Page 9

Chapter eight

Mika

The last thing I’d expected was for Hawk to grab me and pull me to him, but the second his arms surrounded me, I felt safe in a way I don’t think I ever had. I let out a deep breath and soaked in the warm feeling of his big, strong body between me and the rest of the world. I’d been afraid he’d be annoyed with me for calling, but instead, he pushed me back and looked down at me with nothing but worry and concern.

“Let’s get you inside where it’s safe.”

I nodded and turned to go back into the house. He followed me in, closing and locking the door behind us.

“I should probably let Seph out. Are you ready to meet her?”

“I am. I want to give her all the pets and scratches for being so brave tonight.”

“I know. I’m so glad she was here. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she hadn’t been. He’s… well, he’s not a good guy and”—I swallowed the lump in my throat—“I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Hey, you’re okay now. She was here, and he’s gone.”

For the first time since he arrived, I actually looked at him. He wasn’t wearing his normal black jeans and a black t-shirt. Instead, he had on a pair of blue jeans, a western-styled button-up shirt, and a pair of boots. All he was missing was a cowboy hat.

“I’m sorry. I interrupted your evening, didn’t I? Tell me you weren’t on a date. You were on a date, weren’t you? I’m so sorry.”

“Mika, take a breath. I wasn’t on a date. We were working security at the rodeo. I was dressed to fit in with the crowd.”

“You were working. That’s even worse. What if your guys need you, and instead, you’re here with me? I’m fine now. You can go get back to work. I’m so sorry.”

“Listen to me. Don’t apologize for calling me when you needed help. I gave you my number, remember?”

“I know, but Seph scared him off, so it wasn’t as much of an emergency as I thought. I’m sor—”

He put a finger on my lips to shush me. “Nope. I told you to call me if you needed me. You needed me, so you called. End of story.”

“Well, thank you for coming, then. Now let’s get Seph some treats and let her out.” I went to the kitchen to get the bag of treats I kept for her when someone knocked on the door. My head whipped up, and my eyes met Hawk’s. He motioned for me to go into the kitchen, away from the door. The knock had been loud but not aggressive, so I didn’t think Butch was back, but I did as he said and went into the other room.

I heard the door open and voices talking. Then Hawk called out for me to come into the living room. I stuck my head around the corner and saw a police officer standing there. “I had Gator call this in before I left.”

“This is your house?” the officer asked.

“Yeah, my ex showed up and was banging on the door. He threatened to kill my friend’s dog”—and almost on cue, Seph barked from the bedroom—“she was out here with me and was barking at the door. She scared him away.”

“So you’re all good here then?” he asked.

“I think so, yeah.”

“Okay, just let me get your ex’s details and a rundown of what happened tonight for my report. That way, we’ll have a record of it if we need it later on. There isn’t much else we can do since he’s gone, but I’ll have our patrol cars drive by throughout the night just to keep an eye on things.”

After I gave the officer the information, Hawk stepped out on the porch with him, and I went to the window and looked out. They talked for a minute and then shook hands before Hawk came back inside.

“Okay, let’s let your girl out of the bedroom.”

I grabbed the treat bag and passed it to him. “I think you should be the one armed with the treats.” Then, just to be safe, I grabbed her leash and slipped into the bedroom. She was standing at attention, facing the door.

“Look at you, such a good girl. Let’s put your leash on, and you can come meet the hot guy who came to rescue us.”

She looked at me and back toward the door, obviously ready to get out there and check everything out. I clipped the leash on her and then opened the door. To my surprise, Hawk was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, holding the bag of treats.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty girl?” he said, holding out his hand for her to smell.

“This is Hawk. He’s a friend, and he has a treat for you because you are such a good girl,” I cooed. I knew dogs responded to your tone as much or more than what you said, so I tried to convey that he wasn’t a threat—but I didn’t have anything to worry about. She moved toward him and smelled his hand then nudged the treat bag with her nose.

“You deserve a treat, that’s for sure. You were a very good girl.” He reached into the bag and pulled out one of the treats. “Here you go.” She gobbled it down and then nudged the bag again, and he laughed. “How many can she have?”

“Probably just a couple. Andy’s really picky about what she eats. I’m the fun uncle who buys her the unhealthy treats, but I don’t want to upset her stomach.”

“Just one more then.” He took out another treat and handed it over before pushing to his feet. “Okay, now let’s have a seat, and you can tell me what this was all about.”

I’d known it was coming, but I wished I didn’t have to tell him about Butch. It was embarrassing and made me feel so stupid. I’d called him, though, and he’d come with no hesitation, so the least I could do was tell him what the deal was.

I nodded. “Okay, but I want to get something to drink real quick. Do you want anything? I have water, diet Dr. Pepper , or I could make a pot of coffee.”

“No, I’m good. Thank you, though.”

I went to the kitchen and got myself a bottle of water, then joined him in the living room. He was sitting on the couch, petting Seph and murmuring to her. I sat down on the other end and pulled my feet up under me.

