The Secret's Out (Hawks MC: Caroline Springs Charter, #1) Read online

  It could also have somethin’ to do with the fact that I’d had Billy’s mouth around my cock, but more so was that any chance to have Josie in our lives, under our bodies and in our hearts, was worth any risk.

  Yeah, it’d be fucked knowing when she was with Billy he’d be in her. However, he already was. He was stuck deep within her mind and heart, like I was.

  We needed our light.

  We needed our Josie.

  I just prayed what I had in mind would work out for the best.

  Parking out front instead of under the hotel was gonna make it easier to get our shit, make a call and get back to Josie faster. I didn’t like leavin’ Josie on her own, but I knew she didn’t live far from her work and I knew we’d make quick work of the crap we had to do in no time. Hell, we’d probably even beat her to work.

  Sliding off my girl, I walked into the hotel with a silent Billy behind me. We got in the lift and rode it up to our floor. Panic settled within me. I was fearful he wasn’t gonna go for it and if he didn’t, that would fuck up my chance at our light. I couldn’t have that.

  As soon as we were in our room, I turned to him, my mouth open ready to plead the advantages of doin’ it my way, until he got there first and said, “All right. I’m willin’. Christ, of course I am if it means Josie would be in my life.”

  I swiped my hand over my mouth to contain the huge fuckin’ smile creeping forward. “Good.” I nodded instead and turned my back on him, heading to the kitchen for something to do.

  Billy followed to ask, “You reckon she’ll go for it?”

  Turning, I placed my arse against the counter and said, “Not sure, but I fuckin’ hope so. We need to give her time though. She needs to get used to us being around her all the time.”

  He nodded and placed his hands in his jean pockets before saying, “We have to show that if either of us touch her, we won’t get jealous. She needs to see we’re cool with it. Then when she’s been used to it for a while, we’ll tell her about what we want.”

  “Deal.”

  He raised his brows at me and smirked. “You sure you can handle sharing Josie?”

  Glarin’, I asked, “Can you?”

  He snorted. “Yeah, even if I did get jealous, I’d fuckin’ hide it ‘cause I’d do anything to have Josie. I’ve always wanted her. I’ll be in her, my smell will be on her skin, and I’ll be on her mind, even if she’s with you. Are you cool with all that?”

  “You’re the only other brother I’d let this shit happen with. Fuck, we’ve both been hard for her for a fuckin’ long time. This is the best option so we both get to enjoy all that is Josie...if she goes for it in the end. So to answer your question, yeah, I can handle it. You?”

  “Hell yeah.” He smiled. I shared a grin with him and then pulled my phone from my pocket. “You get our shit packed. I’ll call Talon and then we ride back to Josie at her work.”

  “We ain’t sleepin’ here?”

  Scrunching up my nose, I gave him a ‘what do you think’ look.

  He chuckled and said, “Lookin’ forward to bein’ around our woman twenty-four seven.”

  “We take it easy for a while, yeah?”

  “Course,” he replied before walking outta the kitchen.

  With my phone to my ear, I waited for Talon to answer and he did after three rings with, “Talk.”

  “Situation’s fucked up. Some guys at her school think she’s their play thing. Always in her space and teasing her. We roughed one up today when we saw it. Fuck, Talon, she had a look of terror in her eyes...until she saw us. The one today said he’d back off, but apparently, there’s a bigger arsehole we have to deal with.”

  “Then deal.”

  “We will, but now we have Josie sayin’ she doesn’t want us to stay, doesn’t want you put out by having two of your employees takin’ a break. She was gonna ring you herself and ask for a prospect to come here. She realises she needs help now, thank fuck.”

  “She’s too damn nice. Tell her you’re both staying. I need men at the Caroline Springs charter. Memphis tells me shit’s goin’ down there, so I’ve been thinkin’ anyway to send brothers his way. After Josie’s shit is dealt with, you head to the compound. I’m also sendin’ Dodge your way with Dallas, as well as Saxon. He’ll be finished with his probation time of being a prospect soon anyway. Lan is also gettin’ promoted to a position in that area, so if you need help, he’ll have your back.”

