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Chapter 1

Hawk Red Cloud’s large 6’3” fraine grease out fro job, but it was one he didn’t rease was other h that had never seriously bothered Hawk, he had never enjoyed it either He ether in perfect, working order

Once he was satisfied, he shut off the tap and turned on the shower beside hi the water heat up He stripped out of his black t-shirt, black jeans, and heavy, steel toed boots The last thing to go was the rubber band that held back his hair at the nape of his neck As he tossed the accessory onto the sink ledge, his shiny black hair fell down until it was just touching his shoulders

It wasn’t nearly as long as it had been in his other past life, before the Ars The uniforuised as training and the food, which had been, unbelievably, worse, had not bothered hi it had put hi time

His perpetually bad mood had at least ensured that no one in Basic fucked with hieant had been just a little afraid of hiiven more laps, e 18, when he’d enlisted, Haas already used to being the target of other e, well-muscled, and tall Occasionally other men’s initial fear of hier As a younger man, Hawk had escalated these conflicts as often as he could Now that he was older, he took it more in stride

The water was hot and felt good against his sore muscles Hours underneath custom cars and trucks could make you wonder if pretzels had it easier He washed his hair and toweled it dry When it was just barely damp, he coain with the band

The early July night was hot but there was a nice, steady breeze Haung his leg, clad in black cargo pants, over his black and chroe, black boot started the engine, and his black t-shirt stretched over his well-defined chest as he turned the bike toward the street

He never really stopped to wonder if his trademark, all-black attire was a bit of corease, dirt, and blood, the last of which Hawk had seen less of since discharging froe of toere unpredictable Plus Haas good at a lot of things, but laundry wasn’t really one of the to exude apersona, well, that was their problem

Maria’s bar was na, no-nonsense, platinuue couldn’t take care of, her shotgun usually did, not that Hawk and the boys let her have much use of it these days

Since co down, the boys from Hawk’s old unit had adopted Maria’s place as a second hoh and independent as a woman, hell anyone, could possibly be, she wasn’t stupid by any means She knew it didn’t hurt to have five ex-Special Forces acting as unofficial bouncers for the bar

Even on nights thehunted down by a Sioux tracker, a world class sniper, a demolitions expert, aout da it, and a pain in the ass coas often enough of a deterrent If it wasn’t, the offender was usually very drunk or from out of town

Hawk entered the bar and scanned it He veered left where a wisp of a girl was balancing a tray full of drinks with one arainst the table

“This is your last round,” the girl told two bleary eyed men, both of whom looked like they’d misplaced their razors

“Aw, coued “Still early”

“And you’re already drunk,” the girl replied, shaking her head

She set down a beer, and the man who had spoken took hold of her wrist

“Not so drunk we can’t keep ‘em hard,” he informed her “Whaddaya say? Little threeso tip”