Page 9

“So, Ariana’s not speaking to anyone?” Charlotte sat at the end of the large table in one of ELC’s executive conference rooms. She scribbled some notes in her notebook, right below where she’d written the child’s name. “Not even other children?” She lifted her gaze to the large screen on the wall.

“Other than her name, she hasn’t spoken more than a few words since she arrived here.” Darla, the director of the safe house, looked frustrated but mostly sad for the pretty little girl who had been through so much. “She’s a somewhat unique case because she was kept alone while in captivity.”

Darla sat in her office in Kalispell. In the background were stacks of supplies—bottled water, snacks, toys, donated clothing, and sadly, even cases of disposable diapers and cans of formula.

“Not being with other children who were suffering through the same experiences can make a massive difference.” Charlotte had handled more cases than she wanted to count, and some of the most challenging ones were the children, or even adults, who had been kept isolated from the rest of the world.

Children like Ariana reminded Charlotte of how trivial her own periods of loneliness were. At least she always had her mother to lean on.

This poor little girl had been completely on her own.

“Her silence has made it challenging to locate her family.” Darla took a sip from an extra-large mug with the words Instant human, just add coffee printed on the side. “She’s most content when she’s sitting outside on the front porch, watching the birds and squirrels in the feeder.”

“After the trauma and abuse she’s suffered, it’s understandable why she doesn’t trust anyone.” Charlotte made some more notes. “And she’s probably sitting outside because, no matter how much reassurance you’ve given that it won’t happen, she might be concerned about being locked away again and wants to enjoy the freedom as long as possible.”

“The sheer joy on her face as she’s watching all of the different kinds of birds flit around is actually kind of … I don’t know … heartbreaking, for some reason.” Darla was obviously very kind and empathetic. Necessary virtues in this business, but they could also wear you down. “And there is definitely an element of fear there whenever we call her inside. Her entire demeanor changes, and you can actually see her shut down.”

“Seeing her so joyful about something most people take for granted is difficult because you know it’s not rooted in youthful innocence and wonder but a byproduct of having survived a nightmare.” Charlotte made sure her voice was gentle as she explained the psychopathy behind Darla’s feelings.

“Darla, we ran her DNA and checked all of the international missing children’s databases,” Dulce said. “Unfortunately, we still haven’t gotten any hits yet.”

“I have to believe her family is out there somewhere, worrying about her and what she might be going through.” Darla took another sip from her mug.

“Don’t worry, we’ll never stop looking for them.” Dulce had a great deal of influence, and her powerful father would do whatever he could to assist in her efforts.

Her mother, Hanna Houldcroft, was no slouch either and shared her daughter’s passion for helping the innocent. She’d been known to leave many a powerful senator and congressman trembling in her Chanel-scented wake.

“I assume the man who had her”—Charlotte checked her notes—“Ray Stamfield, isn’t talking?”

“No.” Dulce heaved a big sigh. “He’s being held in solitary until we can get some answers out of him.”

“Someone needs to go in there and tell him that if he doesn’t start talking soon, you’ll toss his ass in with the general population, after you make sure every inmate knows exactly why he’s locked up.” Charlotte had zero sympathy for animals like him. “Then let’s see how long it takes before he’s begging to talk to us.”

As morally bereft as most prisoners were, they had a bizarre code of honor and an unforgiving and vicious way of dealing with people who hurt kids.

“That’s actually a great idea.” Dulce nudged her shoulder against Charlotte’s. “Look at you, being all badass. I like it!”

“Yeah, right.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. She was far from being a badass, but she didn’t bother correcting her friend.

“Maybe I could try to come out there and spend some time with her.” Charlotte figured the timing was perfect.

“Oh, my gosh. Really?” Darla gave her a hopeful smile. “That would be wonderful.”

“I’m not making any guarantees I can get through to her, but I’m happy to try.” And Kalispell, Montana, was a lot farther from DC than Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Maybe she could convince her mom to come with her. Neither of them had ever been to Montana before.

“Charlotte, you’re the most caring person I know, and you have such a magical way with children who’ve experienced trauma,” Dulce said. “I just know you can reach that little girl so we can try to reunite her with her family.”

“Before I can commit, I need to see if I can arrange a few things here.” She had to talk to her mom. There was still the issue of someone harassing her, and then there was that awful list.

“Thank you so much.” Darla sounded relieved to have the additional help.

“We’ll get back to you as soon as we can, Darla,” Dulce assured her.

