Final Ride (Lords of Mayhem) (10 page)

Hawk scanned the area and froze when he spotted Rayen
dragging a protesting Ariel away from the bar.

“Son of a bitch.” Hawk stalked over and stood in front of Rayen,
stopping him in his tracks. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“About to have some fun here with your borrowed girl. What
any man would do fresh out of jail.” Rayen smirked.

“She’s not on the menu,” Hawk growled.

“Have the rules changed that much? I’m pretty sure, house
mouses are community property.”

“You coming into my house, questioning me? Did you forget I’m
more than your brother? I’m the vice president. Whatever the fuck I say goes.”
Hawk clenched his hands into fists, determined not to let his brother get under
his skin. Rayen wanted the attention, but his dysfunction wouldn’t allow him to
seek it out normally. Not after spending half his life high, babied, enabled,
and then imprisoned. Hawk knew it logically, but the sight of Ariel restrained
by Rayen’s hand stuck in his craw.

“Isn’t that the pres’s job description?” Rayen said.

“Is this really how you want to start shit off?” Hawk asked,
not willing to screw his mother’s happiness.

“It got your attention, didn’t it? Earlier I wasn’t even
good enough to say hi to.”

“Is that what you think? You guys ambush me and you’re
shocked when I walk off?” Hawk shook his head. “Let’s not bullshit one another
and act like we parted on good terms.”

“You going to hold my past against me forever?”

“From where I’m standing, I could hold the present against
you and be justified. I’m only going to say this once, so I suggest you listen.
Keep your fucking hands off Ariel. She’s not for you.” Hawk snatched her hand
away and shoved Rayen backward. “You got something you want to get off your
chest, you bring it to me directly like a man.”

Rayen rushed forward. “You want to do this now? Get it over
with?” Hawk said. “We both know you’re spoiling for a fight.”

“The shit you did was wrong, and you know it,” Rayen
growled.

“I was tired. The title family only stretches so far before
it breaks and simply becomes a matter of genetic sequence.”

“So now I’m not even your family?”

“Did I say that?” Hawk barked. “Let’s take this out back.
Ariel, stay here with your girls. You’re about to get what you wanted, Rayen.
The pound of flesh you think I owe you. Then I don’t want to hear anything else
about it. You don’t like me? I don’t give a fuck. But Mom and Pop deserve
better. They spent a good chunk of their lives cleaning up after your messes. I’m
not about to let them do it again.”

“Fuck you, Hawk! You’re not better than me.”

Hawk moved fast, grabbing Rayen by the back of his neck and
squeezing hard. The brothers rushed up.

“You need help, V.P.? Someone forget their place?” a voice
asked in the crowd.

“No, this is family business and will be dealt with
accordingly. Don’t say shit else ’til we get out back,” Hawk growled. “If we
don’t come back in twenty minutes, come out after us.” Hawk released his
brother, whose muscles bulged beneath his T-shirt.

Little Rayen had packed on fifteen pounds of solid muscle
and had perfected his war face. The snarl would scare a lesser man, but it did
nothing to move Hawk. He’d been kicking his brother’s ass from the time he was ten
and Rayen was eight. That tradition would not end today with the entire Mayhem
crew waiting for them to come back inside. Besides, they needed this moment to
take out their frustrations on one another. The disappointments, the heartbreak
and the downright misery that came with being virtually shackled to a junkie through
the height of his addiction.

The metal door slammed shut as they stepped out into the
back parking lot. Rayen darted forward, landing a blow to Hawk’s jaw. Hawk’s
head snapped to the right. Pain exploded and anger bubbled to the surface. Hawk
lifted his fists, protecting his face as he circled his brother, looking for an
opening. Rayen leaned forward in an aggressive stance. His brown eyes were wide
and wild. This was a man used to defending himself at a moment’s notice. A red
haze of rage fell over Hawk’s eyes and he struck out like a snake, quick and
precise.

