Hawk: (24 page)

A red sports car overshot the entrance to the Burnout parking lot, backed up, and swung in. The tires kicked up rocks and dust before it stopped in the middle of the turnaround. The driver’s side door opened, and the harsh, overhead sun glinted off $60,000 of fiberglass and metallic paint.

Hawk carefully set the wrench down on the worktable. He turned to fully face Tate, who was ambling toward him. Tate was skinny as hell and couldn’t weigh much more than Tildy. What he thought he was doing here was anyone’s guess, but for such a small guy he sure had balls. “Is this the part where you tell me to stay away from your fiancée?” Hawk asked. “And I pretend to have no idea what you’re talking about?”

Tate smiled, but he didn’t seem happy. He just seemed smug, too smug for a guy whose woman was spending time in someone else’s bed. Tate shook his head. “Just the opposite, actually,” he told Hawk. “I’ve come to ask you to keep it up.”

Surprised, Hawk stole a glance at Tex, just to make sure he’d heard the man right. “Do what now?” he prompted, because surely he’d misheard.

Tate sighed. “Sorry, guess I’ll have to spell it out for you,” he sneered. He leaned a little toward Hawk. “Keep
fucking
her.”

Hawk didn’t respond for a moment. There had to be some kind of catch, something he wasn’t seeing. He couldn’t imagine having Tildy and being willing to share her.

“It’s funny,” Tate said. “I always thought she was just a frigid, little virgin.” He shrugged. “Guess not.”

Hawk resisted the urge to brag to Tate that
he’d
been the one to take Tildy’s virginity.

“You make her happy,” Tate explained. “And you’re already aware,” he continued, “that Matilda has a tendency to get into trouble. Getting lost in the wilderness. Raped in parking lots.”

“She wasn’t raped,” Hawk countered.

Tate merely shrugged. “I can’t look out for her all the time, but you can. You keep fucking her and she’s not going to want to fuck anyone else. She’ll stay out of trouble that way.” Tate reached into his pocket and produced a small, folded piece of paper. He opened it, and Hawk realized it was a check. “Consider it a token of my appreciation,” Tate declared. “You keep Matilda happy; I keep
you
happy.”

Hawk stared at the check and the man holding it. It was hard to tell which of them he wanted to tear into pieces more. There was no way this was happening. Tate wouldn’t come here and offer to pay him to sleep with Tildy. There was just no way. “What’s the catch?” Hawk demanded.

Tate shrugged again. “No catch. Keep her happy. Keep her
distracted.”
Tate paused. “Okay, there’s one catch. Keep your
cum
out of my wife’s
cunt
,” he said. “I’m not raising some other guy’s half-breed kids.”

Hawk took a step toward him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tex moving closer as well, no doubt preparing to pull Hawk off the bastard. Hawk merely reached out and plucked the check from Tate’s hand with two fingers.

Tate grinned up at him. “Don’t spend it all in one place,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few months with another one. Do me another solid though and stay away from her ass.
I deserve at least one cherry on my wedding night.” He winked, turned, and headed back to his car across the parking lot. On the way, he passed Easy who had returned from a parts run.

Easy gripped the box in his arms, but gave Tate a hard stare as they passed each other. Tate got into his car as Easy stepped into the garage. “What the fuck did
he
want?” the younger man asked.

Hawk didn’t answer.

When Easy got closer, he set the box down and glanced at the check in Hawk’s hand. “What’s that?”

“Hawk’s stud fee,” Tex replied.

Easy turned to look at him. “His what?”

Tex smirked. “Tate’s going to pay Hawk to sleep with Tildy. Only thing is Hawk can’t knock her up. ‘Cause apparently Tate draws the line there.”

Easy’s mouth dropped open. He glanced from Tex to Hawk and back again. Shooter stood by the office door, glowering.

“No way,” Easy declared.

Tex nodded.

Easy turned to Hawk. “That’s....Jesus, Hawk that’s fucking
sick!
What the fuck?”

Tex shrugged. “I don’t know. Seems like a sweet deal to me. Gets to ride Harleys
and
Tildy and get paid for both.”

Easy barely made it out of the way as Hawk launched himself at Tex. He barreled into the man and they both slammed into the truck parked in the bay. Hawk landed a blow against Tex’s ribs and Tex retaliated with a right hook to the larger man’s jaw. Shooter made it to both of them in three strides and grabbed Hawk’s arm, yanking him back. “That’s enough!” he bellowed.

Hawk figured the only thing stopping him from pummeling the Cowboy was his years in the Army that had conditioned him to follow his lieutenant’s orders.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!”
Tex yelled. “Why are you taking that douchebag’s check? Why aren’t you knocking him the fuck out for touching what’s yours?”

Hawk shook his head. “Tildy isn’t mine!”

