Hawk

24 - Crazy ride

Brooke

Taylor has Gabe for a couple more hours, and my shift at the restaurant is almost over. So, I’ve decided to meet Hawk at the clubhouse, and then we can go pick up our son together.

“You did great today.”

“Thank you, Mario. Today has been great.”

I brought in some baked goods from home. I had spent the whole weekend making deserts and baking cakes. I wanted to see what Draven thought about maybe adding some of them to the menu. Okay, perhaps it was wishful thinking, but you’ll never know unless you try. That’s what my sister always told me, anyway.

I made a champagne cake with light pink tint frosting that should be served with fresh strawberries. I also made a three-layer Italian cream cake with coconut and chopped pecan flavor frosting. I then made a pink lemonade cake. Four layers of sponge, two baby pink in color, two a darker pink, creamy lemon-butter frosting, and sugared lemon slices for decoration. Lastly, I made a mocha tres leches cake. I baked the cake after adding a little espresso coffee powder to the chocolate cake batter. It’s always been one of my favorites to make because of how moist it always comes out. I topped it with creamy curls of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

I was so nervous about showing Draven what I’d made, but Mario told me to go for it. The worst Draven could say was No.

It turns out that after both Draven and Mario tried my cakes, all four were added to the menu! I decided to act modestly, but inside, I was jumping up and down with joy. Draven told me how gifted he thought I was when it came to baked goods. His praise meant a lot to me.

I had years of practice on the farm. I used to bake cakes all the time for my family. It was the only thing Hank thought I was good at. I miss it; that’s why I bake for the MC whenever the mood takes me. Everyone seems to love everything I make, and that makes me so happy.

“You did good, kid.”

I smile at Mario. He’s a nice guy. Mario is in his late forties, married for twenty-six years with seven children. He’s also worked for the Vidal family since he was old enough to do so. He’s fiercely loyal to the Don, and I’m pretty sure he does more than just cook. It’s not my business, and I don’t want to know anyway.

The air is fresh tonight. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs the second I’m outside the restaurant, and I smile because, right now, life is good. I’m not worried about my father finding me here. Draven has made sure I am protected. Two men are standing outside, watching me like the Men in Black. I chuckle at the thought. The point is my father wouldn’t dare come near me with those men watching me. He would be dead before he stepped out of his truck.

A horn blast makes me jump, and I giggle when I see that it’s Nova. She offered to pick me up tonight because my car is in the club’s garage with a burst radiator. The damn thing is a hunk of junk, but it was just a little runaround CueBall gave me to get to and from work. As I am not ungrateful for anything, I hugged him hard.

Hawk wants to get it fixed up properly. BlackJack told Hawk it would be easier to buy a decent one. If I know anything about Hawk, it’s that he likes to build things from the foundations and fix what’s broken to make it perfect. He’s good at that.

I rush over to Nova’s car. I climb into the back because I notice someone is already in the front seat.

“Hey. Thanks for picking me up. Who’s your friend?” I don’t recognize the brunette sitting next to her.

“This is Alison. Alison, this is Brooke, Hawk’s other half.”

Alison looks behind her and smiles at me. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Alison.”

I notice we’re going the wrong way five minutes into our journey. I say nothing, though, because, for all I know, Nova could be taking Alison home. However, the further we drive, the more I wonder.

How far could this woman possibly live from Bardsville?

Finally, Nova pulls the car over across the street from a row of rundown houses, ensuring the trees shadow the vehicle. This place is a dump. It gives off such a bad vibe. Bad things happen here; I can feel it.

“Nova, why the hell have you brought us here?” I ask.

“There’s something I have to do. I shouldn’t have brought either of you with me, but Alison here refused to be left behind, and I didn’t have time to drop you home before I got this sorted.”

I shift in my seat. I have a very uneasy feeling. “Nova, what the hell is going on?”

Nova looks at me through the rearview mirror while explaining who Alison is and what happened earlier today. I didn’t even know Kong had a girlfriend. My eyes flick to her when Nova tells me how Alison’s father has taken her son. I see her tears, even if I can’t really see her face.

Nova then tells me just what we are doing here.

“You plan to go into that house and steal a child?”

“No, Brooke. I’m going in there to take back what belongs to one of our own.”

“But you just said how dangerous this man is! If he sees you, he will kill you, Nova!” I’m scared; anything could happen to her!

Nova raises her eyebrow. She isn’t fazed by this at all.

Alison turns in her seat and looks at me. “My father is a monster, Brooke. A monster of the worst kind.”

“So was mine, but this is crazy!”

“Your father was a monster to you?” I nod. “You have a child?” Again, I nod. “If your father had taken your son, you’d do anything to get him back, wouldn’t you?”

I can’t deny that I would, but there’s no way I would do something like this without Hawk’s help. I’m not taking away from Nova the fact she’s so very strong, but she shouldn’t have done this.

“Surely the Snakes are making plans right now to get your son back? Shouldn’t you have waited for them?”

“Look,” Nova snaps. I swallow hard. I love Nova, but I wouldn’t want to mess with her; she’s insane and wouldn’t think twice about killing me if I pushed her far enough. Consequences be damned. “I have every faith in the Snakes and their ability to protect the innocent, and especially our own. Alison is now one of us, and if there was no child involved, I’d have listened to Alison’s story and let her know everything would be okay.

“However, there is a three-year-old child in that house, scared and missing his mommy. The longer he’s in that house, the closer to death he is.

“Now, I have a job to do. Keep your heads down and your mouths shut. I don’t want to have to deal with any unexpected problems. Alison, remember what I said. If I’m not out in fifteen minutes, drive back to the clubhouse. You get yourself back to safety. Do not wait a second longer for me, no matter what. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

I want to say something to stop Nova from doing this. I want to call Hawk and tell him where we are. If anything goes wrong...

“I’ll be in and out as fast as I can. Hopefully, with no problems.” My eyes are wide as Nova snaps her gun into place. She looks over at Alison and smirks. She then gets out of the car and tucks the gun into the waistband of her jeans at her back.

What the hell!?