Chapter 4
Hawk
My eyes struggled to open, but the long night was rushing back to me as the heat from a woman kissed my skin and her sweet smell tickled my nose. Finally blinking away sleep, I tried to quietly roll over but was met with another naked body.
“Mmm, good morning, Mr. President,” a scratchy but dainty voice said in my ear.
My head was pounding, and not being in my own bed had left my neck out of whack.
Climbing over Jeannie, I found the pile of clothes and hurriedly got dressed.
One of us had the sense to be sure my cut wasn’t on the floor.
After slipping my boots on, not bothering to tie them, I grabbed the leather from the hook on the wall and pulled it on as I left the room, not looking back at Jeannie and Sugar.
As I stomped down the hall, my hands went to my pockets.
My wallet and phones were where they should be.
Whenever I ended up with bunnies, I always used a clubhouse room.
Maybe I was a dick, but my house was my fortress and solace.
After earning the right to have it as VP, I’d gotten used to not sharing my space.
Plus, I didn’t want the bunnies getting any wrong ideas.
In the clubhouse, I could get up and leave.
At my own house, I’d have to tell them to leave.
While they respected the officers, they also knew how to play their part a little too well sometimes so I decided it was much easier to keep them out.
I wasn’t much of a morning person, and the bunnies knew it.
Once I could grab a shower and a few cups of coffee, I’d be able to function.
But we partied harder last night than in a long time.
Even in my hungover state, my mind wouldn’t allow me to sleep in.
Just because I wasn’t a morning person didn’t mean my body allowed me to sleep.
Finally shuffling to the bar, I was met with a steaming mug.
Ma passed the piping hot brew. She was already dressed for the day.
Her hair was cropped short, but it still was fixed.
While she wasn’t much for makeup, she always drew in her eyebrows.
She was the only one from our family with lighter hair and she hated that her eyebrows didn’t stand out.
She had on her cut, probably because so many other chapters were still hanging around.
She didn’t wear it every day. None of the Old Ladies did around the clubhouse, unless there was a party.
“I figured you’d be up early. Here,” she said as she forced a different glass in my hand. I drank it down and winced before passing it back to her.
She always made me some kind of electrolyte drink after a heavy drinking night, but it tasted like ass and didn’t mix well with black coffee. Still, the days I didn’t have it after a lot of booze definitely were more of a struggle to push through.
Taking a few big swigs of the hot coffee and burning the roof of my mouth, I hissed then said, “Going to shower. I’ll be back.”
“When you’re part of the living, come see me,” she answered before heading back to the kitchen.
It wasn’t uncommon for Ma to be up early to get the day started. But she didn’t normally tell me to come see her. I saw her all the time.
Sipping my coffee, wondering if Shiv had a way to directly inject caffeine into my veins, I stepped out into the crisp morning air and headed to my house.
The sun was starting to peek over the tall pines and strokes of orange and pink painted the sky.
As I pulled a smoke from my pocket and lit it, the tingle of the first hit rushing through me, I pondered why she wanted me to find her.
She had something to talk about… but what?
Taking long strides to my house, I took heavy drags off the cigarette and blew the plume into a cloud that followed me. Days were still mostly mild in October here with the exception of false fall, but the evenings and mornings were chilly now.
Before I made it to the porch of my house, a modest ranch that sat atop a basement with grey siding and white shutters, I took one last drag of my smoke then flicked it away.
The porch was low to the ground with just one step and wasn’t covered.
The front door faced the clubhouse. The first VP that had it built put a canopy on the back that faced the woods.
It was a nice spot for solitude, regardless of the weather once I had the screens put up to keep mosquitos out.
And it made sense to not do much with the front.
If I wanted to see the clubhouse I’d go to the clubhouse.
Plenty of places to sit in the yard out front.
After keying my code to the door, I stepped inside.
It wasn’t a full on bachelor pad but it lacked the touch of a woman.
The only pictures were that of my family and my brothers.
The living room held a grey oversized chair and ottoman with a matching couch that faced the stone fireplace and black side tables and coffee table.
My TV was hung above the mantle that was also devoid of any decorations.
Heading to the kitchen, I pulled another mug down and brewed from my one-cup coffee pot as I finished the cup Ma sent with me. The coffee maker was all that sat on the marbled countertops in the black and grey kitchen.
Just as I downed the last sip of coffee in the first cup, the one-cup was finished so I swapped mugs and headed to my weights.
After a quick workout and shower, shaving my short facial hair, and combing my dark hair into place, I headed back to the clubhouse for breakfast and to find Ma.