He landed a few shots to Rayen’s ribs and stomach, doubling
him over, and quickly followed the move up with an upper cut. Rayen stumbled
backward and let out a roar. Rayen charged forward, shoving Hawk backward. Hawk
firmly planted his feet to avoid toppling. Rayen drove his fist into Hawk’s
belly. Air rushed from Hawk’s lungs and he grimaced. Rayen smirked, standing
over him like the overindulged prick he’d become. Anger pushed Hawk past the
discomfort and he forced his body back into an upright position. They circled
one another like two heavyweight contenders in a ring. Hawk darted forward and
faked right, landed a solid blow to Rayen’s left eye. Rayen countered with a
blow to Hawk’s ribs. They continued on until they were both bruised, bloodied,
and exhausted.

Their feet shuffled against the ground as they sized one
another up.

“What the hell are you angry at me for, Ray? Haven’t you
realized by now you’re the one who placed yourself in this situation?” Hawk
said, tired of the drama when they had real threats against Mayhem brewing.

“Of course I know that. But you just gave up, washed your
hands of me and never looked back. Like I was nothing,” Rayen spat.

“It wasn’t about you, Rayen. For once in my life, it was
about me. I needed to step away from the situation, so I did. You know how much
guilt I carried around over the years about something I had no power to
control?” Hawk shook his head. “You think I hate you, or I look down on you? I
really don’t. I did what I needed to do, cut the self-imposed umbilical cord,
and let us find ourselves apart.”

“Why did you stay away?” Rayen whispered.

“Because it became a bad habit I didn’t know how to break,
and I got caught up in the role of vice president. You know shit rolls downhill.
It’s not an elaborate answer, but it’s the truth. You broke my trust in you to
smithereens. It takes time to get that back. Did you really think you’d just
pop in unannounced, and I’d be able to forget the past ten years?” Hawk lifted
an eyebrow.

“I don’t know what I thought. I didn’t expect you to walk
off,” Rayen said.

“There’s an ocean of issues between us. Doesn’t mean we can’t
cross them. But it’ll take time to re-establish shit. You’re always going to be
my blood, and dude, you’re Mayhem. You know that’s for life.”

“So, we’re good?” Rayen asked.

“Yeah, baby brother, we’re good, as long as you keep your
hands off Ariel. She’s more than some house mouse ready to entertain the brothers.”

“Wow, you into her or what?” Rayen snickered. “Never thought
I’d see the day you went wild over a little trim.”

“Shut the fuck up, man. There’s more shit going on there.
Just let it lie for once.”

“All right.” Rayen raised his hands in mock surrender. “I
know when to let shit go.”

“Good, now let’s go back in before they come out here,” Hawk
said. He walked over to the man with the swelling left eye and busted lip, and
patted his back. They walked inside and Hawk scanned the various faces and
locked on the only one he wanted to see. Ariel’s concern-filled gaze did funny
things to him. His lips twitched up, and he waded toward her through the
rapidly parting crowd of people.

Chapter Eight

Ariel paced the living room floor. Today the men would be
served their complaints. She’d become the glue holding Karla and the other
women together. She felt like Erin Brockovich, gathering the information,
coercing the victims to come together and file a complaint.
I just hope it’s
enough.
If this didn’t take them down, they were all in for a world of
hurt.
We might already be.
A knock sounded on the door and she tensed.
She glanced at Tex, who sat on the couch watching television.

“You expecting someone?” Tex asked. She shook her head,
instantly on high alert. “Go into your room and make sure you have your gun
ready, just in case.”

Ariel nodded and rushed down the hallway. Her hands shook as
she pulled her .45 out of the top drawer of her nightstand. Life had become
kill or be killed. She’d seen the destruction these men were capable of.

“Hey, it’s one of your friends, the blonde one.”

“Karla?” she said surprised.

“I guess. I’m going to let her in.”

