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Chapter thirteen

Mika

I woke snuggled up against Hawk, and for just a minute, it felt like everything was right in my world. Of course, it didn’t take but a second for my brain to kick in. Everything wasn’t right. Hawk wasn’t mine. He was there to protect me from my past mistakes, and even though I’d been pretty sure he’d been interested at one point, I doubted he would be by the time this was all over. He was getting to see a close-up view of just what a hot mess I was and how badly I’d screwed things up.

I don’t blame myself for Butch’s behavior. Believe me, I wasn’t trying to victim-blame myself, but still, the reality was my poor choices put me in that situation in the first place, and I had to own my part in it. And was that basically the equivalent of victim-blaming? According to the therapist I saw shortly after I got here to Vesper, it was. I was a work in progress, so cut me some slack.

“You awake?” And fuck me, he had a deep, growly morning voice that was sexy.

“I am, but I don’t want to get up. Sleeping with you is like sleeping with an electric blanket.”

“I’ve been told I run hot.”

“It’s cozy, is what it is.”

He chuckled near my ear, and his breath brushed over my skin, making my arms break out in goosebumps before he rolled away from me and sat up on the side of the bed.

“Well, cozy or not, it’s time to start the day. I have things to do, and you have to go to work.”

He stood up, giving me the perfect view of his backside, which was sublime. Sadly, he immediately grabbed his clothes and pulled them on.

The rest of the morning felt almost normal. We had coffee, we ate breakfast, and we chatted about the show from the night before and whether or not Hawk would ever consider driving around the country chasing rewards. I bet he would be really good at it, but he said he wouldn’t like living on the road like that.

A couple hours later, I was ready to leave, and after warning me to be careful and not to take off the watch, he stood on the porch and watched me go to my car and drive off.

I was in a pretty good mood when I waved at the gate guard and drove up to Mary Ellen’s house. I’d always thought that was overkill. I mean, Vesper’s a pretty safe city and I didn’t know why anyone needed a full-time gate guard, but I had to admit I was grateful for it now. It did make me wonder what the other people who lived in the community’s stories were, though. Did they have reasons to want to live in a place where people couldn’t just drive up and knock on your door?

Mary Ellen was in one of her we-need-to-be-productive moods. When she got that way, it was easy for me to see what a powerhouse she must have been in her younger days. I swear, by ten, we’d done more than most people would do all day.

Finally, she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, that was a good morning. I say we call it a day. I think I’m going to take a nap and then watch some BritBox mysteries. You’re welcome to stay, or if you want to call it a day, you can go home.”

I’d never been one to watch British television until I started working here, but they were her favorite, and she’d gotten me hooked on enough of the shows that I’d had to add a subscription to the channel as well.

“I’m happy to stay if there’s anything you want me to do, but if not, I have some things I need to do at my house.” I’d been working with her long enough to know that when she said you’re welcome to stay or you can go home , what she really meant was she wanted some time to herself.

“You should go ahead and head home then. I know I’ve kept you running nonstop, getting everything ready for this tea party, but I just want to make sure Vivian has a great birthday.”

Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “Oh, my goodness. Vivian’s birthday gift. I had a custom necklace made for her, and it’s ready at The Silver Box. Can you run to pick it up for me before you go home for the day? It’s over on Elm Street, right next to the bank.”

“Of course I can. I’ll run and do that now. You go ahead and take your nap. I’ll put it in your desk drawer if you aren’t up when I get back.”

“You’re such a dear.” She patted me on the hand, and I smiled at her. She really was the sweetest woman. I had no idea what she’d ordered for Vivian, but I could be sure it was something meaningful. They hadn’t been able to have children of their own, but they’d both loved their niece to pieces.

The good thing was The Silver Box wasn’t far away at all so it would be a quick trip, and then I could leave for the day. I thought it would be a great day for me to go spend some time at Mars’ shop. Of course, I’d need to text Hawk first and make sure he was okay with me going there instead of home.

I made the short drive to Elm Street, but unfortunately, there weren’t any parking spots in front of the store. That was pretty common here in the old downtown area, so the city had put in some parking areas as a way to increase traffic to the area.

The city had invested a lot of money in making this part of town look nice. It had a wide sidewalk dotted with flower boxes filled with colorful spring blooms and antique-looking light poles that were absolutely beautiful when they were decorated for the holidays. I walked past a stationery shop that always tempted me, even though I never wrote letters to anyone, and a bookstore called Twice-Told Tales that sounded magical.

