Banger's Ride: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 5) (77 page)

Banger’s words echoed in Hawk’s mind. He threw back his last shot, nodded to Jerry, and walked out of the clubhouse. He jumped on his bike and headed toward Pinewood Springs.

Cara owed him an explanation, and he was fucking going to get it.

*     *     *

Hawk stood on
the mansion’s porch between two stone columns; he had never been to a house this big or ritzy. As he rang the bell, he hoped Cara would answer, but a slim, attractive woman in her early fifties opened the door instead. She greeted him with a look of utter disapproval. “May I help you?”

“I’m here to see Cara.”

“Cara? She’s not available. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I know she’s here. I need to talk to her.”

“Is this about the problem she’s having with her car? I think my husband found a mechanic.”

Knowing this bitch was his babe’s mother kept him from being rude, but she had such a high-and-mighty air about her that he would have loved to have set her straight. Biting his tongue, Hawk just stared at her. She appeared to be flustered by him and his tattoos, her eyes glued to the hawk. It struck him as funny, since she didn’t seem to be the type of person who would fluster easily.

As she closed the door, Hawk put his foot out to prevent it from shutting.

Surprise shone in her brown eyes. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir. I know who you are—you’re that hoodlum who’s been sniffing around my daughter. Eric told me all about you and your gang.”

“I don’t belong to a gang, and I don’t sniff around anyone, ma’am,” he said.

“It’s a slap in my face that my daughter would even entertain going out with you. And you standing here now, well, you don’t even have the decency to be embarrassed about the situation,” she said in a tight voice.

As anger flared in his eyes, he said, “I don’t embarrass. Now, ma’am, will you please get Cara? I need to talk with her.” He stood his ground, his foot still in the door.

“What’s going on here, Cathy?” a man’s voice boomed.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” his wife replied.

Vincent Minelli was a tall man in his mid-fifties. His thinning hair had specks of gray among the brown strands, and he had warm, green eyes and a winning smile. He came to his wife’s side, hand on the small of her back, and asked, “What seems to be the problem?”

“There’s no problem. I’m here to talk with Cara. We know each other,” Hawk said.

“I’ve already told him Cara isn’t available,” Cathy said in a high voice.

“Nonsense, Cara’s here.” Vincent went to the bottom of the grand staircase and bellowed, “Cara, come down here.”

“Vince, I don’t think we should allow this.” She wrung her hands. “This isn’t something we want to encourage.”

“What’s up, Dad?” Cara said as she came down the stairs.

“Your friend is here to see you,” her father explained.

“Cara, you don’t have to—”

“Come on, Cathy, let Cara and her friend be alone.” Turning to Hawk, he said, “What’s your name, sir?”

“Hawk.”

“Interesting.”

Vincent led his wife out of the foyer and into the living room. Cathy kept looking over her shoulder, worried to leave her daughter alone with such a man.

Cara stood in front of Hawk.
Fuck, she looks beautiful. I can’t let her go, no matter what she says. I can’t let her go from my life.
Cara barely had any makeup on and wore black yoga pants with a white, long-sleeved t-shirt, her clothes molded to every curve of her body.
I want to pull her into my arms and kiss her soft lips. I want to crawl all over her. Easy, Hawk, slow down. Don’t scare her. You gotta play it cool
. His cock pushed against his jeans. She was the only woman who gave him a hard-on just by looking at him.

“How have you been, Cara?” he asked softly.

“I’m better. Why did you come?” Her eyes were downcast.

“I want to know what’s going on. You haven’t returned any of my calls or texts. You haven’t been at your house or office. It’s like you disappeared from my life. Look at me and tell me what’s going on.”

She raised her eyes to him, bit her lower lip then mumbled, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you hanging. I thought you would’ve moved on by now.” She shrugged, as if that explained everything.

“Moved on? From what? From us?” Hawk stomped his numbing feet “It’s fuckin’ freezing out here. Can I come in?”

Cara moved aside and let Hawk in. “Follow me.”