“Sounds good.” She set her mug down with a solid thump .

“Talk to you soon.” Dulce stretched her arm to the middle of the table, tapped a button on the wireless keyboard, and the large screen on the wall went dark. “Let’s head back to my office.” She gave Charlotte a sideways glance. “I’m sure Hawk is getting antsy by now.”

Charlotte wasn’t sure what she meant by that and opted not to ask. And anyway, he’d probably already left.

She tucked her pen into the loop on her notebook and snapped it shut, then they headed out of the large conference room. They chatted about Ariana’s situation as they made their way down to the far end of the hall.

Having something else to think about was a welcome, if only temporary, diversion from her own problems.

“I knew it would be a good idea for you to talk to Darla about Ariana’s case.” Dulce grabbed the handle to her large office door, leaned her weight against it to push it open, and they stepped inside. “After you, madame.”

“Thanks.” Charlotte stepped through the doorway. “Assuming I’m able to get out there, we have to keep our fingers crossed that I can actually get her to open up to me.”

Charlotte turned away from Dulce and stopped short at the sight of Hawk. She’d thought for sure he’d be gone and had already prepared herself for disappointment.

Cole stalked over to Dulce, cupped her chin in his hand, and leaned down to kiss her. He pulled his lips from hers, and their eyes connected for a moment.

Charlotte was ashamed of the twinge of jealousy that ran through her at the way they looked at each other. Feeling like an intruder on their private moment, she turned away and discovered Hawk watching her.

He didn’t smile, didn’t frown. He just watched her, which made her jittery, so she dragged her gaze from his and fiddled with the clasp on her notebook.

Cole gave his wife a last quick kiss. “How did it go?”

“Charlotte was amazing, as usual.” Dulce’s praise meant a great deal to her. “She’s offered to go to Kalispell and meet with Ariana, the little girl who’s struggling to adjust.”

“Montana?” Hawk stepped close to Charlotte, and her heart skipped a beat at the power radiating from his body. And, holy smokes , he smelled good—like pine trees, blue skies, and man.

“I think I can help Ariana, but I need to be with her to accomplish that.” Charlotte might be a bit of a nervous Nelly and insecure about some areas of her life—like the way she felt whenever she was in the presence of the handsome man standing next to her—but she had complete confidence in her abilities as a therapist.

“About that,” Cole continued, “Hawk and I have come up with a plan that might delay your trip to Montana, at least temporarily.”

She looked back and forth between the two men before her gaze landed on Hawk. “Why do I get the feeling I may not like this plan?”

“We need you to go back to your office.” Hawk lifted a hand and moved closer to her. “But don’t worry, I’m going with you.”

“And just exactly how am I going to explain your presence in my office? We don’t exactly get a lot of visitors up there.” And at a little over six feet of gorgeously mysterious manliness, he wasn’t exactly easy to miss.

“Simple. I’m going to be your boyfriend.” He tossed the words out there with such incredible ease.

“Ex—excuse me?” Her voice became oddly high on the word me . “You’re going to be my what now?”

No way she’d heard him correctly. And no way would anyone believe it.

“Your boyfriend. I’ll go to your office with you, and if anyone asks, that’s what you’ll tell them.” A slow smile lifted one side of his mouth. “It’ll be fun.”

“I’ve never mentioned having a boyfriend, so it would be kind of weird for me to suddenly show up with one.” Especially one who looked like Hawk. “You can just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll go in by myself and do it.”

“Nope, not gonna happen.” He shook his head and moved right into her personal space. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Gulp.

“Hawk’s right.” Cole’s voice cut through the haze of lust threatening to drop her to her knees. “The people on that list have a lot to lose, Charlotte, and they will stop at nothing to protect themselves. Which means you are in a great deal of danger, and I have complete faith in Hawk’s abilities to keep you safe.” Cole’s tone was deadly serious. “So, starting now, you don’t go anywhere alone until we resolve this issue, and—”

“You’ll stay with me at my place.” Hawk put a fingertip beneath her chin and tilted it up to him.

“You’ll definitely be safe there.” Cole said.

“I love that plan.” An impish smile appeared on Dulce’s face, and her eyes lit up.

“Don’t you have other, more important things to do, Hawk?” Charlotte added, “And I was in such a hurry to leave my place this morning, I forgot the bag I packed.”

