Page 18 of Leading Conviction

“What do you want, Hawk? Every second matters right now and I need to mentally go over my next steps, which don’t involve you.”

Her words stung but he pushed through the ache. “Come with me. I can keep you safe. I…noneof us work for your father anymore. ”

Her forehead wrinkled as she scoffed. “Are you out of your mind? So maybe you don’t work for him anymore, but still, why on earth would I go with the man wholeftme to work with the very bastard I’m running from? You can’t expect me to trust you after all this time!”

A bullet to the chest would’ve hurt less. But the sirens were getting louder and he didn’t have time to convince her to go with him. His own plans flipped through his mind as he tried a different tactic.

“Okay, let me help you pack, then. What do you need?”

She glanced at him up and down, taking his full measure before her frown lessened.

He looked around to see if he could answer for her, but other than the scattered art materials she’d already picked up, there was hardly anything that said she lived there. Back in Atlanta, every inch of her apartment and the one he shared with Eagle had been covered with her masterpieces. But there was only one canvas hanging in the kitchen. He’d had to leave it all behind. Had she been forced to do the same?

Without thinking, he turned around, grabbed the canvas from the kitchen wall, and marched back to her.

“Hawk, what are you doing—”

Draco rushed through the back door, making Hawk’s already racing pulse skyrocket. Hannah’s resistance was distracting him, and the only option he could think of blared louder than the sirens outside the front of the house.

“They’re here,” Draco grunted. “Time to go. Car’s out back.”

“Mierda.¡Avecito! Ven aquí!Now, please,mijo!”

At his mother’s summons, Tommy emerged from the hallway, a large duffel bag of his own slung over his shoulders and a baseball bat in his hand.

“Ready. But, Mom, what if the car doesn’t start again?”

The question made Hawk’s stomach flip and her answer made him nauseous.

“I-it will.” Hannah tried to comfort her son before snatching the boy’s hand. “It has to.”

“That’s it,” Hawk growled and grabbed Hannah’s duffel bag from her shoulder and caught her free hand in his.

“Hawk! What the—”

“We’re leaving, Han. Trust me or don’t, but you’re coming with us. Draco, you take our six. Tommy, follow me.”

“Let go of my mom!” the kid growled like a lion cub.

“Hawkins, stop! We’re not going—”

The sirens suddenly cut off. Car doors opened and slammed and people yelled in Spanish outside the front door behind them. Indecision warred in Hannah’s wide, frightened brown eyes before she finally nodded and turned to her son.

“Follow him,avecito. We have to go. I don’t know if the car will work, but we can… we can trust him.”

Hawk could hear the question in her voice. Judging by the kid’s narrowed eyes bouncing from him to Hannah, so could he.

Hawk bent low to meet the boy’s worried blue eyes. “Listen, I know you’re the man of this house and you’re used to protecting your mom, but I care about your mom, too. You can trust me to keep her safe.”

Tommy held his gaze until he finally nodded.

“Good, let’s go. Don’t let go of your mom’s hand, little man.” Hawk squeezed Hannah’s hand and led her out the door, checking behind him to ensure Tommy and Draco followed.

There was a grunt and a crash inside before Draco emerged. “Figured tipping the fridge in front of the door would buy us some time.”

The yelling got louder and more adamant. Hawk ignored the commotion, beelining toward the rental car parked behind a beat-up car that looked older than Tommy.

He deposited Hannah’s duffel bag into the rental car’s trunk, ignoring the way she glared at him for being so overbearing. He didn’t feel guilty in the slightest. There was no way her rust bucket would’ve survived as a getaway car.