  Lan was Stoke’s cousin and a detective. He used to be a stickler for rules, but ever since shit went down with Malinda, he’s been a different person. He was still a cop, but since realizing we didn’t deal in bad shit, he made the choice to have the Hawks members’ backs if any crap like that went down again.

  “Done. Though, boss, she’s thinkin’ of movin’ back after her schoolin’ is done. She’s gonna try and finish early.”

  “We want her back, but don’t she like it there?”

  “Not sure. I think ‘cause of all her shit, she’s scared...but hell, we’ve only been around her today, and Billy and I can see she’s grown. She’s a minx when she wants to be. Those fuckers are what’s holding our Josie back.”

  “Our?”

  Shit.

  “Fuck, brother—”

  “I mean—”

  “I know what you mean,” Talon growled. “Christ, we all see you and Billy have a thing for her and she has one for the both of you. She’ll wake up soon enough. But either of you fuck her up in any way...I’ll deal with you.”

  “What’re you sayin’, boss?” I got the ‘he’d deal with us’ part, but the rest.

  “I’m saying, Josie needs to live her life how she wants it. I was wrong in telling you to get her back here. I think she was ready to come home because she thinks you boys are her home. She doesn’t realise it yet. She thinks her home is her ‘rents and Zara and Mattie. But it ain’t. It’s the two of you and it has been since she set her eyes on you two. If this shit in the Caroline Springs charter is deep and fucked up as I think it is, then I need the both of you there for a while. Josie will soon see that her home is with the two of you, so I’m guessin’ she won’t be makin’ that move back to Ballarat unless you’re both with her.”

  Consider my fuckin’ fucked-up mind blown.

  “I... Fuck, I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “Don’t say anything. Just know you’d both better make my sister-in-law’s world a happy one.”

  “That’s what we’re aiming for already.”

  “Good. I’ll have Dodge bring more of your shit and Billy’s,” he barked and then hung up the phone.

  Billy walked into the kitchen with both our bags over his shoulders. “What?” he asked.

  “Huh?”

  “What in the fuck is up with that face?”

  By that I knew he meant my clenched jaw, my fuckin’ wide eyes, but also the smile that was playin’ on my lips. “We’re stayin’.”

  “Yeah, I guessed that. What in the fuck, Pick?” He threw the bags down and stood across from me with his hands balled into fists.

  “Talon wants us to stay and attend to shit at the Caroline Springs charter when Josie’s shit is done.”

  “All right, that’s cool, but...”

  “He’s okay with us and Josie,” I blurted and then tried to control the laughter wanting to bubble forward like some kid on hooch because the look on Billy’s face was laughable.

  “You sayin’ you told him our deal? You fuckin’ crazy?” he yelled. Yeah, obviously he’d been thinkin’ along the lines I had, that Talon would cut us up good and proper for even thinkin’ of sharing Josie.

  Shaking my head, I said, “Nope.”

  “Spit it the fuck out so we can get to Josie.”

  “Apparently, everyone has seen the hard-on we had for Josie, but they also saw that Josie had feelings for the both of us. Long story short, he’s given us the go-ahead to be with Josie. He thinks she’ll find her home in us, like we have with her.”

  “But she’
s lookin’ at movin’ back to Ballarat and if we’re here...”

  “Boss thinks she won’t go anywhere if we aren’t.”

  “Holy motherfuckin’ shit.”

  “My thoughts exactly when you walked in.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “I know, brother.”

  “This crap just got real. Nothin’s holding us back from her now.”

  “Nope, but we’re still bringin’ her into it slow.”

  “Shit, yeah. Can’t scare her off, not when all this could work out for the three of us to be happy.”

  “Damn right. Now let’s roll, go eat at our woman’s diner.”

  Billy

  Things were finally lookin’ up. When Pick had come to me with the idea of sharin’ Josie, at first, I thought he was crazy. But really, it was the best fuckin’ idea he’d ever had. Now all we had to do was worry about Josie going for it as well. Damn, I hoped she did. Though it wouldn’t be for a while, she, our woman, needed to be handled with care. We all knew she’d had no one since that fuckface. And he wouldn’t have been good to her, so of course she was gonna be apprehensive when it came to things in the bedroom...or the kitchen, living room, over the Harley.

