Guardian Angel (Angel's Halo MC #3) by Terri Anne Browning
“That doesn’t mean she’s your daughter.”
“No. But the math will. When’s her birthday? What’s her blood type? I have a rare blood type. If she has it then she’s mine.”
“I don’t know her fucking blood type,” Hawk raged. “Her birthday is January the twelfth.”
“Then the chances of her being mine just went up,” Trigger told him. “As Gracie’s father, I trump both you and Jack. I get to end Harley.”
“No,” Hawk shook his head. “As the man that is going to marry her, I trump every-fucking-body. You can cut him up and do what you want with the rest of him, but I end him. I’m the angel of death tonight, not you. Not Uncle Jack. Me.”
Chapter 10
Gracie
Nurses woke me up every two hours and by morning I was feeling considerably better. Even if I did want to punch the nursing staff in the face for continuing to wake me up.
Some teenager in a pink-striped outfit brought in my breakfast, waking me up yet again. I gave her a small smile as she left the room and turned to look for Hawk. The smile vanished when all I found was Raven sleeping soundly in a recliner close to the window.
A glance at the clock hanging beside the small television on the wall told me it was just past eight o’clock. I didn’t remember much after the nurse had given me the painkillers down in the ER the night before. Even the CT scan was a vague memory. Other than the outline of the nurses that had woken me up briefly every two hours throughout the night I couldn’t tell you much about the staff that had been treating me during that time.
When had Hawk left? Where had he gone?
My heart started racing and I wondered if he had left to take care of Harley. Had he…killed him? Would Hawk actually murder someone? My heart wanted to say no, but my brain said something completely different. The man who owned my heart was still a completely mystery to me. I knew nothing about his past—really, I barely knew him at all.
I found the buttons that controlled the bed and pushed the one that would lift my head. Sighing, I reached for the tray on the rolling table that the pink-stripe girl had left me. My throat felt like it was as dry as a desert and there was a small cup of orange juice on my tray.
I’d just picked up the cup and started lifting the lid when the door opened and Hawk walked in with two delicious-smelling cups of coffee. His olive-jade green eyes went around the room before landing on me. The frown that he had been wearing eased and his lips lifted in a relieved smile.
“Morning, baby.” He placed both cups on my rolling table and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to my temple. That small caress of his lips on my skin was enough to make me shiver in reaction to him. Headache or no headache, I couldn’t seem to control my body’s response to this man. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. My headache isn’t nearly as intense as it was last night.” I caught his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “Have you been here all night?”
“Mostly. I had to take care of a few things, but then I came straight back.” Another kiss to my head and he stepped back, offering me one of the cups. “When I heard the staff switching shifts out at the nurses station I went in search of some decent coffee.”
My stomach knotted up. “Wh-what kind of things?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners and he grinned down at me. “Are you asking if I did something to Harley, baby?”
“Yes. Did you?” He chuckled, picked up his own cup of coffee and walked over to the window to take the extra chair beside of his sister. I tried not to be disappointed that he hadn’t chosen the side of my bed to sit so that he could be closer to me. When he didn’t answer I focused on that rather than the slight sting of disappointment. “Hawk?”
“Harley got his ass kicked and we got him a one-way ticket out of town.” He took a sip of his coffee before nudging Raven’s leg with one booted foot. She grumbled something in her sleep and turned her head away from him, but didn’t open her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about him again. He won’t be coming back anytime soon.”
“Oh.” I let out a long, relieved breath. “Did you hurt him very badly?”
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes crinkling again. “Nothing he didn’t deserve, Gracie. Oh, hey. Can you tell me what your blood type is? Just in case something ever happens, I can help out with your medical information.”
I didn’t call him on the subject change. I didn’t want to talk about Harley at all, but I’d needed to know if I’d been responsible for a man’s death. “It’s AB negative. It’s rare so I have to be careful.” I pushed the coffee away. It smelled good, but I didn’t know if my stomach could handle it at the moment. The orange juice would have to do for now. “What’s yours?”
“I’m ordinary old O negative.” He took a gulp from his cup and nudged his sister again. This time she opened her eyes and glared at him. “Morning, sunshine.”
“When did you get back?” she grumbled, wiping sleep from her eyes.
“Late. You were sound asleep. Bash didn’t want to move you. Why don’t you head home and get some rest? We’re good here, right, Gracie?”
I nodded. “Yes, and thanks for staying with me, Raven. I really appreciate it.”
Yawning, she stood and crossed the small room to my bed. Leaning over she hugged my neck carefully. “You’re family, Gracie. It wasn’t a problem. Are you feeling any better?”
“Still have a headache but it’s nothing compared to last night.” Fudge, I could have still been seeing stars and that would have been an improvement to the pain I’d been in the night before.
Raven gathered up her things, gave me a hug and then left. As soon as the door shut behind her, Hawk was out of his chair and beside my bed in a flash. My heart rate started to double in speed and I nibbled on my bottom lip as I gazed up at the deliciously sexy man leaning over me.
