Chapter 3 #2
His brow furrows as he wraps the book in two plastic bags, trying to get them as tight and secure as possible. “Huh. I’ve always thought that, too.” He hands the package over to me with a smile. “I hope you get this home dry. It’s one of my favorite classics.”
Unfortunately, mine, too.
Inclining my head in thanks, I smile. “I’ll keep it safe.”
I slide the book into my interior jacket pocket, then step back out into the storm, hustling across the street to my bike.
As soon as I have the engine roaring again, I pull away from the curb, making my way farther down the street, past their steakhouse restaurant, another one of their bars, then I shoot across town to scope out The Hawkeye Club Two and Three.
With almost a hundred businesses under the Hawke Enterprises umbrella, I can see how they’ve grown so powerful here. Money grows power, and they sure have a fuckload of it.
All their establishments seem to be so well run, so well loved and cared for, so well protected.
I couldn’t help but notice the security at every location. The black SUVs parked outside and who did a very shitty job of looking inconspicuous…
Of course, I know what to look for.
Bishop wasn’t joking when she said that making sure everyone was safe was her job and her highest priority.
Even when she isn’t with them, she’s doing it.
But there are so many of them now, it would be impossible to keep track of them all, to make sure that every single one of them is safe from every single threat.
My chest tightens with that thought, and I rev my engine and pull away again. By the time night starts to descend, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull over and take it out to read the text.
We need to meet.
I scowl at it.
Not tonight.
The rain begins to taper off, but getting home and getting dry is my main priority. Not dealing with the devil on my shoulder.
Now. Don’t forget who you work for.
I grit my teeth and stare at the message for a few moments, trying to sort through the feelings raging in my chest.
I’ve never been particularly good at taking orders. A fact that got me into trouble more times than I can count. Most of the time, I’d rather go with the flow, figure things out for myself and take action only when I find it necessary.
But that isn’t the nature of the job.
A job you willingly took…
“Fuck…”
I fire off a reply text.
Fine. I’ll see you in an hour.
Because he’s right.
I have to remember who I work for and why I’m here.
I can’t throw it all to the wayside because I’m attracted to Bishop Clarke, because her passion for protecting the Hawkes is admirable.
Do your job, Gage.
It will be painful tonight.
He won’t like what I have to say.
It’s why I’ve been putting off this meeting for as long as I already have. There are only so many ways to avoid facing the situation, and I can’t come up with new excuses anymore.
This is going to be a very long, very painful night filled with those decisions that all lead me back to the same inevitable internal conflict when all I want to do is go back to the club to find her.
* * *
BISHOP
“So, what do we do?” I pace Savage’s office, tugging on the hair tie on my wrist as I try to work through the dilemma that’s been plaguing me for days. “Postpone the opening of the second tower?”
Everyone in the room stares at me as if I just suggested razing it instead of merely bumping the date until we have a better handle on what’s going on, until I can be confident we can do it safely and securely.
I look from Savage to Dani, then to Gabe and Luca, and finally, Mom and Dad, waiting for someone to agree with me that it might be a good idea, but the hard set of everyone’s jaw and wide eyes tell me I’m not going to get much support on this.
Not that I expected it.
My meeting with Savage and Gabe yesterday about the same issue went absolutely nowhere. They wouldn’t even consider my suggestion to postpone. I don’t know why I thought having anyone else here might actually change the result.
Maybe because my head has been swimming to places it doesn’t belong since Gage walked out of the club.
Warm blue places filled with heat and passion that are nothing more than a distraction I can’t afford.
Not when there are dark places swirling with chaos, pain, and uncertainty that need to be my focus.
Satriano…
Michael McDonald…
I can’t wrap my mind around proceeding with such a huge, public event when there is one massive threat and an even greater unknown out there. “You all really want to go ahead when we know Satriano flew in one of his top people and could be bringing in more?”
Gabe runs a hand back through his thick, blond hair that’s starting to go gray at the temples.
“Like I told you earlier, we’re trying to track down this Michael McDonald guy, but he’s basically a ghost. We can’t find any information on him, and he vanished after he landed here.
All we have is the photo and information from his passport, which is likely all fake.
