Page 160 of Filthy Love

Casting a side look towards the man in question. Hawk staring straight ahead.

No fucking guesses at who.

Seriously, of all fucking women it had to be his baby-sister. It didn’t matter her age, or she was a career woman in her own right, she was always his baby sister. Rider’s back teeth ached. He was gonna need Zara to distract him again soon.

Breaking the silence, he let the bottle thunk to the ground. “You good?” He asked in a rough tenor.

Hawk turned his head reluctantly as if his eyes had a hard time pulling themselves away from the sight in front of him. A frown marred his forehead. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He added a second later, smirking now. “Because you still wanna yank my liver out?”

Rider snorted slouching in his chair, legs spread, fingers tapping his jean covered thigh.

His VP had been at his side for more than ten years now as VP but longer still as buddies. Shit, it was going on more than twenty years now that he thought about it, long fucking time. Hawk got Rider’s way of thinking and since they understood each other so well they could still sit side by side with the simmering discord between them this week.

Up until now Rider thought he’d known Hawk.

The Gia secret was … something else.

His second in command and his baby sister, it was unnatural, it went against all laws of decency and still his sister looked happier than he’d ever seen her and Hawk … that crazy fucker was … changed, like he’d been waiting all this time barely holding himself together until the day Gia came along.

Now he’d had a week to get used to it. He still wasn’t, but from the way his sister was enjoying herself in the yard with the pup, he could clearly see she was happy.

“I’m chill tonight, you get to live.”

“Good for me then.” Hawk returned to staring at the two women laughing. Legs outstretched before him, hands resting on his belly, to anyone else Hawk would look like a normal, relaxed guy. Only his pale eyes gave him away to his true self.

Shrewd. Shady. Alarming. And those eyes directed solely on Rider’s sister. He supposed he should worry with such intensity. But somehow… Rider wasn’t.

Every few minutes Gia would look over. And though Hawk didn’t smile back, didn’t move at all, she blushed and dipped her head.

It was like being witness to a weird as fuck mating dance in their own secret language.

He’d never had a clue all these years Hawk had wanted Gia. Maybe if he’d known? Nah, it’ll still be weird. He was about to stride across the yard and yank Zara into his body and distract himself for an hour, so he didn’t have to think about what kind of shit the VP did with his sibling.

The silence bounced between them.

He could discuss the Russian’s still clinging to his city like genital warts. They’d picked off six of Grigori’s generals already. Grigori as expected, called yelling up a shitstorm last night, accusing Rider and his club of the disappearances.Prove it, he’d told the underboss and hung up on him.

Rider might be in limbo with this new relationship status of Hawk’s, but he trusted his VP’s meticulous skill and detailing of how to make someone disappear. He had no complaints about his work with Lawless.

Squeals from his baby daughter cradled in her mom’s arms made Rider’s lip curl at the edges.

“So, how’s life?”

Hawk chuffed air, the look he sent Rider was short-lived. “Really?”

Two friends for years, divided in their opinion.

Rider fucking shrugged. This shit had to stop feeling perverse sometime. He’d prefer sooner rather than later.

“Sure,”Have a conversation with himhis Icy told him. “Why not?”

Hawk switched his gaze back to Gia as she smiled back at him in that open affectionate way of hers.

The longing waves coming off Hawk were no longer disguised. Because Rider recognized that stare as visual fucking he pretended he was blind.

Then Hawk answered in that thunder voice of his.

“My life? She’s good.”

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