Page 102 of Heartless

“Sorry to disappoint you. Shall I say the news of my death was greatly exaggerated?”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen this time.”

Before Hawke could respond, he heard Gideon say softly, “Oh, beautiful girl, what have you done to yourself? No, Eve, sweetheart. Look at me. Don’t close your eyes. Look at me.”

A whimper came from Olivia. Doing the only thing he could for now, Hawke grabbed her hand and tightened his grip to show her he understood. She squeezed his hand in acknowledgment.

“I’ve got to get her some help, Hawke,” Gideon said.

“How bad?” Hawke asked.

“Bad.”

“Go ahead. Liam, you go, too,” Hawke said. “We’ve got this.”

Gideon and Liam cut off their mics. All Hawke could do now was pray that Eve would be all right and that he and Olivia could handle this thing with Simon as quickly as possible.

“So, are you going to deal with me, or are you going to continue to talk to the voices in your head?”

Simon’s petulant tone grated on Hawke’s nerves. “Was he this whiny when you dated him?” he asked Olivia.

She shrugged. “I don’t think the years have been kind to him.”

“Very funny,” Simon snarled. “But keep in mind I only need one of you to talk. I can shoot the other and still get what I want.”

Ignoring the threat, Hawke asked, “Why don’t you tell us why you want Iris back so badly?”

“Because she’s important to me, of course.” He sent Olivia a smug smile. “After you left, she became something more.”

“Simon…seriously? No way would Iris sleep with you.”

“Of course she didn’t. That wasn’t what I meant. She was my mentor, my friend. She taught me so much.”

“Oh, get over yourself. Whatever you think you had with Iris, I assure you it meant nothing to her. She used you.”

Instead of being insulted, Simon’s smile was filled with pride. “Well, of course she did. And I used her. People like us don’t do love and devotion.” The smile turned mean. “You should have known that from the beginning, Livvy. It would have saved you a lot of trouble when we first started dating.”

“Thanks for the life advice. Now tell us about the Wren Project. Are you working for them, or are you solo?”

“Livvy…really? You’re acting like you have some kind of control here. You’ve got several guns pointed at you. I could end you with one word.”

“Might I remind you, there are two guns pointed at your head. We could just as easily take you down.”

“My men would shoot you.”

“True, but you’d be dead, too. So there’s that. Besides, you still want answers, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t kill him.” Lifting the gun he’d been holding at his side, Simon pointed it at Hawke’s head.

“You’re just a ray of sunshine, Simon,” Hawke said.

Releasing his hand, Olivia stepped in front of Hawke. “You hurt him, you get nothing from me.”

Hawke wrapped an arm around Livvy and pulled her to his side. She would not put herself between him and weapons.

“Tell me where Iris is, and I won’t have to hurt either of you.”

“Who said we know where she is?” Hawke asked.

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