knew she was under Hawks' protection, something I’d told my brothers earlier.

Which meant brothers of mine, brothers who had dicks of their own, would be around Willow—when I wasn't.

I didn't like that idea, but I had no choice.

Hell, I still couldn't believe I was president of the Caroline Springs Charter. Apparently, there was no vote needed when the big boss, Talon, made the ruling. I thought he'd go for Pick or Billy, but being the enforcer already, Talon knew I'd be the biggest hardarse out there, and I was getting a good team at my back. Memphis didn't want any position, so I had Pick as my second, Dive my third. Dallas was the main enforcer and Billy, the sergeant in arms. Saxon, a kid good with numbers, was the secretary.

All I could think was that I hoped Memphis was right, that with the change of commandment the snitch would get scared and show himself. Though, I doubted it. I'd been the main enforcer and if that didn't scare the snitch, then I didn't know what would.

A need to find the fucker and have my hand wrapped around his throat was eating me up inside. It made it goddamn hard to trust the rest of the brothers in the club, and that sucked hairy monkey balls.

Thank Christ, Dallas was gonna take my job and install the camera in the garage for me. He was also gonna be the one to watch the feed. Well, between him and Saxon, hopefully we could find the pussy and get rid of him. Then that'd be one less thing to worry about.

Willow shifting her arse back in her seat caught my attention, which made me wonder how her arse would feel shifting over my lap, which in turn made me get hard.

My attention span was shot with her around. She caused my brain to function from my dick.

I couldn't fall for her, though.

Just couldn't.

Not happenin'. Never.

And especially not after what went down with the last serious bitch ten years ago. She chewed me up, spat me out and left me like roadkill on the side of the road.

Literally.

Sophie was bangin' hot. I'd been twenty-two when I met her, and as soon as my eyes landed on her perky tits and arse, I was a goner. Too blind to see past the big tits, tight pussy and big bank account, I didn't see the cold-hearted viper she really was.

I'd fallen and hard. Worked my arse off to prove I could support her and her money-hungry spendin' hands. So I didn't know that when I worked, she was out fillin' her pouch with my stepdad's cock, who was climbing his way higher in the accountant firm. Luckily, my ma wasn't alive to see it. Not only that, she was also bangin' my best friend, just for the fun of it.

We'd been out driving one day when she decided to come clean. I wrapped my hand around her neck and threatened her life for fuckin' mine up for two years, which may have been the reason she kicked my arse out, landing me in the middle of nowhere.

Two years I'd wasted on that bitch. Two years I'd wasted having a fuckhead of a friend and stepdad. That was when I moved and Talon found me while I was involved in backyard fights to get some extra cash on the side. He took me under his wing and told me I was born to be a brother.

Never looked back.

And I never trusted another bitch again.

They were nothing but trouble.

I'd had my fair share of pussy, and that was all I needed. Just some hot, wet, tight hole to slip my condom-covered dick in, and then they'd fuckin' leave.

Except now, I had a woman living under my roof. A woman who'd caught my attention right from the start. A woman who caused my body to react in every fuckin' way she moved, when she spoke, even when she bloody ate, for fuck's sake.

Yep, I was fucked.

Dinner wound down. Josie and Low were at the sink whispering to each other as they did the dishes. I wasn't so sexist that I didn't offer to help, but I was waved away by Willow, saying I was already doing enough for her.

"Dude," Dive whispered. "The way you're staring at her arse and lickin' your lips is kinda perverted, and that's sayin' something comin' from me."

Shaking my head and chuckling, I rolled my eyes and looked to see my brothers smilin' at me. "Not happenin'," I said.

"A week," Pick said as he laid a fifty on the table.

"Three nights." Billy smirked and placed his own fifty on the table.

"Tonight, and don't let me down, brother." Dive glared and coughed up his own fifty.

"Never," I stupidly said and dug out a fifty to put on the pile.

"You twat." Dive shook his head. "You just lost big time."

A throat was cleared. "What are you guys betting on?" Josie asked. Our eyes went up to see both women facing us and leaning their butts against the counter.

"Nothin'," I said quickly. I went to swipe the money from the table, but Billy got it first.

"I'll keep it and give it to the winner."

"Winner for what?" Low's sing-song voice asked.

Looking everywhere but at her, I ignored the question and prayed my fuckhead brothers didn't dish out the answer.

"We better get going," Josie announced. "I've got a class in the morning and some things to do tonight."