His gaze was hungry; his eyes moving over every inch of my face and then lower. I was wearing a hospital gown that was baggy on me and nothing else. Not even panties underneath it. The sheets and blanket were pulled up over my breasts though so I knew he couldn’t see that my nipples had tightened the instant he’d gotten close enough for me to smell his spicy aftershave.
Hawk lifted his gaze back to my face and our eyes locked. The hunger dimmed ever so slightly and he pressed his forehead carefully to mine. “I thought I’d lost you last night, Gracie.” His voice was rough and gruff, as if he were having a hard time containing his emotions. “I never want to go through that again.”
I lifted my hand that was free of the IV and stroked my fingers through his shaggy blonde hair. His entire body shuddered at my touch. I felt his lips skim over the tip of my nose and closed my eyes, savoring the gentle caress. For a few long minutes we stayed like that, breathing each other in, holding on to a moment in time when everything else seemed to stand still and there was just the two of us in the world.
When he finally pulled back, there was something different in his eyes on top of all that hunger. Determination. “You are mine, Gracie. I know you don’t understand how it is in my MC, but I can teach you all of that. I want you to be my ol’ lady.”
If he’d said that to me four months ago I would have laughed my head off. The whole things seemed almost archaic in a way. The ‘ol’ lady’ tag even sounded a little redneck. Now that I knew what it really meant and what it meant to Hawk’s club family I was beyond moved to have him say he wanted me to be his. His face looked tight, as if he were anxious and I knew that he was worried that I was going to turn him down.
Crazy man. As if I could. “Okay,” I murmured and smiled when he blew out a deep, relieved sigh. “But only if you promise that you are mine just as much as I’m yours.”
“Fuck, girl. You’ve owned me from the first minute I set eyes on you.” His hands came down on the bed on either side of my head, his head lowering as his gaze locked on my lips. “Damn, I want to kiss you so bad, baby. But I know the second my lips touch yours that it’s game over. I won’t give a shit that
Oh, fudge. The image his words put in my head was making my heart and body do all kinds of crazy things. My heart actually quivered at the idea of his hands on me while my thighs became damp and sticky with how much I wanted him. Deep within my body a pulse I’d only recently discovered throbbed to life. I craved his mouth on mine, wanted his hands on my skin with a desperation that went soul deep.
My mouth opened, ready to tell him I didn’t care if one of the nurses came in or not. All I wanted was him and the pleasure I knew he could give me…
The door opened without warning and in strolled a man in a white doctor’s coat and an iPad in his hands. Hawk slowly straightened, his eyes watching the newcomer closely before he relaxed and held out his hand. “Doc, good to see you.”
The doctor lifted his eyes from the iPad and grinned at him before taking his hand and shaking it. “Hawk, how are you?”
“I’d be better if you told me my girl here is okay and can go home.” He winked down at me and I couldn’t help the blush that filled my cheeks.
The doctor chuckled and turned his attention on me. “Hi, Gracie, I’m Dr. Robertson. I’m sure Hawk and the other Hannigans have mentioned me.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a few things.” Only in passing, though. Usually it was from accidently overhearing something that Bash said to Raven or one of the club brothers. I knew that Dr. Robertson, or Doc as they all referred to him, was the club’s private physician. He took care of things that needed to be kept off the books, or so I’d come to assume.
His eyes twinkled a little as he chuckled. He wasn’t as old as Jack was; I’d say he was in his mid-to-late forties. His eyes were a mixture of blue and green and his face was covered in a graying beard. He looked tough, stern. As if he didn’t take crap from anyone. I figured that since he was the MC’s doctor, that would be a trait he would need in abundance. “I can only imagine. How are you feeling this morning? Your chart says you have a severe concussion, so that head of yours must be throbbing.”
I didn’t nod because I knew if I did it would cause pain to blast through my head again. “It’s not as bad as it was last night, but yeah, it’s throbbing pretty good.”
“You’re going to have a headache for a while. At least a few more days, but it should start to fade by day three and be gone soon after.” He pulled a pen light from his coat pocket and shined it in first my right eye and then the left. I was so glad I hadn’t tried to eat any of the breakfast on my tray. If I had I would have emptied it all over him for sure. Nausea rolled in my stomach and I sucked in deep breath after deep breath in hopes of calming my stomach.
Something strong and pungent was waved under my nose and the nausea faded quickly. I jerked back and Doc showed me an alcohol swab he’d used. “I’m going to let you go home, but you need to go straight to bed when you get there. Don’t get out of bed unless it’s for the bathroom, and then I want you to have someone helping you in case you get dizzy.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “When can I go back to work?” I just started both my jobs. I couldn’t afford to call in sick after only a few days.
His eyes were serious as he met my gaze. “I think you need at least a week to get back on your feet, and even then I think you should take it easy. Concussions are tricky, Gracie. You might think you’re feeling better, but if you don’t rest there could be some dire consequences.” He turned to Hawk. “Make sure she goes straight to bed and doesn’t do a lot of moving around. I’m going to prescribe some painkillers to help her rest easier through most of this next week. Tomorrow I’ll stop by and check in on her, see how she’s progressing. But I’m warning you. If I think she’s not getting any better, I’m readmitting her.”
