BORDEN 2 (21 page)

Emma

Hawke got his way. Hector stormed out of the parlour with a hand over his nose and a scowling face. A minute later his bike roared to life and zoomed away. The other two men just lingered in the background, staring at Hawke like he was Jesus resurrected. He stared back at them evenly, growling out, “She’s staying. Anybody else got a problem with that?”

They shook their heads. The goatee man muttered, “No, Hawke. It’s…good to have you back.”

“I’m not back,” Hawke replied. “I’m just stepping in for a while. When she’s here, I’m the boss, and nobody better fucking look at her. She’s Borden’s property, and you better pass that message along when we get to the clubhouse.”

They nodded adamantly, and I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I was used to Hawke taking orders, not giving them.

“Good,” he said, grabbing a bottle of unopened beer on the counter. “Now give me the fucking key to the place.”

*

He took me to a pub – called Crown – on the same street. It was another non-descript red bricked building. There was a black banner above the name of the pub with the word Warlords on it and a symbol of a sword in the middle of two crossed battle axes and a flaming skull dead centre. I recognized this symbol. It was on the back of their leather cuts.

I wanted to ask why Hawke was taking me to a pub, but I didn’t bother. There was a method to his madness, and I was too exhausted to speak anyway. This entire night felt endless, and I knew even when I hit the pillow I wouldn’t be able to close my eyes. I’d be thinking of Borden and stressing over his whereabouts.

We got out of the car and he took out a key that one of the bikers gave him at the parlour. He jammed it into another black entrance door and, before kicking it open, he said to me, “If anyone is still conscious, stick by me, alright? They might be too drunk to know who you are and try cop a feel.”

I nodded at him. “Okay.”

He opened the door and we stepped in. The pub was huge and ordinary, and the lights were dim but visible enough to see everything. The first thing I noticed was the man passed out on a stool with his head on the bar counter and a spilt mug of beer next to his arm. As I took a look around, I spotted two other guys, one asleep on a chestnut coloured table, another on the ground and snoring with his head against a wall.

I shot Hawke a look of confusion. Where exactly was he intending on taking me? I followed him across the vast room, to the far back part of the pub. Pushing open a door, I saw a staircase so dark and eerie looking, I was sure people got stabbed on them often. This time, I didn’t let Hawke keep his distance. I moved closer to him and grabbed at his arm. I didn’t want to be stabbed on top of everything else tonight. He didn’t seem to mind as we climbed up the long steep stairs. We reached a medium sized open area. It looked like a living space with worn couches, arm chairs, and a massive television. There was one shirtless man sleeping on a four seater couch and a completely naked woman sprawled over him. Aside from her bare ass, her other lady bits weren’t visible. The room backed on to a small kitchen and standing there was a petite woman with light brown hair piled high in a loose bun with her back turned to us. She had a kettle in her hands and was filling up a mug.

Hawke stopped dead and stared at her. For a brief moment, his body tensed. “Tyler?” he let out quietly, his voice laced with disbelief.

The girl jumped and a slosh of boiling water spilled over her knuckle. “Shit,” she whispered before turning around. Her knuckle was in her mouth, and she was sucking on her burn gently when her gaze connected with Hawke. Her eyes bulged out of her face, the burn no longer concerning her as she dropped her hand to her side and stared at him.

“Hawke?” she asked.

He looked her over, from top to bottom, taking in her long pyjama pants with yellow bird patterns and grey sweater with a name of what I assumed was a local school. Whether it was high school or college, I didn’t know. The girl appeared very young, maybe eighteen (
hopefully
eighteen).

“What are you doing here?” she said, moving to us. Mindful of the biker asleep on the couch, her movements were quiet. “And why is your beard so long?”

Hawke stared her down, his face going tight. “First of all, leave my beard alone. Second of all, what am
I
doing here? What the fuck are
you
doing here?”

She stopped feet away from us, a look of guilt washing over her young face. “I…”

“You what?” he pressed, a voice of authority now. “You whoring around the clubhouse now, Ty?”

She hesitated and her eyes looked away for a moment. “I’m not whoring myself, Hawke.”

“Then what the fuck are you doing here? Whose bed are you in?”

She didn’t respond.

Hawke’s fisted his hands. “Answer me, Tyler. Is it Hector?”

“No,” she murmured almost too quietly to hear, but her cheeks went pink at the mention of Hector and I had to wonder if she was telling the truth.

“Then
who
?”

Her lips trembled as she breathed out, “Yours.”

Hawke’s shoulders slumped in relief, and now I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Did he like her? There was no want in his eyes. In fact, he looked at her like she was a kid in a very naughty place – and she kind of was, I guess.

“There were no other rooms,” she went on to explain. “The club’s been really full lately, and…I didn’t do anything to your room. It’s the same. I mean, there’s a little dust, but…I don’t have anything of mine in there. Well,” she paused and her eyes went to the ceiling in thought. “I got my purse in there, and some outfits, and…I think I got my straightener in there too, but...I crash here because the guys are cool with it, and…they had a wild night and I couldn’t go to sleep. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I promise… I swear, Hawke.”

Fucking hell. Doth does protest too much.

