Page 55 of Altered By Lead (Undercover Sinners 2)
Hawke storms up to the doorway and glares at me.
"Get up and let's start moving equipment," he says, and then proceeds to push me into a half hour of grueling physical labor, loading up a small trailer with wooden crates, and then hooking it up to his Navigator. He barely looks at me as we do our work, and when Janet rejoins us later, the air gets tight and stale with tension.
I try not to glare at her—it's not her fault if she and Hawke slept together—but I can't help myself. Some primal part of me wants to punch her right in the tit.
When Janet climbs into the passenger seat of the SUV, I really start getting pissed.
On the drive back, Hawke actually engages her in conversation. By the time we pull into the driveway at the Rogue Elk, I'm silently fuming.
"Get back here and unload this," Hawke yells as I take off for the house, flying past Colt and Weston as they smoke on the porch and exchange a pair of looks. I don't stop until I'm in the training room, tearing off my jacket, rolling my shoulders, and going for the punching bag like it's Hawke's stupid, infuriating face.
Did he sleep with her? I keep wondering as I hit the bag again and again and again. I go at it until my knuckles are bruised and bloody, and my arms and shoulders ache. When I'm finished, I collapse to my back on the mat. A few moments later, Hawke's boots appear next to my face.
"You disobeyed another direct order. Get up and get ready to run. You've got a five mile sprint ahead of you." My mouth drops open as he walks away, and I sit up, glaring after his perfectly tight ass. He pauses at the doorway when Janet approaches him, and they speak in low tones.
Oh, fuck this.
I get up and storm over there, leaving my jacket abandoned on the floor. I'm hot and achy all over. It might be cold as my father's heart outside, but I don't need the damn thing.
"Let's do this," I say, leveling a Hawke-worthy glare on our fearless leader. Both he and Janet glance my way, and he shrugs, grabbing his keys from the hook near the door.
"It's your funeral," he snaps, and then climbs in the SUV, driving alongside me as I take off down the dirt road. Back in the day, I could barely walk a city block without whining about it (to be fair, I was always wearing heels), but now, I take this challenge like a champ.
Unfortunately, when Hawke said five mile sprint, he meant five miles both ways.
When we turn around and start heading back toward the Rogue Elk, I start to flag.
"Not as tough as you think you are," Hawke growls, coming to a stop as I bend over, choking and gasping for air. I didn't think to bring a water bottle, so I'm shit out of luck. And as darkness falls, the night gets crisper and colder, and I realize that I'm starting to shake. "You're just lucky I'm not making you swim on top of everything."
"What ..." I start, choking and struggling to catch my breath. "What's up with you ... and ... and Janet?" I lift my head up, sweat dripping into my eyes, and focus on Hawke's gray eyes. His face gets tight, but he doesn't say anything. "Did you sleep with her yesterday?"
"If I did, would it be your business?" he asks, and this time, it's my turn to grit my teeth. I start running again, pushing myself harder than I ever have before. I'm already tired out from my boxing session, and this is a hard run, uphill back to the Rogue Elk. But I'm determined to finish it and show Hawke that I'm not afraid of his 'punishments'.
Unfortunately, about halfway back, I start to stumble, and I don't stop. When I hold out a hand to catch myself, I end up just hitting the gravel hard and stumbling. My tired body collapses and bits of rock embed themselves into my hands and knees.
"Get up," Hawke commands, but when I try, I can't seem to find my feet. My head swims, and I end up lying on the ground without realizing quite how I got there. I'm shaking all over, and I can't decide if I'm burning hot or ice cold. Hawke curses under his breath, shuts the engine off, and climbs out, lording over me like the asshole that he is. "Stand up, recruit," he commands, and just to spite him, I try again. Unfortunately, when I try, I don't get any further than my knees before I collapse.
After a moment, Hawke kneels down beside me.
"If you're fucking with me ..." he starts, but I barely have the energy to curse him out. Instead, he puts his big, strong arms underneath me and lifts me up, carrying me to the back of the SUV, and maneuvering me around so he can hit the button that opens the hatch. He lays me carefully inside and then retrieves a pair of water bottles and a small first-aid kit from the back seat, passing over the water and cracking the case open to look for bandages.