Hawk nodded his head solemnly. “I’ll make sure she gets plenty of rest, Doc.”
“Good. I’ll let the nurse know you can go and get the paperwork started.” He shook Hawk’s hand again and then smiled down at me. “See you tomorrow, Gracie.”
I gave him a small smile and watched him leave my room. When the door shut behind him I blew out a frustrated breath. “Aggie is going to replace me, I just know it.”
“Aggie won’t do that to you. She likes you too much. If you really want to keep that damn job I’ll talk to her and let her know what’s going on. It’s no big deal, baby.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Relief was so keen that I would have felt lightheaded if I hadn’t been lying back. “Would you?” He nodded and I could have kissed him if I’d been able to reach for him just then. “Thanks, Hawk. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”
He didn’t return my smile. “I’m still not happy about you working there, Gracie. I’d rather you didn’t work at all and only concentrated on school. And if I knew you wouldn’t try to kick my ass from that bed I would tell you what I really wanted. For you to let me pay for law school and take care of everything else you need or want.” When I glared at him his lips twitched with wary amusement. “As I said, if I knew you wouldn’t kick my ass I would totally be offering that. So I’m not going to. For the moment.”
“I don’t want you to take care of me. I need to be able to do this on my own.” I know he didn’t understand that, but it was important to me.
The situation with my mother… I felt like the only reason she had never left my father was because she wanted the money that went with the Morgan name. Not for her; I doubted that was the reason. No, I was pretty sure she’d wanted it for me. I wish I could have told her that the money had never been important to me, then or now. All I’d ever wanted, all that had ever made me happy growing up was getting to be with her. Now she was gone, and I needed to prove—if only to her memory if nothing else—that I could take care of myself without having a man doing it for me.
I hoped I could one day make him understand that.
“Gracie.” He sighed and shook his head. “Baby, being mine means that I’m allowed to take care of you. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It isn’t like that at all, sweetheart. You are taking care of me too. It’s like a partnership. We share everything: the joys, the pains, the burdens, and the ecstasies. So letting me help you with school is nothing to be ashamed of.”
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. His words made my heart twist with so much love for him, but I still couldn’t take his money. “I want all of those things, Hawk. I just can’t let you pay for law school. I’m sorry.”
Chapter 11
Hawk
Trying to keep Gracie in bed and happy was not an easy job. She bored easily just lying in bed with only television to keep her company. By Friday she was chomping at the bit and Doc was still making her stay in bed. I spent all my free time just lying beside her. We talked, getting to know one another even better, while I spoiled her with back rubs and sweets. If it had been anyone else I would have been climbing the walls with my own boredom, but this was Gracie—my female. I enjoyed our quiet time together.
Because I’d promised her I would, I called Aggie and told her what was going on. She knew all about it before I even opened my mouth. Uncle Jack had told her the majority of it, obviously leaving out the part where Harley had met the angel of death and was now a tub of liquid goo that had been disposed of who knew where thanks to a few of the guys that knew all about acids.
I didn’t regret lying to Gracie about what had happened with Harley. That had been club business, a club decision to end him. Everyone had voted, and when it came to ending a brother it had to be all or nothing. After Westcliffe had tore the club upside down when he’d gone rogue and hurt Flick so badly, making her lose my older brother’s baby, the club didn’t give second chances anymore. It only led to regrets later down the road, like having Jet locked up in prison for beating his VP to death.
Aggie had been concerned for Gracie, asking if there was anything she could do. All I’d wanted was for her to promise
I was hoping Uncle Jack would take care of that for me. He’s been coming into the bar every night to ask about her, and tonight I wanted to run something by him and Bash. When I saw him walk through the door with our club president I waved them both over to the end of the bar.
Both took a stool and I set a beer in front of each of them. “I have something I want to run by you guys.”
Bash narrowed his eyes before taking a long pull from the brown bottle. When he sat it down he lifted a brow, waiting for me to talk. “I want the club to pay for Gracie’s law school tuition.” Neither man blinked, so I went on. “I know she’s all about paying her own way, and she will. When she’s got her degree.”
“I’m listening, boy.” Jack took a drink, his eyes intent on my face.
“She can repay us by being our lawyer when she’s out. We all know that Jenkins is getting older. He’s even been talking about retiring in a few years.” Jenkins was the club’s lawyer. If one of us got into trouble he was the one that represented us. If we needed legal advice, or someone to draw up legal shit, he was just a phone call away. He was a damn good lawyer, kept us out of jail as much as possible and we paid him well.
“So, what do you think?” I asked them. All I needed was their okay so I could start trying to convince Gracie that this was a great idea. She could continue to work at Uncle Jack’s around her class schedule so she could have her independence since that was so important to her, but she wouldn’t be working herself to death at two damn jobs.
After a long pause, Bash nodded his head. “Yeah, I like that idea. We can trust Gracie. She’s smart, and while she’s working Jenkins can show her the ropes, teach her his trade secrets.” He grinned, seeming to warm to the idea more and more by the second. “I’ll even get him to offer her a job. She can help run the office or something. It will help with school.”