18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Hawk
How do I explain to her that this is how we keep the peace? -Hawk
She ran. The woman threw up on my boots and then ran. What the hell?
“What you gonna do, Hawk?” Deadeye asks in an amused voice.
I sigh loudly and rub my hand across my beard. “I guess I’m going after the damn woman and try to explain. Can’t believe she followed me here.” I glance down. “But first I need to clean this damn puke off me.”
He merely shakes his head. “Go get her.”
I hop on my bike. I know Maggie. She has nowhere else to go except to the motel.
I go the long way around, trying to calm myself down. My adrenaline is still running hot from the confrontation with the two idiots and then spotting Maggie.
I fume for the first few miles. What the hell was she doing following me here? Did she not understand how dangerous that was? Then I think of her inquisitive nature and that book she’s writing. I should have known she would try to stick her nose into club business.
I take a deep breath and decide to pull over. I unbuckle my helmet strap and just breathe. Nature is doing its’ thing around me. It’s a clear, sunny morning with the twitter of birds and the sound of a breeze rustling the leaves. I close my eyes, finally feeling the rage leave me.
I remember the shocked look on Maggie’s face.
Instead of rage, I suddenly feel doubt. What if seeing me like she did made her feel like I’m a savage? What if she doesn’t get it? What if she thinks I’m an animal?
My feelings for this woman…they go deep. Deeper than I’ve felt before. I told her things that I haven’t talked about with anyone. My heart stops in my chest. I think…well, I know that I’m in love with her.
I bet she thinks I’m a monster. I bet she wants nothing to do with me…
I shrug those thoughts off. I’ll explain to her that they were the bad guys, that we had to do what we did to protect our turf. She’ll understand. She has to.
I come to a screeching stop in front of the hotel office. I can’t believe I never even got her room number.
I throw open the office door and stalk across the recently renovated motel office. Uh, it looks good in here. I take a second to appreciate that the office no longer smells like stale beer and cigarettes and that the scarred, beat-up front desk has been replaced by a shiny new one.
Eddie Park, the motel owner, looks up from his newspaper. “Hey Hawk. You need something?” As usual, he’s impeccably dressed in a crisp white shirt and just looks at me calmly while I feel like a madman about to lose my control.
“Which room is Maggie Malone in, Eddie? I need to see her.” I try not to growl at him.
He narrows his eyes. “Now, Hawk, you know I normally wouldn’t give out that information.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Normally. But you will, right? Because you want to help me out?”
He sighs. “Nope, I’m going to give it to you because she left here a few minutes ago with two guys in suits.” He frowns. “It isn’t my business, but she didn’t seem happy to go. She wasn’t struggling, but something was definitely off.”
At his words, my gut immediately starts churning. Absolute fear takes over me.
“Show me her room, Eddie. Don’t make me kick the door down.” My nerves are on edge. “I need to see where she’s gone.”
He nods succinctly. “Don’t tell anyone else about this.”
I only reply with a grunt.
I follow behind Eddie as he lets me into a room on the bottom floor.
“Everything is still here,” he says quietly. “Looks like maybe she’ll be back.”
I don’t answer. I run my finger over the keys to her car and the little travel purse she carries sometimes. Something is definitely not right. Not right at all.
Finally, I spot something that makes my blood run cold.
A stone settles in the pit of my stomach.
Her notebook. Her fuckin’ notebook is here.
She takes that notebook everywhere. We even talked about it last night.
She’s always afraid she’s going to observe something or get an idea and then forget it. She always has it.
I ball up my fists. “What time did they leave, Eddie? How long ago?”
He watches me closely. “Not long before you got here. About thirty minutes.”
I take a deep breath and nod. A feeling of rage overtakes me. I’m coming to get you, Maggie. You’re mine. And no one takes what’s mine.