Page 20 of Hawk's Sapphire

Didn’t stop you last night.

“What changed?”Ethan’s question is aimed at me.

“That’s what I’d like to know.”Jake raises a quizzical brow in my direction.

“I told you.She was upset, so I followed her here and we talked by the fire.”

“Talked about what?Why was she upset?”Ethan joins in on the game of twenty questions.

“I don’t know exactly.”Jake stares, expectantly.I shrug.“I saw her talking to Vincenzo and his fucking minion.After they left, Sadie looked upset.I watched her hug Sky and then I tracked her car to the house.When I got here, she was out by the fire talking on her phone, but she hung up when she saw me.”

“Who was she talking to?”

“I don’t know, Jake.It sounded like the Italian fucker.”

“Which one?There’s three.”Ethan snickers.

I glare at him, not at all amused.“If I had to choose, I’d say her fuck buddy boyfriend, Matteo.”

“Sadie’s fucking Matteo?What?Since when?”Ethan looks genuinely pissed at the idea.

“Sadie’s not fucking Matteo.”Jake grits.“He’s her business partner.”

“What?”How the hell does Jake know this tidbit and I didn’t?“Did she tell you that herself?”

“No.Avery let it slip.Matteo and Parisi invested in her little business project.”

“At what cost?What did they ask for in return, because we all know Parisi is a sneaky fucker.He doesn’t make deals unless there’s something hefty in it for himself.”Ethan is on the same wavelength I am.There’s got to be a hidden agenda, some kind of fine print that will no doubt have Sadie in deep shit before she pays back the investment.“Does Pres know?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest.Avery didn’t say anything else.”

“How long ago did she tell you?That’s not something you should be keeping to yourself!”I yell.Jake knows that anything involving Parisi needs to go to Pres.That slick fucker has his hands in everything and so far, everything he’s touched lately has somehow been intermingled with the club.

“Why the fuck wouldn’t she tell me this last night?Is he the one making her leave town?”I’m talking more to myself than anyone else.“Was that the decisions she was wrestling with?This fucker and whatever it is she now owes him?If she would’ve told me … if I had known about … then there’s fucking Thomas.I never would’ve …” I throw my head back and shout to the sky, “Fuck!”

I feel Jake’s icy glare on me.“What else happened last night?She was upset.You talked by the fire.Then what?”Jake pushes.“There’s more you’re not telling us, so what the fuck is it, Hawk?”

I scrub both hands down my face, and frustratedly blurt, “I claimed her last night, all right?Happy now?”

Ethan lets out a low whistle, while Jake stands their unmoving except for the slight twitch of his lips.

“Before or after you knew about her going down to see Nate?”Ethan asks cautiously.I shoot him a glare.

“Obviously it was before, asshole.I wouldn’t have claimed her if I knew she was a fucking traitor.”

“Hey!”Jake barks.

“But it doesn’t matter.When I saw the video, I was so pissed, I told her…” my words trail off, thinking about the hurt in her eyes when I said all those things back at the clubhouse.“Shit!”

“Told her,what?”Jake leans forward on his handlebars assessing me.“What the fuck did you say to her?”

“I basically told her it was all a mistake, that she couldn’t be my ol’ lady.That it would never work because I can never trust her to be honest or do what’s best for us or the club.”

“You stupid fucking bastard.”Jake growls.“You know none of that’s true.Sadie would bleed for this club.”

“I should’ve locked her ass in the basement.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.”Ethan grumbles.But it’s Jake’s suddenly, eerily calm demeanor that has my hackles raised.

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