“So, you want to tell me what this was all about?”

“Not really, but I will. I figure I owe you that much.”

“You don’t owe me anything, baby boy, but I want to know so I can keep you safe.”

My breath caught when he called me baby boy. Butch had never been into pet names or terms of endearment. He’d called me boy a couple of times, but it was in a condescending way. What he wanted was to make sure I understood my place. It sounded completely different from Hawk. From him, it made me feel special, even if he was just trying to be nice.

“Well, like I told the officer, the guy who was here is Butch Carver. He goes by Carver. He rides with the Iron Jackals Motorcycle Club.”

“He’s a biker?” he asked.

“Yeah. They aren’t good people. Of course, I didn’t know that when I met him. Anyway, I was going through a bad time, and he came through town. He seemed exciting, and… I don’t know, just different from what I was used to. He introduced me to the guys he rode with, and they all said they never thought he would find a boy of his own or settle down, that I must be something special.” I let out a wry chuckle. “Yeah, a special kind of stupid.”

“Hey, none of that. We’ve all made mistakes. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

I looked up at him sitting there, all strong and muscular and perfect. I seriously doubted he’d ever done anything as foolish as I had.

“Yeah, but some mistakes are bigger than others.”

“True enough.”

“Anyway, he did a good job of hiding who he really was at first, and when he asked me to leave with him, I said yes. I thought… I don’t know what I thought. That it was going to be an adventure, maybe, but mostly, I believed what the guys said. I thought I was special and that he cared about me. But once he got me away from home and my family, he dropped the act. That was when I realized I wasn’t special. I was property. His property.”

Hawk sucked in a breath at that, but I didn’t stop. I was afraid if I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to finish.

“Literally. I knew because he told me all the time. He said I belonged to him and he could treat me any way he saw fit. I wish I could say I left the first time he laid a hand on me, but I didn’t. I was in a strange place with no money and no one I could call for help. At least not without endangering their lives.

“I know it was naive of me, but I didn’t understand what a biker gang really was. They were things of fiction, and books and movies tend to glorify ’em, you know?”

Hawk

I nodded in agreement because I knew exactly what he meant. The rebel attitudes and the outlaw mystique made it easy to glamorize the biker lifestyle, but the truth was, most of them weren’t good guys. On the contrary, they were some of the most dangerous.

“They were involved in all kinds of illegal activity. Guns, drugs, theft. I don’t even know what all. So I made a plan, and the first opportunity I had, I took some money out of a coffee can that he kept hidden in our kitchen and caught a bus east. I’ve been here ever since.”

He looked so tiny sitting there with his legs tucked under him. I wondered if he sat that way out of habit or if he was trying to make himself seem small. It took everything in me not to reach for him. I wanted to hold him close and reassure him that I would keep him safe, but everything he’d just told me explained so much about why he was so skittish, and the last thing I wanted to do was trigger him. He’d already been through enough tonight without the person who was here to help him adding to his trauma.

“So how long have you been here?” I asked.

“A little over two years. I don’t know how he found me. I really thought I’d left all that behind me, but obviously not. You know, I thought I saw him last week at the Farmers Market with Andy, but I told myself it was just my overactive imagination. Then there was the note. I should’ve known then.”

“What note?”

“It was before class this week. It was on my car.”

Ah, so that explained why he’d been so jumpy in class.

“So you still have the note?” The note could be used to establish harassment if it came to that.

“I do.” He got up and went to a decorative table that sat by the door. He opened a drawer and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “It says I see you . Like I said, I should’ve realized then it was him. I just didn’t want it to be. I wanted it to be a harmless prank or something.”

Seph stood up and gave herself a shake and then did what I wanted to do. She hopped up on the couch next to him and offered him comfort. He mindlessly ran his hand through her fur and let out a long sigh.

“I don’t want to leave Vesper. I like my job, my friends, and my house. I like my life here.”

“I don’t think running is your best option. If he found you once, he can find you again. And if he’s still looking after two years, he isn’t going to stop.”

I didn’t want to scare him, but I wanted to be honest. Two years was a long time, and I didn’t think he was hoping for a happy reunion. My guess was he was looking for revenge. Having his boy run off like that was bound to have hurt his reputation.

“I know you’re right, but I don’t think I can think about that tonight. I do want to thank you for coming, though. I was so scared.”

“I’ll always come if you call me, mouse. You have my word on that.”

He ducked his head, and his cheeks flushed. Fuck, he was adorable. But tonight wasn’t the time for me to be thinking about how damn cute he was.

“Do you have any place you can stay tonight?” I asked because there was no way I was leaving him here by himself.

“No. I have Seph until Andy and Jesse get back in town, and I can’t imagine taking her to a hotel.”

“Could you stay at their place while they’re gone?”

“Normally, they’d let me, but they’re having their windows replaced so that isn’t an option this time.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll just stay here then.”

“Oh, I can’t ask you to do that. I don’t have an extra bed.”

“You didn’t ask me, mouse. And this couch is plenty comfortable.”