Shadow Hawk

4

ABBY CROUCHED OVER HAWK and checked for a pulse, which he had. Relieved, she got to her feet and peered through the trees that were providing them cover. Out there she could see the barn. The side door was open, fire ripping outward, drawn by the cold, chilly oxygen. Beyond them, she could see…oh, God…boxes and boxes of ammo. She ran back to Hawk. “Hawk.”

“Present.”

She had no idea whose side he was on, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to leave him here to die. “Get up.”

“Sure.” But he didn’t move. And in spite of herself, everything within her softened. It was nothing personal, she tended to soften for injured animals and wayward children, too. It helped that he didn’t look like his usual strong, capable self all sprawled on the ground. “That was a direct order.”

“I’m hearing ya.”

She put her hand on his jaw and looked at his mouth, which was usually curved in amusement, at her, at himself, at life. But at the moment, it was tight. Grim. Reflecting pain. She never thought she’d miss that smile, but she did. “Come on, get up, you cocky, smug SOB.”

He lifted his head, and she found herself leveled flat by his soft brown eyes that were so in contrast to his definitively unsoft demeanor. Even flat on his back, he looked lean and angular and startlingly attractive as that mouth curved slightly. “Abby.”

How, while completely surrounded by such utter chaos, she could feel an odd zing, she had no idea. But just looking at him made her feel dangerously feminine. “Where’s Gaines?” she asked.

Hawk’s short, almost buzzed hair was dusted with dirt and ash and stood straight up, revealing his hairline and a nasty cut, oozing blood. “In hell,” he answered, voice rusty. “If there’s any justice.”

Oh, God. So it was true. Regret, and a huge sadness welled inside her. Once Gaines had saved her. Picked up the broken pieces and helped her put herself back together again. And she hadn’t been able to return the favor. “So he’s-”

“Not yet, he’s not.” His face hardened, his eyes so intense on hers that she’d have fallen to her knees if she hadn’t already been there.

“I saw you shoot him,” she said.

“Did you?” He grimaced. “Trust me-”

“Are you kidding?” Abby managed a laugh. He hadn’t even tried to deny it. “After what I saw tonight, I should trust a rat’s ass over you.”

“Look, whatever you’re thinking, you’ve got it wrong.” His gaze shifted past her as he carefully scanned the immediate area, making her shiver at the danger sparking from his eyes. “He set this whole game up tonight.”

Okay, clearly he was delusional, but she still had to get him away from the flames. “What hurts?”

His laugh was short and harsh. “Only every fucking inch.”

Well, that they could deal with. “Get up.”

“Any minute now, I swear.” He closed his eyes. “So, a cocky, smug SOB? Really?”

“Come on, Hawk.” He might be eyeing the flames licking at them with an eerie calm, but she was not. She hoped like hell Elliot had indeed gotten out. “Get up!”

He shifted to do just that. “Check our sixes.”

“What?”

“Our asses, Ab. Make sure we’re not being made. Gaines has a crew out here tonight, somewhere. They’re setting explosions and making merry.”

She added paranoid to the list. Which, given his situation, made sense. “I’ve got your damn ass, Hawk.” Fine as it was. Crawling around behind him, she slid her arms beneath his, wrapping them around his chest so that she could pull him to safety.

“Ah, that’s so sweet,” he murmured. “But now’s not a good time for me.”

She grated her teeth. This. This was one reason why she’d stayed her distance. The man exuded raw sex appeal. Only problem? He knew it. “Don’t flatter yourself.” She tugged. “Do you have to be so big?”

Though his eyes remained closed, he flashed a smile straight out of her very secret fantasies-pure wicked, mischievous promise. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Okay, if she ever got him out of here, she was going to kill him herself.

“You smell pretty,” he whispered.

Her gaze swiveled back to his, but his eyes were still closed.

“You always smell pretty…”

“You’re dreaming,” Abby said flatly.

“Nah. If I was dreaming, I wouldn’t be this close to begging you to finish me off.” But he tried to stand up, then inhaled sharply at the movement and promptly choked on the smoke. “Yeah. You really do smell amazing. Sexy.”

Now she choked. “Stop it.”

“Really sexy. Even when you’re blasting me with your glacial stare.”

“Shut up, Hawk.”

“You don’t glare at Logan,” he said thoughtfully. “Or Watkins. Or anyone. Just me.”

Well, that was just true enough to have her drawing in her own sharp breath as he staggered to his feet. “You don’t like me much,” he told her, rolling his shoulder as if it hurt.

“That’s not true. I like you plenty when you’re not talking.”

He sighed. “Now, see, I think I’d like you plenty if you were naked.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Asshole Hawk. Yeah, that fits-”

The next explosion was small but way too close and very hot. Instinctively, she pushed him back, knocking them both down. Then she was enveloped in Hawk’s strong arms and rolled, tucked into him while embers rained down.

When it was over, she realized that the muscles in his arms were quaking. He was a dead weight on top of her. “Hawk?”

A litany of swear words escaped him, blowing her hair back. He lifted his head, his eyes not even close to warm and soft, but hard as aged whiskey. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“What? Save your sorry ass?”

“Exactly. Save your own first, you hear me?”

“Then get moving!”

“Yeah.” With a groan, he got to his feet and reached out a hand to help her. A considerate bad guy.

Where was Gaines…?

Having been in a bad situation before, the worst, Abby had a gut-wrenching need for everyone to be okay and accounted for, even knowing that someone on her team had caused all this. “Do you think Gaines-”

“Oh, that’s right. You still need to rescue your Sugar Daddy.”

No one at ATF knew that she’d dated him twice, she’d made sure of that. Their relationship mostly consisted of her miraculous rescue, and then a vague, uncomfortable friendship that she’d had difficulty maintaining because of her new “issues.”

“Where is he, Hawk?” When he didn’t answer, she shook her head and turned toward the direction of the barn.

“No, wait. Don’t.” Hawk grabbed her arm, his eyes dark with concern. For her. And though it shouldn’t have, it touched her as he spoke. “Don’t even think about going back-”

“I have to.”

“Goddamnit, Ab-”

Yanking free, she was halfway to the barn when her cell vibrated. Pulling it out of her pocket, she flipped it open and saw “unknown” ID. “Hello?”

“It’s me.”

Elliot’s unmistakable voice brought a wave of relief. “Where are you-”

“Listen to me. We’ve been betrayed. By Hawk.”

She processed the words, but, damn, it was hard to swallow, despite what she’d seen with her own eyes. “Elliot, are you sure, because-”

“Have I ever been wrong?”

Okay, no. No, he hadn’t. And she knew exactly what she owed him, but-“Whose phone are you calling me on, because it’s not yours-”

“Trust me, Abby.”

She wanted to. She knew he wanted her to. But just because she hadn’t ever allowed Hawk’s charm to melt away her panties didn’t mean she didn’t know that he was an incredibly good ATF agent, one who believed in what he did and believed in putting away the bad guys. There had to be an explanation for all of this. “Tell me where you are-”

Another explosion interrupted her, picking her up like a rag doll, tossing her once again on her ass in the dirt. Damn. Crawling back through the trees to where she’d left Hawk, she realized three extremely unsettling facts at once.

Gaines had disconnected.

Hawk was gone.

And she was all alone.

This night just kept getting better and better.