Chapter 47 Gabe
Gabe
“Who the fuck is that?” Taryn asks, fear and panic clear in her voice.
And no wonder. The girl’s been attacked and nearly kidnapped tonight. Told she needs to make a choice between going back to the city with her mother and the gangster she’s married to, or staying here with the men she’s about to ruin.
And now a bunch of Hawkes have melted out of the forest with their rough looks, even rougher clothes, and guns.
If I were Taryn, I’d probably be running for the hills already.
I’m not Taryn, though, and I’m not running.
Instead, I’m grinning like a fucking madman.
I have no idea how Barrett and Marshall heard about our little problem, but God, I’m glad they did.
Barrett, my father’s brother, is military and has only been back in town for a couple months.
I didn’t even think he and my father were on speaking terms, much less I’ve-got-your-back terms, but my uncle’s presence here says otherwise.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Bear is just as stern as Dad when he wants to be, but the truth is he’s a wild card. You never know what to expect from him—or when he’s going to decide to break the rules rather than following them.
Marshall, on the other hand…
The man is a rebel and delinquent, and there’s no other way to put it.
He’s my father’s cousin and runs the local motorcycle club, which takes up several buildings in town.
They’re not as lawless as some of the clubs down from the mountain, but they rule our area with an iron fist, and I wouldn’t want to cross them.
He’s brought his biggest men, including his best friend Dutch—who some say is actually another Hawke—and they look…
Well, scary enough to frighten Taryn, for certain.
She’s clinging to me now, her tiny body tucked up against me, and I have to admit I don’t hate it. I wrap my arm around her and bring her even closer, enjoying the role of being the hero in this scenario.
“Those are Marshall and his men,” I say quietly.
“He said his name is Mars.”
I snort. “His MC name is Mars. His real name is Marshall Hawke.”
My father and his men take another step toward the gangsters, then, and all guns suddenly come back up.
I shift quickly and shove Taryn behind me, surprised.
I thought this was over, but evidently not, and I’m not going to risk her if someone gets a happy trigger finger.
Ahead of us, my dad is speaking quickly to Helen, his words sharp and biting and his tone intensely serious.
He has two guns on her and her husband, and though she has men with guns at her back, she looks suddenly nervous.
I hope she’s realizing that asking Taryn to choose between her and us was a mistake.
I also hope she’s realizing that doubling down and asking us to choose money over our Little Bird was even stupider.
Because it was never going to happen. The moment Taryn chose us, I knew that we’d found the love we’ve all been waiting for.
Taryn showed up when my father and I were at our lowest, and when she needed help and shelter, and somehow, the three of us managed to open up to each other.
My heart feels like it’s beating too hard, emotion and love rolling through my body in crashing waves, and I’m nearly paralyzed with it.
I should be up there standing shoulder to shoulder with my dad, but I’m not going to leave Taryn on her own.
And I think maybe my dad needs this. He’s spent years hiding from the world and keeping to himself, and now, for the first time, he’s stepping up and playing hero, guns in his hands and his body between us and the enemy.
It’s the first time I’ve felt like I have a father in years, and I’m not going to take that from him.
Besides, he gave me my assignment: Protect Taryn.
While he takes care of the bigger picture.
But as the men from New York start to twitch, their fingers still on their triggers, I wonder if it’s going to be enough.
Their eyes are flashing from us to my dad and back, calculating, and I realize they’re still trying to figure out whether they can take Taryn away from us.
I shift, pushing her further behind me, and wish I’d remembered a fucking gun.
I was in such a hurry to get to Taryn that I didn’t even consider it, and now that seems incredibly stupid.
What the fuck do they want with the girl, and why is it so important? How did they even get up here in the first place? The roads should have been too icy for anyone but a local to drive.
I know one thing for certain: If they take her, we’ll never get her back. We can’t let her off the property. We can’t even let those men get near her.
I just found my soulmate again. I’m not going to lose her now.
My father’s voice increases in volume, and now I can hear what he’s saying.
He’s telling Helen exactly why we’re not giving Taryn up and what he thinks of her even asking.
Pointing out that we have more men than she does, and that our men are on home turf.
They know these woods and this land, and if it comes to hunting down every one of Helen’s men—and Helen herself—we’ll have the upper hand.
“Get out,” he says sharply. “Before we decide we’re out of patience. I’ll send a courier to pick up Taryn’s things.”
Helen looks at him like she doesn’t recognize him, and I can’t blame her for that. I’ve never heard my father speak like that to anyone, and I’ve certainly never seen him defend anyone the way he’s defending Taryn right now.
Then again, I’ve never seen him smile like he smiles at her. The Gunner Hawke we have today is one that’s never existed before.
Helen and her husband are silent for a long, intense moment after my father finishes speaking, and I can practically hear the tension cracking through the air.
Fingers are tense on triggers and men are staring each other down, waiting for the signal to shoot.
I grow tense as well, moving my arms to keep Taryn behind me.
Of course, she has other plans.
She steps around me so quickly I don’t see it coming, and a moment later she’s standing in front of her mom.
“Gunner is right,” she says loudly. “I don’t care what you do.
I’m not leaving this place, and I’m not leaving these men.
As for whatever you have planned, I’ll stop you.
I’ll fight you. You won’t get what you want from me because I’ve already blocked you.
You’re finished here, Mom. You lost. Go home. ”
Helen sneers. “Whatever you have, I can and will take, little girl.”
Taryn actually grins at her, and it’s so out of place that I question my own sanity for a moment.
“You won’t. The papers giving me independence from you were filed today. And a judge approved them two hours ago. Legally, you’re no longer my mother. And that means the terms of the will have changed.”
I don’t know what any of that means, but it does something to Helen. She grows furious and looks like she’s about to tell her men to start shooting, but my father presses the nose of his gun right to her forehead, stopping her.
“You die first, Helen,” he says. “This isn’t going to end the way you think it will.”
She stares at him for a long, heavy moment… and then turns abruptly and heads for one of the black SUVs they came in, calling out that they’re finished here and it’s time to go home.
And just like that, it’s all over. The men are getting in their cars, our own men are saying they’re ready to go home, and everyone is melting away, leaving me and my father staring at Taryn, who looks both elated… and terrified.