Even the photo looks doctored, like he was in disguise. ”
He’s right.
I’ve seen it.
And something about it is just off in a way I can’t put my finger on.
His hair, too dark. His eyes, too green. His skin, too pale.
The man in the passport photo might actually be Michael McDonald, but it certainly isn’t what he looks like now.
Which makes finding him even harder, even for the experienced people we have working for us and our connections who are digging into every dark corner they can find looking for him.
I pace in front of the windows on the second floor of the club, unable to sit still, the storm raging outside perfectly echoing the tumultuous current coursing through me.
“We have less than a week. What if we don’t get eyes on this guy?
What if he came in because Satriano has plans and wants to make a public statement? You know we can’t trust that man.”
Everyone nods.
We may not all be on the same page about how to handle the situation, but we can all agree on that point.
Dad pushes off the wall where he was leaning and walks over to place his large hands on my shoulders. “You know as well as I do that if we canceled our plans every time there was a threat, we wouldn’t have a business anymore.”
I scowl at him and his logic that is far too logical. “I know, but this just…feels different.”
Attempting to explain it to him or anyone else in this room is like trying to explain how you can feel an incoming storm.
The charge in the air. The energy that feels “off.” That’s how I’ve felt since Atlas threw that fight, and it has only gotten worse since Allegra left him behind and joined us.
Couple that with the arrival of Michael McDonald in town, a man Allegra says worked for her father and who has mysteriously been absent for over a year… it feels more like a hurricane brewing.
I slide out of Dad’s hold and resume my pacing. Not wanting the placation or the reminder that there isn’t much we can do without more information. “I don’t know how to explain it. But I have a bad feeling…”
A massive understatement.
But it’s all I can say.
Luca looks from Savage to Gabe, then to Dad before coming to rest on me.
His dark eyes hold sympathy and understanding.
If anyone would understand the mind of a man like Satriano, it would be him.
“It wouldn’t be the worst idea to wait until we at least have eyes on this guy.
Satriano has been silent for far too long.
This feels like a move for McDonald to come here after being MIA for a year and a half. ”
Mom shakes her head, exchanging a look with Dani. “It would be a PR nightmare to have to retract all those invitations to the grand opening. I wouldn’t do it. It’d kill all the momentum we have with the hotel and casino.”
“And Satriano could kill us.”
Luca’s dark words cut through the room, silencing everyone.
Savage glares at him. “Really, Luca?”
The former mob boss shrugs, his perfectly tailored suit jacket clinging to his broad shoulders.
“When everything went down with Allegra, we knew that we’d be poking the bear by protecting her and bringing her into the fold.
We also told him we’ll never partner with him.
If he can’t get us on board with some sort of business agreement, then what other option does he have than to remove the competition? ”
Who are about to open another major portion of the lucrative business he wants a piece of…
I point at him. “You’re the one who told us to never partner with him.”
Which pissed him off more.
Luca nods. “You shouldn’t. But I also think you’re right to be nervous. We haven’t heard from him in months, and it typically doesn’t end well when he disappears. When he reappears, it’s usually with a bang.”
Savage’s jaw locks, and a muscle there tics. The memories of what has happened to the family over the last few years because of that man have left all of us scarred—none more so than him.
Sitting at the head of the family, Savage takes every wound suffered by anyone onto himself, when it really should be me who bears that burden.
He put his trust in me to protect everyone.
It isn’t his fault I failed.
Only my own.
Dani steps up behind his chair and rests her hand on his shoulders, rubbing gently, trying to calm him before he explodes.
He looks to Gabe. “Postpone. Yay or nay?”
Gabe shakes his head. “Nay.”
Savage looks to Dad next, who gives me a sympathetic look but shakes his head. “No.”
Mom releases a sigh. “Sorry, sweetie, but no.”
Savage’s gaze finally meets Luca’s, and he stands stock-still for a few moments, considering all the options available before he shakes his head.
“No.” He offers me an apologetic look that does nothing to ease my annoyance at his sudden flip.
“But only because I ultimately think that giving anything to Satriano only grows his ego and his belief that nothing will ever be beyond his grasp.”