Page 13 of Hawkeye

“Then they got what they came for and more,” I grumbled, sweeping my arm across the room. “They have access to my condition photographs, questions I attached to each source file, and which families and buyers we already contacted.”

“They know how much progress the auction house made.” Calder scrubbed his palm down his stubbly cheek. “But they don’t have access to Black Castle files.”

“The shadow box and original auction records remain protected as well,” Wraith confirmed.

My shoulders slumped in relief. “And I already backed up my photographs and working files to the system before I left, so we still have all that information.”

Wraith turned to Mr. Smythe. “Can you access the security feed from your tablet?”

“Yes.” My director tapped on his screen before handing the tablet to Wraith. “Here you go.”

He tilted the screen so Calder and I could watch the footage of two masked men arriving.

Calder’s eyes narrowed. “That’s an estate-company van.”

“Fucking hell,” Wraith bit out.

“I need to call Miss Simon and inform her about the break-in,” Mr. Smythe murmured. “I think it would be best if she completes the ownership-release paperwork today so we can get the items out of the vault before they try again.”

The look Calder shot at him made it clear he wasn’t impressed with the decision, but he didn’t stop the director from making the call. Maren arrived only thirty minutes later and signed after skimming the release.

Then she turned to Calder. “I still want Josie to finish the restoration. Is there somewhere safe she can do it?”

He nodded. “We’ll move everything today. Tools and what she needs can all go to Black Castle.”

“I’ll let Stryker know we’re coming.” Wraith pulled out his phone and started tapping on the screen. “There’s bound to be a room she can use.”

An hour later, they took the box out the service corridor in a locked case. I watched it go and did not follow. The cracked portfolio was still on my workbench, and that was the piece that could not wait.

I spent the rest of the day taking care of as much as I could so nothing urgent would be waiting on me here while I worked on the shadow box at Black Castle. When I finally felt like I’d made enough progress, Calder took me home.

The boutique had just closed, but Mom hadn’t gone upstairs yet. One of Calder’s club brothers was on a chair by the front door and let us in.

He was the only one who didn’t look surprised when Calder announced, “You’re both moving into a Black Castle apartment until I know who used that copied credential to get into the auction house last night.”

Mom came out of the stockroom with a pricing gun still in her hand. “I am not abandoning this shop because someone broke into her work.”

“There’s no evidence that they’ve connected me to the boutique.” I set my bag on the counter. “This is my mother’s whole life. We’re not leaving it empty.”

He looked at me long enough that I knew he wasn’t happy. “Fine. You stay, so do we.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What does that mean?”

“The office across the alley is ours, brothers cover both ends of the block, and I fix that rear door before dark.”

His reply sounded reasonable, except for one thing. “You didn’t even ask.”

“You weren’t going to say no.”

“That isn’t a defense.”

He shrugged. “Wasn’t trying to build one, baby doll.”

Although I was a little irritated, I was also fighting a smile I did not intend to give him. He’d adjusted everything around my refusal without reducing the protection by an inch, which was impressive.

Mom set the pricing gun on the counter. “Upstairs. I’m feeding him before he starts boarding up my door.”

“I could eat,” Calder agreed.