“Nothing is more important to me than you and your safety.” Hawk’s fingertip skimmed her jaw, and his deep deep brown eyes locked with hers before his hand fell away. “

Holy magnetism. The pull she felt toward him and the way his voice sort of growled was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She would’ve followed him through fire.

“What about the loaner car?” Charlotte didn’t want to abuse the man’s kindness by keeping the car longer than agreed.

“Write down the information for the garage and leave the keys here,” Cole said. “We’ll take care of it.”

“And I’ll need to swing by my house and grab my suitcase.” She was such a knucklehead for leaving her bag behind.

“We’ll stop by your place and get what you need,” Hawk said.

“Please, Charlotte.” Dulce clasped her hands together and gave her a pleading look. “I would feel so much better knowing Hawk’s watching over you.”

“But … what about my work?” She’d need to come up with an excuse for her absence. “And my mom?”

No way in hell was she putting her in danger.

Cole and Dulce exchanged a look. Some kind of unspoken words passed between them. She nodded, and they turned to Charlotte.

“Your mom will stay with us.” Cole’s tone was matter-of-fact. As if he hadn’t just invited a relative stranger to stay in their home.

“We have plenty of room, and I know Carter will love her.” Dulce’s face softened at the mention of her baby’s name. “Trust me, she’ll be very safe with us.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.” Her mother had only met Cole, Dulce, and Carter once before. Though she would probably love to see them again—especially their adorable baby—she always felt safer in her own home. “My mom’s place has an alarm system, and she is kind of … hesitant about staying anywhere else. And convincing her to take time off of work could be very difficult.”

Her mom wasn’t a workaholic, but she was a single point of failure at her office. She also loved her job and enjoyed being there. Most importantly, she felt safe there.

“What if we have someone stay with your mom at her place?” Hawk turned from Cole to Charlotte. “Does your mom have room?”

“Well, yeah, she has three bedrooms, but—”

“How do you think she’d feel about having a houseguest?” Cole asked.

“Before she agrees to anything, she’s going to insist on knowing what’s going on.” Charlotte knew that with certainty.

For her mom, knowledge was power and, therefore, the best way for a person to protect themselves.

“That’s totally understandable.” Dulce looked at her husband. “You can’t just expect Donna to welcome a stranger into her home without telling her something .”

“I don’t think it’s safe to tell her everything, but you can share just enough so she understands the need for protection and why that will be easier if she’s not going into her office.” Cole focused on Charlotte. “Will that work?”

“She’s an intelligent woman. I’m sure once we give her some type of explanation, she’ll be okay with having someone around.” Donna Cavanaugh was also fiercely protective of her daughter, because she knew what it was like to not have anyone protecting you.

Her mom would walk across crushed glass if she thought it would keep Charlotte safe.

“Why don’t I just stay with her?” As much as she would love nothing more than to see Hawk’s home and to spend time with him, she still felt like her presence might be an inconvenience.

“It’s actually safer if you’re not together.” Hawk softened his voice.

“He’s right.” Cole rested his right hand on the butt of the big black pistol hooked to his belt.

“Okay, let me give her a quick call.” She retrieved her phone and dialed her mom. “Hey, Mom. Yes, I’m fine.” Charlotte spent a few minutes telling her what she could. She nodded. “Yes, I promise, I’ll tell you more when I see you.” She rubbed her forehead. “I love you, too. Bye.”

Her mom didn’t try to pressure her for more information. Charlotte was always pretty levelheaded, so if she was being vague about something, there was a very good reason.

“I think Calliope would be a good choice to stay with your mom. She’s easygoing and can protect her.” Hawk looked from Cole to Charlotte. “You’ve met her before. What do you think?”

“I think my mom would be okay with her being at her place.” She would definitely prefer a woman over a man. “And she can definitely protect her.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Dulce chuckled.

“It’d be a really bad day for anyone who thinks otherwise.” One side of Cole’s mouth lifted in a partial smile.

“I’ll need to rearrange a few meetings and mark myself out for vacation.” She couldn’t risk telling her boss the real reason she was going to be out for a while.

“Can you do all of that virtually?” Hawk asked.

“Yes, I can use my HRA laptop.” Some evenings she worked from home, and it was helpful to have her laptop.

“You’ll need to turn your phone off, too—someone might be tracking it.” Cole walked to Dulce’s desk, slid open the bottom drawer, and lifted out a set of keys. He walked over to a door on the far side of the room and unlocked it. A moment later, he stepped out holding two phones. “I’d like you and your mom to use these burner phones.”

