Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme The Gift. Thank you for reading today’s story. The next one will be available to read on December 12th, titled “The Greatest Gift“. The link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.
If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it The Sapling here!
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the copyright owner and/or the publisher of this book, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
HELL HAWKS
“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.”
Reeves Mendes stalked in with the dominance of a man born to take no shit from anyone. His stormy gray eyes swept over the diner and settled on the only other person in the place.
The sight of his cousin had Cadoc’s molars grinding. His fingers tightened on his phone.
“What are you doing here?”
Reeves folded his six feet into the leather bench across from Cadoc, kicking him only twice with his scuffed boots.
“They don’t make these tables wide enough,” he griped, wiggling against the seat, and straightening his vest.
The patch sewn with great care across his left breast labelled him the Hell Hawk’s Treasurer. Cadoc had a similar patch on his. Only his read vice president.
“How did you find me?”
Reeves jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I drive past here on my way to the club from Gena’s and I keep seeing your bike out front.”
Cadoc suppressed the urge to kick himself for his own stupidity. He frankly should have known better. He hadn’t considered the odds of getting spotted at a diner on the outskirts, miles from anywhere and anyone he knew. Figures it would be Reeves who noticed.
“What’s wrong with Dill’s place?” Reeve pressed, darting another glance over the basic 80’s style layout.
There were a million reasons why Cadoc had changed his morning routine. He’d wanted the privacy of drinking his coffee in peace. He liked the view of nothing but wilderness when he lost himself in his own thoughts. He liked the drive away from the buildings and people. He liked not having to answer club questions or fend off women trying to get into his pants. He liked being alone.
There were other reasons, one very specific one that trumped all the others, but Reeves wouldn’t understand his explanation.
“I like the coffee,” he muttered, lifting the mug to his lips and take a sip of the lukewarm brew.
Reeves eyed the drink as if trying to decode the mysteries of it. “It’s just coffee.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his cousin to fuck off when a figure stepped up to their table.
Liliya Adams smiled at each of them pleasantly. Her hazel eyes moved from Reeves to Cadoc, and back.
“Can I grab you anything to start?”
Reeves straightened in his seat, interest cocking his head to one side. “I wouldn’t say no to your number.”
It took every ounce of his willpower not to smack his cousin upside the head with a brick.
Liliya laughed quietly. “Bad timing.” She offered a small shrug. “I lost my phone, but I am more than happy to grab you a plate of our world-famous pancakes.”
“What makes them world-famous?”
“I think it’s the secret ingredient,” Liliya answered without missing a beat and dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Don’t say love…” Reeves groaned.
To which Liliya answered simultaneously, “Love.”
Reeves snorted a laugh. “Maybe next time.” He glanced at Cadoc. “I’m heading out. I’ll see you back at the club.”
Cadoc loved his cousin. He really did, but he’d never been so relieved to watch the man struggle free of the booth and amble out to his truck. It wasn’t until the taillights had disappeared down the road that he allowed his muscles to relax.
“Okay?” Liliya studied him carefully.
“Yeah,” he lied, his good mood gone.
He hoped to God Reeves kept his mouth shut about the place. The last thing Cadoc wanted was the entire club taking over his tiny sliver of heaven.
“I’m heading out,” he told her, tossing down a wade of bills to cover his breakfast and a generous tip.
She didn’t stop him when he walked out with the sound of the bell announcing his departure. Wet gravel crunched beneath his boots. He evaded a puddle on his way to his bike.
“Cadoc.” Liliya crossed the parking lot after him, the money he’d dropped on the table in her hand. “You don’t have to keep leaving so much,” she said, holding a portion of it out.
He eyed the bills, then her and her warm, golden eyes. The wind pulled strands of dark silk across her pinkened cheeks. His fingers itched to feel them drag through his fingers the way they did at night when he pulled her to him and ravaged her pouty mouth until she was gasping his name.
“Keep it.” He put a hand up when her lips parted with her protest. “Don’t argue with me.” His fingers closed over hers, crumpling the bits of paper into her palm. “Consider it payment for my cousin’s embarrassing behavior.”
Her beautiful face broke into a heart stopping smile. “He didn’t say anything I haven’t heard a million times.”
Cadoc grunted, knowing she was fully capable of handling men like Reeves and still hating that she had to. “I’ll shove him off his bike first chance I get.”
Liliya laughed, the sound breathtaking. “Don’t you dare.” She touched his chest. He felt the contact burn through the thin material of his t-shirt. “Honestly, it’s fine.”
He’d been so careful to keep her away from his life, away from the other Hawks. In seconds, Reeves had managed to disrupt six months of what little peace Cadoc had found. There was no telling what tomorrow would bring. He knew he would deal with it. For now, all he had was that moment with her, each second a gift he would cherish no matter what the future brought. The only certainty he possessed was his drive to protect her at all costs.
“I’ll see you tonight?” he asked.
Her slender fingers closed into the material of his top and she tugged him to her. His arms instinctively twisted around her waist and pulled her the rest of the way into him, supporting her weight when she went up on her toes to brush his mouth with hers.
“You better,” she whispered.
Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme The Gift. Thank you for reading today’s story. The next one will be available to read on December 12th, titled “The Greatest Gift“. The link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.
If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it The Sapling here!
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