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HAWK

After a long night of fucking and finally feeling like me and Sadie are on the same page, we came down to breakfast this morning and found Vincenzo, Matteo, and Emelia seated at the dining room table. In the middle of the table is a large white box with a red bow and a manilla envelope addressed to Sadie personally.

The two of us have finally come to the agreement that I’m hers and she’s mine. We’ll figure out what that looks like when we get our asses back home to Oakridge and I can put my patch on her back, but for now, we still have work to do here.

The four of us sat and watched as Sadie opened the gift after Vincenzo’s men made sure it was safe to do so. Inside, she found a short, black sequined dress. This shit is so short and low cut in the front and back, it leaves nothing to the imagination. It looks like something the girls working at Glitz ′n Tass would wear to serve cocktails while soliciting lap dances. There is absolutely no way in hell I’d ever let Sadie wear that scrap of material, let alone to meet fucking Cusenza at one of his restaurants for dinner and a meeting.

This twisted motherfucker also requested Matteo accompany her to the dinner. He wants to discuss the inconvenience Matteo’s woman caused Cusenza the other night. He also wants to pay Matteo for Sadie and then give her to a client who has paid a great deal of money in order to serve her punishment for said inconvenience.

The fucked-up part about all of this is they’re all in agreement that Sadie should do it. She took the dress to her room with Emelia to try the damn thing on.

“You can’t be serious. We've both seen the same files. You’re not clueless to what the Feds have on this sick son of a bitch. You can’t honestly think I would let my woman offer herself up on a silver fucking platter to him.” I point a finger at Vincenzo. “ Would you ?” I ask, even though we both know the answer. “Would you send your woman to her death like this? To be raped, beaten, and mutilated! You know what they do to these women. Tell me you’d let Emelia go as bait,” I taunt, fury thrumming through me at the audacity of the man to think I would be okay with this.

“My woman didn’t ask to be bait. Nor did she offer a plan to shut down Cusenza’s operation from the inside. Emelia didn’t ask me to fund her rescue mission or teach her how to not be broken in the hands of an enemy. Sadie, however, did ,” he says with a short, humorless laugh.

“I don’t care whose idea it was or how well you think you’ve trained her. Sadie is not doing it. Find someone else. Someone who looks like her. I don’t fucking care. But Sadie is not going anywhere near that twisted fucker.” I put my foot down on the subject. “I’m not fucking kidding, Vincenzo. You’re not sending my woman into the lion’s den unprotected to be punished . You and I both know exactly what he means by that, and she’s not doing it. Period.”

Vincenzo smiles. Then Matteo clears his throat and the air in the room grows thick. I know Sadie’s behind me. I can feel her eyes burning into the back of my head and these two fuckwits are enjoying it.

Sadie approaches me wearing the tiny scrap of shiny material that should be classified as a rubber band, more so than a dress. I want to cover her up to keep these assholes from seeing what’s mine. To drag her ass out of the room and then turn it red with my hand for her audacity to even wear the damn thing at all.

“Why are you wearing that … that scrap of a dress out here? Go change into something else. Anything else. So long as it covers your tits and ass.” It comes out harsh, but I’m still not seeing clearly. Not the best time to lose my shit while standing in the dining room with two made men and a house full of soldiers, who can not only kill me, but want to. But I have zero fucks to give about any of that at the moment.

“Club girls wear less and you’ve never complained,” Sadie points out smugly, crossing her arms over her chest, which pushes her tits up more. If she pushes any harder, the damn things are going to topple out and then I am going to lose my shit, and this argument won’t matter because Vincenzo will fucking kill me.

“They’re whores. Not my woman. There’s a difference.” Am I a hypocrite? Yes. Do I care? Not one fucking ounce. “You aren’t leaving this house wearing that. It’s out of the question, babe.”

Her eyes narrow and something flickers in them I can’t quite decipher, but it’s her indifference that worries me.

There’s a soft chuckle, and a mumbled, “Dumbass” comes from beside me, but I ignore it.

I expect a fiery response. For her to tell me to fuck off and throw a tantrum like Sadie usually does, but it doesn’t come. I study her face and what I find in her eyes has me heavily concerned. She’s not scared. She’s not upset. No, she’s something much worse.

She’s fucking determined.

“Hawk,” she starts, but I’m already shaking my head, not about to listen to her bullshit. “This isn’t up to you.”

The fuck did she say?

Leaning in close to her face, through gritted teeth, I remind her and everyone else in the room, “You. Are. Mine.” I grip the back of her neck, my forehead resting on hers. “That means it is up to me. It’s my job to protect you. No arguments. They can find some other way to settle this shit with Cusenza. You are not on the menu for atonements.”

“And what about Shea?” she asks. “Who’s going to save your sister, Hawk? Who’s going to help Shea? You can’t do it. They think you’re dead. And the club can’t do it. They don’t have the clout to get in with Cusenza. He knows Gabe isn’t okay with the skin trade, so there’s no way he would get a meeting, let alone get on the island. It has to be Matteo and me. We’ve been invited and we’ve already set our plan in motion.”

