Page 46 of Hawk

I didn’t try to call Andy because I knew he was on shift today, so instead, I sent him a text.

Me

Hey, just wanted to let you know I ran into some trouble with one of Butch’s guys today. I’m fine. Hawk brought me to his condo just to be on the safe side. I didn’t want you to worry.

I moved to shove my phone in my pocket, but I must’ve caught him between runs because my phone pinged immediately.

Andy

What exactly do you mean by “trouble”?

Me

He was following me, but it’s all okay.

Andy

If it isn’t safe for you at your house, you know you can come stay with us.

Me

I know. But I’m okay here at Hawk’s.

Andy

Got a call for an auto accident. Gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow.

I shoved my phone in my pocket and decided to take Hawk up on his offer to check the place out. I spent the next twenty minutes or so nosing around. It felt weird to be snooping around in Hawk’s condo, but he’d told me to feel free.

Other than the size of the place, nothing was surprising. The whole condo had that same generic style I’d noticed earlier. It was nice enough, and I was guessing he hadn’t spared any expense, but none of the rooms had any personality. It was almost like being in a luxury hotel. Everything was top quality and designed to be pleasing to everyone but not special to anyone.

The main thing I did find was that his fridge was basically empty. Not that I expected to find a lot—he’d already told me he mostly ate at the bistro downstairs—but still, a package of cheese, some orange juice, half a dozen eggs, and a box of leftover pizza was kind of sad.

The rest of the kitchen looked pretty good, though. It was well stocked with pots, pans, and utensils.

The kitchen was on the inside wall, so it didn’t have any windows, but all the other rooms had views of different parts of downtown. I couldn’t wait to see it at night. Vesper might not be a huge city, but it took great pride in its downtown area and had a pretty impressive skyline for its size.

The condo was a lot bigger than I’d expected, and I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen, so I didn’t even make it all the way through before the front door opened and Hawk stepped in.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I am.”

“Let’s go then.”

A couple hours later, we’d packed up enough of my things that I could stay for days. I thought about what he’d said about how if it was up to him, he would pack up all of my things. I didn’t actually have that much, so it wouldn’t take long. There was one other problem, though.

“You know I only moved in here after the new year, and I have a year lease.”

He shrugged. “And?”

I didn’t know if that meant he hadn’t been serious about wanting me with him, but before I could backtrack, he continued on. “Leases can be broken.”

“Sure they can, but it isn’t cheap. Mary Ellen pays me well, but not that well.”

“You don’t worry about that, mouse. When the time comes and you agree to move in with me, I’ll take care of all the details. That’s what Daddies do.”

I wanted to argue with him that my details weren’t his problem, but he’d said that’s what Daddies do. I thought about the way Samuel was with Mars and the way Jesse was with Andy. It wasn’t so much a deal with Caleb and Keith because Caleb didn’t have details to handle. He was super responsible and pretty much had his ducks all in a row. But the other two? Yeah, I could see it.

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