Page 57 of Wrecked
“We have noses, babe,” Hawk replied.
“And ears,” Sin added.
Hawk picked up the carry-out bag. “You walked in and told us you’re starving.”
She pushed out of her chair. “I’ll go with you. I need some water.”
“I got you,” he said, but she followed him out anyway.
“You okay?” he asked as they made their way down the quiet corridor toward the break room.
The black site was a maze of corridors and closed doors. There were sleeping accommodations in one wing that included a family room, and a newly remodeled kitchen with cupboards stocked with non-perishables.
The building also housed a surgery center, a recovery room, and a break room. Another hallway housed offices. Each work space had nothing but a desk and a couple of chairs. If Dakota was setting up his home base there, she was confident there would be no pictures of his wife or their two children. Nothing to put him or his family at risk if the location was breached.
As she and Hawk made their way down the hall, she peered over at him.
“Doing okay, babe?” he repeated.
“Uh-huh.”
They entered the break room. She should have been totally pumped. Being hand-selected for BLACK OPS was an honor. Three years ago, when she returned to the US, she’d told herself she’d never take a job or an assignment oversees that would put her in that kind of danger again. But, here she was, facing that very decision.
Hawk held out a bottle of water.
She twisted off the lid, chugged down several gulps, letting the cold water rinse away the tension. Then, while her lunch heated in the microwave, he draped his arms over her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
“I don’t want my being here to be the reason you don’t take this job,” he murmured.
She opened her mouth, but he placed his index finger over her lips. Tingles flitted through her.
“I’m sorry I acted like an ass,” he continued. “I’m sorry our friendship was put to the test. I would love—fucking love—if you joined BLACK OPS. We’ve had each other’s backs for years. There’s no one I trust with my life more than you.”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Our friendship meanseverythingto me. You were right.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her flush against him.
Every tense muscle in her back released, the pounding in her head vanished. Being with Hawk had crazy healing powers. She couldn’t explain it, but it had been that way from the beginning.
She wanted to explore something more with him, but not if that meant losing their friendship. Her heart ached, but it was the smarter choice.
She broke from him, drank down more water. “Working with you is one of my favorite things in the world. I don’t want to mess this up again. I’m sorry I was trying to prove a damn point. There’s hookups… and then—”
“There’s us,” he said finishing her sentence.
* * *
Hawk was fucked. So fucked. He knewexactlyhow she felt. He wasn’t going to say anything now… maybe never. Even if she didn’t take this gig, he wanted her head in the game. Sex was a great distraction, unless it got in the way of two people being able to do their jobs.
While their hookup had rocked him good, he needed to put her first. The offer had rattled her. He didn’t think Dakota had picked up on her signals, but no one in that room knew her like he did.
He’d take the fucking high road and be her friend. That’s whatsheneeded. Didn’t matter that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He’d gotten a taste of something he liked… and he liked it a lot.
But he’d give it up, for her.
He offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile before he pulled her lunch from the microwave, set it on the small table, then grabbed some utensils from the drawer. “Come on. Eat it before I do.”
With a grateful smile, she sat and took a mouthful. Her eyes lit up and she sighed. “This is the best.”
“What were you doing at Ziti’s?”
