Hawk: Untamed Sons MC Manchester Chapter, #5

By Jessica Ames

Enjoy this dark motorcycle club romance from USA Today Bestselling romance author Jessica Ames...

 

Hawk

 

I am a nomad, moving between chapters of the Untamed Sons Motorcycle Club, trying to find a place to belong. I never wanted to settle down and make roots, not after what happened in my past, but then I meet Wren. She's the sister of one of the Manchester brothers and she should be off limits for that reason, but what starts as a bit of fun quickly turns serious for me. I didn't expect to fall for her or come to love her kids as if they were my own, but this little family is fast becoming my world. When their lives are threatened I do the only thing I can: I go to war with their enemies.

 

Wren

 

I never thought I would become the target of a gang, but they want to hurt Brewer and they plan on using me and my kids to do it. Hawk is a distraction I don't need, but I get lost in him to forget the drama unfolding around me. It started as a one-time thing, a fling with no strings attached. I should have known better. I never expected him to come back for more, but now that Hawk has had me, he's not willing to walk away. When I find myself in the crosshairs of dangerous men, I realise the only person who can protect me is the man I'm trying so hard to deny.

 

All books in the Untamed Sons universe can be read as standalones, but are better enjoyed read in order. This is a dark romantic story with a guaranteed happily ever after. It does have some strong language, graphic violence and content that might be triggering.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Ames
• Release date: Apr 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224589227

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

WREN

PAST…

His fingers twist in my hair, savagely tearing my neck back so I’m forced to look at him. The glint in my husband’s eyes scares me to death. The man I loved enough to have two children with is gone and the monster peering down at me, spittle collecting at the corners of his mouth, leaves me wanting to curl into a ball. 

Derek… please… Begging won’t help, I know this from experience, but I try anyway. 

I can’t fight him. My husband has at least a hundred pounds on me, and I won’t risk my kids. Jamie is watching from the kitchen table, his eyes wide and fearful. His fork is clutched between his fingers, his dinner forgotten. 

Lillia is screaming in her highchair, but I can’t see her from my position. Every instinct urges me to go to my babies, but Derek’s hold on me is like an iron band and I can’t move.

You think I want to come home to this shit? he snarls in my face, spraying spit across my cheeks. You think I work hard all week for you to serve me slop?

The meal I spent an hour making for him is smeared up the wall, gravy and mash staining the paintwork. He’ll blame me for that too. Sometimes I wonder if he’s right. I know I’m hard to live with, that I rile him the wrong way. I need to be quieter, to do the things he needs.

I can fix it, I tell him, even though I have no idea how. 

I don’t want you to fucking touch it. 

Still holding my hair in one hand, he smashes his fist into my face. Stars spill across my vision as darkness clouds my peripherals. I almost sag to my knees, but his hold on my hair stops me, fearing that he’ll hurt me more.

Mummy? Jamie’s terrified voice has me trying to seek him out, but I can’t twist enough to give my son the reassurance I desperately want to. 

Derek… the kids… please.

He glances over the top of my head to our children. Fear ripples through me. Shut her up, he hisses at Jamie. I hear him cooing at his sister, trying to silence my screaming baby. 

Fisting my hair tighter, Derek drags me out of the kitchen and into the living room. My scalp is on fire, and I have to twist my body to alleviate some of the pain working through my nerve endings.

He kicks the door shut behind us, his lips pulling into a snarl. I’ve given you everything and you take me for an idiot.

I shake my head, trying to convey this is a lie. I would never do that, I assure him. 

My words don’t seem to penetrate the fog of anger clouding him. I’ve seen Derek pissed before, but this is something else. The way he’s looking at me terrifies me. There’s always darkness in his eyes, always a monster lurking beneath the surface, but the fury bubbling there is like nothing I’ve ever seen from him before. I’m still wearing bruises from his last attack, and now there will be new ones added to those. 

I’m already contemplating the ways I can cover them when Derek smashes his fist against my cheek. Pain explodes through my face, red hot agony as the sound of his flesh meeting mine fills the air.

Groaning, my legs fold. He releases his hold on my hair to grip my bicep, his fingers digging into my soft flesh. That bite of pain is nothing compared to the ache in my face.

