Page 13

Chapter twelve

Hawk

We watched while Jesse and Andy gathered all Seph’s things. Andy paused at the door and pulled Mika into a hug. He said something to him that I couldn’t hear, but Mika smiled and nodded, so it couldn’t have been anything bad. Then he kissed Mika on the cheek and turned to me.

“You take care of him, okay?”

“I will.”

When the door closed behind them, I walked over and flipped the deadbolt. “You have good friends.”

“I do. I don’t know what I would do without him, Caleb, and Mars. They’re the best.”

“I don’t know Mars very well, but Samuel sure thinks he’s something special.”

“Believe me, that goes both ways. Mars thinks Samuel is the greatest thing that ever happened to him. They’re good for each other.”

A beeping sound came from the kitchen, and Mika smiled. “Our dinner’s ready.”

“Well, if it tastes half as good as it smells, we’re about to eat good. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Andy’s text distracted me, so I haven’t set the table yet. You can do that if you want.”

“I might not be much of a cook, but I can set a table with the best of them.” I went to the cabinets and got what I needed and was finishing up when he came to the table with the food.

We took our seats, and he lifted the lid off the dish. It had smelled great while it was cooking, but when he uncovered it, the smell wafted over me, and I inhaled deeply.

“Seriously, Mika, it smells fantastic. I can’t wait to try it.”

His cheeks grew pink, and he gave me a little smile. “Thanks. It really isn’t anything fancy. It’s pretty easy to make, actually. I saw it on a video and thought it looked good, and it’s become one of my favorite things to cook.”

We filled our plates, and he watched me as I cut into my chicken. I took a bite and flavors burst on my tongue. It was tangy and creamy and had a little hint of spice at the end. I let out an appreciative moan.

“Damn, Mika, this is delicious.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you like it. I really like cooking, but it’s so much better when I get to cook for someone else instead of just for me.” He paused and got a pensive look on his face. “At least when it’s for someone who appreciates it.”

“Well, you’re welcome to cook for me anytime. Have you ever thought about going to culinary school?”

“Oh, goodness, no. I think if I had to do it every day in a restaurant setting, I’d hate it. I’d rather keep it to just cooking for people I care about. I get that from my grandmother. Food is her love language.”

I took another bite and savored the flavors. “Mmm, might be mine, too, but you know… eating it, not cooking it.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Well, you know that recipe is called Marry Me Chicken, so maybe there’s something to that.”

“Marry Me Chicken, huh? I can see it.”

We chatted while we finished dinner. I discovered the quickest way to get him talking was to ask him about his family. It was obvious that they were really close, which made me wonder why he was living hours away from them.

“It seems like you’re really close to your family,” I said, hoping with a little prodding he would elaborate.

“I am. My mom’s the best, and my dad’s great. I know he was hoping for a son he could hunt and fish and play ball with, but he never made me feel bad about the fact that none of that interested me.”

“How do you know that was what he wanted?” I asked.

“You should see the pictures of the nursery from when I was a baby. It was decorated in a sports theme.”

“I take it you didn’t play?” Mika didn’t strike me as a team sports kind of guy, so it didn’t surprise me he wasn’t into sports.

“I played tee-ball one year, but I was so miserable no one even bothered to ask me if I wanted to sign up the next year. Did you know they play tee-ball in the summer when it’s hot outside, and you have to run? I am not about that life.”

He looked so serious I had to bite back a laugh.

“So, if you’re all so close, why Vesper and not where they live?”

“I love my family, but not the town where I grew up. Plus, I was afraid Butch would track me down there since he knew where I was from. Not that it mattered much since he managed to find me anyway.”

I reached across the table and covered his hand. “We’re going to take care of this problem, Mika. Then you can live anywhere you want without being afraid he’ll find you.”

He shrugged. “I like it here so far. I have good friends, a job I love, and it just feels good, if that makes sense.”

“It does. I felt the same way when Wolfe convinced us to visit. It has just enough Austin in it to be accepting, but it’s small enough that it feels like a community.”

We finished our meal, and then I helped him clean up. He’d tried to argue that I was his guest and didn’t need my help, but my momma didn’t raise me that way, so I insisted on helping.

When it was all loaded up, he pressed the start button on the dishwasher and looked up at me. He had to be at least a foot shorter than me. The urge to lean down and place a kiss on his lips was strong, but right now, I was his protector, and I didn’t want him to feel pressured by my advances, so I took a step back.

“What do you normally do in the evening?” I asked.

“Watch television and crochet, or sometimes, if the pattern I’m working on is more complicated, I listen to music while I crochet instead.”

“Do you do it to relax? I know I’ve heard people say knitting is a good stress reliever.”

He laughed. “I find knitting to be so stressful. That was how I landed on crochet instead. Andy was learning, like you said, as a stress reliever. I thought I would try it, too. He didn’t really take to it, but I did. What about you? What do you usually do in the evenings?”

“We have a floor in the building with apartments that are available for any Three Bears employees who would like to live there. It has a common area with pool tables, a poker table, and a pretty elaborate gaming system. They call it the lounge. I usually hang out down there for a while if I’m feeling social. If not, I crash on my couch and watch television.”

