Page 54
“There’s only one name on the list, Hawk.”
I grip the fucking steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. “What the fuck do you mean, only one name?”
“Just what I fucking said, man. Only one name. Tre De La Cruz. All the other fuckers are dead, man.”
What the fuck?
“I don’t understand. How are they all dead?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe they had a run of bad luck. I’m just saying that I talked to Louie Jr.–”
“What the fuck do you mean, you talked to him? You believed that punk ass? He hasn’t even turned over his father yet.”
“Actually, he’s doing that tomorrow.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he’s good on his word.”
“Why the fuck wasn’t I told?”
“You’ve got your own shit to deal with. This is something that Sin needs to handle, but we haven’t told him yet. We weren’t going to until we have hands on Louie Sr. so don’t go and call Sin. He doesn’t need to deal with the shit if it doesn’t happen. Anyway, what I was saying was that Jr. told me that those men were killed and not by the club. It happened to most of them a couple of years after the attack. The only one who’s still around is Tre, and he’s been ousted. A couple of years ago is what Jr. told me.”
“Fuck.” I slam my hand against the steering wheel. “Where’s Tre?”
“Up north somewhere. That’s all I got for now. I’ll weed him out. Are you going to tell me what’s going on with all this? Did you plan on taking down everyone who wronged Tessa, Hawk? Is this girl worth it for you? She fucking left.”
“I don’t need to explain shit to you, man. I only wanted the info, not a fucking fatherly lecture.”
“Well, maybe you still need a fatherly lecture every once in a while.”
I squint when I see Rhea walking around the corner of the building and into the front door to Rose’s rehab facility. I push open the door of my truck and get out. Slamming the door behind me, I make my way towards the facility. “No offense, Dyke, but I think you need to focus on your own son then to try to play daddy to me. Bubba’s the one that’s spiraling, or are you too fucking blind to see it.”
“What the fuck you talking about?”
I shake my head. For someone who can get whatever information that he wants from wherever, he has no clue how to deal with real-life situations. “Did you know that Bubba’s been hanging around with Kara?”
“And? She’s part of The Fallen, you boys have all hung around her, or in her.”
I don’t laugh because he’s not wrong. “Look, all I’m saying is that he’s been hanging around with her outside of the club and that shit usually doesn’t happen. Sin’s noticed it too. In fact, not long ago he actually stuck up for her when she and Sin got into it.”
“Fuck,” he groans.
“Yeah, fuck. You know she’s been trying to get into the old lady status for years, and since Sin is no longer an option, it makes Bubba a prime target. You better tell your boy to wrap that shit up before he enters fun land or you’re going to be a granddaddy to a kid whose mom is prime club slut.”
When he doesn’t respond, I leave it with this.
“He’s been distant. So much that even with the shit that’s been going on with Redding, we’ve seen it, so you need to take care of that.”
I end the phone call and focus on the other part of my family that seems to be falling down the same rabbit hole as Bubba. Only instead of the drugs, I think Bubba’s back on, my little sister is playing with fire by dabbling in the same substance our mother is addicted to.
* * *
As soon as I come around the corner, I see Martha at the nurse’s station. With a smile, I give her a wave and head towards my mother’s room. I scan the halls and open rooms for Tessa, but I don’t see her. When I get close enough to the door, I can hear the murmur of two voices on the other side. Without hesitation, I push my way into the room. Rose is the first to look up and smile in my direction.
“Hawking,” she says with a slight tremble of her chin.
Rhea turns towards me, and the glossiness of her eyes tells me she’s drunk. I take a deep breath because I don’t want to upset Rose, but this shit with Rhea being drunk around our mother is going to fucking stop. One, she’s twenty, and two, Rose doesn’t need the temptation.