Hawk followed her to a large room enclosed in glass windows on two sides. The other side had a fireplace with a log burning brightly, and overstuffed chairs and couches, along with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, made up the sun room. Hawk imagined Cara, as a child, sitting and reading her favorite books there. The room suited her, and her bungalow had a lot of the same coziness.

“Hawk, I can’t do this anymore. I need normalcy in my life, not shoot-outs with rival clubs, wild parties, and all the other chaos that goes with your world.”

Hawk paused before he spoke, choosing his words carefully. “Cara, I’m sorry about Eric. I’m sure this is hard for you, but don’t blame me and the club for the stuff he did.”

“I can’t do it anymore, that’s all,” she whispered.

“That isn’t
all
. Fuck, do you know what hell I’ve been through this last month? I didn’t know what the shit was going on. Did you even care or think about me?” Hawk paced around the room.

“I shouldn’t have done that to you. I
am
sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t quite cut it, Cara. You ran out on me when things got tough. I was there for you. I
always
had your back, but you couldn’t trust me enough. Fuck!”

“I needed time away from everything.”

“I get that. I gave you space and time with your parents, but what about me? Why did you push me out?”

“Your world is too violent for me. I have enough crap in my practice. I don’t want to have it during my time off.”

“What did the Insurgents do? We got the fuckin’ Nomads shut down, we got the women they smuggled to a safe environment, and we stopped that asshole, Viper.”

Cara shuddered when she heard Viper’s name. “I know. And I also know I was responsible for being there that night. You told me to stay at the clubhouse, and I didn’t. It’s just that everything is so muddled. I’m just so confused.”

Hawk rubbed his hands over his face. “Confused about what? Dammit, talk to me!”

“About everything! About Eric, you and me, my life, all of it.”

“Okay, I don’t know why Eric did what he did, but you and I are separate from all that.”

“I know you’re just having a good time with me, but I guess now I realize I don’t want that anymore.”

“Is that what you think? After all we’ve had, how can you say that? You’re the
only
woman I’ve let into my heart and my life. You don’t even fuckin’ know what you do to me. Babe, I think about you all the time. You’re in my soul. I’ve never felt this way about another woman. I love you, Cara. I want you to always be in my life. I can’t lose you.” Hawk reached out, drew her in his arms, and held her close. Stiff at first, she relaxed as he stroked her back.

“I’m so twisted inside. I know Eric did horrible things to those women. He destroyed their lives and the lives of the ones who loved them. For God’s sake, he threw the women out like pieces of garbage! I
hate
him for what he did, but I still
love
him. I don’t know how to reconcile this, I just don’t.” Cara’s voice cracked as a sob escaped from her.

Hawk held her trembling body closer to his and kissed the top of her forehead. “Babe, sometimes life fuckin’ sucks. You can’t figure out all the answers because sometimes there aren’t any.”

“I’m not strong enough for this.”

“I am. Lean on me. I’ll carry you through.”

Cara looked up at Hawk, and his determined eyes held hers as he bent down and covered her mouth with his. She parted her lips, and he kissed her deeply as he conveyed courage and conviction to her. “I know I’ve been a fool and blamed myself for Eric’s evilness and death. I punished myself by eliminating any happiness, and by denying you in my life.”

“Shh… it’s okay, babe. Everything is gonna be fine, and you’ve got me to help you through all this,” he whispered as he caressed her hair.

Cara circled Hawk’s neck and kissed him at the base of his throat. Burying his face in her hair, he breathed in her familiar vanilla scent. His cock ached to be back in her pussy, and he wanted to throw her down on the plush couch and fuck her until they were both covered in sweat, but it wasn’t the right time—he’d have to take it slow. He muttered in her ear, “I’ve missed holding you, babe. I love you.”

She met his mouth and murmured against his lips, “I love you, Hawk. I’ve loved you for a long time, but I was scared to let go. I’m not scared anymore.”

He kissed her and his tongue swirled around her mouth. “Go get your things. We’re going home,” he said against her lips.

Cara hugged his waist before breaking away to pack her suitcase.