Please, I beg, willing to say anything to make this stop. 

I can still hear my daughter screaming, and the urgency to go to her is making my eyes burn with tears. Lillia needs me. Jamie too. My children shouldn’t be subjected to this nightmare from their father, but I don’t know how to stop Derek’s anger when he’s like this. 

All I can do is shield my body as he lays into me with such violence and ferocity that it makes my head spin. I’m going to die. Tonight is the night when he goes too far and those bruises become something more, something darker that neither of us can stop. 

It wasn’t always like this. 

Derek loved me once. Memories of when Jamie was born fill my mind as my husband hits me over and over. There was so much pride in his face then. Derek wanted to be a father and was proud that I gave him a son. 

Things deteriorated slowly, and I didn’t realise how dangerous it had become until it was too late. Leaving risked my and my babies’ lives, but staying risked them too. I’m starting to understand this is not a situation I can win, no matter how quiet I am, no matter how much I don’t fight back or argue. 

Derek needs something to take that rage inside him out on, and that something is me.

As he beats me, the only thought I have is better me than the kids. I know they’re safe, even if they’re scared and crying. I take each hit, not fighting back, not doing anything. I can’t feel my body any longer. There is no pain, just blessed numbness. 

Somehow, I’m on the carpet. I don’t know how I got down here, but Derek is kicking me over and over. I try to protect my abdomen, to curl into myself, but it’s no use. Some of those kicks land. 

Bile collects in my throat, blood and saliva in my mouth. The coppery tang covers my tongue as I realise I’m not getting up from this.

He’s going to end my life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. 

My ears feel plugged full of cotton wool, but I hear shouting. Trying to peer through my swelling eyes, I see my brother. Am I hallucinating? Why is Madden here? 

The attack on me stops, and for a moment, all I feel is relief that I’m no longer being pummelled, until I see the scene unfolding in front of me.

Dragging Derek back from me, Madden shoves him so hard, he falls over the coffee table, landing in a heap on the carpet. I stare along the pile, watching as my brother lays into him, cursing and yelling. 

I don’t hear what he’s saying because my ears are fuzzy, but as always, my brother is my protector, and I can’t express the relief I feel knowing the kids and I are safe. 

A blur of motion has me blinking blood from my eyes. Madden is wrestled to the floor, his hands pulled behind his back. I want to speak, to tell them to stop, but it’s no use. My throat is thick with blood, and I can’t think of the words to say.

I fumble to get my hands under me and, somehow, I get into a sitting position. 

They must know Madden did nothing, but as I glance across the carpet, I see Derek is lying face down and barely moving. I give my attention back to my brother, who has a knee in his back as he’s handcuffed.

This is my fault. 

I should have left Derek. I should have run. 

Madden would have protected us, and now, he’s being arrested.

A woman bends down, her face inches from mine. Written across the front of her vest is one word: Police. 

It’s okay, honey, we’re going to get you help, she says as she lifts me onto the edge of the sofa. 

I don’t want to sit. I want to go to my brother. 

Calm down, pal, the officer says to Madden as they get him to his feet. You’re just making this worse for yourself.

Madden ignores the command, his gaze locked on mine.

You leave him, he snaps at me. You leave that fucker and take your kids somewhere fucking safe! 

I give him a small imperceptible nod. I’m too numb to do anything else. He didn’t hurt me, I tell the female officer sitting at my side.

We’ll get everything straightened out at the station. An ambulance is on the way. 

My kids? 

They’re safe. 

I close my eyes, feeling comfort from knowing that, and then I let the tears flow.

CHAPTER 2

HAWK

PAST…

As soon as I spot her sitting at the bar, I see red. I don’t care that she’s out drinking, or that she’s underage, but if she wants to throw back a skinful, she should be doing it somewhere safe, like the fucking clubhouse. Where she’s chosen to come fucking scares me. 

This place is dangerous as hell. It’s not our patch. I have no sway here, but our enemies do.

I take her in with a sweep of my eyes, seeing no injuries or bruises. No one has touched her, and I’m relieved. Things could have gone very differently. 