Ariel put the safety back on her gun, returned it to the
drawer and rushed back to the living room. “Karla, what’s wrong? Where’s
Smooth?”

“I had him drop me off here. I just…I couldn’t sit at home,
you know?” Karla’s eyes were the size of quarters and slightly dilated. “I try
to be strong for the rest of the girls, but I’m terrified. I’m committed to
this; you know I am. Thinking of the things Emmit will do to keep me quiet has
me losing sleep.”

“You know we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” Ariel
took Karla’s hands in her own and squeezed.

“I know. I know.” Karla took a deep breath. “I just needed
somewhere to just be with no mask, no bravado.”

“Well this is the right place.” Ariel released her hands and
wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “What can we do to cheer you up? I have a
carton of birthday cake ice-cream.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. To the kitchen!” Karla
said, offering up a shaky smile.

“Trust me, girl. One way or another, Emmit and Linden are
going to get theirs,” Ariel said. Savagery rose inside her, and she couldn’t
help but wish the court case would fall through. As far as Ariel was concerned,
the two men deserved more than the pain that would be dished up in prison. They
should be tortured and made to beg for their lives. She understood the need to
draw attention away from Mayhem though. Too many ex-boyfriends of Mayhem old
ladies going missing or being killed under questionable circumstances would
bring the feds to them in the blink of an eye. Mayhem had an understanding with
the local law, but these men had plenty of money and the links to powerful people
to do them real damage.

“Here, have a seat at the table and I’ll get us two spoons.
I think today is a splurge day if ever there was one,” Ariel said. She walked
to the fridge, took the carton from the freezer, and placed it on the table. “Whipped
cream too?”

“Of course, if I’m going to shoot my calorie count through
the roof I might as well do it in style.” Karla’s wry tone made Ariel laugh.

“I can tell you’re already feeling better.”

“Yeah. I just needed a freak-out moment. The others girls
look up to me. The pressure of not wanting to let them down weighs on me. When
we first met up, we were all a mess. We jumped at every loud sound, checked in
with each other daily to make sure nothing happened to anyone, and slept with
all the lights on. If we slept.” Karla shook her head. “No one should have to
go through what we did. But what made it even worse was the knowledge that no
one would believe us, and if they did they’d be bought out or bullied. Anyone
we brought in on our secret would be placed into danger. So we kept our mouths
shut.”

“Yet you found one another,” Ariel said as she retrieved
spoons from the drawer and sat down across from Karla.

“Our one act of defiance.” Karla pushed the open tub to the
middle of the table and skimmed a layer off the top. “Most of the women wanted
nothing to do with us. They wanted to forget, bury it and never look back. I
knew I was taking a risk trying to get us organized, but I couldn’t help but
think there was some sort of safety in numbers.”

“Smart thinking,” Ariel said.

“I hope so. If this goes south, it’s all on me. I convinced
them to put themselves out there and relive this nightmare.” Karla shook her
head.

“You guys deserve real peace, and we both know that can’t
happen with Linden and Emmit out there lurking on the wings of society,
wreaking the same kind of horror on unsuspecting women everywhere,” Ariel said.

“That’s what I keep telling myself,” Karla said. “If Peter
could come back for Juliette after all that time, none of us are safe.”

“Exactly. None of this is your fault. It’s all them. Sick
fucks,” Ariel snarled.

Karla took a few more spoonfuls of ice-cream. “The most
frightening thing is the guises they hide behind, powerful, attractive men who
have their pick of women. Those unsuspecting females have no clue what monsters
they’re courting. Money shouldn’t allow you to get away with murder, and I say
that literally. I know there are times when they went too far.”

“Karla?” Ariel tensed. “Is there something you want to tell
me?”

“I heard him, them…talking.” The blood drained from her
face.

“Heard who, Karla?”