  Fuck. Now I was hard from thinkin’ of all the places I wanted to take her.

  Still, that wouldn’t be happenin’ for a while yet. We needed to give our woman time to get used to seein’ us every day, to get used to us being around her, wantin’ to touch her in innocent ways before it escalated into more.

  I’d do anything for Josie and if that meant sharing her and waiting, then fuck yes, I would do it.

  No matter the amount of blue balls I had to suffer through.

  Lookin’ to Pick riding in front of me on his Harley, I thought, like him, he was the only brother that I’d be willing to share Josie with. What helped was the stuff we’d been through and the fact that Josie already had feelings for the both of us. Not saying it was gonna be easy watching them together or when they were having their own alone time. Still, it’d be easier knowing she was with a man who cared for her as much as I did. We both wanted the best for her and we both thought we could give her that.

  Damn, I hoped she went for it.

  Pick already knew where Josie worked from Nancy. We pulled our rides up out front in one of the few spare parks. Looked to be a busy day. Without words, we stalked our way to the diner. Upon opening the door, we heard yelled, “Leave her be, young man.”

  Our gazes settled on what was before us and knowing Pick, ‘cause like me, we didn’t like what we saw. In fact, anger rumbled up and shot out of my chest on a roar, “Get the fuck away from her.”

  Josie was being held around the waist by some dick sitting in a booth. An older lady, no doubt her boss, was standing in front, but off to the side, so I could see the panicked look on Josie’s face.

  “Josie, here now,” Caden growled. Josie went to get up, but fuck-head tightened his grip on her waist.

  The diner was quiet, and fuck it to hell, nearly full. The damage I wanted to do to the fucker wasn’t gonna happen when so many witnesses were around.

  Caden’s hand touched my back before he started for the table. That touch told me to check my anger, told me to be calm and not hot-headed about it, like I fuckin’ wanted to be. Damn it.

  With clenched hands, I walked after Caden, dodging through the tables and chairs scattered around. Some of the idiot’s mates eyed us and I got a thrill when their eyes landed on our vests.

  Yeah, motherfuckers, look who you gotta deal with.

  One pansy even stood, muttering, “I’m not getting involved in this.” And then left as Caden and I stopped just in front of their booth.

  “I don’t want trouble in here,” the old lady said.

  “We ain’t bringing it, and it’ll stay that way if this...guy let’s go of something that belongs to us.”

  “Cameron, they’re from Hawks,” a mate of Cameron’s who sat across from him in the booth uttered.

  Cameron, ignoring all of us, said to Josie, “Sugar, I didn’t know you were a club’s whore.” He grabbed her chin and roughly pulled it around so she was looking at him.

  It took everything in me not to jump the table and kill the fucker.

  Take a blade to his neck.

  Gut him like the pig he was.

  “And yet you won’t put out for me. Stupid slut.”

  “Enough,” I growled low. Caden stepped to the side and I stepped up. My hands went to the table and I leaned in, over Josie, to get in this guy’s face where I whispered, “Listen here, you little shit. You do not speak to her like that. She ain’t no club whore. She’s our boss’ sister-in-law. You know what that means? She’s like a fuckin’ princess to us and anyone who gives her crap has us to deal with. Do you know what that means?”

  The fool smirked at me and said, “No, what?”

  “Let her up and I’ll enlighten you.”

  “Billy,” Caden warned.

  Looking over my shoulder, I said, “I’ll do it in the nicest possible way, brother.” Caden snorted and shook his head. He reached his hand out to Josie. I moved back and thank fuck, the dickhead let her up. She went straight into Caden’s arms. She was safe, for now. But something told me, no matter what I was about to say to the cum-sucker, he wouldn’t take the threat real.

  I was looking forward to delivering some pain then.

  “Well?” Cameron mocked.