I kept my pace steady as I walked down the sidewalk toward the shop about a block ahead. The mid-morning sun cast long shadows across the pavement, the hum of traffic and chatter from passing pedestrians filling the air. All normal stuff, but then I heard it.

“Well, well. Look what we have here.”

My body went rigid. The voice came from the alley to my right—low, amused. It sounded familiar. Or at least I thought it did. Maybe it was just my imagination running away with me because I was living in a constant state of freaked out. Yeah, just like thinking I saw Butch was my imagination.

Don’t stop. Keep moving.

My heart hammered, and my fingers itched to press the panic button on the watch Hawk had given me. But I wouldn’t press it yet. There was a bank up ahead, and if I could make it there, I would be safe. Then I could call Hawk without scaring him half to death by pushing that button.

But then I saw him. Snake. Not all the guys that had run with Butch had been horrible, but some had been. And Snake was one of the worst. He was leaning against the wall just inside the alley, arms crossed, a smirk twisting his scarred face. The vest he wore told me everything I needed to know—he was still running with the Jackals.

“If it isn’t Butch’s pretty little bitch wandering around like he hasn’t got a care in the world.”

My stomach knotted. I picked up my pace, my breath quickening as I reached for my new watch and pressed the panic button. I had no idea how long it would take Hawk to get here, so I could only hope he would make it in time. The bank was close. If I could just—

A rough hand latched onto my arm, and before I could react, Snake yanked me into the alley. I stumbled, my shoulder slamming against the brick wall. I cried out in pain and twisted away from him.

“You got no idea what a prize you are,” he said, sneering. He grabbed my arm, his fingers tightening around it as he shoved me farther into the shadows.

I fought, twisting my arm, trying to break free, but he was ready for it. His other hand shot up, grabbing me by the throat and pinning me against the wall.

“Butch’s been looking for you, Mika,” he said, grinning like he’d already won. “And guess what? Finding you’s my ticket to a real good spot in the club.”

He pulled out his phone with his free hand and pushed a button, holding me there while it rang. Then I heard Butch’s voice from the phone.

“What are you calling me for, Snake? You’re supposed to be tailing Mika today. Don’t tell me you lost him.”

Snake chuckled. “I didn’t lose him. As a matter of fact, I’m standing right here with him.” He locked eyes with me and gave me a menacing smirk. “Say hello to Butch.”

I shook my head frantically, but he squeezed my neck even tighter. “I said say hello.”

“Hello,” I managed to croak out.

“I was following him like you said, but he’s out running around town like the Iron Jackals ain’t right here in town looking for him.”

Butch said something, but I couldn’t hear him this time.

Snake nodded. “Yeah, he’s alone. What do you want me to do with him? Bring him to you or put him with the others?”

Others? What the hell did that mean? What others? I had no idea what he was talking about, but what I did know was he was planning to take me somewhere. One of the first things we learned in self-defense class was that if you let them take you to a secondary location, your odds of survival dropped drastically. So no. He wasn’t going to take me anywhere.

I was sure he thought I was an easy mark. Lord knows I had been when I was with Butch. But I wasn’t that scared, helpless kid anymore. Now, thanks to Hawk, I knew what to do.

I took advantage of the fact that Snake was distracted by whatever Butch was saying, and I swept my arms up and hit that spot right between Snake’s wrist and his thumb, breaking his hold just like Hawk had drilled into us a hundred times. Snake barely had time to register what happened before I drove my knee into his groin and bolted.

I didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. I kept saying to myself over and over that the goal was to get away. I tore into the bank, forcing myself to slow down the second I crossed the threshold.

Act normal. Act normal.

The bank had a security guard, but this guy wasn’t a cop, and he wasn’t prepared to deal with the likes of Snake. I would never forgive myself if he got hurt just doing his job.

He looked at me, a little concerned, but I gave him a smile. “Sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry.”

He nodded at me, but I was pretty sure he’d be keeping an eye on the weird guy who literally ran into the bank, but he was here, and he had a gun. I thought that was probably enough to keep Snake from coming in after me. I sucked in a breath and walked to the counter like nothing had happened, heart hammering in my chest.

The tellers were busy, the hum of quiet conversations and clicking keyboards filling the space. The bank smelled like paper and ink, so normal and steady it was almost enough to ground me.

Almost.

I was reaching for the phone to make the call when the door swung open, and I spun around, expecting to see Snake, but it wasn’t him. It was Hawk.

His eyes locked onto mine instantly, scanning me from head to toe, looking for damage. Before I could say a word, he closed the distance and pulled me into a crushing hug.

