Hawk: Jagged Edge Series #3 Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowlegement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  About the Author

  Author notes

  Coming Soon!!!!!!

  Contacts

  HAWK

  Jagged Edge Series #3

  A.L. Long

  Copyright © 2016 A.L.Long

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior consent of the author

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictionally, and any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Interior edited by H. Elaine Roughton

  Cover design by Laura Sanches

  ASIN: B01LXCKOGI

  ISBN: 978-1539130703

  This book is intended for mature adults only

  Acknowledgment

  To my husband of many wonderful years, who has been so supportive of my writing. If it weren’t for him my dream of writing would have never been fulfilled. I love you, sweetheart. And to my family, whom I also love dearly. Through their love and support, I can continue my passion for writing.

  To the many readers, who took a chance on me and purchased my books. I hope that I can continue to fill your hearts with the passion I have grown to love.

  A special thanks to all of the people that supported me at SPS. If you would like to learn about what they can offer you to become a self-publisher, please check out the link below. You will be thankful you did.

  https://xe172.isrefer.com/go/curcust/allongbooks

  CHAPTER ONE

  Hawk

  The last person I expected to hear from was my little brother. So when I got the call that I was needed back home in Stillwater, Oklahoma, I knew that it meant one thing, something was going on with my mom. I left that crappy town for a reason. There wasn’t anything left for me there. It had been fifteen years since I’d been back there, except for the last couple of years just to help out my brother or fuck that tight piece of ass who understood my kinky side. My only escape from that shit town was the day I enlisted in the military. My dad, the son of a bitch, said I would never amount to anything. God, how I hated that man. What he did to me and my brother, no child should ever have to go through.

  Taking a swig of my brew, I knew I needed to tame down my hatred for the man. Sliding the empty mug to the bartender, I needed something stronger. “Give me a shot of Patron, Kyle,” I said, watching him sanitize the used glasses. I knew my problems weren’t going to disappear with a couple of beers and a few shots. This was about the only way I could deal with what the call from my brother brought. I knew that one day my mom wasn’t going to be able to hold on any longer. That one day was now staring me in the face.

  So many times we had pleaded with her to leave him. Joseph Scott Talbott, yeah, major fucking douche bag. Now she is fighting for her life in the nursing home that she spent the last fifteen years in. The last blow almost cost her, her life. She should have died that day, but instead she lives a life with no hope of ever being normal. No hope of ever being able to see, feed herself, dress herself. Just a shell of a woman lying in a bed waiting for the good Lord to take her.

  Downing my shot, I twisted in my chair to relieve a few beers. Maybe if I played my cards right, I would get lucky. Getting laid was about the only thing that could suppress my desire to punch someone or something. So when I saw that tight little ass bending over the 20-year-old jukebox, I was all too ready to get me some of that. I only hoped her looks were as nice as her ass.

  Putting on my irresistible charm, I walked up behind her and leaned over and casually said, “You know, ‘B14’ is ‘bout the only song worth a shit listening to.”

  When her eyes met mine, I could tell her interest was more than I wanted to give her. I didn’t have time for a long relationship, I was the one night stand kind of guy. ‘Fuck ‘em and forget ‘em’ was my motto.

  Taking in her smile, I knew it wasn’t meant for me. Following the gaze of her eyes, I could see a pretty good-sized guy heading our way. My potential one night stand just turned into a potential fight that I didn’t want any part of. Backing away, I headed down the short hallway and slipped into the men’s bathroom. As luck would have it, I was the only one in the small room that could have used a cleaning crew. Getting rid of a few brews, I thought about all the shit that would be waiting for me in Oklahoma. I hated dealing with that shit, it was one of the reasons I didn’t argue when Drew requested to be the executor of my mom’s estate. That bullshit wasn’t for me. My little bro was better at handling that stuff. He was the one with the business degree.

  As I left the bathroom, I could see that my little angel was sitting by herself at the bar. I thought it odd since her shadow made it perfectly clear that she was taken. Pulling a chair up beside her, I flagged Kyle to get me another Patron and a cold one. I thought now was as good a time as any to find out what the deal was with this chick. “So your boyfriend left you alone?”

  Looking over my way with those baby blues, she said, “He isn’t my boyfriend, even though he would like to think he is.”

  That little tidbit of information sent a rush of hope to the tip of my cock. “Seemed pretty attached to you.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s not,” she confirmed, taking a sip of her fruity something or another.

  “ Can I buy you a drink?” I asked, knowing it was the oldest pick-up line, but still worked like a charm.

