Page 40 of Burn for the Dragon
Everly picked it up, inhaling the unique scent before she took a bite of the sweet fruit. Then she got up and went to the bathroom to shower and dress. She needed to go up to the office and check on her brother. Hopefully everyone else was already awake and decided on a plan to get him out of there. Or at least Devon. If she was there, perhaps she could talk to her and convince her to help her talk the guys into giving him a chance before they went all jury and executioner on him. Her heart ached as she thought of the only other alternative.
Because if they wouldn’t agree to it, then she knew what she would have to do.
Chapter 19
Hawke paced his room. Everly had fallen asleep hours ago. He’d sat with her for a long time before he’d left, listening to her delicate snores, watching every little twitch and flutter of her eyelids.
He wondered if she could hear the music she so loved to dance to in her dreams.
It came to him that he’d never asked her how she’d lost her hearing, if she was born that way or if it was from some type of injury. Then again, the how and why of it didn’t really matter now. Alone, in his room, he could be honest with himself and admit that even if he’d figured out her heritage earlier, it wouldn’t have mattered to him either way. He still wouldn’t have passed up the chance to be with her. He craved her even now.
They’d talked for a long time tonight, and Hawke was completely convinced she had no idea at all who she was or where she came from. Only who she became after she was adopted into the system. Her brother, on the other hand, was another story. She’d talked about him a lot, told Hawke how she’d found him, what their reunion had been like, how happy she’d been to find this link to family. Her eyes had filled with tears as she’d remembered, but she’d wiped them away before they could spill over.
In the end, it didn’t change anything. No matter what he’d been through or was going through now, they had to think of the safety of the coven, and he was a hell of a lot more dangerous to their existence than Everly.
Giving up on the idea of sleep, he made his way above ground. As it was still daylight out, he opened the door an inch at a time as he always did when he was the first one to come up. Caution was the reason he’d lived as long as he had. The club was dark and empty, everything intact. Closing the door behind him, Hawke went to the office and collapsed into the desk chair.
Everly’s brother paced his cell with erratic jerks of his body. Occasionally, he would rush from one end to the other with a sudden burst of speed. When he turned, Hawke saw white bone partially jutting through the skin of his back. As he came back toward the camera, he looked up for only a fleeting moment before he twisted around and rushed to the other end, but it was enough for Hawke to see the glow of his eyes and the misshapen shape of his face.
He took deep, calming breaths as he hit some keys and scanned the room with the camera. The lab was empty, all the scientists gone for the night. The fucking bastards. They’d left him like that, partially shifted, his features twisted in agony.
Hawke sat back in his chair and scratched at the scruff on his face with both hands. He actually felt a twinge of pity for her brother. Matthew? Is that what she said his name was? If he wasn’t fucking crazy before, he sure as hell would be now.
“Damn it.” Despite what he’d told Everly earlier, he’d been hanging on to a slim thread of hope that he would be able to deliver her brother back to her intact and unharmed. His reasons were nothing short of selfish. He wanted to be her hero. What happened to the male after that would depend on if he had been as naïve as Everly about his other half. If so, perhaps Kohl would decide to just let him go, once he knew neither of them meant any harm to the coven.
Problem was, Hawke was no longer so sure he could say the same about his sister.
As if she knew he was thinking about her, Everly opened the office door. Her eyes were red and her skin was blotchy, like she’d been crying. Spotting Hawke sitting behind the desk, she closed it behind her and joined him.
He didn’t try to hide the camera feed from her. It was better for her to see it. Hiding things like this from people didn’t achieve anything. She would find out sooner or later, and then she would turn her anger on him for not telling her what was happening with her brother.
“What’s wrong with him?” Her voice shook, and she cleared her throat. “What is that on his back?” She turned to Hawke with horror-filled eyes.
Though it was quite obvious, he told her anyway. “Those are his wings,” he told her. “Or a part of them.”
“Why are they like that?”
Hawke watched the creature in the cell for a few moments. “It looks like they’ve succeeded, at least partially, in finding a way to keep him from shifting. And I say partially, because, as you can see, he started to turn. But they stopped it somehow. My guess is it won’t be long until he won’t be able to shift at all.”
“And then what will they do to him?”
He turned in his chair to face her. “I don’t know for sure.”
But she wasn’t fooled. “They’re going to kill him, aren’t they?”
“If I had to guess, I would hope so. Because his other option is staying right where he is and continuing to be their lab rat.” He touched the back of her hand with his fingertips, and then let his arm fall back to his lap. “I’m sorry, Ev. I really am. I wish there was something else we could do. But the only thing I can offer is to take him out quick so he doesn’t suffer anymore.” Hawke was surprised to find he truly meant it, if for no other reason than to see her truly smile again.
Little lines appeared between her brows as she studied him. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.” Then she turned and stared at the monitor as she said, “What about me?”
With her attention diverted, Hawke allowed himself the time to drink her in, from the top of her curly head to the sweet curve of her ass and all the way down to her sneakers. He smiled when he saw they were purple this time, but still sparkly. When he looked up again, he was met with the cloudy sorrow of her stare. “What’s going to happen to me when this is all over?”
“I don’t know,” he told her honestly.
“Will you ‘take care of’ me, too? Put me out of my misery?”
No. No, he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that. Turning his chair toward her, he slid his hands up the outside of her thighs and gripped her hips. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but the words wouldn’t come. So, he ended up pulling her toward him until he could rest his head in the soft curve of her stomach. Inhaling deeply, he breathed in her scent, sweet and warm, and exhaled through his mouth. It soothed him, if only for the moment. But it also excited him. He touched the tips of his fangs with his tongue, knowing it would only jack him up more, but he did it anyway. It was a poor substitute for the salty sweetness of her skin, the silky slide into her body, but it was all he would allow himself.
After a few seconds, her hands tangled in his hair. He thought she was going to push him away. Instead, she held him to her and spoke to the top of his head. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I have to be honest with you.”