His arms wrapped around me like a shield, his hand tangling in my hair as he tucked me against his chest. The steady thump of his heart against my ear was the only thing that told me I was safe.

“Jesus, Mika,” he whispered, his voice rough with relief. “I got you. I got you.”

Hawk

I leaned in to study the photos of Jackal associates Kat pulled in her latest research. “Damn, these guys are nasty pieces of work.”

“Yeah, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. They’re—”

An alarm blared from above, alerting us a panic button had been activated. My phone went off at the same time.

Mika .

Kat flew into action, pulling up local CCTV cameras and zeroing in on where Mika was. The good thing was, he was downtown, which meant he was only a couple of blocks away from me—but the question was why? He was supposed to be at work.

Kat handed me my earpiece so she could keep me updated.

“It’ll be faster if you go on foot and cut through the alley behind The Pour House. That’ll dump you out right across from his location.”

I shoved the earpiece in and ran for the stairs. She kept me apprised of the situation as I flew out the front door of the building and headed for the alley.

“Your boy’s got skills, Hawk. I just watched him take down a biker twice his size. He’s running south on Elm Street. Oh, there you go, you smart man. He ran into the bank. It’ll be to your right when you come out of the alley. I’ve sent Maddox to find the biker. You just worry about Mika.”

I skidded to a halt at the end of the alley and looked to my right. Sure enough, there was the bank. I hurried across the busy street, dodging cars and ignoring the chorus of what-the-hells and blaring horns, my focus on getting to Mika.

I pushed open the bank door and stepped inside, scanning the space. It didn’t take but a second to spot him, and I rushed to him, pulling him against me.

“Jesus, Mika. I got you.” He was shaking, but he was okay. I hadn’t had so much as a second to even process how scared I’d been for him, but now that I could see that he was here and he was safe, all the emotions swamped me at once.

This had to end.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

“I know. Mary Ellen needed me to pick up a gift for her niece. I was just going to run in and out, and there was no reason for Butch to know I’d be going to The Silver Box, so I thought it would be safe. I didn’t know he had someone following me. Can you believe that? He had one of his lackeys following me.”

I looked around to see the security guard from the bank watching us. I was sure he was trying to figure out if there was a threat or if we were customers. “Let’s get you out of here, and we’ll talk about this later, okay?”

He nodded, and we headed for the front door.

“Wait, what happened to Snake?”

“Snake?”

“Yeah, Snake. The guy who tried to grab me.”

“Maddox went after him, but I don’t know if he got him or not. We’ll find that out once we get to Three Bears HQ.”

We stepped out on the sidewalk, and he let out a little gasp. “The necklace. I need to pick it up at The Silver Box.”

I couldn’t believe he was still worried about completing his errand after what he’d just been through. I just nodded, walked with him to the little jewelry shop, and waited while he picked up the gift.

“I’ll go with you to drop it off, but I think you need to take some time off work.”

He looked sad but nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I know they have a guard at the gate and everything, but knowing that they had someone follow me to her house…” His eyes shimmered, and he shook his head. “What if they hurt her trying to get me. I just…”

“Shh, mouse. They didn’t, and that’s what matters. Do you need to take it to her right now?”

“No, she was going to take a nap, so I have a couple of hours before she expects me.”

“Okay, let’s head over to my office and talk to Kat and Maddox, and then we’ll drop off the gift.”

“Where’s your truck?” He looked around. “And hold on. How did you get here so fast?”

“I didn’t bring my truck. I ran.” I pointed at the back of the Three Bears Tactical building. It was one of the tallest buildings in the downtown area, so it wasn’t hard to see.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t even think about how close I was to your building, or I might’ve tried to make it there instead of the bank.”

“It’s good you didn’t. What you did was exactly the right thing. You got away, and you ran to the closest safe place.”

“I could hear you in my head saying the objective is to get away. So that’s what I did. I got away.”

“Yeah, I heard that you took that guy down.”

“How did you know that?”

“Kat saw it happen on camera.”

That was the thing. Nowadays, very little was private. Vesper, like most cities, had CCTV cameras at pretty much every intersection.

“On camera?”

“Yeah, Kat tapped into the local traffic cameras and saw you. She was pretty impressed.”

“All I did was what you taught us in class. Break the hold and get away.”

“You protected yourself. I’m proud of you, Mika.”

A few minutes later, we walked into the building. “So, are you ready to see the rest of Three Bears Tactical?”