Page 145 of Restless Hawke

And it isn’t good.

“I know what you all think, but he never asked me to do anything but play cards and distract other players. Occasionally chat them up to get information.”

Coen tenses slightly under me, and I know he’s wondering what I might have told Dad about anything he revealed to me.

The fact that he has to even wonder that makes acid crawl up my throat.

So does the fact that all the men in this room—including the one whose lap I sit on, wrapped in his strong arms—believe I was alsosleepingwith at least some of them.

I shift in Coen’s hold so I can face him fully because what I’m about to say is forhim,not for the other Hawkes. Taking his face in my hands, I brush a thumb across his jaw, rough with stubble I would love to feel abrading my thighs. “I never slept withanyoneconnected to my father’s business dealings or requests. Ever.”

Until I met you.

There isn’t any need to tack on that confession. I can see in Coen’s warm blue eyes that he understands that this has been different from day one.

* * *

COEN

For the firsttime since we met, I look into Allegra’s eyes and can honestly say I know with one hundred percent certainty that there’s nothing else she’s holding back.

What happened between us had nothing to do with her father.

It had everything to do with this pull neither of us can seem to escape.

We hold each other’s gazes for what feels like an eternity, and it must be because, eventually, Savage clears his throat.

Allegra reluctantly drags her eyes from mine, and Savage inclines his head toward me.

“And how didthisstart?”

This.

I knew we would get to this point eventually, where she would have to explain how and why her father sent her to me, and it isn’t anything I haven’t already told them after Vegas. But that conversation was cut short, and tonight it seems like Allegra has a lot more to say.

Through the lens of knowing Satriano is her father, it makes everything that’s happened appear in a new light—nothing hidden in the shadows.

Allegra resettles against me, and I can feel the tension vibrating through her body.

She’s already done so well.

Opened up completely and held nothing back.

I twine my fingers with hers to offer the only support I can right now.

She’s silent for a moment, like she has to think about it. “He has talked about the Hawkes for a long time, since his brother’s death. And when Coen’s debt came to him, he knew he could use him as leverage.”

It’s impossible not to cringe hearing myself referred to like that.

Leverage.

That’s all I am to Satriano.

A way to strong-arm our business and further build his empire.

Allegra presses her hand over my chest, directly over my heart, as if she can sense that I so desperately need it at the moment. “He needed to be sure Coen could and would still play and couldn’t be easily taken off his game.”

At that, I slide my hand around and cup her ass. “I failed at that…”