As I take her in, my expression pulls into a tight scowl. The dress she’s wearing is tiny, barely covering her arse and thighs as she’s perched on the stool in front of the bar, and her tits are nearly in the face of the fucking cunt she’s talking to. 

Wonder if he knows she’s only sixteen, or if he gives a fuck. He’s one of those arrogant suit-wearing pricks who thinks he’s above everyone, the kind of cunt I would have crying after five minutes alone with him. 

I scrub a hand over my tight jaw, trying to calm myself, but there’s no amount of counting this out that’s going to fix this. 

Especially considering whose fucking bar she’s in.

The dickhead sitting opposite her places his hand on her thigh, a little too high, a smug smile on his face. I’m moving before I know what I’m doing.

Shoving through the crowd of drinkers milling around the main floor, I keep my gaze locked on Jade’s face, scared if I take my eyes off her, she’ll disappear. I know there are cameras in the bar, so I try to keep my head down, my long hair curtaining my face. I just hope no one is manning the screens. The last thing I want is to be caught in one of Desmond Richardson’s fucking bars. 

I roll my shoulders, feeling naked without my kutte on my back, but walking into Pioneers territory with it on is a one-way ticket to dead. The denim shirt I’m wearing feels scratchy and annoying against my skin, but it’s the weight of the imaginary eyes I can feel watching me that sets me on edge.

Jade smiles at the suit, giving him a look she shouldn’t know how to make. Too much time spent with the club bunnies, learning fucking tricks that she shouldn’t know.

She leans forwards, her hand pressing to his thigh, before she sits back again and reaches for her drink.

I know the moment she sees me.

Panic momentarily crosses her face before she smooths it out into a weak smile. She’s a kid, and I shouldn’t go off on her, but this might be the stupidest thing she’s ever done—not to mention the most dangerous. 

As soon as I stop in front of her, she downs the rest of her glass before sliding it on the bar. I’m not sure what she’s drinking, but I’m not worried about that. Being around the club, I know she knows how to drink. 

When I don’t say a word, her fear grows. I’d never hurt her, and she knows that, but she isn’t scared of me getting violent. She’s scared that she’s let me down. She should be, because this fucking little escapade of hers puts us both in deep shit.

Hey. The word comes out breathless and a little ragged. 

The fuck are you doing here? I demand. Unlike the tone of her voice, mine is hard. 

Back off, pal, the prick sitting with her says, his hand still on her thigh. She’s with me.

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth as my eyes blaze. Is this cunt serious? I glare at his hand on Jade’s skin. She ain’t for a slick cunt like him. 

If you don’t take your fuckin’ hand off her, I’ll kill you, I growl. 

The guy doesn’t move it. Find someone else, he sneers back. He’s either so drunk that he doesn’t recognise the danger standing in front of him or he’s not very smart. 

I grab him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him off the stool. 

Hawk! Jade comes off her stool, trying to pull me off this fuck, but nothing would please me more than rearranging his fucking face. Stop! 

I ignore her and get in the face of the guy still in my grasp. You like ‘em young? 

His expression says he’s confused, but his eyes tell me he knows she ain’t over eighteen. Young? What⁠—

She’s sixteen, you pervert. 

His eyes flare wide, darting from my face to hers. "She’s in a bar. You make a habit of asking the age of everyone in a bar?"

I do when they look like a fucking kid! 

She doesn’t look like a kid! 

He tries to defend himself, but I ignore his words. I don’t care if he knew or not. I don’t care why he zeroed in on her, only that he did. I pull him in against me, getting into his face. You’re lucky I’m feeling in a charitable fuckin’ mood. I’m not, but I’m not about to start a fight in a Pioneers bar, no matter how much I want to hurt this guy. 

I let him go, and he scurries off like a rat, disappearing into the crowd of people. How can Jade be around the men in the club and want this weaselly wank stain? 

I watch him go, making sure he’s not going to get any stupid ideas about fighting back, before I turn to Jade. Her hair is loose around her shoulders in beachy waves that I have no idea how she learnt to do. This kid is usually wearing sweaters and jeans, her hair scraped into a knot at the nape of her neck, and a book in her hands. I don’t recognise the girl in front of me with makeup plastered on her face. 