My hair was short on the sides, but the top fell to my ears if I didn’t mess with it.
But I liked a nice, clean look. I used some fancy hair balm and always combed it back.
It held most of the time, but if I took my helmet on and off a few times, or had to chase anyone, sometimes it got out of place.
As I got closer, there was movement in the yard. Heading toward the garages, I lit up another smoke.
“Hey Prez,” Knox said. The president of the Bristol chapter was around my age, tall and bulky with short dark hair.
One of his officers, Linx, was loading up.
Linx had dark hair pulled back and was covered in tattoos, even the whites of his eyes had been blacked out.
While he looked like a demonic bear, he was one of the nicest brothers I’d met.
“Morning fellas,” I answered. “Headin’ out?”
Knox secured his saddlebag then pulled out a cigarette and fired it up. “Yeah, few hours back. Can’t leave all them fuckers running around the clubhouse too long without adult supervision,” he joked.
The officers of the other chapters came for the vote, but not a lot of members of other clubs had made the ride. Just like here, someone always had to stay behind to ensure the clubhouse was protected.
“Appreciate you coming down, brothers. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon,” I said as I held my fist up.
“Congrats, my friend,” Knox said as he bumped my fist then took a drag off his cigarette before flicking it away.
Nodding, I gave Linx a pat on the shoulder before turning to go speak to the others that were loading up.
After I finished the string of goodbyes and thanks that they made the trip and voted me in, I finally wandered back into the clubhouse.
My stomach was growling but I wanted to know what the fuck was going on with Ma. A few guys strolled in looking for food, taking seats at the tables that were scattered around the bar area.
A few good mornings and comments about being president flew at me as I bypassed them all, making a beeline for the kitchen.
Ma was there at the industrial grade stove flipping bacon and piles and piles of pancakes were on the counter. “I’ll bring you a plate soon. Go sit down.”
Lacy was flipping more pancakes on the griddle and her blue eyes flicked up, but only for a moment.
“What do you need to talk about, Ma?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Lacy turned off the griddle and wiped her hands on her apron that said Property of Eagle. “I’ll go check on the guys.”
Ma rolled her eyes as she walked out. “You need to eat, son. And she and I gotta get all this food out there,” she said, waving her tongs toward the door.
Uncrossing my arms, I stepped closer and put my hand on the counter. “Ma, tell me now.”
She let out a deep sigh, then pulled an envelope from her pocket.
“What’s this?” I asked, taking it as she passed it over.
“Petrov asked me to give you that.”
I grimaced. “Why? He should’ve given it to me last night before he left.”
Opening the envelope, and reading the paper, it hit me why before she said, “Petrov Senior, not Junior.”
Looking over the paper signed by Pops, I’d know that penmanship anywhere, my brows drew together. “He promised a union? A marriage? To one of his kids? Why?”
Ma was tight-lipped until the smell of burnt bacon sent off the fire alarm. “Fuck!” she shouted as she moved the skillet off the burner and grabbed a hand towel to fan the smoke detector.
The letter was dated after Pops became president. “This was right around when I patched in. Did you know about this?” I asked, waving the document in the air as irritation flashed through me. It didn’t make any sense.
“Son, I don’t know. You know there were things I wasn’t told and–”
Sweeping my hand over the counter, I sent a pile of ceramic plates flying to the tiled floor, the clatter ear-piercing. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Ma!”
She jumped from the noise, but a scowl was plastered on her face and she stopped fanning the towel.
Her icy blue eyes narrowed. “You may be the big bad president,” she gritted through clenched teeth, “but you’re still my fucking son and you won’t raise your goddamn voice to me and expect a reaction, much less an answer. ”
She dropped the tongs and the towel on the counter and hurried out the back door. The alarm finally stopped as the smoke was sucked from the kitchen after her.
Looking down at the mess, I yelled, “Fuck!”
The door flew open and Eagle poked his head in. “What the fuck is going on in here?” He looked down. “Shit, we heard the fire alarm and glass. Let me get some bunnies in here.”
Stepping through the shards of plates, I headed out the back door and pulled out a smoke. Ma must have high-tailed it because she wasn’t in sight. Holding up the handwritten contract again, I rubbed my head as I blew a huge cloud of smoke out.
“Prez,” Eagle said as he opened the back door. “What’s going on?”
Taking one last long drag off the cigarette, I flicked it away and blew the smoke from my nose as I locked my jaw. “Looks like I’m getting hitched.”