Page 68 of Hawk

“First, no one’s going to get hurt. But you need to stop thinking that way. None of this is because of you. Do you hear me? You’re not responsible for other people’s bad choices.”

That was easy for him to say. “I do know that, but I also know it was my bad choices that got me involved in this mess in the first place. All I can do now is my best to do my part and help put an end to it.”

Hawk’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “All right, Kat’s ready for you. Let’s go down and get you all geared up.”

Kat was waiting for us in the ops center. She had a whole table of electronic devices laid out, and my eyes grew wide at the collection of gear covering the surface.

“Is all of that for me?” I asked. “Hawk said we needed to get me geared up, but I didn’t expect this.”

Kat chuckled. “No, it’s not all for you… at least not all for today. Today, I’ve just got a few things.” She reached over and picked up a small white box, flipping it open. “These look like regular iPods. Everyone wears them now, so no one thinks twice if they see you wearing one. Even better, since so many people use them to talk on the phone, no one thinks twice anymore if it looks like you’re talking to yourself. We used to worry about that, but not anymore… thanks to these little gems. I want you to keep the left one in your ear at all times. That’s the one we’ll use to communicate if we need to talk to you. Sound good?”

I nodded and took the small white box from her hands. Then she handed me a diamond stud earring.

“It was good luck for us that you have your ear pierced because no one ever blinks at an earring. Go ahead and put it in.”

I reached up and removed the silver stud I was wearing and replaced it with the one she’d handed me.

“That’s a tracker. As long as you’re wearing it, we’ll be able to find you.”

I held up my arm, showing the smartwatch they’d given me when this all started. “I thought this had a tracker.”

“It does, but we”—she glanced over at Hawk—“would feel better if there were multiple options, just in case something happens to one of them. And last but not least.” She picked up what looked like a blue ink pen or maybe a flashlight. “This is a stun gun. It isn’t super powerful, but it will buy you some time if you need it.”

I looked at the not-pen and laughed. “I feel like James Bond. Should I be calling you Q?”

“Oh, sweetie, if this makes you feel like James Bond, you should see my other toys.”

“She isn’t kidding,” Hawk said. “She has some really advanced shit.”

She shrugged. “Hey, I gotta keep you boys safe, now don’t I?” She looked back at me. “Now, Mika, you’re all set for today. Don’t forget about that panic button on your watch if you need it.”

“Hawk reminded me about that this morning.” I smiled over at the big man standing there, looking like he wanted to throw up. I’d hoped getting all the techy stuff from Kat would help put him at ease, but it didn’t seem like it had helped much.

“Is it okay for me to put the pen in my pocket? I won’t tase myself or anything, will I?”

“Maybe you should drop it down in your bag there, just to be safe.”

I looked at it one more time and then dropped it in my bag that held my current crochet project. If I had to sit around my house all morning, at least I could try to get something done.

“Okay, I guess I’m ready to go then.”

Hawk walked me down to the parking garage, and before I got in my car, he pulled me into a hug.

“The guys have been watching your house since last night to make sure no one was there, so you should be fine. Gator and I will be tailing you. We’ll park a couple of doors down in the driveway of an empty house, so I won’t be far away.”

He brushed a kiss across my lips and then opened my door for me. “Be safe, and remember… we can hear you, so if you need help, just say so.”

Hawk

I rolled by Mika’s house as slowly as possible without drawing attention so I could make sure he got inside safely, then pulled theSunny Days Cleaning Companyvan into the driveway of the empty house down the street and killed the engine.

Gator was sitting in the back, and as soon as the van stopped, I knew he’d have all the surveillance systems up and running. I looked back over my shoulder at him. “You got him?”

“Yep. He’s inside and unloading the bag of groceries he bought at the store.”

“I hate this,” I grumbled as I slid out of my seat and joined him in the back of the van.

“Of course you do, but you also know this is our very best chance at putting an end to this so your boy’ll be safe.”

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