“I bet that’s fun, living in a place like that where your friends are close.”

“Yeah, for the most part, it’s great.” It really was. I liked to complain about it sometimes because not all the guys were the best at minding their own business, but the truth was, I loved it there.

“Do all the employees live there?”

“For the most part. Crowe has an apartment, but he mostly just uses it if he needs to clean up or crash. He actually lives out at the camp Three Bears operates on the edge of town.”

“I’ve heard about that. Y’all offer law enforcement training and corporate retreats, right?”

“That’s right. It was Crowe’s idea, and Wolfe’s pretty much letting him run it. So far, it’s been pretty popular among law enforcement especially.”

“I was over at Mars and Samuel’s house one day, and he was talking about trying to get some of the firehouses to go for team building or something.”

He looked around and let out a little sigh. “It’s weird not having to worry about letting Seph out.”

“You really should get yourself a dog.” We’d talked about that before, but he just looked so sad that Seph was gone.

“I think I will once this whole mess is over. Anyway, obviously, I don’t have a pool table or a gaming system, but you know I have a television and way too many streaming services. Let’s go watch something before bed. You can even pick tonight.”

“It’s not about the pool table or the gaming system. It’s about the company, and trust me, the company here is top-notch.”

He blushed, which was adorable as always. I was quickly learning that he loved to receive compliments, but they always made him blush. I thought we were making a lot of progress on him being comfortable with me, and I hated to spoil that, but I had some serious things to talk about that couldn’t wait.

“Before we go watch television, I need to go over a few things I learned today.”

“Okay.”

“I had our best IT person digging into Butch and the Iron Jackals, and what we found isn’t good. They’ve always skated the edge of what was and wasn’t legal, but you already knew that. What you might not know is that over the last year or so, they’ve been stepping over that edge a lot more often. Enough that they’ve caught the attention of a federal task force. These are dangerous people, Mika, and not just to you.”

The color drained from his face. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath through his nose. “That’s what I was afraid of. I didn’t know what all he was mixed up in before we got together. I figured it out pretty quickly, but by then, he didn’t want to let me go. Thing was, about the time I left, a couple of new guys had joined, and they had a really bad vibe.”

“The important thing is that you got out, and we’re going to find a way to keep you safe. But in the meantime, I have something I want to give you to wear. It has a tracker in it, and it has a panic button. If anything happens, you press the button, and it’ll alert Three Bears HQ and me immediately.”

I handed him the watch, and he inspected it before slipping it on his wrist.

“Okay, I won’t take it off.”

“Good. We’ll move forward, just like today. I’ll be here when you leave for work and when you get back home. I’ve checked out the Thompsons’ place, and they have cameras, and the gate guards are all former law enforcement, so you should be safe at work.”

“What will you be doing all day while I’m at work?” he asked.

“I’ll be working on a solution to make the problem go away.”

Mika

Andy and Jesse had barely made it out the door before the text messages started up in our group chat.

Caleb

How did your ex find you? Are you safe now?

Mars

Samuel says Hawk is the best at what he does and that you’re in good hands.

Andy

I know Hawk is good. I saw him in action at the fire station the day that nut job threatened to blow us all up, but I still wish you were staying with us.

Mars

You don’t have much room at your place, Andy. Mika, you can always come stay with me and Samuel if you want.

Caleb

Or me and Keith. Although I agree with Samuel—I think you’re safest with Hawk.

Me

Guys. I’m fine. It was scary, but Hawk’s here at my house now so I don’t need a place to stay.

Andy

You should totally hit that. You know you want to.

Caleb

Now isn’t the time. Hawk needs to be focused right now.

Mars

I’m pretty sure Hawk is already plenty focused on Mika.

Me

What do you mean?

Mars

You’ll figure it out.

Me

I’m ignoring you all now. I’m about to pull out my hooks.

They all knew I didn’t answer messages when I was crocheting. It could be way too distracting and cause me to mess up, so I knew they wouldn’t take offense at me telling them I was ignoring them.

We spent the next couple of hours watching some show Hawk had picked about a guy who was something called a rewardist . It was kind of like a bounty hunter but for good guys instead of bad guys. Like, when someone went missing and a reward was offered, he showed up and rescued them. I didn’t even know if that was a real thing, but it made for good television.

I was working on a shawl I was making for my grandmother’s birthday, and luckily, it was a simple repeat pattern, so I could watch the show while I worked. On the one hand, I hated the reason Hawk was here, but on the other, it was nice to have someone with me.

I hadn’t much cared for my roommates when I first moved here. They weren’t bad guys—just noisy and kind of messy—but now that I was living alone, I did miss having people around. It didn’t hurt that the someone happened to be Hawk. And the longer I was around him, the more I realized that the problem had never been Butch’s size or how gruff he was most of the time. The problem hadn’t been the type of men I liked. It was that I’d chosen poorly because I would bet my whole yarn stash that Hawk would never lay a hand on me in any way that wasn’t pleasurable. And man, did I want him to lay a hand on me.

