Chapter Thirty-Four
Delilah stretched and looked around, wondering where Hawkeye had gone.
No. He’d told her to call him Michael. She couldn’t help but smile.
He hadn’t said as much but she suspected there was something special about his telling her to use his name, and it wasn’t just one way.
He made her feel things, not just physically, she’d never felt before.
She suspected she was more than halfway in love with him already.
She sat up and spotted a piece of paper on the nightstand.
She read it then laid it back where she’d found it and got up.
She grabbed some of her new clothes and went into the bathroom to clean up and use the facilities, then slipped on the pair of sandals Hawkeye had insisted she needed, took her key from beside the door, and let herself out, making sure to lock the room behind her.
She checked the main room and didn’t see Hawkeye, nor, to her surprise were there any of the patched brothers there.
The men that were present were Dax and Hunter.
She frowned but spotted Taylynn in the corner, and after this morning, Delilah was much more at ease around the other woman, so she headed that way.
“What’s up?” Delilah asked, making a point of looking around, as if she only just noticed that nearly no one was around.
Taylynn lifted one corner of her mouth in a wry smile. “Have a seat,” she motioned the chairs across from her. “They’re in church. Hawkeye said he had news and ten minutes later I was here with my bodyguards.” She motioned to the two prospects.
“If they’re in here, who’s manning the gate?” Delilah asked, she only remembered seeing two prospects, but Hawkey had said the gate was manned 24/7.
“David’s on the gate. We’ve got three prospects right now, but I heard Raven say they’re always on the lookout for someone who might fit, so who knows when we might get another one or two.” She shrugged then turned back to the plate of food sitting in front of her.
“David’s the most normal name I’ve heard since I got here ... well, other than you and Andy.” Delilah said from where she still stood beside the table.
“They’ll get road names if and when they patch in, until then they go by their given names.” Taylynn frowned at her. “Is there a reason you’re still standing there?”
“Yeah. I’m hungry but wanted to ask before I go help myself.”
“Go for it. The kitchen is for everyone. If there’s something in particular you want, there’s a magnetic notepad on the side of the fridge. Add whatever you want to the list and someone will pick it up on the next trip.”
Delilah nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute.
” She headed into the kitchen and fixed herself a plate.
When it was through heating, she carried it back out to the table and sat.
Before she’d even taken her first bite, Dax appeared next to the table and set a bottle of water beside her.
She frowned and looked up at him. “What’s this? ”
“For you. You seem to prefer water, so I brought you one,” he said.
She looked at the bottle then back to him. “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say, so she turned her attention back to her plate. He left and she ate.
A few minutes later, Taylynn pushed her plate aside, until it was in front of the chair beside her instead of in front of her, then she folded her arms and rested them on the table as she watched Delilah.
“What?” Delilah asked after a moment.
“Just thinking. Hawkeye told me we would need to order you more clothes, but he wasn’t sure what you would be comfortable with. He asked me to help you do some online shopping since you likely don’t know much about using a computer.”
“He’s right. I’ve never even touched one.”
Taylynn frowned. “That won’t last long. If I know anything at all about Hawkeye, he’ll get you a computer and a smartphone by the end of the week and he’ll make sure you know how to use them.”
Delilah pulled a face. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of learning to use a computer, but she didn’t hate it either. A sound came from the hallway—it sounded like a door opening, then the sound of several sets of footsteps. Delilah turned to see who was headed this way.
The first man that appeared, she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t until he got closer that she could read that patch with his road name. ‘Banshee’ it said. Still not a name she recognized.
Behind him she could see several others.
Did this mean church was over? Would Hawkeye be coming out soon?
She wondered what he’d found and if it was something he could tell her.
She wouldn’t ask if anyone was around. She figured she had a better chance of getting him to tell her what was up when they were alone.
In the end, she didn’t have to wait. Hawkeye came into the room, looked around for a moment then came and sat beside her.
“Glad to see you got something to eat,” he tipped his head toward her now empty plate.
Delilah nodded.
“How long have you been up?”
“Maybe half an hour or so. Is something going on?”
“I’ve got some news. I’m just waiting for Raven to join us before I tell you. He’ll be here in just a minute.”
Delilah nodded. She could wait, especially if she knew he would tell her what was going on. She hoped she wouldn’t have to wait too long.
Raven showed up a couple of minutes later. He sat beside Taylynn, looked around, and waved his hand in a circle at someone, then turned his attention to the table.
“Have you already started or were you waiting for me?”
“I was waiting. I figured there would be questions and I wanted you here for them, because I think some of them might be for you.”
Raven nodded and motioned for Hawkeye to go ahead.
Hawkeye took a deep breath and Delilah saw him look at each person around the table in turn before he spoke.
“The Royal Crows are no more. If there is any of them left, they’re in deep hiding.” He paused.
Delilah stared at him, not sure what she should feel. Right now there was nothing. She didn’t know if it was because they didn’t matter to her or if there was something wrong. Either way, she got the idea that wasn’t all Hawkeye needed to tell her.