I’m struggling with everything she’s saying, even though I know it’s all true. I don’t know Shea personally, and I can’t say I feel close to someone just because they share my father’s DNA. I also can’t in good conscience let a woman knowingly suffer in a situation like this. But I really can’t allow Sadie, my Sapphire, to put herself in this kind of danger, knowing there’s a high probability she won’t come out of this unscathed.

“I can’t lose you,” I whisper where only she can hear. It’s raw. It’s vulnerable, but it’s also the fucking truth.

“Baby,” Sadie whispers. It’s the first time I’ve heard her use the endearment. Usually, when she’s emotional or wants me to know she’s serious, Sadie will use my given name. Something only my mother and she get away with.

“I have to do it,” she says adamantly. “This was always the plan.”

“It’s never been my plan.” I grunt, and she smiles.

“We’ve been planning this for months. I have everything we need to pull this shit off and get Shea home. I’m not giving up now.” Both her hands come to rest on my cheeks. “I’m doing this.” I try to shake my head, but her hands hold me steady. Her eyes boring into mine. “Look, I need you to listen very carefully. I have a plan. But I can’t do it without your help. If you help me, I will be safe . I can’t trust anyone else to do this. It has to be you. Will you help me? Please.”

I feel my face harden. “No. You’ll have to find someone else. I’m putting my foot down. You’re not going.” My tone is harsher than intended, but what the fuck is she thinking ?

Sadie pulls back, her hands dropping to my shoulders as she squares her own. Her sapphire eyes darken as she drops her hands, steps back and says with all seriousness, “If you can’t get on board with this, with me … then we’re done here. Pack your things. Matteo, please have your driver take Mr. Hawkins back to Oakridge.”

“ What ?” I move to grab her arm, but Matteo is there, blocking my path.

It’s suddenly hits me she’s not saying this in anger. She means it. She’s willing to let what we have go—to end us—for Shea. A woman she’s never even met.

Well, fuck that!

“It’s okay, Nathaniel.” Her eyes are glassy with tears, her lower lip quivering. “Like I said before, just chalk it up to a night of fun. Because I’m not ever going to be a doormat and let you walk all over me. I need someone who understands that and realizes my submission is earned, not demanded.” She turns to Matteo and tells him she’ll have everything ready in three days, then walks out of the room leaving me standing here staring at her back.

I want to chase after her. To make her see reason. To spank her fucking ass until she can’t sit for a week. But the tears in her eyes and the pain in her voice leave me rooted in place with a pain like nothing I’ve ever felt radiating through my chest.

“Well, you fucked that up royally, didn’t you, son?” Vincenzo says, his tone one of reproach.

“I’m not your son.” It’s a stupid thing to say, but it’s all I’ve got.

“No. You certainly aren’t,” he says, one brow raised suggestively. “My son would listen and if he did as he was told, he’d get the girl. That is what you want. Isn’t it?”

I turn to face him, my hands fisted at my sides. “Tell me, oh great and powerful Oz, what would you do if you were in my shoes?”

Vincenzo narrows his eyes, pointing a finger in my direction. “First, I’d be mindful that the man I’m disrespecting has a gun aimed at my knees under the table before I made another smartass remark.”

I don’t bother to look under the table. Vincenzo is not a man to bluff.

“Second, I would go with Matteo to The Mansion. You need to be certain you are willing to accept Sadie’s terms, or this relationship will never work.”

“What terms ?” I have no fucking clue what he’s talking about.

Matteo turns in his seat and faces me. “When a Dom and a sub enter into a relationship, they negotiate terms. Sadie is a natural submissive, but she is also a very strong-willed, independent woman. She needs to be allowed to be herself. Rules are good, but they must be negotiated, and they must fit her lifestyle. As her Dom, or her man , you can’t be so heavy-handed that you strip away who she is at her core. Her safety is of the utmost importance, but understanding and acceptance are just as important for her.”

“I do accept her. I fucking love her,” I snap.

“Then prove it. Help her with this mission. She is determined to put an end to Cusenza for everything he’s done. It’s not just about the sex trafficking. This is Sadie’s way of avenging her family. To make amends for all that’s been lost,” Matteo says. “Did you know Sadie designed a tracking device for herself? The only one of its kind. A way for us to keep tabs on her that no one could trace—except you .” Matteo pauses, letting his words sink in.

The bump on her shoulder.

“She planned for my help all along … fuck .” I scrub my hands through my hair and back down my face. “Why didn’t she tell me before?”

“Perhaps she tried,” Vincenzo suggests.

“You can come with me to The Mansion and let me show you what Sadie needs. Unless, of course, she’s right, and you’d rather cut your losses and have my driver take you to the tarmac so you can get back to your club.”

Fuck no.