Page 163 of Wrecked
He poured himself another shot, then ushered her into the living room. She eased onto the sofa. He sat beside her, leaned against the cushion.
“Your dad must’ve seen something in me,” Hawk continued, “because he mentored my career. I worked for him at the FBI for two years while I continued flying. He was able to get me trained to fly military aircraft, he made sure I learned combat fighting. Looking back, it was like he was grooming me to be an assassin, then he introduced me to the man who used to run ALPHA before Dakota and Providence took over. An equally powerful man named Luther Warschak. While he never said anything, I think the two of them ran the government.”
“Unbelievable.” She picked up his shot glass and sipped the whiskey. “Are you and my dad close?”
“We talk a couple of times a week,” Hawk replied. “I stop by his dungeon office on occasion, and we get together for dinner once or twice a month.”
Her eyes widened. “I had no idea.”
“Sometimes Prescott meets us for dinner,” he replied.
After a beat, she asked, “Why don’t you ever say no to your friends or family?”
“When Josie and our unborn baby were killed, I promised myself I’d make sure the people in my life know how much they mean to me. Life is short—too fucking short—so I show up for them, every single time.”
“Why haven’t you been in another relationship?”
“I walled myself off, emotionally.” He shot her a little smile and her pulse kicked up. “Same thing you told yourself. If I don’t fall in love, I won’t get hurt.”
“What happened?”
“I met you.”
She was flying high and freaking out all at the same time. This was a dream come true and system overload. Hawk wasn’t who she thought he was. He was emotionally broken, like her.
He pushed off the sofa, scooped her into his arms.
“You’re not done with your whiskey,” she said.
“I don’t need the booze, Addison. I need you.”
He carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom, helped her off with her robe, and slid the picture of him and his late wife into the dresser drawer. After taking off his shorts, he crawled in beside her.
When she snuggled close, his arms folded around her like a protective cocoon.
“I don’t want to scare you away,” he murmured before kissing the top of her head, “but you’ve gotta know how I feel.”
He turned out the light. The darkness and the silence soothed her, but she couldn’t quiet her mind.
“Do your friends know?” she whispered.
“Only Prescott. I don’t talk about Josie. Cooper found out when he took over ALPHA and read my files.”
“You never told me which terror cell was responsible.”
“Abdel Haqazzii,” he replied. “The one your team took out.”
“Did his death bring you any peace?”
“None.” He gently caressed her back. “Being with you is the closest I’ve felt to peace in a long, long time.”
As she lay there in his arms, her thoughts drifted over their conversation. He’d shared things with her that he hadn’t even told his closest friends in the world. His band of brothers. And he’d told her he was falling in love with her. For a man who’d had deep love and lost it, he was taking a huge risk.
And how did she respond? By telling him she was freaking out.
Way to go.
She slipped out of bed.
