Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Um, I thought you guys should know,” Dax’s voice from the doorway made Hawkeye turn in his direction. The prospect stood in the doorway, looking nervous.
“What’s up?” Raven said.
“Just thought you’d want to know that all three women just went out and got in a club pickup.”
“Shit.” Hawkeye stood. His heart raced. It wasn’t safe for Delilah to be off the compound alone, or at least he wasn’t sure it was.
She’d said no one would come looking for her, and that might be true, but what if there was even a single Royal Crow out there who knew what they’d done?
They might come take Delilah, hurt her, as revenge.
Raven pushed himself to his feet as he scrubbed one hand over his face. “Which direction did they turn out the gate?”
“They didn’t leave. If they had I wouldn’t be here. I’d have texted you and I would be behind them. They went farther into the compound.”
The ache in Hawkeye’s chest eased. At least on the compound they’d be safe, or they should be. But where had they gone? He took a deep breath and forced himself to let it out slowly. Dagger was standing, too. The three men exchanged glances.
“Which one do you think started it this time?” Dagger asked as they filed out of the room and toward the door.
“I’m going to say not Delilah. At least not yet. I think, in time, she’ll relax and be comfortable enough around us to instigate shit, but she spent too many years getting slapped around for looking at someone to shake it all off this soon.”
“It’s probably Taylynn. We were talking about the houses earlier.” He turned to look at Dagger. “Have you taken Andy down to see where they’ll be building the houses?”
Dagger shook his head. “There’s nothing to see yet. I didn’t see a point.”
“That’s probably where they are.” Raven said. He clapped Dagger on the shoulder. “Always give your woman a chance to look at something, especially if it’s where she’s going to be living. You’ll learn.”
Outside they each went to their bikes, Hawkeye didn’t bother with a helmet as he started the machine, pulled out, and headed toward the area they’d cleared for the first group of houses.
They were working on fencing off the compound but hadn’t gotten the fence finished yet, so he would feel better about her safety once he laid eyes on Delilah.
As he rounded a curve in the road and spotted the pickup parked to one side, the three women standing to one side, he took an easier breath.
Still, he kept going, pulling to a stop behind the truck and dismounting, Raven and Dagger only a few steps behind.
Unable to stop himself, when he reached Delilah, he tugged her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her tight for a moment before loosening his hold and just enjoying the feeling of her there with him.
He didn’t tell her it wasn’t safe for her to leave like that.
He didn’t want her scared to be here or do what she wanted.
Plus, he wouldn’t do anything she might consider a reprimand or getting in trouble in front of others.
Anything like that could be done in private, unless it was for her safety.
He wouldn’t compromise her safety to keep from hurting her feelings.
“What do you think?” Raven asked once all six of them stood staring at the cleared space where the first house would be built.
No one spoke for a moment, then Delliah spoke up, her voice soft, but clear from where she stood in front of him, his arms still wrapped around her as she leaned her torso back against his chest.
“I think it’s beautiful. I love the trees, I love that you’re building a community to take care of each other and make sure those you love are safe.”
“And do you feel safe here, Delilah?” Raven asked.
“I do. I don’t know if it’s that you rescued me and the others from the Crows, or if it’s something else, but I do feel safe here.”
“If given a choice of where to go, anywhere in the world or stay here, which would you choose?”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before licking her lips.
“I’m not sure how to answer that. I know what I want, but I don’t know that I’ll be able to have it.”
Raven frowned. “Why not?”
“I’ve asked a couple of times for what I want. Someone keeps telling me I don’t know what I want and I can’t make that decision yet.” From the way her head tilted downwards he assumed she was looking at the ground.
“I’m not saying you can’t have it, little dove. I just want you to be sure before you make a permanent decision,” Hawkeye kept his voice soft as he spoke in a whisper so only she would hear him.
“Is that right?” Raven asked, both brows lifting as he turned his attention to Hawkeye. “Are we going to have a problem?”
“No. She’s had no choice in her life for a long time. I just want her to be sure before she makes a decision.”
“So you think telling her she doesn’t know what she’s getting into is the best way to handle making sure she has the freedom to do what she wants now?”
Hawkeye clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay calm. His president was baiting him. Rising to it would only give them something else to hold over him.
Raven didn’t wait for an answer, though, just turned to Delilah.
“Now I know it won’t be ready for several weeks, but how about we give the house to you?
You can make all the decisions—colors, furniture, who gets to live there.
You won’t have to worry about someone else telling you you’re no longer welcome in your home. How do you feel about that?”
