Craving Hawk (The Aces' Sons 3)

“Grease?” I asked, looking around at the deserted parking lot. “Dragon? Grease? Casper?”

“Boys are inside, lass,” he said gently, striding toward me. “Come on, now.”

He placed his hand on my back and led me toward the open front door. As soon as we were inside he walked me toward the bar and tried to get me to sit down, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t wait.

“Give me a moment,” he said firmly, nodding at me to stay put.

He rounded the bar and knocked on the door behind it before poking his head inside the room and saying something I couldn’t hear. Then he swung the door open and took a step back as the men inside came out in a wave: Grease, Dragon, Hulk, Will, Casper, and a guy they called Samson.

“Heather? Where’s Tom?” Will asked, stopping across the bar from me.

“He-he,” I stuttered a little and swallowed hard. “They arrested him.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Poet muttered from somewhere behind me.

“They pulled us over,” I babbled, finding Grease in the middle of the group and meeting his eyes. “I don’t know why. We weren’t going too fast or anything. And Tommy used his blinker. I know he did, because I always notice things like that and—”

“Breathe,” Grease ordered softly.

I inhaled deeply and squeezed my hands together. “They pulled us over, and then the cop went to run Tommy’s registration, and Tommy must have known something was up because before the cop got back he told me to take the car and come straight here and you’d know what to do.”

I burst into tears as soon as I’d finished speaking.

“But what the fuck did they arrest him for?” Casper asked in confusion, raising his voice above my sobs.

“For murdering Mark Phillips,” I rasped, raising my eyes to the men.

“Who the fuck is Mark Phillips?” Casper asked, clearly irritated he didn’t know what the hell was going on.

“That teacher from the high school that went missing,” Will muttered, scratching at his beard. “Why the fuck would they try to pin that on Tommy?”

All of their eyes eventually landed on me, and I froze like a bunny surrounded by a pack of wolves. “I have no idea,” I blurted, digging my nails into my palms.

“We need a fuckin’ lawyer,” Dragon grumbled, reaching up to grab a bottle of whiskey off the shelf behind the bar. He twisted off the cap and took a deep pull before setting down a shot glass in front of me and filling it to the rim. “Drink it. You’re shakin’ like a leaf.”

I picked up the shot and took it without protest, only spilling a little on my hand. Then I set it on the bar and slid it toward him. He filled it again and I nodded my thanks as I threw it back.

“How the fuck are we supposed to know anythin’ if we don’t have a goddamn lawyer?” Grease asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the bar.

“Well now, I can make a few calls,” Poet said, patting his pockets as he walked away.

“He do it?” Hulk asked the group quietly.

“Where there’s smoke,” Casper mumbled, digging his fingers into his eye sockets. “Question is, can they prove it?”

* * *

Hours later, we were gathered around the bar once again. I’d curled up in Tommy’s bed for as long as I could, inhaling the familiar scent of his sheets, but the minute I’d heard the guys congregating in the main room I’d left my safe haven.

“Talked to Nix,” Poet announced. “Set me up with a friend. Attorney outta Portland. Says he’s good.”

“You know anything about this guy?” Casper asked.

“Just that my boy says he’s good people,” Poet replied.

“Wait,” I blurted. “Who’s Nix?”

“Poet’s wife’s kid,” Will answered me as the guys continued with their conversation.

“Well, we’ll feel him out when he gets here,” Dragon said with a nod. “He headin’ down?”

“When I called he said he’d be down Monday morning for the arraignment,” Poet replied.

“Cuttin’ it close,” Grease muttered.

“Nothin’ he can do before that,” Poet pointed out.

The phone rang behind the bar and I startled. I hadn’t even realized there was a phone there. Everyone was always using their cellphones.

“Yeah?” Hulk answered. He paused for a minute. “You wanna talk to your pop? Alright, she’s right here.”

His eyes met mine and my heart started to race. “Tommy,” he called, wiggling the phone back and forth.

I slipped off my stool and raced around the bar, sliding in something on the floor and barely catching myself before I wiped out. I took the phone from Hulk and inhaled deeply.

“Hello?”

“Hey, sugar.”

My eyes immediately started to water.

“Hey,” I whispered back, turning so my back to the men. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Done this shit before.”

“Yeah, but—”

“They monitor these calls, baby.”

“Oh.” My mouth snapped shut.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. I’m with your dad.” I glanced over my shoulder to find Grease watching me.