Page 13 of Hawk
He says, “Yeah, I saw her come in earlier with Wraith. You know nothing slips pass me, brother. So, what’s the deal? Do we need to crack some skulls or what? I know y’all ain’t together or nothing, but she still your property, is she not?”
“She is.”
“Then tell me, Hawk—what’s going on?”
“I won’t know the full extent of it until I have another chat with her.”
“Alright. When you find out, let me know. We can discuss it at church. You catch my drift?”
“Got it.”
He lays his hand on my shoulder and says, “You’re a member of this club—means nothing that you don’t have an official rank. You’re a member and everybody here is important to the operation of this fine establishment. Got it?”
“Yeah, Prez. Got it.”
“Good. Now, get back in there, grab one of them Beauties, take her to the back room and drop your pants. After two years locked up, you deserve it.”
I step back inside, still not ready for any of the festivities. I sit at the bar, grab another beer and watch the ladies for a while. After being locked up for years, you’d think that’s the first thing I want to do is slide between a pair of thighs, but there’s much more pressing matters on my mind – like my daughter.
“Hawk, good to see you, brother. How does it feel to be a free man?” Sheol asks.
He came out of nowhere. I was in such deep thought, I hadn’t noticed him. He’s the club Chaplin and one of his jobs is to bless the bikes before we head out on a ride. He’s a well-respected member of the club and owns a listening bar that plays the best jazz sounds in all of New Orleans.
“It feels good to be out, especially considering I never should’ve been in there in the first place.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. Your brother is into some weird stuff, man. I mean, so are we, who am I to judge, but at least we know how to keep it discreet. Know what I mean?”
“Absolutely. I think he needs the discipline of an MC to get that through his head.”
He chuckles. “Prez would never let him join Sin City. He’s too reckless.”
“I know. I just don’t want him to end up in a street gang or something. He’s going to mess around and get himself killed.”
Sheol grabs me by the shoulders and shake me up a bit. “It’s good to have you back! You have to stop by Speak Easy one day next week.”
“You got it, brother. I’ll make sure and do that.”
The Beauties are really baring it all now, bending and stretching their tight little bodies, performing a show. They have the new members hyped, but us seasoned vets are not all that thrilled. Most of us – not me, but them – have slept with the entertainment. These girls will do anything to get one of these members to make them their property. The new members are excited about having them around, but not necessarily to marry. They’re fun. They’re carefree and overly sexual. And meanwhile, I sit here at the bar thinking about Ivy and Lilly.
There’s something about this lifestyle that rubs me the wrong way sometimes. It’s not my brothers – it will never be them. I think it’s the drive I have to get my life where it was before I was booked for a crime I didn’t commit. I want that back. I want my old life back and it’s going to require a level of commitment that’ll take me away from this place.
And in addition to wanting my business back, I want Ivy.
Yeah, I said it. I want her, but she doesn’t want me.
The only reason she’s entertaining me now is for protection. And then there’s this man she’s running from…
Lion, the club secretary, punches me smack dab in the chest and says, “Long time, no see, fool.”
“I know, I know. I’m back.”
“For good, I hope. I’m the one that’s supposed to be getting locked up. Not you, Hawk.”
“Yeah. Wrong place, wrong time. Haven said it was best for me to take the plea deal, so that’s what I did.”
Haven Richardson is the club lawyer. She’s gotten me out of a few jams, but some things you just can’t avoid prison time for – like bank robbery.
“I hear ya.”