Hawk (Ride with Me)

Chapter 7

Hawk

You’re my only one…

Ruby Santiago’s words echo in my head as I make my way to the cheap motel closest to the strip club.

It’s really bizarre how I am slowly becoming more eager to see her. There was some progress made tonight as far as me giving her information, but it wasn’t as much as I wanted to. The blowjob kind of took priority in our encounter.

The panic attack she had when we were done threw me off. She was trying to ask me questions about my whereabouts, but very obvious about it. Had I not already known what was going on, I could’ve easily gotten suspicious and put a bullet in her head. The girl is really bad at this hit, that’s for sure.

I park my bike in front of the door to my room, making sure not to leave any valuables on it. For a second, I debate whether I should just push it inside the room with me. This is a seedy part of town. It wouldn’t be hard at all for anyone to steal it.

Checking the time on my watch, I realize that I need to call at the club and check in.

“Status,” Prez barks into the phone as soon as he answers.

“Not much to report.”

I pause and ponder how much I should tell him. Then again, I got nothing to hide.

“I paid a shitload of money for a private session with her. She asked me questions about why I was in the area. Then she gave me a blowjob.”

We both chuckle at that last part, but I do have to adjust in my jeans. The blowjob was pretty good, in my top five for sure.

“I planted the seed and told her we were here to pick up some of the Lizards’ girls. I also told her I have to be careful for none of them to see me.”

“Good job,” Prez approves. “That’ll guarantee that she goes straight to them.”

We continue talking for a little longer, strategizing over what to do next.

“Devereaux has the wheels in motion down in Austin,” he suddenly tells me. “Wrecker is going to be in town.”

That’s a surprise. “To do what?”

“He wants to get his dick wet one last time before he bounces,” Prez chuckles, but then he gets serious. “But that puts a timeline on our mission there.”

He gives me a rundown of everything. Wrecker has finally caught on that his father wants him dead. The whore he had a baby with was also Bricks’ mistress. For whatever fucking reason, he wants to get rid of Wrecker and claim the kid as his own. Groom the next generation so to speak, because the current one is not performing up to his standards.

“Devereaux wants us to kidnap Wrecker.”

I bust out laughing. “What the fuck.”

“I said the same, but it made sense once he explained. I think it’ll work.”

Fifteen minutes later, we sort of have a plan in place.

“You need to feed more information to the stripper,” he instructs me. “The Lizards need to set up meetings with the trafficking ring. Devereaux wants all the women and children out of the clubhouse. He also has plans for Arlene to be gone with the little kid.”

I sigh as I think everything over.

“I sure fucking hope I’ll live long enough to get back home, Prez.”

There’s a long pause. I guess he didn’t expect for me to have any doubts about this mission. It’s the first of its kind, but the fact that I am here all alone puts a target on my back. It would be so easy for the Lizards to eliminate me, and none of my club brothers would know what the fuck happened to me for a long time. Strength is always in numbers, and I have a big fat zero to support me.

“I went and visited your mother today,” he tells me out of the blue. “She looked good.”

“Did she talk to you?” She is mostly non-verbal, but once in a while, she has these spurts of energy that turn her into a chatter box.

“She was telling me about her son.”

I freeze with the phone to my ear.

“She told me he is three, and the sweetest and smartest little boy she’s ever met.”

I chuckle at that while my heart is barely beating now.

“I told her he grew up to be a smart and loyal man,” Prez continues. “She insisted that I got the wrong person. Her son is three and goes to some daycare while she’s at work.”

My fingers squeeze the phone tighter. Taking care of my mother has been my top priority. Making money while working for the club has been the only way to afford to keep her in a facility where she is well taken care of. Most of the times I go there, she has no fucking idea who I am. But every so often, there’s a glimpse of recognition, and I live for those moments.

“I transferred your share of the money in the account,” Prez tells me in a cool tone. “I also paid the home for the next twelve months. I know you won’t make me regret it.”

“Thank you. I won’t.”

There is not much to say other than that. After we hang up, I sit back on the small bed, turning everything in my head. Prez said we needed to speed up the process. I agree with him.

Remembering the intel on Ruby that Winger sent me before, I pull it up on my phone. I look up her address and realize that she lives really close to here. In fact, it’s within walking distance. The run-down house she lives in is divided into four apartments. I can only assume they are very small.

On a whim, I decide to go for a walk while I smoke, get some fresh air and all that. It’s kind of counterproductive smoking while getting fresh air, but at least I make an effort, right?

My entire body feels stiff and tired, reminding me that I need rest. As I get closer to forty, I find that I can’t stay up late like I used to, and I appreciate my alone time a lot more than before.

I scan the map of the neighborhood on my phone, figuring out which way I need to walk to get to Ruby’s house. When I finally got it down, I light up a cigarette, make sure to stick the rest of the pack and lighter in my pocket, then close and lock the door to the motel room behind me.

Just as I pass my bike, I pat my side to make sure the gun is still there. I notice a couple of losers shooting up by the dumpster, and shake my head in disgust. I don’t give a fuck about them doing drugs, but talk about unsanitary.

I suck on my cigarette like my life depends on it, listening to my heavy footsteps on the cracked concrete of the sidewalk. Getting to Ruby’s place is no trouble at all. I look at the dilapidated house, wondering which side she is on. The house looks really rough, worse than I’d expected. It surprises me that she’s not scared to come home here in the middle of the night.