A sharp ache shot through Hawkeye’s chest. Yes, he’d intended the house to be for Delilah, but he’d wanted to be the one to give it to her. His president thought he was in the wrong and instead of telling him to man up, he’d done an end run around him.
Delilah went still in his arms. The tension in her, combined with the way she barely breathed reminded him of a deer caught in headlights. He craned his neck so he could see her face.
“Well, what do you think of that, little dove?” he asked softly.
She blinked several times then looked up to meet his gaze, the tears pooled in her eyes told him that while he’d been screwing this thing with her up, Raven had just done him a favor, even if it didn’t feel like it to him in the moment.
His president had seen past the surface and into what Delilah really needed.
Not just to feel safe but to feel secure, as if she didn’t have to worry about losing her home again.
“How do you feel about it?” her voice shook slightly.
“I don’t care how he feels,” Raven put in. Hawkeye glared at him to shut him up, if only for a couple of minutes, then turned his attention back to Delilah.
“Talk to me, little dove.”
“How will you feel if I’m here and you don’t want me anymore?”
“Sweetheart, it’s not that I don’t want you here. It’s not that I don’t want you period. I do. I just want you to be sure that a grouchy, cranky biker with blood on his hands is what you want. Really want.”
Delilah turned in his arms so she faced him.
She tilted her head back to look up at him and the tears that had been pooling in her eyes had fallen, leaving streaks down her pale cheeks.
It took everything in him not to lower his head and kiss away the trails.
Instead, he watched, waiting for whatever she was about to say to him.
“What if I know what I want? What if it never changes?” she wrapped her arms around his middle, almost mirroring how he still held her.
The look in her eyes, the pure devotion, the need, the begging look for him to accept her crumbled his resolve.
He couldn’t hold her at arm’s length any longer.
He’d never wanted to let her go anyway and he could only fight so much.
With Raven, and likely the rest of the club, siding with Delilah, he knew he was lost.
“Then I’ll be the happiest man on earth. I can’t think of anything I want more than you, but if it takes letting you go to make you happy, I’ll do that, too. Your happiness means more to me than my own.”
She stared at him for a moment, tears running down her cheeks. This time he didn’t bother trying to stop himself. He kissed away her tears, letting his tongue erase the trails they’d already left.
“Take that somewhere else,” Raven said, reminding Hawkeye they weren’t alone.
“Sorry,” Hawkeye murmured to Delilah. “I kind of forgot myself.”
“I don’t mind.” She gave him a gentle smile, then unwrapped her arms from around his middle and turned back to face the rest of the group. “I’d like that, sir.”
“Call me Raven, Delilah, everyone does.”
“Raven then. I’d love to take the house. I don’t know anything about decorating, and I don’t know where I’ll get the money for everything, but I’d love the house. Maybe I can find a job in town? I can cook and probably wait tables with a little practice.”
“You don’t need a fucking job,” Hawkeye couldn’t help the words from coming out as a growl. “I’ll pay for anything you want or need. That’s part of my job. Taking care of you and making sure you’re happy.”
“What if I want a job?” She turned to look up at him.
Hawkeye sighed, no one was going to make this easy for him. “If you want a job, I won’t stop you. But I don’t want you feeling like you have to work, that you have to earn whatever you’re wanting, whether it’s by working or any other means.”
She frowned at him for a moment but didn’t say anything. Hawkeye wondered what she was thinking and made a mental note to ask her later. When she turned back to the group, she looked at Raven.
“How big are these houses?”
“We’ve got a couple of floor plans. Some bigger than others. Our smallest is two bed, two bath, largest is a four bed, three bath. Want to take a look and pick out what you want?”
“Can I?”
“Sure, let’s go back to the clubhouse,” Raven motioned in that direction, “I’ll pull out the floorplans, you can take a look and think about which one you want.”
“We can go online and look at some houses, get an idea for what kind of colors you want, inside and out. This will be so much fun!” Taylynn said.
“All right.” Delilah said after a moment.
Taylynn and Andy headed for the truck they’d brought down, Raven and Dagger went for their bikes, but Hawkeye hadn’t released his hold on Delilah.
“Ride with me,” he said as he bent to place a chaste kiss on top of her head.
“Are you sure?”
“I am. I want you on the back of my bike. I want you to be the only one on the back of my bike for the rest of our lives. You think you’re up for that?”
“I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”
“Then come on.” He took her hand and drew her over to his bike.
“I’ll order her cut today,” Raven said as Hawkeye threw his leg over the seat.
“Thanks,” Hawkeye said. Now he had almost everything. His woman on his side and soon, his name on her back. What more could he ask for?
Oh, yeah. He had to take care of Jericho and make sure the Royal Crows wouldn’t be a problem.