Page 49 of Hawk

By the time we got everything situated, I was beat. That short nap we’d had earlier hadn’t been anywhere near enough after the crazy morning I’d had. When I’d been packing up my food, I’d planned to cook him something nice for dinner as a thank-you for… well, just for being him, but I didn’t get the chance. He picked up on how tired I was and insisted on ordering us something to eat from downstairs so I could eat and then get some rest.

“Baby boy, I can tell how tired you are.”

“But—”

“Nope, no buts. You had a close call this morning and then went and packed up half your stuff. This has turned your life upside down, so just let me take care of you. You’ll have plenty of time to cook for me.”

And how was I supposed to argue with that?

Chapter seventeen

Mika

The next morning, Hawk drove me to work, but he refused to leave.

“They know where you work. And while I’m sure the gate guard does a fine job, I don’t trust him with your safety. So if you’re staying here, so am I.”

I thought I’d be perfectly safe, but I did feel better knowing he was there. If not for me, then for Mary Ellen. She would never let someone take me without putting up a fuss, and that meant she was just as much at risk.

He brushed another quick kiss across my lips and motioned for me to get out of the car. Looked like goodbye kisses were indeed a thing for him, and I sure wasn’t complaining.

I went inside and found Mary Ellen in the conservatory.

“Good morning,” I called out.

She turned to look at me, and I was glad I’d made the decision to come today. She looked stressed. “Mika, dear, good to see you. I can’t find the butter pats. You know, the ones with the pink rims. I ordered the prettiest centerpieces of light pink lisianthus, and those butter pats would be the perfect complement to the table.”

“I put them back in the butler’s pantry after your last luncheon. Let me grab them for you.”

She followed me and stood by while I got out the step stool and pulled down the stack of tiny little plates. “See, here they are. You have nothing to worry about. Her birthday party is going to be perfect.”

“I just want it to be special, but what do I know about entertaining a bunch of young women? She’ll probably think the whole thing is ridiculous.”

“I’m sure she won’t think it’s ridiculous at all. I have her gift, by the way. I set it on the table as I came in. She’s going to love it.”

“So are you going to tell me what happened yesterday since you didn’t come back? Not that it matters. It just wasn’t like you to be so vague.”

“I am. Why don’t I make us a cup of tea, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Mary Ellen was a firm believer that all bad news, good news, and in-between was best delivered with a good cup of tea. I thought that it came from the years she and David had spent in England when they were younger.

She followed me into the kitchen and waited while I put the kettle on and got everything ready. Once we sat down at the table with our cups, she was finished being patient.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

I told her about my ex showing up and his guy trying to grab me yesterday.

She didn’t say anything until I was done, but then she looked at me with concern in her eyes. “Mika, this man sounds like bad news.”

She wasn’t wrong at all, and I hadn’t even told her the parts about the Iron Jackals being mixed up in human trafficking and who knows what else.

“He is, but I’m okay. As a matter of fact, Hawk is sitting outside, keeping watch right now.”

“Hawk. That’s the young man you were taking self-defense classes from, isn’t it? That name is pretty hard to forget.”

“That’s him, yes.”

“Well, I would like to meet him. I don’t know anything about him or his company. I need to decide if he’s the right person to be protecting you.”

“His company, Three Bears Tactical, is very skilled, Mary Ellen. There’s no one better to be looking out for me than Hawk.”

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