Page 4 of Jackal

Climbing off my Harley, I made my way to the clubhouse and noticed the small group of women sitting in the courtyard. There were giggles followed by silence. I smiled in their direction as I lifted my sunglasses and kept walking toward the door. Shivana was sitting amongst them, and she smiled back.

Trying to keep my head, I looked away and headed inside. I was surprised she was still here, and it was getting harder and harder to avoid her. I was somehow designated as her escort if she had to go to the room used as the infirmary. But outside of that, I tried to make myself scarce.

Hawk was having dinner at his table, so I headed over and took a seat. “Hey man.”

Hawk wiped his face then put his napkin down. “How’re the guys at the shop treating you?”

A bottle came from over my shoulder, so I turned. “Thanks, Cindy.”

“You’re welcome,” she said before she turned to walk away.

Hawk looked at his own bottle and shook his head.

“She still sour?”

“Appears so. I don’t give a fuck. I let her stay longer than I should have. I thought with Butch there, she’d be safe.” He knocked back the last swig he had. “I had a bad feeling, but she insisted it was fine. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“She’ll come around. Here,” I said as I pushed my bottle across. Turning in my chair, I caught the attention of a bunny namedSugar working the bar. She nodded then brought over a beer but quickly hustled back to the bar. “She’s less grabby than she used to be.”

Hawk grinned as he sipped the beer I gave him. “You may have not been here the night Daisy busted her lip. She’s been pretty quiet since then.”

I chuckled. Daisy was full of piss and vinegar, so I didn’t doubt for a second she put her on her ass. “Must have been Falcon related.”

Hawk nodded and took a large bite out of his burger. He was still chewing when a plate matching his with a burger and fries landed in front of me. Cindy had come and gone just as fast as the last time. Shaking my head with a slight grin, I started eating.

Falcon came over and was carrying two plates. He plopped down at the table with us and asked, “Daisy still outside?”

As if on cue, the door opened and the three women came in, chatting and laughing. Falcon stood up and walked over to Daisy with a plate. She rolled her eyes but took the food and kissed him before they found another table and sat down.

Eagle came from the kitchen and beelined it to Lacy before she could sit. He tried to pick her up, but Shivana was right there, smacking his arm and telling him to put her down. His stitches should be healed up by now, but she’d mentioned a few times she didn’t do much clinical work after school. She said she didn’t like blood, so she’d gone into psychiatry. Her experience, or lack thereof, would explain her being so cautious.

After he stole another kiss, Eagle parted from Lacy and came to join us. “Hey fuckers.”

Falcon had already made his way back over and started eating. “We still going next week?” he asked before he popped a fry in his mouth.

Hawk nodded. “Yep. Which reminds me. We need to talk toJackal.”

My brows furrowed. “Everything okay, Prez?”

“We gotta make our run up North. We have a few guys we trust here, but we need you to keep an eye on a few people.”

Shrugging, I said, “No problem.”

“We’re usually only gone two full days. But I don’t want to be worrying about shit here while we’re doing business.”

I took a swig of beer. “I appreciate the trust. I won’t let you down.”

Hawk wiped his face after he finished off the last bite of his burger. “I wouldn’t trust anyone more, man.”

“So, where’s the job?” I asked, taking a huge bite of burger.

Hawk answered, “Here.” I was still chewing when he continued, “I need you to keep an eye on Ma and the three musketeers over there.” His finger pointed behind me to the table where Shiv, Daisy, and Lacy were chirping away.

The burger went down the wrong way, and I started coughing hard, so Eagle smacked me a few times hard on the back. Lifting my beer, I took a drink and waved him off. “I’m good, I’m good.”

Eagle gave me a Cheshire grin and I took another long draw of my beer. Give me a crazy, cracked out drug dealer, or a big fucker with a gun any day of the week. These women, on the other hand, scared the shit out of me.

Sure they’re all tiny and just women, but making sure they stay where they’re supposed to be is going to be like herding cats. And so much for keeping my distance from Shivana.

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