Hawke crossed his arms, exhaling slowly as she rambled. “Alright, Ty, I got it. But I need a room for her to crash.” He motioned to me, and for the first time the young girl looked at me with her brows shot up.

“Oh!” she said. “Okay, I didn’t know you were with someone or…I mean…is she
yours
? Cause she’s wearing your…” Her gaze went to his giant jacket I was still wearing. I didn’t even care I hadn’t given it back. It was warm and I was still numb. “Well, she’s pretty. Did you need the bedroom to be with her? I didn’t touch the condoms in your drawer. I mean…I saw them, and” – this girl was the most awkward thing I’d ever seen – “I’d find no reason to use them or anything –”

“No,” he immediately replied, blinking hard at the rest of her gibberish, “she is definitely
not
mine, and please don’t fucking say the word condoms to me, Tyler. I might blow a fuse with you. This is Emma. Borden’s girl.”

At the mention of Borden, she looked mortified. “Oh, my God, Marcus Borden? Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know. I should have known –”

“It’s fine,” I hastily interrupted, surprised by her reaction. What the hell? Was she terrified of me? What was so terrifying about me? I looked like a human ragdoll. I could still see bits of dirt on my hair, for crying out loud.

“Ty,” Hawke said, patience depleted. “A room. I need a goddamn room. Is there one or not?”

“You can just have yours back. I’ll find a way home. I washed the sheets yesterday, so it should be clean. I can replace them again if you like, Emma –”

“Ty, it’s fine,” Hawke went off again on an annoyed sigh. “Stay here. I’ll be back to take you home where you belong,” he stressed the last word with a glare in her direction, and she shrivelled away in her guilt-stricken state. “Sit down and have your tea. I’ll put Emma away.”

I’ll put Emma away.
Like I was some vacuum cleaner that needed to be put back inside a closet. I sighed, not even bothering to dwell. I followed him out of the room and down a hallway filled with closed doors and other rooms. Christ, this place was huge, and it’d looked so mundane and lacklustre out front.

His room was the last door. We got in and he turned the light on. He surveyed the room, shaking his head at all the pink shit. Poor, awkward Tyler was a fibber. She’d practically moved into his bedroom. Aside from her butterfly lamp, pink clothes, pink mini-rugs and nearly naked man posters on the wall, the room was average. A queen bed was against the wall. There was a dresser and a desk, and a bathroom (thank heavens). Hawke threw his key down on the desk and continued to look around, this time running a hand over his beard in frustration.

“Get in bed,” he told me tiredly. “Get some sleep.”

I sat down on the bed and looked at him. “I’m not going to be able to sleep, Hawke. You know that.”

He looked me over, frowning. “You look like shit, Emma.”

“Thanks,” I retorted sarcastically. “That’s just wonderful because I care so fucking much about the way I look right now.”

“I mean you look dead tired. I can’t have you sleep-deprived and acting out like you did out front of the tattoo place, yelling at me and shit. I need you level headed about the situation.”

“Level headed?”

“Yeah.”

“Borden is out there!” My eyes immediately welled up again. “I can’t lose him, Hawke.”

He sighed. “I know.”

He moved to sit down next to me. The bed shifted beneath his weight, nearly causing me to fall against him. He ran his hands through his long hair, and I looked at him in the light. He looked like shit too. Dark circles under his eyes. There was more dirt on his face than I initially realized. I looked down at his hands. His nails were cracked and broken, dirt beneath their surfaces.

This man had literally dug me up.

My heart tightened in my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered to him, gently.

His dark eyes met mine. “You don’t need to thank me.”

“You saved me.”

“You said that already.”

“You went on your hands and knees and dug me out.”

“Anyone would have done the same.”

“Are you seriously going to keep downplaying your rescue?”

His lips lifted barely. “Yeah, I am. Because I didn’t just save you for you. I saved you for Borden. He needs you.”

I scoffed. “Wow, what an awesome thing to tell someone. ‘Hey, I saved you not because I wanted you to have your life or anything, but because of your lover.’ Thanks, Hawke.”

He chuckled despite everything. “You’re a fucking gem, Emma. Sarcasm is the perfect response to have right now. Keep at it.”

I smiled for a second, and then a wave of emotion crashed into me at the same time. My smile went the other way, and in a heartbeat I choked on a cry and covered my face. I sobbed into my hands. And then I swallowed a huge lump and the faucet of tears turned off. I sucked in a breath and quickly wiped away my tears.

“You okay?”

“One minute I’m trying to be strong and the next I crumble.”

“You’re in shock. Your mind’s still trying to figure out what just happened. This is normal.”

I nodded and took long breaths. “You’re right about needing sleep. I’m just not functioning right now.”

“There’s a bathroom in the corner if you need to clean up. I’m sure there’s some of Ty’s clothes in the dresser that you can use until I send for yours. Try and sleep. I’ll be back in the morning with more information. You never know, Emma. Borden might not have gotten taken. He’s a resilient fucker. Maybe he’s kicking around somewhere.”

He got up and stood in front of me for a few moments. He stared at me, as if unsure if I would be okay on my own. I just nodded at him once more. I’d be okay. He turned around and left the room. The second the door closed, I buried my face into the nearby pillow and sobbed again.