“Peter and Quinn…he-he said they’d gone too far, and the
girl had died, that they needed to call in someone to clean up the mess. God it
was like something out of a mob hit. I knew then I couldn’t stay.” Karla
trembled. “I started making plans that night to make Emmit move on. I knew what
he liked, and what he didn’t. I risked his wrath and took some of the worst
beatings I ever had at his hand, but in the end it worked. A month later he declared
himself through with me, and I scurried away into obscurity. I left behind
everything, clothing, furniture, jewelry, and dropped out of my college courses.
I told them I had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to finish out the
year. All that mattered was going off the map. All the work I did for the next
year was under the table.” She shook her head. “I alienated myself from my
family and friends. That’s when I came up with the idea of contacting others.”

“Oh my God, Karla!” Ariel covered her mouth. “Why didn’t you
tell me?”

“I tried to forget about it, pretend it didn’t happen. But
there’s too much at stake now.”

“You poor thing. Did you hear a name or any information that
would tie them to the crime?”

“No, but I didn’t dig around either. I wanted nothing to do
with that. I’d wager if someone started digging, they’d find a girl from campus
disappeared around that time.” Karla pushed a spoonful of ice cream around in
the carton.

“I don’t blame you. Jesus.” Ariel shook her head. “You know
I have to tell Mayhem, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to get this out there. Whoever their
victim was, she deserved better than to become a nameless, faceless, body,
never to be found because a group of assholes think they’re above the law.”

“You’re doing the right thing. I’ll get Specs and Gadget on it
and see what they can unearth. Just when I think I can’t hate them more, a new
reason pops up and proves me wrong.” Ariel stabbed her spoon into the softened
sweet.

Karla shuddered. “That’s one thing they’re good for.”

“Probably the only thing,” Ariel murmured around her spoon.

“For a long time they made me hate all men,” Karla admitted.

“And now?” Ariel said, holding her breath. Karla had always
remained a little standoffish and slightly cold. This was the first time she’d
truly opened up. Before her recollections had seemed rote. Like someone
reporting on another person’s life.

“I realize if I live the rest of my life afraid, Quinn wins.”
Karla took a deep breath. “I refuse to let that happen. Do men still make me
jittery? Yes, but I know there’s something very wrong with Quinn and his
friends. Not everyone is like that. I don’t know when I’ll be ready to try
having a relation again. I only know it will happen. Perhaps after I’ve put the
past firmly behind me.”

Her words made Ariel feel small and stupid. Here this woman
who’d been abused and terrorized had the ability to hope for more.
How dare
I turn away because my parents’ love story wasn’t picture perfect?

“You look pensive,” Karla said.

“Recently I had my belief in love shaken, but hearing you
speak so optimistically about it, makes me feel like a pussy.”

Karla snickered. “Why? Everyone’s story is different, and
pain is pain. It comes in many shapes, sizes, and disguises, breaks us down so
far we question if we ever knew who we truly were and steals our joy. The only
thing we can do is be braver than the fear. It took me forever to figure that
out.” Karla shook her head. “It’s okay to hurt, but it’s not okay to become
crippled by ache. The very fact we’re still here means we’re fighters. We have
the advantage. Once you wrap your mind around that…it gets better.”

Ariel digested the information and nodded. The minute she’d
accepted her lack of responsibility in the divorce, her anxiety had dropped
tenfold. Her parents’ fate didn’t have to be hers.

“Thank you. That makes sense and makes me feel better.
Though I was supposed to be the one helping you cheer up.”

Karla laughed. “You have just by being here.” Ariel smiled. “Is
this about your old man?”

“My what?” Ariel said, wrinkling her nose.

“Hawk.”

“Oh no no, he and I aren’t…a thing.”

“Really?” Karla’s eyebrows rose. “’Cause I swore there was
some major heat coming off you two.”

“Well, we have chemistry, but it’s nothing serious. He’s
protecting me the same way the others are looking after you and the girls.”

“Huh. You sure about that?” Karla said wiggling her
eyebrows.