I do recognise the pout on her face as she stares at me. 

The fuck are you doing here, kid? I’m unable to keep the anger out of my voice.

I’m not a kid, she grumbles, sounding younger than sixteen. 

You’re a fuckin’ kid, I counter. You know this is a Pioneers bar? 

The way she doesn’t meet my gaze tells me that she does. Fucking hell. I grab her bicep and drag her out of there before we’re noticed. Security is already watching us, and that’s too much attention. 

She totters on her heels, struggling to keep pace with me, and I know I should slow down but I don’t. I feel like the air is suffocating me as I try to get the hell out of the bar. 

I don’t relax even when we breach the front entrance. The lights from other bars and clubs illuminate the street, and I can hear music thumping away from farther down. I don’t see any Pioneers, just a line of people waiting to get inside and out of the cold. 

The Dudley Pioneers, despite the name, have territory not only in Dudley but also in the centre of Birmingham. Their patch borders ours, and that’s where the issues have arisen. 

Those fucks want more.

They want what we have, and we ain’t giving that up. 

For the past year, a savage war has been going on between them and us. Jade knows these bastards are lunatics who think nothing about killing in cold blood… and worse. I can’t fucking fathom why she’d put herself at risk like this.

I pull her towards the side street where I left the car, and as soon as we’re out of sight of the bar, Jade pulls free of my grasp. 

Stop dragging me around!

I try to find calm, but truthfully, I want to throttle her. Do you have a fucking death wish?

Her expression is moody, her jaw tight as she takes me in. No.

Then why in the hell would you go to a Pioneers bar? Do you know what would’ve happened if they found out you were there? 

Why would they care about me? I’m not a brother! 

No, I am, and I had to go in there to pull your arse out.

Her face drops. She hadn’t even considered that. Oh. 

Yeah, kid, oh. Fuck. I scrape a hand over my hair, trying to calm myself. This shit ain’t her fault. It’s mine and the rest of the club’s. Crank, our President, should’ve done more to take care of her. Jade’s fiery-tempered, like her old man had been. She was never going to sit back and do nothing, not after what they did to him. 

How did you find me? 

Don’t you worry about that, I tell her. 

I’d had a call from a guy called Tommy Mitchell, who used to move knock-off electronics. Back when I was a teenager, I helped him shift a hundred stolen CD players. These days, he’s a little higher up the food chain in the city, but he and I have kept in touch over the years. He called me as soon as he saw Jade. 

You gotta be sensible, I continue. This shit you’re pulling is suicidal, Jade. They ain’t like us. The Pioneers are monsters. They’ll put a bullet in you and rape your fucking corpse.

Her skin pales and her eyes are fearful. I hate putting that look in her, but she has to understand the danger she’s playing with. The Pioneers are worse than even that, but I want to shock her, not terrify her. 

I want them to pay for what they did, she whispers. 

A lump settles in my throat, a deep-seated pain I can’t move out of my chest. I understand her need for revenge. It burns through me too, through all of our club, but this is not the way to go about it. And they will, but you ain’t going to be the one to do it, Jade.

She sticks her bottom lip, trying to control her tears. Then who is? 

The club.

Oh yeah, ‘cause you’re doing a great job of that. There is so much bitterness in her tone that it makes me wince. They killed my dad, and no one seems to give a fuck.

Even though it’s been a while since Boxer died, Jade spitting the facts like this makes my chest ache. She lost her father; the club lost a brother.

I understand her frustrations. I want action as well, but we have to handle things carefully. The Pioneers have no boundaries. There are lines we won’t cross that they regularly do. We’ve struggled to keep them out of our patch and to keep everyone safe. We’re in a war that we’re slowly losing.

I want action, so do many of my club brothers, but Crank seems hesitant to push back against them. This cautious route he’s taking is not the way to do shit, though. More people will die, and it sends a message that the Untamed Sons are weak as fuck. When Boxer was murdered, I thought Crank would be hell-bent on revenge, but he ain’t done shit. 

I understand why Jade would take things into her own hands, but she needs to stay out of this shit. It’ll get her hurt. 

"I know how you feel. I’m pissed things ain’t happening fast, but Crank