Page 77 of Hawk's Cry

“Never, ever, losing you again, Liv. I couldn’t live without you.”

“Or I you, Eli.”

“Are you okay? Is the baby good? Did he touch you, hurt you? Christ, I should have asked before.”

“I’m fine, Eli.” Well if the baby would stop jumping on my bladder I am. “Eli, I’m sorry. I should have told you about the man I met.” Apart from surviving, this is what I’ve been worrying about. “Gabe, Archangel, whatever he calls himself, well, we kept bumping into each other, and I thought it was coincidence. There was nothing in it.”

“He set you up, Liv.” Eli sounds understanding, not angry. “I suspect he went on a charm offensive.”

“He did,” I agree. “He was easy to talk to, and…”

“And I wasn’t listening to you.” Eli’s arms tighten slightly. “Liv, I’m going to be a better man for you.” I hear his breath catch. “Christ, Liv. Being so up my ass meant I nearly lost you.”

“Think we’ve all been up our asses,” Drummer’s voice comes from the driving seat. “Eli and Liv should never have left the compound. Fuck knows that Archangel was right, taking Liv, even taking Eli alone would have destroyed the club.”

“Too fuckin’ right,” Dad agrees.

“What about Zane?” I ask. “He’s off compound more than he’s on. And what about my sisters? What if they marry civilian men? If we want to live outside the club, we should be able to.”

Dad sighs deeply. “It’s a difficult question to answer. I don’t want to let any of my girls go. But Eli’s come up with a plan for that now. If we know someone might be heading our way, we’ll tell all the women who to watch out for.”

Eli suggested that? It sounds like common sense. If I’d have known who Gabe really was right from the start, I’d have told Eli and never met him again. I’d have changed my shopping habits and stayed away, but their secretive club business had kept that from me. Hopefully it won’t again. I snuggle against my man, trusting him now, only wishing he’d come up with that bright idea earlier.

“Now Archangel’s gone,” Eli says, his tone reassuring, “there’s no one else with a current grudge against the club. Should that change in the future, then we widen protection for anyone connected with the club. Bring them in for safety, if necessary, or protect them where they are.”

“Spreads us thin.” Drummer voices an objection.

“We put together a workable plan. Keep it in our back pocket just in case. Have it as a church agenda item and revisit every few months to keep it current.”

“That, right there,” Dad says, tilting his head toward Drummer, “is why Eli became the VP.”

Eli tenses beside me. “I used the wrong pronoun, sorry. I should have said you, not we.”

There’s silence from the front seats, and I don’t know what’s being left unsaid.

We pull up at the gates of the compound and wait a few seconds for them to open, then, Drummer’s driving through, bypassing the clubhouse and continuing up the track to the homes where everyone lives. Well, everyone but us now.

As soon as the car stops, I throw open the door and start sliding out. Eli runs around to help me.

At the sound of our arrival, people start coming out. I notice they’re all dressed, and no one seems to have been asleep. Mom runs toward me.

“Later!” I call out desperately. “I gotta pee.”

After four pregnancies herself, Mom understands the urgency, and she clears a path through everyone waiting to greet me, shouting in typical Mom fashion, “Preggers lady needs the loo.”

When I come out of the bathroom, she’s waiting for me. Her eyes now examining me head to toe. “Are you alright, Olivia?”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“Baby moving okay? No pains?”

“Yes and no.” I smile at her. “I was scared, but I’m okay. Though, he gave me Rohypnol…”

“We’ll get you checked out.” Eli and Dad have come in.

“Look, I’m good. I’m sure it won’t have done any harm. Junior here is kicking just like normal.” I really don’t want to go off compound again. I want to relax, sleep and lie next to Eli.

“Livvy!” Hilda appears, quickly followed by Zoey and Eliza, my other sisters. “You alright?”

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