  “Sure,” she nodded, “Tequila Sunrise, please.”

  Looking over to her with a smile, I realized that I could no more fuck this creature than I could my own sister if I had one. There was something about her that was innocent. Running my hand through my hair. I downed the rest of my drink and said, “Catch you later, doll.”

  “Yeah, sure. Thanks for the drink,” she said, holding up her Sunrise.

  ~****~

  Getting to my place, I threw the keys to my Mustang on the counter and headed to the fridge to see what I could find to eat. The only thing that looked even remotely edible was a slice of pizza from two nights ago. Forgoing heating it up, I grabbed a napkin and took a seat on the leather couch. Even though my place wasn’t big, it suited me just fine. I had a great view of the
city, it was in the nicer part of Manhattan, and it had all the amenities that I needed. Couch, plasma TV, one bedroom with a connecting bathroom, and an office to do all my business stuff. Perfect. Bachelor pad at its finest.

  Pushing from the couch, I grabbed a glass of water and headed to bed. If I wanted to get to Oklahoma at a reasonable time, I would need to get some sleep. It was a drive I wasn’t looking forward to making. Just as I was ready to settle in my cold king-sized bed, my cell began to ring.

  Looking down at the screen, I answered in annoyance, “I was just about ready to turn in. Do you know what time it is?”

  “Sorry, bro. I thought I’d let you know they don’t expect Ma to make it past tomorrow night. Just thought you might want to know,” Drew said.

  “Fuck, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said, between gritted teeth.

  Grabbing my duffel bag from my closet, I began throwing everything I could think of inside. These were not the plans I had for tonight. It was late and I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind to be traveling the twenty-two hours it was going to take me to get to Stillwater. With everything in hand, I left my cozy home and headed to the street where my car was parked. Getting to my car, I threw my stuff in the trunk and got in. As I started the engine, I could see that there was something placed on the windshield under the wiper. “God, are you fucking serious?” I said out loud as I opened the door and leaned over to grab the yellow ticket. What the hell, don’t those damn meter maids ever sleep?

  Shoving the ticket in my glove box, I put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. Even though it was still light out, I could feel the difference in the air. The days were getting shorter and the nights were getting colder. Fall was right around the corner. As I pulled out of the city onto I-80, my phone began to vibrate. Pressing the ‘hands free’ on the steering wheel, I listened for Peter to say something.

  “Hey, Hawk, have you left the city yet?” Peter asked.

  “Just heading out now. What’s up?” I asked.

  “Just wanted to wish you the best and to have a safe trip,” Peter paused. “I almost forgot to tell you, Cop and Brie announced their wedding plans, they are looking at an October 25th wedding. Make sure you mark your calender.”

  “Thanks for the info. I’ll call you when I get to Stillwater.” As I hung up the phone all I could think about was how happy Cop was. How he managed to find the woman of his dreams, and how fucked up it was for me to even think about finding that. Peter, Cop, and the rest of the guys at Jagged Edge Security were the closest thing I had to a family other than my brother Drew. The day that Peter asked me to be a part of his team, I was all in.

  ~****~

  I had been driving for about four hours and I needed to get some fuel and stretch my legs. Maybe even grab something to eat. Pulling into the gas station, I filled my tank and watched as the cars passed by on the street. Returning the gas nozzle back to its cradle, I noticed an attractive, brown haired, blue-eyed babe getting harassed by a couple of punks. Locking my car, I stepped over to where she was having a hard time getting gas in her little beat-up Honda Civic.

  Getting between her and the two guys, I took the gas nozzle from her and looked her in the eye. “Hey, doll, these guys giving you trouble?”

  “I’m good,” she said, taking hold of the nozzle and continuing to pump the gas into her car.

  Turning to the two guys that were standing on the other side of the gas island, I watched them walk away from the truck they were driving and head to the small store. Looking back over my shoulder, I could see that my blue-eyed babe was rounding the car and getting in. Jogging to her side, I held her door open and asked with a smile, “So, what is your name, doll?”

  “It is definitely not ‘doll,’” she said.

  “Okay, then what?” I replied.

  “See you around,” she stated as she turned the key in her ignition and grabbed for the door handle.

  What a surprise, I had never been brushed off by a woman before in my life. They were either begging me to fuck them or to at least give me head, but there was something different about that girl. She made the chase that much more worthwhile.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Paige

  I wasn’t sure who that guy thought he was, but I was in no mood for his alpha-male shit. Why is it that every guy who is drop-dead gorgeous thinks that they can get any woman that they want? Even though he was gorgeous and he had a body made of steel, there was no way I was about to give him the time of day. Besides, who uses the word ‘doll’ as a come-on anymore?