  Shaking my head, I smiled down at him. The cocky smirk fell from his lips for a second. I leaned back in, met his gaze and held it with a glare while I told him the truth. “It means, Cameron, that if you continue this shit for our princess, then expect payback. And I mean payback in the form of pain. And that, Cameron, means you won’t be walking for the rest of your life, because I will have shoved that much shit down your throat and up your arse you won’t want to sit down or eat. You’ll want your life to end and quickly, but I won’t bring the quick and painless end to you. No. Once I’m done, I’ll give you over to our boss, but it won’t be only him. You see, you little fuckin’ twat, there are thousands of us who like to dish out pain when retaliating against a dipshit who has harmed a member of our club. You will be beaten, abused and tortured—”

  “Billy, that’ll do,” Caden snapped.

  Looking over my shoulder, I saw Josie’s shocked gaze as she clung to Caden. Fuck. I was a stupid fuckin’ idiot, not thinkin’ Josie would have heard anything I just said.

  Christ. I probably just scared her half to death. Now she knew I could be one disgusting, mean motherfucker.

  “That was...crude, but to the point, kid.” Turning to Josie’s boss who, fuck me, was smiling wide, she clapped me on the back and then said to Cameron, “Now get outta here, boy, and never grace this establishment again with your bad temper. This is a safe place for my girl, Josie, so I better not see your face in here again or I’ll be telling these guys.”

  Cameron glared up at Josie’s boss and said, “You’re picking the wrong side, Marybeth.”

  “No, boy.” She shook her head sadly. “You are. You can’t keep hiding behind your daddy all your life.”

  We all moved back when Cameron started to shift out of the booth. Caden quickly placed Josie behind him and stood with his arms over his chest. I was surprised when they all left quietly, his mates following behind like the sheep they were.

  As soon as the front door closed after them, Josie stepped out and started, “Marybeth—”

  Only Marybeth put her hand up in Josie’s face. “Don’t want to hear it. I should have done something a long time ago. I saw what he did to you, the way you’d enter your shell when he was around, but I didn’t have the balls to do anything...until now. You keep these boys close, Josie.”

  “But don’t you understand, you standing up to him in front of people...he could—”

  “I don’t care what he can do. No longer, sweetpea, okay. This place is safe for you. Now get your arse home. Take the evening off.”

  With wo
rried eyes, Josie sent Marybeth a small appreciative smile and started for the door. Caden was right behind her and I would have been until a small hand wrapped around my arm to halt me.

  Turning, I faced Marybeth and then I was shocked for the third time that day when she whispered, “For the first time, that girl out there came into work with a skip in her step and a smile upon her beautiful face. Not until I saw the two of you come in here and do what you did for her did I know why her mood suddenly changed. I wish I had the guts a long time ago to rip that boy a new one like you just did, but I didn’t. Thank you, kid. Thank you for bringing the Josie I knew she could be to the front. Thank you for being such a badarse and teaching that boy a lesson. However, I’m not sure that boy is smart enough for that lesson to sink in. Tell me, you boys are sticking close to her?”

  “We ain’t goin’ anywhere until her shit is done. Or at all.”

  She nodded to the floor and then looked back up and met my stare. “Does she know you both love her?”

  My head flinched back an inch in shock.

  What. The. Fuck.

  Marybeth giggled and then sobered. “Kid, it’s written all over your face, and his. You give her time and I swear, from what I saw today, she will love you both back just as hard.” My nose screwed up. How could an old lady think it was right for Josie to love two guys?

  Marybeth scoffed in my face. “Don’t look like that. Josie is full of heart and warmth. That girl has been living on the doorstep of hell. There’s something in her eyes that tell me as much. She deserves happiness and, if the two of you can give that to her, then everyone will understand. If no one gets it...fuck’ em. Fuck anyone who thinks different.”

  That was when I burst out laughing.

  Chapter Seven

  Josie

  I had never heard Eli speak like that before. I knew motorcycle men were different from most average men. I knew when they protected, they did it fiercely. I just didn’t know that when they wanted to get a point across, they did it in such a way that was crude, mean and vicious.

  Was I disgusted with what Eli said?

  Yes.