She met her mom in the hallway as Cara descended the stairs, suitcase in hand.

“Honey, what are you doing?”

“I’m going home, Mom. It’s time.”

As Hawk stood by the front door, Cathy’s eyes narrowed and her lips turned downward. Hawk walked over to Cara, took her hand, and said, “Mrs. Minelli, I know you don’t approve of me, but I love your daughter. She’s going to be fine with me, I promise you that. I will take care of her.”

“Cara, you can’t be
serious
.”

“Please don’t make a scene, Mom. I know Hawk isn’t what you envisioned for me, but he’s perfect for me. It’s my choice.”

“What will people say? Cara, think of your family. We’ve just gone through one scandal and now this? I won’t allow it.”

Vincent, hearing the ruckus, came into the foyer. He glanced at the suitcase in Cara’s hand and Hawk’s arm around his daughter’s shoulder.

Cathy yelled, “Don’t just stand there, Vince, do something!”

Vincent extended his hand to Hawk, who shook it with a firm grip. “Be good to my daughter, or I’ll break your goddamned neck.”

Hawk smiled. He liked Cara’s dad.

“Have you lost your mind, Vince? You’ve always been too permissive with Cara. Now look what she’s doing. She’s running off with a hoodlum.”

Vincent hugged his daughter. Looking at Cathy, he said, “Yes, look at our daughter. She’s happy for the first time in weeks. Maybe you’re all right with your daughter being unhappy, but I’m not. Seeing her now so joyful is more than a father can ask for.”

Cara kissed her dad’s cheek while she hugged him close to her. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best.”

Vincent wiped the moisture off his daughter’s cheeks and cleared his voice. “You better get going; it’s starting to snow. Call us when you get home.”

Cara and Hawk stepped outside. Behind them, they heard her mother raising her voice to Cara’s dad.

“I knew my mom would be pissed. I wish she could be happy for me.”

“She’ll come around, babe. It’ll probably take a long time, but she’ll eventually accept me.”

Snowflakes danced around them as Hawk went to Cara’s car and loaded her suitcase in the trunk. “I’ll follow you.”

“You don’t have to. I’m fine.”

“I’ll follow you, woman.”

“I’m fine, I told you. By the way, stop calling me
woman
. You sound like you’re a caveman, or something. You know, things have definitely evolved since the caveman days, and women are equal to men. Did you—” Hawk’s lips on Cara’s interrupted her monologue.

Cupping her chin under his hand, he said, “It’s good to have you back, babe.”

O
pening her front
door, Hawk said, “I’ll spend weeknights here with you, and you’ll spend weekends at my place.”

“Do I get a say in that?”

“No.”

Shaking her head, Cara kissed Hawk on the cheek. “Sounds good to me. I’ve missed you.”

He drew her into his arms, crushed his mouth on hers, and ran his hands over her curves. As he caressed her tits, she stiffened. “What’s the matter, baby?” he asked.

“I’m not ready for
that
. The whole thing with Viper, you know, I’m just not ready yet, Hawk. You’ll have to be patient with me.”

He hugged her. “Take your time, babe. I’ll always be here for you.”
Even though my cock wants your pussy in the worst way.
He wished he could have saved her the fear and humiliation that fucker put her through.
I’m just glad I got there before he raped you. I can’t even think about that. If I do, I’ll break something.

Later that night, they settled on the couch, Cara hugging Hawk’s knees, her head on his lap. He stroked her hair as they watched reruns of
The Twilight Zone
. They had discovered that they were both huge Rod Sterling fans, so when Cara found out
The Twilight Zone
marathon was on T.V., she knew Hawk would want to see it with her. It was fun to watch the show with each other.

As they watched the episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” Cara laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“I remember watching this rerun when I was a kid. Eric, Sherrie, and I were avid
Zone
fans, and we’d go through bowls of popcorn during a marathon. We loved this episode, and we’d always laugh when we saw the gremlin. Eric used to say it looked like a guy wearing a shag carpet. It was so cheesy it was funny, you know?”