Page 35 of Torn In Two

Hawk leaned against the doorway. “He’s not here much anymore anyway. He was happy to give it up for you.”

I was sure that wasn’t true and Hawk had probably used his rank to get his way. But I couldn’t deny that here with Hayley Jade was where I needed to be. I’d spent weeks hiding in that cabin. Hiding from her. It wasn’t big enough for all of us.

All of us.

Me. Hayley Jade. Hayden.

And Hawk.

Something warmed inside me at the thought of the four of us. It was ridiculous, when Hayden and Hawk were ready to kill each other at the drop of a hat, and I hadn’t forgiven Hawk for what he’d done.

But he was making it really hard to hold a grudge.

He pushed off the wall and nodded at me. “Sleep tight, Little Mouse. You’re home. Where you belong.”

12

KARA

Ipoked my way around my new bedroom as the sounds of the party outside dissipated. There was a baby monitor on my dresser that showed a real time video image of Hayley Jade sleeping soundly in the room next door. I picked it up and watched it for a moment, checking the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed slowly and deeply, content in sleep.

Wandering into the bathroom, I took a shower, lathering up my skin and hair with fruity-smelling lotions Hawk had picked out for me, and then wrapped myself in a thick towel, drying off.

Then I pulled on panties and an oversized cotton shirt that hung mid-thigh and got into the big bed that someone had neatly made.

Had that been Hawk too? He’d proven himself oddly domestic and was clearly capable of tucking in sheets.

The clubhouse fell silent, and I wondered what Hayden was doing on the other side of the wall.

But an hour later sleep still hadn’t claimed me, and when I got out of bed and left my room, it was Hawk’s bedroom door I found myself in front of.

I didn’t knock.

The door could have been locked, but it wasn’t, the handle twisting beneath my grip.

In the darkness, I slipped inside.

The lamp flipped on, and I found myself staring down the barrel of his gun.

He blinked, then flopped back on the bed. “Jesus fuck. I could have shot you. I thought you were Chaos, sneaking in here to stab me in my sleep.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

Hawk rolled onto his side to put the gun beneath his pillow, showing off strong arms and a rib cage full of black and gray tattoos. “Yeah, well, don’t mind me if I don’t take your word for it.”

I traced my gaze over his body, my head full of all the sweet things he’d done. The way he’d stitched up Hayden. The way he’d sung for my daughter. The way he’d made me a home and welcomed me back into it when the first one had been tainted with bad memories.

Something flickered in Hawk’s eyes. “What are you doing in here?”

“I never actually said thank you. You did all these sweet things—”

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking it makes me a nice guy, Little Mouse.” There was a hint of bitterness in his tone. “You, of all people, know that ain’t the truth. Or have you forgotten the way I lied to you?”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

His tone changed, his gaze growing heated and rolling down my body, lingering on the hem of my nightshirt where it brushed my thighs. “Then why are you here?”

His voice held that gravelly tone that always sent sparks shooting through my body to center at my core.

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