He looked around again, then continued. “Once I reached out to a group of hackers I know about Jericho, they were able to put things in place and move, fast. They raided the town early this morning. All of the women and children there have been removed and are being cared for at one of over a half dozen locations. I would have liked to keep them together, but with the number of people involved, that wasn’t possible.
They were able to keep mothers and children together where possible. ”
“What does that mean?” Taylynn said with a frown.
Hawkeye turned to look at her. “I don’t know how to put this without being blunt. But there was a significant number of children whose mothers are deceased.”
“That’s horrible! What’s going to happen to those children?”
“Homes will be found for them. I’d like to say that will happen right away but some of the kids, both the orphans and not, need medical care.
I don’t know why, but Domino said none of the children were injured in the raid.
A couple of the women had small injuries, but none of the innocents were significantly hurt. ”
“What about the men?” Delilah only had a few men there she cared what happened to, and it wasn’t to hope they were uninjured.
“My reports say a couple of men died, others were injured.” Hawkeye met her gaze. “Your father and the piece of trash he gave you to were both injured, but not seriously. At least not yet.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Little dove, don’t you know by now?” He watched her for a few seconds then he spoke again, “My friends will find ways to make all the men of Jericho pay for what they’ve been doing there.
And I’m not just talking about how you were beaten and treated like less than a person, though that’s bad enough.
They did far worse and they will suffer for it. ”
She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, not sure what to say. She had known at the time that some things weren’t right, but for what she thought he was talking about, that had just been normal, at least at the time. “I thought you meant prison.”
“Some will end up there. And once they do, those of us involved will make sure the other inmates know what they’ve done.
” An unpleasant smile curved his lips, as if he was pleased by the knowledge of what would happen to the men in prison.
It didn’t scare her. It wasn’t because of what he wanted to do to her and she knew him well enough to know he would never turn that look on her.
“And the rest?” Taylynn asked. Delilah shot her a wan smile for asking what she’d been thinking.
“The rest won’t make it to jail.” Hawkeye didn’t look at her, as if he didn’t want to see her reaction.
“The ones they can’t get enough evidence to guarantee convictions, or the ones who were particularly horrid to their women, they won’t make it into the legal system.
” Now he did turn and look at Delilah. “You are safe. Neither man will ever come for you. You’re mine and I take care of what’s mine.
” He watched her face for a moment, and when she didn’t react, didn’t look disgusted by the idea, he tugged her close and kissed the top of her head.
“What about the kids with no mother?” Delilah asked.
Hawkeye watched her for a moment. “They’ll be taken care of.”
“What if I want one of them? Or more?”
“I considered that. I’d like to get one for you but we’re in that one room for at least a few months.
I was hoping we could just have the two of us at least until the house is finished.
There are a couple of babies that had to be taken to the hospital .
.. we’ll see how things are when they are ready to be released. ”
“The hospital?” she asked, afraid of what had happened.
“They weren’t hurt in the raid, but one of the toddlers had been beaten badly by her father.
Another infant was severely malnourished.
I don’t know all the details,” he said with a shake of his head.
“We’ll work it out. You will have the kids you want.
If they’re not from Jericho, we’ll find them somewhere.
Trust me.” He leaned close but stopped just short of kissing her.
“I do.” Delilah closed the distance, giving him a quick, chaste kiss as she couldn’t forget Taylynn and Raven across the table watching them.
“Get a room,” Raven said, but his tone was playful, not annoyed or irritated.
Hawkeye pulled away, gave her a gentle smile then wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her against him as he turned back to the president.
Before he had a chance to say anything, some smart mouthed comment if Delilah knew anything about him, the president’s phone rang.
The table fell silent as he answered it.
Raven’s eyes went wide, “Say that again? Which hospital?” he said after a moment.
His gaze flew up and he looked at Hawkeye as he lifted one finger and made a quick circle.
Hawkeye nodded and lifted one hand in the air, snapping his fingers.
The whole room fell silent as Raven hung up the phone.
He looked around the silent room, his eyes slightly widened as if he didn’t quite believe what he had to say.
“Spider’s been in an accident. He was rearended on his bike. It’s not good. They’re flying him into Bozeman.”
“Shit.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Fuck.”
“Is he going to live?”
The only voice Delilah could identify was Taylynn’s who’d asked the last. Delilah didn’t know who Spider was, but he was one of the Fallen Angels and that was all that mattered right now.
“I don’t know but we need to get up there and see what we can do. Spider has no family. I’d claim to be his brother, but we’ve got different last names.
“I’ll be his sister. Then we can get him taken care of,” Taylynn said.
“Good. Okay. We need to pack a few things and hit the road. As many of us as we can.”
Delilah looked at Hawkeye, “Are we going?”
“Of course,”
“Then let’s get packed. The sooner we hit the road, the sooner we can get there.
” She stood and headed for their room. She might be new there, but she knew how to take care of family.
And this was a far better family than the one she’d had before.
They didn’t hurt her, they didn’t hurt each other, and they banded together to help one another. She would be happy here, she knew it.
The End