  As I drove down the highway, I knew I needed to speed it up a little if I was going to make it to Stillwater, Oklahoma, in time. It wasn’t one of my top choices of places I wanted to live, but I knew small towns tended to go unnoticed, and right now, I really needed to stay that way. The only thing left to do was make sure that I got the job at the only hopping bar in the little town. When my only friend in New York told me about ‘Hell’s Gate,’ and that they were looking for a bartender, I knew it was the only opportunity I had to get out of New York and have a job lined up for me somewhere else. Constantly being on the run was beginning to take a toll on me. Over the past twelve months I had lived in eight different cities and had just as many jobs.

  Putting my old beater in drive, I pulled away from the gas pump and made my way back onto I-80. “Here we come, Stillwater,” I said to myself as I placed my ten dollar sunglasses over my eyes. Lost in my thoughts, I kept considering how things could have turned out differently had my uncle just agreed to let me to stay in the States and continue my Masters at NYU. But he didn’t, he said that I had an obligation to Kierabali and its people.

  The thing was, I didn’t want to go back. I knew what was waiting for me. A man I had never met, a wedding of the century, and a life filled with only sadness and loneliness. At least here in the States, I got to make my own choices. I got to choose where I lived, where I worked, who my friends were, and most of all, I got to choose who I would be marrying. So the minute the opportunity came, I escaped. Even though it was my birthright, I had nothing more there. My parents were gone and the only person left was my uncle Maxwell, who I couldn’t care less about. As far as I was concerned, he could run the tiny country himself.

  Trying to focus on the road, I heard a loud pop, which sound like it was coming from the back of the car. Pulling to the side of the road, I turned off the car and opened the door. There it was, as plain as day, a flat tire. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I yelled out, knowing that no one would be able to hear me. Popping open the trunk, I grabbed what looked to be some sort of wrench and a small jack. I knew that there had to be a spare tire somewhere in there. It was then I saw the hidden compartment on the bottom of the trunk. Sure enough, there it was. Only the tire was about half the size of a normal tire. The problem was, I wasn’t sure how to put it on and take the other one off. Certainly there had to be instructions on how to change a tire.

  Walking to the front passenger side of the car, I fumbled through the glove box to see if I could find the owner’s manual. I bought this car at one of those mom and pop car dealers. It was the only car that I was able to pay cash for. Having no luck finding the owner’s manual. I closed the door to find that a black Mustang pulled in behind me. The guy driving was the last person that I wanted to see. Heading to my trunk to get the tire out, I was met with the hard build of Mr. Alpha-Male Gorgeousness.

  “Let me help you with that,” he said as he took hold of the tire and pulled it out of the trunk like it was nothing.

  “Um… I can get this myself. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said, hoping he didn’t see right through my lie.

  “By all means, go ahead,” he commanded, leaning his body against the side of the car.

  Taking hold of the X-shaped wrench, I walked over to the flat tire and stared at it. I wasn’t sure what to do with the wrench. There were no bolts to loosen. I had no idea where to even start. Hot-to-Trot must have seen my reluct
ance because he placed his hand on my shoulder, which sent a fire through my body, and took the wrench from me. With expertise, he lowered his body to a squatting position and took the flat end of the wrench and slid it between the rim and the hub cap. With a flick of his wrist the cap was off, exposing five bolts.

  I felt like a total idiot. It took him less than fifteen minutes to change the tire, throw the flat in the trunk, and shut the lid, handing me my keys that I left in the lock. He smiled down on me and said, “Here you go, doll. You will need to get a real tire on that. It should hold you for about fifty miles.”

  Taking the keys, I felt a tingling in my inner thighs, making its way to my soaked panties. It was only when I saw those magnificent hazel eyes that the words left my head. While I stood there like a fool drooling all over him, he placed his hand on my shoulder and turned my body towards the front of the car. With a little slap to my ass, he leaned over and whispered, “Off you go,” before he walked back to his car.

  ~****~

  Seeing a gas station about ten miles from where I had my encounter with Mr. Hot Stuff, I pulled into the station and headed towards the service garage. Most of the guys inside were working on motors and wearing grease-covered overalls. I could smell the gas and oil odor as I walked to the door that said ‘Office.’ Knocking lightly, I heard a gruff voice on the other side say, “Enter.”