Page 120 of Sinister Intentions

I swallowed hard and pushed them back down. “Hawk helped Gabe to find us and bring us home.”

As the words left my mouth, Vince’s gaze snapped back to me, and understanding dawned in his eyes. His expression softened, and the hard lines of his face smoothed out. Without warning, he laid his hand on my neck, pulled me against his chest, and wrapped his strong arms around me protectively.

I allowed myself to lean into him, just for a moment. His warmth was comforting despite everything.

The scent of his cologne filled my nostrils—a heady mixture of sandalwood and something uniquely Vince. It was intoxicating, and I found myself relaxing into his embrace more than I intended. I quickly pulled away, not wanting to give Hawk and his men the wrong idea, but he tightened his arms.

And I couldn’t stop the whirlwind of emotions.

Somehow Vince’s possessiveness was both annoying and reassuring. Just like from the beginning, when his closeness should’ve been threatening, my body calmed down and felt safe when he was close.

He was such a complicated man with so many faces.

Did he really mean what he’d said earlier? Did he really want to make it work, or was his intention to marry me because we had unprotected sex and it was “the right thing to do?”

God. How much I hated that phrase.

And when exactly did I decide to agree to this marriage instead of assuming a new identity and running?

I struggled against Vince until he let me go, then turned back but avoided looking at the other men.

Hawk smiled at me, and I focused on him. I would forever be grateful to him and Birdie.

When they’d brought us home, he’d kept his distance. But in the weeks and months that followed, he’d frequently visited and checked in on us.

You would never believe it, just looking at him, but Hawk was one of the most caring men I’d ever met.

He was my very own Guardian Angel.

Somebody I could turn to, if I needed to.

Somebody who would help me, no questions asked.

It was like a revelation or more like a face-palm-duh moment.

Hawk was the one I should’ve turned to about my situation.

He would be able to handle it, to help me. So what if somebody out there had my name on a list?

My stomach churned, and I crossed my arms.

In the car—and with my annoyance about Vince pulling the strings to get our marriage license—I somehow forgot theunderlying anxiety that had settled into my stomach with Iset’s revelation. But that didn’t mean the threat wasn’t real, and it meant I needed to handle it ASAP.

Asking Hawk for help was my solution.

Because even Vince had hired Raptor Security, right? And I could do the same.

The whirring sound of the elevator suddenly changed, and with a ding, the elevator came to a stop, and the door opened. Dante and Hero blocked the door and whoever had intended to get on, backed off immediately.

When the door finally closed again, an uncomfortable silence stretched around us. I turned and looked at Vince, who had his eyes locked with Hawk. There was some kind of non-verbal communication going on between the two men, which ended with Vince’s nod.

“Go ahead, I don’t keep secrets from Jemma.”

He turned around, looked at his brother, then sighed. “And it’s okay for these two dimwits to know, as well.”

The two guys next to Hawk nodded while Dante and Hero looked a little confused. So, Hawk’s guys knew the Salvini brothers, but not the other way around?

“Well,” one of the guys said, “as it turns out, we’re actually dealing with two separate incidents, and we don’t think they’re connected.”

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