Page 7 of Hawke

“Are you seeing someone else?”

The thought that I was some side piece made me grip the counter. It barely held me up. My legs were weak, my heart was broken, and now I prayed he wouldn’t piss on the mess of me.

Hawke refrained from responding; he rotated his head and ventured out into the pitch-black night.

Chapter Three

Delilah

“Delilah?”Myattentionwassuddenly pulled toward the cook, who was gripping a spatula in his hand.

He walked closer, eyeing the door that had just slammed shut. The sound echoed through the kitchen, reminding me where I was. There wasn’t time for emotion or to process right now. The hollowness I felt in my chest had to wait.

“Everything okay?”

I cleared my throat and felt the tightness of my fake smile as I tried to appear happy. I smiled, bearing all my teeth, my hands shoved back into the water. “Of course, I was just finishing these up.” I quickly threw the last of the plates in the dishwasher, not fumbling or being clumsy, which I could be when flustered.

Don’t let your emotions show.

I slammed the dishwasher shut with one foot, pressing the button to start and swatted my hands to knock off the proverbial dirt. “There, all done. Do I have some food to serve? What time is it?” I glanced down at my watch. It was about time for Locke’s dinner to be brought to his office. “Oh, Locke’s dinner, I’ll grab it.”

Greg, or Gregory as I liked to call him, looked at me warily, but I patted his shoulder to pick up the plate of steak and potatoes, but lacking any vegetables. “Yup, for Locke, right?” I stared down at the plate, sniffing once more to hold back the tears.

Greg came up behind me, his height almost the same as mine. I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t have to be okay all the time.”

I chuckled, grabbing the plate. “Oh, Gregory, you are a sweet thing, aren’t you?” I patted his cheek, not wanting any pity.

Because I had done this to myself, I knew what I was getting myself into when I fell into his trap. I was just the other girl, the one he toyed with for far too long.

Greg nodded, going back to flip a steak. He only seared the outside. These men liked their steaks almost completely raw. Remnants of blood seeped onto the grill as I gripped the plate full of food.

“Hey Delilah?”

I turned from the door way, raising a brow.

“You deserve better.”

I bit my cheek to keep the corners of my lips from wobbling.

The night went on as if nothing had happened. I smiled, delivered food, drinks, and even got to request a song from the band, Moonlight Outcast. They groaned when I requested one of those upbeat pop songs from the early 2000s, but the leader gave me a wink and a gentle nudge as they played my favorite.

Of course, I brought them a few rounds of the best beer to soften them up a bit.

That made the night more bearable, putting a sway in my hips to forgethim, just for a little while. Dancing through the crowd, watching the bikers roll their eyes as I pranced through the tables, but they secretly loved it.

I saw the smirks, the sparkle in their eyes that hadn’t been there before. They were all changing, no longer the grumpy bikers. They were actuallyfeeling something.It might be the rhythm of the ridiculous songs I liked to listen to or just that they were tired of being angry and grumpy all the time.But I could see it. I wanted to see more of this from the bikers who referred to themselves as a “family,” giving me and countless others the feeling of security and warmth with their big smiles.

Just for a little while.

Anaki leapt over the bar, and his grip on my hand was firm as we spun around the dance floor. Any other night, it would get the bikers groaning, maybe even looking away. Not today. They were laughing and pointing, their bellies filled with not just alcohol but maybe hope?

Maybe some of them were happy for Grim. I heard his name echo several times through the tables. They were all...different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I was happy for them.

Just too bad it hadn’t changed Hawke. Or maybe I was never meant to be his.

By three a.m. the bar was closed. I swept, mopped, and cleaned for the next day. I waved my goodbyes to Anaki, the knot tying tighter in my stomach. He seemed extra close to me tonight, and it made me wonder if he knew. Did Greg say something? Did they all know? Was our conversation that loud?

I hooked arms with one lady I worked with. Savannah continued to banter about how one biker she has had a crush on for ages finally took notice of her. He had a lisp. He was a shy one—I believed his name was Surkash. Not many of the rescued knew about him, and I wanted to listen, but my ears had gone numb, like the rest of my body.

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