Page 70 of Hawk's Sapphire

He’s going to rip my heart out again.

Not if I act like I don’t care.Maybe if I turn the tables, make him believe what we had meant nothing.It was just a one-night stand like all his others.

Hurt him first and he’ll let this shit go.

28

HAWK

20 minutes ago

I’m sitting in the dining room with Vincenzo and Matteo after Sadie stormed out.I want to go after her and shake her until she sees reason, but instead I’m waiting to discuss the fact she will not go meet with that lunatic Cusenza or be used as fucking bait.

“This is not fucking happening, Parisi.Sadie’s not going to be used as bait.I don’t care what agreement you made with Sadie, that was before she was mine.Being my ol’ lady changes things.”

“I don’t recall being given that bit of information, but regardless, our deal was made before you decided to pull your head out of your ass,” Vincenzo replies.

“The deal isoff!”

“Again, you seem to forget your place,” Vincenzo says, glaring at me.

“Hawk is right,” Emelia speaks up.

“It’s not your place to put your two cents in, Gattina.This is a conversation best left to the gentlemen,” Vincenzo snaps.

Emelia leans forward, her hand on the edge of the table.“I would if I saw such a creature before me, but all I see is a stubborn, inconsiderate ass placing his own need for vengeance above another man’s need to keep his woman safe from harm.You want to exploit her, use her, with hopes you’ll be able to save her, but you are not God.You can’t make those types of guarantees.”Emelia isn’t holding anything back and I have to admit, though I admire her fire, I fear for her ass.

Vincenzo slowly rises from his seat, stalking to where Emelia is sitting, getting close to her face and speaking softly to her.Matteo nudges my arm and quietly suggests we leave the room since we probably won’t want to witness his boss’s woman getting fucked within an inch of her life.

Matteo leads me into an office that I assume is where Sadie’s been working, based on the number of screens on the wall and the familiar equipment strewn about the desk.There’s even a stack of Hot Tamales boxes beside the mouse pad and a small Harry Potter Bluetooth speaker that looks like a replica of the golden snitch.

Definitely Sadie’s space.

Matteo wastes no time jumping my case.“If you continue to demand that Sadie do everything you say, you will leave here without her.She isn’t asking permission, nor would she accept it from you.”

“But she will fromyou—is that it?You brainwashed her into being your perfect little submissive only to throw her to the fucking sharks and watch them eat her alive,” I accuse.“Is that your plan?”I’m still steaming from the fact this asshole agreed to deliver her to Cusenza like a piece of fucking meat he ordered from the market.

Matteo smirks, taking a seat behind Sadie’s desk.In his designer suit, he appears ill at ease and out of place sitting in a red gaming chair.He picks up a box of her cinnamon candies, wrinkling his nose, then puts it back.When he gets to the squishy penis stress toy, he starts to pick it up, but seems to think better of it.I want to laugh or say something smart about it, but he might not give me answers if I do.

“You want to know why Sadie listens to me and not you.That’s your problem with all of this, isn’t it?”The smug bastard asks, leaning back in the chair.He quickly sits back up and readjusts by pulling and tossing the lower lumbar pillow onto the floor like it’s offended him.

“It’s one of my issues, yes.But mostly I want to know why you and your boss think it’s such a grand plan to hand her over to Cusenza and use her as bait?What the hell are you going to gain out of getting her raped and killed?”The words come out tight through my gritted teeth.

“Let’s unpack this one step at a time,” Matteo says smoothly, steepling his fingers.“First, remember Sadie came tous.She’s the one who linked the traffickers to Avery’s grandmother and then to Marco Cusenza.She was also the one to uncover the foster care homes and the connections to the Devils.But I’m sure you know all of this, since she sent you copies of everything she’s found so far.”He smirks.

“Why didn’t you stop her if you knew she was leaking information?”It’s true Sadie’s been feeding me information, but she left out the part about Eleanor being linked to the trafficking ring.Pres would definitely want to know aboutherinvolvement.We knew Elenor and Cusenza had a kid they put up for adoption and about the deal she had made with Kyle Whittmore for Avery’s hand in marriage to gain her inheritance.We didn’t find any connection to the trafficking shit.

“There’s nothing Sadie does in my home that I am not aware of.The difference between you and me is I don’t question her actions.I try to understand them.”Matteo shrugs his shoulder.I’m not surprised to find hidden cameras in every room.It’s what I would do if I were him.

“What the hell does that even mean, Matteo?I understand why she does the shit she does.I question it because she’s fucking reckless.”

“Then youdon’tunderstand why she does what she does,” he says.“Sadie sent you those files, not because she was worried the club would get involved with the boss’s plans, but because she thought Trident was playing both sides.She was concerned about you and the people she callsfamily.She was protecting you.I passed the information on to Vincenzo, who used what she found to convince you to help weed out the mole on the Fed’s side of things.”

“Did Sadie know you were going to use me to do your bidding with Agent Galina?”I ask, curious.

“No.We never told her about your involvement.During the gala was the first time she learned about you and Agent Galina.”He chuckles softly.“She was jealous as hell when we got into the limo to come home that night.Even threw a knife at Sergio—a warning shot, according to her—for teasing her about it.”

I can’t help but laugh at that.“Sadie isn’t fragile like a flower, she’s more the fragile like a bomb type.”

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