No sooner I think of that, and headlights shine right on me as I stand in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Fuck,” I mutter around my cigarette. I shouldn’t be this careless, especially in a territory I am not familiar with.

I watch a small car whipping into a parking spot by the house. Thinking it must be one of her neighbors, I’m surprised to see Ruby getting out of the vehicle. She is holding a phone in her hand, and her eyes look wild in her face when she stares at me.

“I’m calling the police,” she warns me. “Stay back.”

I don’t mean to laugh, but she looks really cute as she stands there in a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top, with flip-flops on her feet, looking so much shorter than when I see her at the strip club. Her hair looks wet, like she just took a shower, and her face is bare of any makeup, at least from what I am able to see in the dark. There’s just enough light coming from the window of one of the apartments in her building to see her features.

With a quick move, I take a step forward and snatch the phone out of her hand. Making sure to check the screen, I notice that she never actually dialed the police.

“You should’ve called before getting out of the car,” I chastise her softly. “And you should’ve never gotten out of the car. That was stupid, Ruby.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. The move pushes her breasts up, looking like they’re about spill out. I’m sure it’s not on purpose on her part, and that she’d not be happy if she realized it.

“What are you doing here?”

Her voice is shaking, and I now I feel bad for her. Not enough to leave, but still. I had no intention to scare her like this. In fact, I thought she’d be home by now.

I grin at her. “I’m out for a walk.” I bring the cigarette up to my lips and give it a strong pull.

“How do you know where I live?”

I debate for a second whether I should lie to her or not.

“Finding out where you live was the easiest thing, Ruby Santiago.”

She lets out a gasp of surprise when I say her last name. I am seriously surprised at how innocent she looks. I’m not even sure she’s not underaged. That is one line I do draw in the proverbial sand. This sort of jailbait is the hardest to get out of should you get caught. You can get rid of murder charges easier than sleeping with minors. Besides, that hasn’t ever been my thing, not even when I was underage myself. The older girls could actually teach me something.

Ruby watches me with her big brown eyes, the fear almost palpable. I am scaring her, and I need to make this work in my favor.

“How about you invite me in, Ruby?” I gently suggest. “You and I need to have a talk.”

Her eyes instantly fill with tears.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she begs. “I plan on leaving soon. You won’t ever see me again.”

I am surprised at hearing how fast she caves. No wonder the Lizards were able to talk her into this.

“I have no intention to hurt you, sweetheart. As long as you are being a good girl and listen,” I add after a moment.

She nods and swallows before turning toward the main entrance to her apartment building.

“Oh, I need to grab my bag and keys,” she says when she realizes she can’t get in.

I follow her to her car, finishing my cigarette while she grabs a large duffel bag and keys from inside the vehicle. We then make our way back to her place of residence.

She puts the key into the lock and opens the main door. I almost laugh at that. The latch was barely holding it closed, and with only a hard push, anyone could get in.

Her apartment is the first one on the right, almost behind the door we just opened. The space is tight to say the least when we try to close the main door so she could unlock the one to her apartment. That doesn’t look very secure either.

“This is a shit show, Ruby,” I chuckle from behind her. “I’m positive that key doesn’t do shit.”

Her shoulders tense defensively, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she flips a switch, and the light comes on. It’s a little dim, making me squint my eyes as I look around. The place is incredibly small, with the paint peeling off the walls and a board covering the living room window. But it’s clean and there is no clutter.

She drops her bag to the floor and turns around to look at me. There’s defiance on her face now. Whatever little time we spent making our way in here gave her some much needed confidence.

“Okay, you’re in. What do you want from me?”

I am unable to hold back a smile at the feisty picture she makes. She looks like a ready for battle squirrel. She jumps when I lift a finger and run it up and down her jawline. For some reason, it scares her, despite the fact that it is a fairly innocent attempt.

My eyes move over every single detail on her face, taking in the perfectly arched eyebrows and natural eyelashes. It took me a second earlier to realize that her fake eyelashes came unglued when she started crying.

She has a small nose, with the cutest dip right under, leading to a perfect pair of thick lips. They are pink and soft looking without the lipstick she seems to favor.

My hand stops moving when I see a bruise right under her ear. It looks like what could be a hickey, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one this dark in color. It makes me wonder how I missed it earlier. She must’ve covered it with a lot of makeup. Her hair was also down at the club, falling down in waves around her face, helping to camouflage it.

“Too eager of a customer?” I ask as I touch the edge of the bruised area.

She instantly shivers, and there’s a look of pure fear covering her features.

“You could say that,” she whispers.

I stare at her for the longest time, waiting for her to elaborate. I’m not even sure why I care who did that to her. It’s not like I’d go hurt the people who hurt her. After all, this is one of the hazards to what she does for a living. But I want to know.

I squint my eyes as I continue staring at her, a hunch taking over. I’m rarely wrong when I listen to my gut. And right now, it’s telling me that the people we’re trying to take down are the same people who put this bruise on her neck.

“How long have you and Bricks been in business for?”

The shock on her face is obvious. That is the last thing she thought I’d ask. And it confirms what I already know. It will make this mission much easier once she actually says the words.