Around ten, he caught me yawning and suggested it was probably time for bed. I knew he was right, and I felt like that little cartoon chicken who says, But I’m not tired, even though he can’t keep his eyes open. Fact was, I enjoyed his presence—and the cute little commentaries he made about the show—so I wanted to stay up with him even though there really wasn’t a reason to. Of course, he wasn’t having it.

“You have work in the morning, mouse. You need to get a good night’s sleep so you can be on your A-game,” he said, like hanging out with Mary Ellen while she planned her next tea party required me to even have an A-game, much less be on it.

He’d said it with that voice he used sometimes—that patient yet firm tone—and I’d learned pretty quickly that when he adopted that tone, there was no use in arguing with him. Not to mention, he was usually right, which was infuriating on a whole other level. I’d been telling myself for ages that I needed to stop staying up late for no reason other than because it was hard to fall asleep in an empty house.

“Fine, I’ll go to bed, but you need to, too.”

“I know where the blanket and pillow are. Don’t worry about me.”

I put away my project and made my way to my bedroom. I hated that he was sleeping on my couch, but we’d already had that conversation, and it hadn’t gone my way at all. That did make me wish I’d gone to the trouble to put a bed in the second bedroom, although after his I sleep between you and the door comment, I wasn’t actually sure if he would’ve slept there even if it was an option.

I put on a pair of sleep pants and crawled into bed, determined that if I had to go to bed this early, I might as well get some sleep. The problem was the house was so quiet, and I swear I could hear every little sound. The wind blowing outside. The neighbor’s dog barking. Those little creaks and miscellaneous sounds an older house makes. And most distracting of all—every single little noise Hawk made in the living room.

First it was the sound of the hall closet opening and then him adjusting the covers and pillow on the couch. Then the groan of the too-small couch under his big frame. After that, everything was quiet for a minute. My eyelids grew heavy and my thoughts fuzzy as I started to drift off to sleep when he cleared his throat and shifted in what I was sure was discomfort.

I rolled over on my side and made a second attempt to settle in when something hit the floor, and there was a hissed, “Shit,” from the front room. Then more covers shifted again. The man was a good six-five, and I don’t care if he said he’d slept in worse places—there was no way he was going to get a good night’s sleep on that couch.

I hopped up and strode into the living room. I froze for just a second when I realized he was lying on the couch in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. He had a blanket covering one leg, while the other—very muscular—leg was on full display in the moonlight streaming through the window, and damn if I didn’t become a thigh man on the spot.

I put my hands on my hips in the universal signal of don’t fuck with me and said, “Hawk, I can’t sleep knowing you’re out here uncomfortable. I heard what you said about being between me and the front door, but if you want me to get any rest at all, you’re going to have to swap with me.”

“Not negotiable, sweet cakes. There’s no way I’m taking your bed while you sleep in here. Anyone could break in and get to you before I could stop them.”

“Well, then you’ll just have to come share with me. I’ll let you have the side between me and the door.”

He sat up and looked at me. “That’s a very bad idea, mouse.”

The part of the blanket that had been draped over him fell down to his lap, leaving his chest on full display. Did I say thigh man? Maybe I meant chest man. Although, if I was being honest, there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t worth worshiping.

“I don’t think so. It’ll give us both the best chance of getting a good night’s sleep. Besides, my bed is huge and has an amazing mattress.”

When Andy moved in with Jesse, he didn’t have any place to put his furniture, and that was just about the time I was getting this place, so he gave me his bedroom set. Because he worked as a firefighter and acted like a normal everyday guy, it was easy to forget how much money he had. But every night when I crawled into that super comfy bed, I remembered. I had no idea how much it had cost, but it had to be a pretty penny for a bed that felt that heavenly.

He let out a sigh, stood up, and picked up his pillow. “Fine. But just to sleep.”

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it? So we could get a good night’s sleep. This isn’t an evil plot to get you in my bed.”

“I’m pretty sure you know it wouldn’t take an evil plot to get me in your bed, mouse. I just need to be focused on keeping you safe right now.”

He followed me into the bedroom, and we both crawled into the bed. If I’d thought the sounds he made from the living room were a distraction, they were nothing compared to having his body lying a few feet away from me. I was hyperaware of every little movement he made, and I swear his body was like a living furnace. I tried my best to go to sleep. I’d gotten my way after all, so it wasn’t like I could complain that even his breathing was sexy.

I turned on my side so I was facing him. It was pretty dark in my room, but not so dark that I couldn’t make out the shape of him lying beside me, and when I realized I was staring at him in the dark, I rolled back to my back and tried to think about anything else. What kind of dog I might get. My next crochet project. The cakes for Mary Ellen’s tea party. Anything.

When that didn’t work, I flipped to my other side so I was facing away from him. I messed with my pillow, trying to get it right, which was hard because I didn’t normally sleep on this side, so it just felt wrong.

Finally, a giant arm reached over me and dragged me back against Hawk. “Settle, mouse.”

I relaxed against his body, relishing the heat he generated, and the comforting weight of his arm draped over me lulled me to sleep.