“You want her to be
Tate’s
? You want her to get
raped
on her wedding night?” Tex snorted. “Hell, you’re right, it’s no big deal. What’s a little forced anal between husband and wife? It’s his right, isn’t it? He’s buying the cow. Hell, maybe Tate’ll pay you to teach Tildy to suck dick. You could have a nice little side business training her to please her man.”

Rage threatened to boil over inside Hawk. It was an annoying aspect of being friends with someone for so long that they knew exactly how to push your buttons.

“That’s what you do, right? Train Abby and then pass her around,” he snapped.

Tex laughed, and Hawk scowled. It was a stupid comeback, not even worthy of the Cowboy’s outrage. Hawk could only blame it on the fact that he was so pissed off that he wasn’t thinking clearly. Whatever Mark was into, it didn’t involve sharing his woman with another man. Anyone who touched Abby Raines was likely to get his dick handed to him. Despite Hawk’s protests about Tildy not being his, all he wanted to do was hunt Tate down and give him the same treatment.

As if he could read Hawk’s thoughts, Tex replied, “She wants to be yours. But she doesn’t know how to ask. She’s lost again, Hawk, clinging to you to survive. What she hasn’t figured out yet is that you’re drowning too.”

Hawk crumpled the check in his fist and turned away from Tex’s words, stomping out of the garage bay toward his Harley.

At the teller window, a petite blonde was talking to Tildy. Neither woman was paying him any attention until he reached the counter.

“Can I help you?” the blonde asked, smiling at him. Hawk kept his gaze on Tildy who glanced up and froze, staring at him.

“I don’t have an account here,” Hawk declared, taking the folded check out of his pocket and setting it on the counter. “Thinking about making a deposit though.”

He slid the check toward Tildy, who blinked at Hawk and then finally looked down. She picked it up and scanned it, frowning.

The blonde looked from Hawk to Tildy, unsure who was going to handle the situation. Tildy put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll handle it.” She walked around the counter and down a short hallway on the other side of the lobby. She didn’t even look back to see if he was following her. Hawk could tell by the sharp click of her heels on the floor that she was angry.

She practically slammed the door to her office shut and glared at him. “What the hell is this?” she demanded, holding the check out between them.

“Well, it seems Tate knows about us.”

Tildy scowled. “There is no us,” she said quietly. “And why did he give you this? To leave me alone?”

Hawk wasn’t sure why he was so pissed off at her dismissal of him. “If there’s no us, why do I need to leave you alone?” he challenged.

Tildy narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re the one who’s always saying I’m nothing to you.”

He started at that. “I never said that!” he insisted.

Tildy shrugged like she didn’t care. “It’s true though. What’s the money for, Hawk?”

Hawk had come into the bank pissed at Tate, but it was Tildy who was getting his back up even more.
God damn
, he thought. Maybe, once you made love to a woman, they knew how to push your buttons too. “He’s paying me to sleep with you!” he spat.

Tildy actually paled and he felt like an asshole for being satisfied about it.

“He’s...
what
?”

“He said he wants me to keep you distracted. And out of trouble. And he’ll pay me to do it. To do
you
.”

“W- what did you say?”

“Nothing. He just walked away.”

“Why are you here?” she pressed.

Hawk gaped at her. “This isn’t about me! Do you not care that he did this? Are you really going to marry some guy who pays men to fuck you, like some kind of twisted form of prostitution?!”

“Because I have so many other options?!” Tildy shot back. “No job, no place to live, nothing. I don’t even own the car I drive, Hawk!” Hawk stared at her until she finally demanded, “What?!”

His lip curled into a sneer as he shook his head. “I’m just trying to figure out which one of us is the whore.”

He shouldn’t have said it. The second the words were out, he’d have given anything to take them back. Watching Tildy’s face crumple was heartbreaking. Tildy wasn’t a whore; she was afraid. Her parents had made certain she was dependent on them for everything. Leaving them must have seemed as impossible to her as flying to the moon and back.

“Tildy-” he said, as he started toward her.

She took a step back, away from him, and put her hand on the doorknob. “Just get out.”

“Tildy-”

“Just leave!” she hissed and slammed the check into his chest. “And take that with you. You should cash it,” she bit out. “At least then I’d be worth
something
.”

Tildy picked at the green dress, tugging it down a little. It had seemed fabulous in the store, probably because her mother hadn’t wanted her to buy it. It was a great dress and that was the problem. She hadn’t considered being next to Tate for the entire evening. In fact, stupidly, her only thought at the time was what Hawk would think of the dress, but Hawk wasn’t here.

