“Fuck,” I grit out, trying to fight it but I know I’m going to pass out.
“I think you’ve done enough talking,” Ford says as he gets up and uses the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.
“Hawk!” Piper shouts and I look over to see two women holding her back from getting to me.
Everything inside of me boils and my adrenaline surges. But it’s too late. The black spots around my eyes are getting bigger and I can’t breathe.
“Muñeca,” I feel myself mumble just before my whole world goes black.
It feels like hours or maybe even days later when my eyes open. It’s dark all around me and I have no idea what time it is. The floor is cold concrete and my whole body aches from being in the same position for too long.
I curse as I roll over onto my back and my head swims. I hear a small sound nearby and I look over to see a faint light coming from across the room. I blink a few times to get my eyes to adjust.
“What the fuck?” I whisper when I realize I’m in some kind of cell.
Thoughts of Piper screaming my name come rushing back and I’m on my feet in a second. But it’s too fast and I stumble to the floor, nearly hitting my head on the concrete. I take a few deep breaths and then get up again, because I have to get to her. I can’t lose her. Not again.
“Easy,” a soft voice says, and I look up to see a blond woman I recognize from the office the first time I visited Camp Hardwood. “I’m Honey. I believe you’re the man who punched my husband and kicked my son?” She raises an accusing eyebrow and I don’t bother denying the charges.
“Where the fuck is Piper?”
“She’s okay. We had to force her to lie down because she was pretty upset,” Honey says, and her eyes soften. “Your visit upset her, to say the least.”
“I need to see her,” I plead, grabbing the bars and moving in close. “Please.”
I don’t remember the last time I said that word, but it doesn’t matter. I’d do anything to get to her and have her back.
“I’m just here to check on you and bring you some food. When she’s ready we’ll let her come here and talk to you. But until then she needs to take care of the baby.”
The look on her face is a mix of pity and recognition. She isn’t going to let me out, but she’s at least telling me at some point I’ll get to see her. She holds out a tray of food and slides it under the door to me. Then she passes me a bottle of water and I take it from her gently.
“There’s a cot in the back. Try to get some sleep.”
She turns to walk away and I swallow hard before I speak.
“Just—” I begin, and she stops to look at me. “Make sure she’s okay.”
She nods and a sad smile pulls at her lips. “She’s our family. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”
I don’t expect the stab of jealousy to hit me so hard, but I have to take a step back because it’s so sharp my head is dropping. Honey walks out of the room and the metal door closes behind her.
I walk to the back of the cell and sit down on the cot with a thud. What the fuck have I done?
Chapter 3
Piper
“I brought cookies.” Tia sets the giant plate of cookies on the nightstand next to my bed and I stare down at them.
She went all out and brought at least three different kinds, which are all my favorites. Normally I’m down for her cookies because no one can cook like Tia, but right now I’m not hungry for anything. My body is screaming for Hawk and that’s the only thing I want.
“We could do a sleepover,” Tia adds when I don’t reach for the cookies. I’m sure I’m alarming her even more. But I know Van won’t be okay with Tia sleeping anywhere that isn’t with him.
Plus I know they’re into a little bit of kink. I bet Van ties her to the bed every night. From looking at the two of them you wouldn’t guess it, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors and Van likes to keep those doors sealed tight when it comes to Tia. He’s very territorial over her. It might be shocking at first until you see him in action and everything is about taking care of her. I long to be taken care of. I always dreamed that person would be Hawk. He’s been doing it in small ways all along.
Mrs. Cyprus is sitting on the empty bed that used to be Tia’s until she moved in with Van only days ago. Tia and Ford are the only ones who get to call Mrs. Cyprus ‘Honey’ and I think it’s actually kind of adorable. If anyone else does, it gets Ford all out of sorts. I think Tia gets the privilege because she’s going to be their daughter-in-law. Right now she’s watching me closely and not saying much. I know she’s waiting for her moment.
“I don’t need a sleepover.” I let out a long sigh.
I’m still shocked at seeing Hawk. I wanted to smack him and kiss him all at once. He’s here two seconds and bossing me around. Again, I fight my body's reaction to him. I don’t know what it is about his bossy tone but it always does things to me. I love it almost as much as when I catch that rare sweetness deep inside of him. It’s probably just a fantasy I’ve made up in my mind over the years to feed the dream of being his.
“He’s the father,” Mrs. C finally says, and it’s not a question.
I saw Hawk get jealous over me a time or two, but there weren't very many opportunities for that to happen over the years. He and my father kept men away from me. How many times did I wonder if he was with other women? I never saw it, but how can a man who looks like Hawk have gone without? I swallow the lump forming in my throat when I imagine the women he’s been with since he left me.
“Where is he?” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. If I know anything, it’s that Hawk will get what he wants and he can get himself out of almost any mess.
“Moose put him in holding.”
I bring my hands up to my face to rub my eyes, unsure how I feel about that. It’s not so much because of Hawk being locked up but a part of me is hoping that he hasn't told my father where I am yet. If he’s in a jail cell, my father will find out soon enough.
“They’re only holding him, Piper. It’s not legal for us to keep him in there, but I don’t think he’s a law-abiding citizen himself.”
I snort a laugh because I don’t know what Hawk is. He was always good to me and went out of his way to make sure I was taken care of. It was more than my father ever did and I always wondered if it was because my father told him to.
“I came here to start new.” I drop my hands from my face to wring them in my lap as I look down at my small baby bump.
I saw something in Hawk’s eyes when he saw my belly and a small spark of hope lit inside of me. He had to know my father would be far from okay with me being pregnant. Not only am I knocked up but it’s by one of his men. He’d see it as a sign of disrespect and then it would be an all-out war. Hawk has to know that, too.
I know Hawk could take my father one on one, but my father never plays fair. To be honest, though, I don’t think Hawk would either when it comes to something he wants. I guess when I think about it, I wouldn't either. You do what you have to. I know I will when it comes to the baby already growing inside of me. I love my little man already. I’m sure he’s a boy—he has to be. At the rate he’s growing, he’s going to be as big as his daddy.