Charlotte hadn’t even thought about that. She would make a terrible secret agent.

“Program my number, your mom’s, Eddie’s, and Hawk’s into your phone.” He swung the door shut, locked it, and dropped the keys back in the drawer. “Hawk will show you how and give you any other numbers you might need.” He handed the phones to him.

“Put mine in there, too,” Dulce chimed in.

“Not a chance.” Cole’s tone brooked no argument, but that didn’t stop Dulce.

“Why not?” She marched right over to him and tilted her head way back to look up at him. “I want her to call me if she needs anything.”

“She can let Hawk know if she needs anything.” He set his hands on her hips, and his tone was soft but resolute. “You know I’m right, babe.”

“Yeah, I know.” She pouted.

He kissed the top of her head, tucked her to his side, and curled his arm around her lower back. “Charlotte, make sure your mom’s burner has all of the same numbers you have.”

“Won’t they be able to track Eddie and Hawk’s phones if I contact them?” They were already putting themselves at risk by helping her. The last thing she wanted to do was lead danger right to them.

“Our phones are encrypted, and Sammy and the folks on our tech team are the only ones who can track them,” Hawk said. “So you can stop worrying about us, Charlotte.” He handed her the phones. “Why don’t you get those car keys for Cole. Then we’ll get the phones programmed and get one to your mom.”

She reached into her bag, grabbed the rectangular plastic keychain with the loaner car keys, and handed them to Cole.

“Thanks. Go ahead and take care of what you need to at work. I’ll give Calliope a call.” He grabbed his cell phone. “Hawk, while I’m doing that, why don’t you check Charlotte’s bag for a tracker, then call Eddie and have him take Donna to her place and wait there until Calliope shows up.”

“You got it.” He nodded. “Charlotte, can you remove everything from your bag for me, please?”

Hawk really hoped he didn’t find anything because she’d already dealt with enough.

“Sure.” She set everything on the table and held out her bag out to him. “Here ya go.”

He ran his hands over it, checking every pocket, every seam, the strap. Cole turned to him for confirmation, and Hawk shook his head.

“There’s no tracker, Charlotte.” He set her bag on the table in front of her.

Well, that was something , anyway.

“Excuse me for a minute. I’m going to call Eddie.” He tapped his phone screen and stepped away to make his call.

“Here, Charlotte, you can write the name and address of the garage on this.” Dulce hurried over to her desk, grabbed a legal pad, and handed it to her.

Charlotte set the new phones on the table, slipped her pen from her notebook, and quickly scribbled the information down.

“Here ya go.” She handed the pad of paper to Dulce and put everything but her sleek silver laptop back into her bag.

She powered it up, logged into the system using an installed VPN program, and opened her calendar. The virtual private network would provide her with a secured connection. The first thing she did was send cancellation notices for a few appointments, then she clicked on her employee portal and marked herself out for vacation for one week, starting today.

“Okay, that’s done.” She logged out of the system and snapped her laptop shut. She slid it and the phones into her bag and stood.

“I am so sorry you got caught up in all of this.” Dulce pulled her in for a hug. “I know things are moving fast and it’s kind of scary, but I promise you, these guys are so freakin’ good at this kind of stuff. I just know everything’s going to work out.”

“Thank you.” She was so grateful for her reassurance. “For everything.” Especially her friendship.

“You’re very welcome.” Dulce gave her a last squeeze and stepped back. She cast a quick glance at the guys and lowered her voice. “Are you going to be okay with Hawk pretending to be your boyfriend?”

“I’m fine with it if he is.” She hesitated before whispering her concerns. “I just don’t know how believable it is that a guy like him would be dating me.”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Dulce propped her hands on her hips and glared at her. “You are an amazing, accomplished woman, Charlotte. You have a huge heart, and you care more about other people than you do yourself. Any man would be proud to be with you.”

“Yeah, but he’s …” She glanced over her shoulder at Hawk, who stood with his broad back to them, then turned back to Dulce. “He’s just so … incredible.”

“Well, from the way his eyes are feasting on you right now, I’d say the feeling is mutual.” Dulce gave the slightest tilt of her head in his direction.

Charlotte risked another glance over her shoulder. Her gaze locked with Hawk’s, and she couldn’t look away. Her insides heated, and she realized that pretending to be his girlfriend would either be the best thing to ever happen to her or a complete embarrassing disaster.

A sense of excitement and anticipation kicked up her heart rate, and she decided she was going to enjoy the ride while it lasted.