She shifted uncomfortably as Tate’s hand ran solicitously down her back. He had practically been mauling her all night. Anytime he thought he could get away with it, he reached down and cupped her ass. When she turned to tell him to knock it off, she instantly recognized the look in his eyes. Tate was none too subtle when he was interested. Tildy had wrestled him off her on more than one date in college. Tate was always pushy, but never forceful, so she never felt afraid on those dates, but she felt it now.

Maybe not fear, precisely, but dread. Tate had that look again tonight. As Tildy glanced at him again, she realized that it was a harder, more determined look this time. There would be no half-hearted wrestling in the front seat of his car and then Tate practically dumping her at the curb when she refused. Tate caught her watching and leaned toward her. She glanced down, surprised, as he pressed something into her hand. It was a plastic keycard. She gasped a little and hid it behind her leg.

“Don’t worry,” he told her, smiling. “I told your parents I’d like a little alone time with you after the party. I told them I haven’t seen much of you these days. They were very sympathetic.”

Tildy gripped the card tightly in her hand and tried to think of some excuse, but failed.

“Try to look slightly more enthusiastic when the time comes,” Tate admonished, taking another drink. He looked down at his watch. It was another hour, at least, until the party was over. “I’m bored. Go to the bathroom,” he ordered her.

Tildy looked up at him, aghast. Surely they weren’t going to have sex in a public restroom. He grinned at her as if he was reading her thoughts. “Please,” he snorted. “Let’s not be
that
crass. Go take your panties off.”

Tildy felt the blood drain from her face and she looked away. She eyed the people around them. Had any of them heard? She thought she might die of embarrassment on the spot. Tate leaned down toward her again.

“Go take your panties off,” he repeated.

Tildy closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She remembered Tate putting his hand up her skirt and it was obvious where he’d gotten the idea. Suddenly she felt less afraid and simply exhausted. There was no point in fighting with him about it. She clutched the plastic keycard tightly in her hand and headed toward the restroom.

For no reason she could name, she stopped at the alcove that housed a telephone and picked up the receiver. She dialed Hawk’s number and waited. She didn’t know what she’d say if he answered. Maybe he’d rescue her again; maybe he’d tell her to fuck off. Right now just hearing his voice would make everything more bearable. She couldn’t be sure of that though, since he didn’t answer.

She put down the phone and shoved the restroom door open. Anger churned inside her as she stepped into a stall.
None of this matters anyway
, she thought to herself. She’d already made sure Tate couldn’t have her virginity. Tate might not care either way, but Tildy did. She threw the underwear into the little wastebasket in the corner and stormed out of the stall.

Rather than finding Tate again, Tildy stepped up to the open bar across the room. The bartender smiled as she approached. Tildy didn’t drink much and, when she did, never in front of her parents. She could have just ordered her usual club soda, but something told her she’d need something else entirely to get through the night. She ordered a scotch on the rocks without even thinking twice.

The bartender set the cut crystal glass on a napkin in front of her. Tildy had to admit that Abby had seen to even the smallest detail at the Custer. The place was amazing. The tablecloths were heavy linen and the flower vases were Limoges. Despite Tildy’s reservations about getting married, her wedding at least would be absolutely beautiful. It seemed almost a shame to waste such a great space on a chump like Tate.

She picked up the glass and took a sip, the dark amber liquid burning all the way down. Tildy fought a grimace as she swallowed. It seemed to make sense though. Her mother drank at home when her father was gone. Drinking something like this was almost a double punishment.

“Congratulations,” the bartender said, nodding at Tildy’s ring.

She glanced down at the monstrosity that sat on her finger. It was a pear shaped diamond on a platinum band. The ring had been Tate’s grandmother’s.

“Or not,” he said, when she forgot to respond.

Falling back on old habits, Tildy gave him a winning smile. It faded quickly, however, when she heard her mother over her shoulder.

“Matilda.”

There was no mistaking the dark undertone. Tildy turned to offer her mother said winning smile, as well. Deirdre was unmoved.

“We have guests,” her mother reminded her, eyeing the glass disdainfully.

Tildy took another swig of her scotch. “I know,” she replied. “I’ve spoken to all of them. Twice.”

“Would you like a drink, ma’am?” the bartender asked, poised to fulfill Mrs. Fletcher’s every whim.

“Give her one of these,” Tildy said, taking another sip. “They’re my mom’s favorite.”

“Mom?” he asked, quirking one eyebrow in a look that he clearly thought was charming. “Could’ve sworn you were sisters.”

Tildy nearly giggled at the tired line as she tossed back the rest of the drink. “Yep,” she declared, probably a tad bit too loudly. “It’s like looking in a mirror.” She handed her mother the glass and walked away. She weaved past the guests, returning their polite smiles, and headed for the large double doors that led from the ballroom to the hallway. Once she was out of the crowd, she reached into her bra and pulled out the plastic keycard. She checked the number on the top and headed down the hall.