Page 36 of The Maverick

“I can stay here,” she said, voice quieter. “With the others.”

“No,” he said. “You’re coming home with me.”

She gave a dry laugh. “So possessive.”

He leaned down again. “You gave yourself to me tonight, Vanessa. Not to the club. Not to the fantasy. To me.”

Her voice cracked. “It was just a scene.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

She didn’t say a word, and that silence told him everything. He straightened, offered her his hand. She hesitated for half a second—then took it. They walked through the club together like they hadn’t just baited a psychopath. Like they hadn’t just made a move in a game where the rules were still being written.

Charles might have left the club’s parking lot, but Hawke was betting he was lying in wait and would try to follow them. As they pulled away into the night, Hawke glanced once in the rearview mirror and whispered under his breath.

“Come on, Charles. Take the bait.”

He had a lead now. He had a target, and if the bastard behind the threats didn’t make a mistake soon, Hawke would force one.

9

VANESSA

Vanessa didn’t speak as Hawke killed the headlights and pulled the truck into the shadowed edge of the driveway. The trees rustled outside the cabin like nothing had changed, like there wasn’t a predator circling closer with every passing day. Her fingers twisted in her lap. The echo of her release on the cross still lived under her skin, but reality was clawing its way back in.

She felt no fear. Not exactly. But her body hummed with adrenaline and the aftershocks of giving Hawke more than she intended. It was one thing to orgasm with him in the privacy of his cabin, but to do it restrained to a St. Andrew’s Cross on the dungeon floor was something else again. The significance of her surrender was far more than she wanted to admit.

He didn’t look at her when he cut the engine. “Upstairs. Shower if you need it. Lock the door behind you.”

That clipped voice meant business. She hesitated only long enough to see the hard set of his jaw before obeying. Hawke didn’t speak like that unless something needed doing or someone needed protecting.

She climbed the steps slowly, her pulse thick in her throat. The cabin was quiet, secure. Nothing looked out of place.But that note—the message left outside his door—had changed everything.

At the top of the stairs, she paused. Her hand hovered over the bedroom door. Then she opened it, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.

Her clothes hit the floor one by one. The sweater. The leggings. The soft lace and silk panties. She pulled her hair down, combed her fingers through the red waves, and walked to the bed.

He’d said to go upstairs, but he hadn’t specified which bedroom, and he had said nothing about behaving. A sly smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. So she waited for him naked, lying on her side in the center of his bed, her skin still marked from the cross, her thighs aching in the best possible way.

Let him find her like this. Let him see exactly what he did to her—and what she still wanted.

HAWKE

Downstairs, Hawke moved like a man who didn’t believe in loose ends. He stepped into the small side office behind the kitchen and keyed in a code that brought up his secure line. The screen lit with four feed windows—night-vision surveillance from the north ridge, south fence, front yard, and cabin perimeter.

“All teams check in,” he said, voice low.

Gavin’s reply came first. “North and east are clear. No movement past the outer edge.”

“Dawson’s got the drone sweep locked. Nothing on thermals,” came Jesse’s voice next.

“Driveway camera just pinged with a reflection—probably a fox,” Reed added. “No interference. No surveillance disruption.”

“Keep it that way.” Hawke’s tone sharpened. “Stay off the property. No footprints. No comms chatter. If he’s watching the cabin, he’s calculating my habits. Don’t give him anything to work with.”

“Copy that,” Gavin replied. “You want a night rotation on the outer perimeter?”

Hawke nodded even though they couldn’t see him. “Two men max. No lights, no noise. If you see Charles, I want eyes on his vehicle but no approach. We let him come to us.”

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