Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Arriving at the trailer park, he rode toward her trailer and saw the light was on. Parking his bike, he went and knocked on the door.
“Nikki, come on, it’s me. Open up.”
She still hesitated and he waited until she finally opened the door. This time, she was dressed in a large shirt and sweatpants.
“Evening,” she said, arms folded.
“You’re not going to let me inside?”
“What do you want, Hawk?” she asked.
“To be let inside.”
She stared at him for several moments, and then it was like she knew he was going to get his own way, and she stepped back.
He climbed into the trailer and captured her around the waist, putting a finger beneath her chin and tilting her head back. Her face had a partial mark. It was not a full-on bruise. In the next day or so, it would show if it was going to bruise or not.
“It’s fine,” Nikki said, trying to pull out of his arms.
“It’s not okay. No one has the right to hit you.”
Nikki frowned. “You already knew?”
“Yeah, Ropes told me.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Ropes?”
“Yeah, he’s one of my guys.”
“The one that was with Diana this morning?” she asked.
“Did he do or say anything to you?” He’d deal with Ropes if that fucker had said anything.
“No, no, no, he didn’t say anything. He just … he didn’t do anything.”
Ropes knew to report to him.
“Have you put some ice on it?” he asked.
“It’s just a little slap.”
“Go sit down,” he said.
He was not being nice about this. She had to do as he ordered.
Nikki looked ready to complain, but he gave her a look that told her not to argue with him. She pressed her lips together, made her way back to the sofa, and stayed silent.
He went to the kitchen, opened her small fridge that had a built-in freezer. It seemed everyone had a bag of frozen peas. Admittedly, Nikki’s were half full, but he pulled them out and sealed them up a little better so it wasn’t a squashed bag, then he made his way toward her.
She was sitting and she held her hands up.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” he said.
“I’m not afraid.”
He smiled at her, and then slowly placed the peas on her face. She let out a little wince.
“Is it cold?” he asked.
“Just a little.”
“But it feels okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. You really don’t have to do this.”
He wanted to do this. Actually, he wanted to slap Diana a little more, but she had gotten the message clearly today. His father had said there was a time and place to take matters into his own hands. For anything else, women handled women. This was a situation for Melanie, not for him. Although he would have gladly slapped her himself, if he started, he probably would have killed her. He didn’t like that she had hit Nikki.
“Do you want to tell me what you were arguing about?” he asked.
Although he did know, or whatever Ropes had told him, if the club brother had even been listening.
“You visiting my house.”
“Was that a problem?” he asked.
“I didn’t know you knew my address. I would have liked a heads-up.” She shrugged. “It’s fine, it doesn’t matter.”
“But it does matter to you,” he said.
“Diana didn’t see it as a big deal. I did, and I guess I acted … a little stupidly.”
“No, you didn’t. She was your friend and I imagine you’ve been there for her whenever she needed it.”
She sighed. “Pretty much. I guess I better go and see her.”
“No, you don’t have to. You don’t need to apologize to her. It’s done.”
Nikki looked at him and sighed. “I think the peas are helping.”
He was more than happy with the excuse to be closer to her.
She offered him that sweet smile but he didn’t back down, even for a second. What was it about this young woman that he couldn’t get out of his mind?
Chapter Four
Nikki stepped out of the supermarket a few days later, and sure enough, Hawk was there. Every night he’d come to her trailer park. They hadn’t done anything other than talk, hang out, enjoy cups of coffee and hot chocolate. Sometimes, they watched television. It was an odd kind of friendship.
Hawk had asked her to promise him she wouldn’t go and see Diana. She agreed. She didn’t want to see her friend. The nasty stuff Diana had said was normal. She was used to her friend treating her that way, and seeing as she didn’t have many friends, she put up with it. Not that she considered herself a doormat. There was just some horrible stuff she dealt with and accepted from her friend. But now, she and Diana were done.
They had never argued before, mainly because she never told Diana what she thought, or how pissed she was for her giving away her personal details. She figured they were friends. Nikki always made sure her friend was well taken care of. There was all that money wasted in bailing her out.