Page 184 of Filthy Love

Her with the doctorates and the education only a lot of money could buy and living by the laws set in stone, never edging towards anything illegal her whole life. She’d never even gotten a speeding ticket for hells sake.

For Hawk. She’d take this to the other people who loved him too. Because if she didn’t, she’d watch it slowly destroy him.

“You know this goes against all club rules to allow someone across that door who isn’t patched in.”

“And doesn’t have tits ....” snickered Arson, running his hands through his shoulder length hair.

Her brother sent him a dark stare that shut him up quick smart. “As I was sayin’. This is special circumstances. We needed somewhere private.”

“Where’s the VP, Prez? Shouldn’t he be here if his girl is bringing us something?”

Gia nervously glanced at her Rider. Guilt gnawing like demented rats at her insides.

She’d lied to him by omission. Telling Hawk, she was working late.

She was doing this for Hawk. She had to remember that.

This wasn’t betrayal.

It was for him.

It didn’t lessen the culpability or the sickness roiling around in her belly.

She just had to fortify her spine and carry on like a devious Marinos would.

“You got the floor, sis.”

Every second that ticked by felt like months with each set of male eyes trained on Gia waiting to hear what was so important that their boss would allow such a meeting. And without her man in attendance. She caught Capone’s questioning raised brow.

Gia wanted to be brave more than anything. Not only in the face of all these men, some she knew, others not so much. Their reputations spoke volumes, thus making her nerves all the worse. She took strength knowing Rider was right there because she needed the bravery to say what she had to.

And there was no doubt that those words needed to be spoken before more time could pass. To set Hawk’s tortured past free.

When it came to love, she realized there wasn’t a whole lot she wouldn’t do for his happiness.

There’s no coming back from this, Gia. Her brother informed.

She’d smiled with tears in her throat and told himdoesn’t that just make me a Marinos now?

“I’ll get right to it since Hawk will be back soon.” Throat cleared. Fingers tightly clasped. The weight of her next words became an anvil on her tongue and yet she knew nothing would have stopped her from saying them.

Love became a motivator when it was the one thing filling the heart.

It drove her on giving her courage and steadfast determination cold enough to battle any scar left behind, knowing whatever guilt she would carry would be shadowed to the love she felt for a man who warranted being severed from his past once and for all.

He’d kept himself tethered even though he could have gotten rid of it years ago and she guessed he did that because on some level he was still the little boy made sick by people who should have been taking care of him.

“I need to ask which of you gentleman would be okay with killing a mother.”

The room hushed just like that.

She could have heard a pin drop.

The room went from silent to eerily, deathly still.

No one blinked. No one tapped their fingers.

“Is this a joke, Prez?” Texas the first one to speak. His gaze bouncing from her to the man at the head of the table with his slouched position and hand resting on the table. But there was a dark edge to Rider’s eyes. As soon as she’d told him what she wanted one of his boys to do she’d seen how much he’d known already about Hawk’s past. He was the one man who would understand how Hawk needed this to happen finally. So as Rider’s fingers tapped silently on the table it was with an understanding she too felt in her heart. They were both taking care of Hawk in their own way.

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