Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JOHNNY “HAWK” MANN
I shouldn’t have told Jo that Connor was missing. Sure, one could argue that she would likely see it on the news, but the part about Connor possibly being taken as retaliation to the club—she didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need to know that I spent the entire night awake, putting myself in Bishop’s shoes, picturing Jo and I frantically searching for a baby that wasn’t even born yet.
Even after I left her, I couldn’t shake the thought. I was determined to find Connor before I found out Jo was pregnant. I was going to make whoever was responsible for his disappearance pay, and I was going to enjoy every fucking minute. But now… now I was desperate for it. I needed this kid to be okay. My future as a father depended on it.
That’s why I left the apartment and drove straight to the campsite. I don’t know what I expect to find. If my dog didn’t catch anything, it’s highly unlikely I will. I turn the bend, skating along the edge of the river. The cops should have search and rescue boats out here, but they don’t. It’s fucking bullshit if you ask me.
I glance back at the woods, and that’s when I spot the insignia that belongs to the Northern Grizzlies. Stepping closer, I realize the man hunched over is none other than Silver. I contemplate leaving the scene, but something stops me.
Call me curious.
“What’d you find?”
He’s spins around abruptly, and I hold my hands up in mock surrender. Yesterday I had my hands wrapped around his throat, and it got me nowhere. More importantly—it got us no closer to finding Connor. It’s time for a different tactic.
“Alex’s phone. With everything she’s been through, I hid a burner in her bag in case she needed to talk to someone.” He holds the phone up as proof. “Has the boy’s father heard anything?”
I shake my head.
“Nah. The fucking pigs are stuck on the idea that his has something to do with our clubs beef. The Sheriff tailed me after we left the camp yesterday, and I heard some of his cronies paid the club a visit early this morning.” At least that’s what Leftie said when I called to check in, hoping he’d have good news for me. I sigh, and lower my hands, shoving them into my pockets as I rock back on my heels. I don’t know this guy from Adam. For all I know the Sheriff is right—maybe this is all one giant setup. But my gut tells me something different, and the fucking thing has never steered me wrong. I suppose that’s why I continue to share information he isn’t privy too. “They seem to think we’re responsible for that guy’s death. If you ask me, they’re more concerned with a low-level dealer than they are with finding out what happened to these kids.”
He doesn’t say anything and my eyes dart over my shoulder, zeroing in on the cabin.
“I checked it out last night. Nothing.”
Once again, he remains quiet, and I start to wonder if extending an olive branch to this motherfucker was a mistake.
“Can we set up a meeting? Your guys and mine, leaving all the bullshit aside for now?”
I consider the suggestion. I’m not the guy who makes moves. I don’t call meetings, or demand sit downs. I do as I’m told, and go where I’m needed. I can’t imagine this guy has the authority to call the shots with his club.
“Are you authorized to do that?”
He releases a heavy breath and shakes his head.
“I don’t know. The New Yorker, he’s Bishop, right?” I nod. “I need my niece back and I’m sure he feels the same way about his son, so if you get the Knights to a table, unarmed, then I give you my word, I’ll find a way to get the Northern Grizzlies there.”
It’s not a terrible idea, but I don’t know how much this guy knows. Getting our clubs in a neutral zone might be harder than it seems to him.
He holds out his hand. I can’t give him my word without giving him the facts.
“I’m not sure how much you know about the bad blood that runs between our clubs, but that is not gonna be an easy task. Tension is high.” I pause, slicking my tongue over my teeth. “That being said, the New York charter is here, and I don’t think they’re going to let any old riff between our clubs stand in the way of Bishop being reunited with his son.”
Especially not after all they survived.
That father and son deserve peace.
Stepping forward, I slide my hand into his.
“Let me make a call and see what I can do.”
He nods and I step away to call Maverick. He doesn’t pick up so I call Ghost. I give him the run down, explaining why I went back to the site, and how I found Silver scoping things out.
“Look, man, we’re not getting anywhere by ourselves, and the cops are doing shit all to help us find these kids. Joining forces with the Northern Grizzlies is the only thing we got right now. Maybe it turns out to be a dead end, but what do we got to lose?”
“Maverick isn’t going to like this.”
“Maverick is a father. He’ll get over it.”
He instructs me to hold on and confers with our president. I can’t hear their end of the conversation, but when Ghost gets back on the line, he gives me the greenlight. A text comes through before I can end the call with a location for the meet.
I pocket my phone, and turn back to Silver.
“There is a barn in Garner, about forty-five minutes out from here. I’ll text you the address. My charter will be there, but I think New York is taking the reins on this one.”
He nods in agreement and shares the Northern Grizzlies terms. They want it ten on ten, and everyone unarmed. Rather than call Ghost with that bit of information, I leave Silver at the campsite and make my way back to the clubhouse to inform them in person.
No one objects.
With a little time before the meeting, I decide to call Jo. I don’t like the way I left things this morning, and I want to check-in with her. Unlike yesterday when she ignored my calls because she was busy taking a dozen pregnancy tests, she answers on the second ring.
“Did they find him?”
“No, baby. We’re still working on it. Listen, I don’t want you worrying about it. We’re going to find him, and once we do, this will all be behind us. I should have never told you.”
“Just like that, huh? You find him and everyone just forgets he was missing to begin with, is that how it works?”
“I don’t know, Jo. This is my first missing kid.”
My tone is a lot harsher than I intend for it to be, and she goes silent on the other end. I bite back a curse. I’m not handling this well. If anything, I’m making matters worse.
“You know, I’m scared too, and I don’t know what the future holds for me as a mother, but I think I should tell that I have no intention of terminating the pregnancy. So if this is too much for you, I need you to know that I’ll accept that. I’ll raise this baby on my own. You don’t have to have any part in he or she’s life.”
For a second I’m too flabbergasted to speak. I didn’t tell her all that in hopes that she’d have an abortion. The thought never even crossed my mind.
“Let’s get something straight, Jo. I’m afraid of fucking up. I’m worried that the choices I’ve made in life will somehow catch up to me, and our son or daughter will fall victim to that shit. I’ll find a way to get over that. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you and our kid. Walk through fire if I have to. What I won’t do is walk away, not from you, and certainly not from any child of mine. Told you, I’d chase you, and I’m nothing if not a man of my word. You hear me?”
“So you don’t want me to get an abortion?”
“Fuck no.” My nostrils flare, and I ball my fists on top of my thighs. “You’re having my baby, Jo, and I can’t think of a more beautiful thing. That’s why I’m fucking terrified. I’ve never been the guy who gets the girl. A family of my own wasn’t something I thought I’d ever get a chance of having. Not in this lifetime, and probably not in my next one either. I’m undeserving, but I’m gonna do whatever it takes to be deserving.”
People like me have kids all the time. Maverick has three. Ghost and Birdie are looking to have one, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Shady and Bianca announce they’re starting a family too. If they can find ways to make it work, to balance the patch and their families, then so can I.
~*~
Something happened shortly after I hung with Jo, and Capone came to inform me that the meeting was pushed until the wee hours of the morning. Instead of sitting around doing nothing, I decided to hit Booker half of them riding ahead of her, the others taking up the rear.
Looking over my shoulder, I see Shady grin before he finally heads to his bike. Christ, it won’t be long before they’re making gingerbread houses together.