Page 159 of Filthy Love

The kid, Seb, had bound up to Hawk when they’d arrived, full of stories of getting his own tool box for Christmas.

He didn’t take in much of anything else other than Gia. She was a social butterfly, a smile wide showing off the pup she insisted couldn’t stay at home alone because she’d cry, he suspected Gia meant herself and not the dog.

“I heard what happened with Tag.” Capone said mirroring Hawk’s resting stance. He turned his head, but otherwise said nothing. “So, I thought it was best I tell you. Me and Gia…”

Caution made Hawk’s brow arch.

Here we fucking go again,he thought. Ready to ditch his beer bottle and give the Hispanic brother the same damn warning he’d given to Tag.

He was saved when Capone went on with a smirk. “Her and I are friends. No funny shit. We talk now and then. Thought you should know, so you don’t put a bullet in me if the way you watch her is anything to go by.”

Hawk didn’t chime in and Capone carried on, pulling on his beer first, he looked out into the yard, his voice went a shivery tone of low. “She helps me,hermano. About my family. We talk, and it helps me. You have a good girl there.” Then he looked at Hawk. “Think you can hold off on killing me for being near her if I talk to her again?”

Cracking a smirk, and in a show or rare tactility, Hawk placed his hand of support on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s all good, Cap.” He told the man who got his name because of the scar on the right side of his face. “You know how many hunting knives I own anyway…” Capone threw his dark head back and laughed causing several faces to look their way.

One of them being his little bit of a thing who grinned at him.

She cuddled the pup like it didn’t have legs to use and she looked so damn happy doing it as she cooed and kissed the gray head snaring his eyes every few seconds when she flirtily looked over at him.

Irrational jealousy hit his belly. Fuck, jealous of an animal,what next, dickhead?

He’d had a hand in that, he realized. Making her happy, he’d done that. Warmth kicked around his chest, his eyes happy to go on fucking her from across the yard.

And right as he was gonna throw his own suggestive look for her to meet him inside the house where he could slide a hand down into her snug shorts and find out how happy she was down there when his phone vibrated.

Fishing it out of his pocket seeing the number had bile in his throat in seconds.

Bathroom fuckery with his Gia forgotten as an anxious gut-wrenching pain tugged at his insides.

The past refused to let him live.

******

Rider took a swig of beer, scraped back his long hair out of his face and let go of an exhale, only slightly worse for wear with a small buzz streaking through his brain to relax him, not so much that he couldn’t be on Harper duty tonight and let his old lady sleep for more than two hours at a time. Letting his loose hands dangle between his spread legs he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, the bottle held in two fingers, the air cooler tonight, most of his boys left already.

Only he and Hawk remained.

Not that Hawk was ever much for chatting if he could help it, Rider noticed he was extra pensive. His VP had strolled over more than forty minutes ago, took a seat and not said a word since. Any other day not far in the past his quietness would have meant his VP needed an outlet to his brooding moods and would have taken off for a while.

Only now Rider knew the truth and wasn’t it still a kick to his temple.

All this fucking time he’d had no idea, not a fucking clue what had been going on between them.

Hold up, I’m trying to be acceptin’ about it.

Yeah, it might take a little more than Icy banging his brains out each time he growled about Hawk dating Gia and how he was gonna rip out his VP’s spleen through his nose.

Not that he’d stop Zara in her efforts, he wasn’t an idiot.

Across his well-kept yard with the custom-built grill over in the far corner, the remnants of the fire pit were still burning its embers into the sky and beyond that was his sister and his Icy-girl sitting talking and laughing together like the best friends they’d become. The sight of her in something yellow and floaty around her thighs never ceased to stop his heart and then restarted it with a charge directly to his dick. He loved his woman something fierce.

It was because of the influence of his heart outside of his body laughing her sweet laugh he was trying to be the reasonable friend and brother to two people he gave a fuck about.

It wasn’t easy.

It’s none of your business, biker-man, they’re adults capable of falling in love with each other if they want to, you don’t get to decide who makes who happy even if you do have a bossy God complex, now take off your pants.His Zara told him right before his boys were due over at the house.

He loved herfuckingmethods to drag his efforts off killing Hawk.

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