Page 24 of Celtic Dragon
“Ok,” I reply. I change my route to take us into Waterford, where Betty’s Dinor is. I silently pray that Hawk is there.
A few minutes later, Honey’s phone rings. She looks at the caller ID and says, “It’s Hawk.”
Oh, thank God.She answers the phone and immediately puts him on speaker.
“What’s up, babe? Sorry I missed your call. I was on the line with Ice. They just landed in Dublin,” he says into the phone.
“That’s great, Hawk. Glad to hear they’re safe. Emma too. Speaking of Emma, she needs to talk to you. I have you on speaker, we’re in her car.”
“Hey doll, what’s up?” Hawk says to me.
“Hawk, someone left a note on my car. It’s not good. Honey and I decided to run to the store and when I walked out to the car I saw a piece of paper on my windshield. Thinking nothing of it, I grabbed it and began to read it. Hawk, someone was watching me while I read that note! What do I do?”
He asks no questions, just calmly says, “I’m at Betty’s. You and Honey get here as quick as you can—and make sure you bring the note!”
“We’re already on the way. I have the note. Thanks, Hawk,” I say.
Honey hangs up and we continue to drive straight to Betty’s. We arrive fifteen minutes later. Luckily for me, there is a parking space right out front. I can see Hawk’s bike parked out front next to another Harley that I don’t recognize.
Honey leads me into the diner and heads straight for the back and up the stairs. When we get to the top of the stairs, we arrive at a hallway with several doors. Honey makes a beeline for the first door on the left and knocks. I hear Hawk’s voice through the door, indicating for us to come in. I’m relieved that she knows exactly where to find him. I would have been in a panic, opening all the doors until I found him.
“Let me see it,” he says as we walk into the room. I hand him the note and he begins to read. When he’s done, he asks, “Do you recognize the handwriting?”
He hands the note back to me and I look at it more closely. To my surprise, the handwriting does look familiar—it resembles Mark’s handwriting, but I know the note can’t be from him. It’s impossible. Mark is dead.
Suddenly, it’s as if a light goes off in my head and goose bumps began to rise on my skin. I know. The note is from someone who wants us to pay for Mark’s death. It’s from someone who knows that Cade killed Grayson, and that he did it for me. To save me.
“Hawk, I know what this is about,” I say.
He looks at me curiously. “You do?”
“Yes. This has to do with Grayson,” I say confidently.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, the handwriting reminds me of Mark. Now, I know that it is not his handwriting, but once I thought of him I made the connection. What else have both Cade and I done recently? We just reconnected after eleven years. This has to be about Grayson. There isn’t anything else it could be.”
“You might have a point there. To an extent, it makes sense. But I need to look into this further to be sure,” he says. Hawk is more cautious than I am and I’m guessing more than Cade too. I think that is why they both work so well together. He’s always been the source of reason behind Caden’s actions. And when Cade doesn’t have Hawk’s reason behind him, he does things like he did to Grayson.
“Tell me, is there anyone that you know—maybe a member of the Satans club—who was friends with Mark? Maybe that Skid guy?” I ask.
“Yeah, I think they were friends,” Hawk says.
“And does Skid know that Caden killed Mark? Does he know that I was kidnapped and that Caden did it for me?”
“He does,” he replies slowly. I think he’s finally seeing the significance of what I’m saying.
He says, “Alright, I’ll check it out.” He pauses and adds, “In the meantime, when you talk to Ice—who, by the way, said he would be calling you tonight—don’t say anything to him about this right now. I’ll put some guys on the house and make sure that you all are watched.”
“Why can’t I say anything to Caden?” I ask.
“Emma, he is dealing with some nasty shit in Ireland. I know he didn’t tell you everything, but I don’t want him worrying about anything but getting the fuck home. If he knew about the note, he will feel torn and will want to rush home to you—and I get that, really I do. But until we know more, I don’t want to alarm him. This could be nothing.”
“Ok, I understand.” I don’t ask Hawk to elaborate on what Cade is doing; I know he won’t tell me anyway. And besides, I know about the danger. I’ve read a lot about the radicals in Ireland and I know that what Caden is facing in Ireland isn’t just a biker gang rivalry like he’s used to.
Hawk pulls out his phone and dials. He says, “Hey, I need you and Dbag to plan on spending a lot of time with Emma. She does not leave Ice’s lake house or go anywhere without the both of you with her. You will be staying there, too, so plan on moving in for a while.”
He waits while the person on the line responds and then says, “She’s with me at Betty’s right now. I’ll keep her here until you get here.” He pauses. “And Spike, you both protect her with your life. You got me?”