“Trust me. Hawk’s not the settle-down type. I think I’m the
only woman who’s been in his house this long.”

“Maybe so.”

Ariel let the disbelief audible in Karla’s response slide
by. She knew where she stood with Hawk. Letting herself believe anything else
would only lead to heartache.

“How’s the whole undercover role going?” Karla said.

“Not bad most days, but there are times when I’d give my
left arm to be able to speak freely.” Ariel sighed.

“Why? What do they have you doing?” Karla’s brow furrowed.

“Nothing, as a house mouse, I’m supposed to be more of the
seen and not heard type. The hierarchy inside the club is very precise. It has
to be to keep drama and bullshit down. United, they can take on anything;
divided, they’d be overrun. I get it, but I don’t like living it. At least not
as a house mouse. Being an old lady is the way to go.”

“Old lady?” Karla said.

Ariel laughed. “It’s like a wife. She gets the utmost
respect from every single member.”

“Aaah, okay I’m getting you. What else?”

Ariel spent the rest of the afternoon bringing Karla up to
date as they polished off the dessert and tried not to think about the battle
they’d just taken on.

* * * * *

Hawk walked inside his house and nodded at Tex. “Anything
happen today I should know about?”

“Not really. Smooth brought her friend, Karla, over to
visit. That’s about all I have,” Tex said. His Southern twang never failed to
amuse Hawk. You didn’t hear much of that out west.

“You’re relieved, prospect. Go have some fun.”

Tex nodded and rose, scurrying off. Hawk laughed. Being
cooped up here must suck.
Imagine how Ariel must feel.
He felt a pang of
sympathy.
Nothing worse than being caged.
He’d built his entire life
around that philosophy. After locking the door behind Tex he moved farther into
the house. When he found the kitchen empty he moved into the hall and knocked
on her door.

“I’m fine, Tex. The same as I was thirty minutes ago.”

“It ain’t Tex. Get dressed; we’re going for a ride.”

“Okay.”

Her easy agreement earned a smirk.
She must be feeling
the cabin fever.
While she presented herself as the perfect little house
mouse in public, behind closed doors it was another story. She gave him hell
and if he was honest, he loved it. People didn’t give him shit much. The vibe
between them had gone from combative to playful. The little minx kept things
from getting boring.

She walked toward him in a pair of skin-tight black jeans
and an old band shirt that hung off her shoulders. Hawk licked his lips and
gave her a slow once-over.

“You’re fucking sexy, you know that?”

Ariel tilted her head to the side and smiled. “The new
packaging gets your blood flowing, doesn’t it?”

“You did that before the makeover,” Hawk said. Her eyes
widened, and he laughed. “Always think you know everything, don’t you?”

“I happen to have a very good sense of what’s going on
around me,” Ariel said.

“So you think,” Hawk said.

“No, so I know.” She crossed her hands under her chest.

“You sure about that? Seems to me you had blinders in
certain areas.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she said.

“This life isn’t what you expected, is it? I see it in your
face often.”

“Outside looking in is a hell of a lot different from living
it, you know?” she said.

“Mm hmm.” She narrowed her eyes. “Come on, we both know you
were uptight and judgmental.”

“Try cautious. My girls were blinded by love. Someone had to
be on the lookout for bullshit.”

“And now?” Hawk asked, curious to see what had brought about
the changes in her.

“Now I know you’re legit.” She shrugged. “It’s a life you
can’t truly understand until you’re in it. But I’m sure you know that.”

He nodded his head toward the door. “Let’s go. I have
something I want to show you.”

They headed outside and he couldn’t help but notice she felt
damn good on the back of his bike. This ruse had taken him by surprise, and he
liked it more than he should. After a lifetime of keeping women at bay, he’d
been forced to create an opening. Who knew the romance writer would glide in so
easily and latch on to the lifestyle like she’d been born to it? Her thighs
squeezed him tight, and he hit the throttle trying to outrace his filthy
thoughts.