Page 72 of Taming Hawke

My mind is racing at a thousand miles an hour, while my body is still all hot and bothered. Wait a minute? He doesn’t want me to be alone with another man, yet it’s okay for him to be with his ex-fiancée? Rage takes over and I grab his hand from behind my head, trying to force him to let me go, but he doesn’t. His grip tightens. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Lu?”

“Nothing,” I lie.

“Don’t lie to me,” he responds, cupping my chin and forcing my eyes to meet his.

“Fine, you asked for it. You say you don’t want me to be alone with another man, yet you’re the one that’s been spending time alone with your ex.”

He sighs and let’s go of my hair and my chin simultaneously. “This again, Lu?” He steps back. “Look, Quill’s gonna kill me if I’m not in church, we’ll talk about this later.”

He starts to walk away. “Don’t bother, there’s nothing more to say.”

He looks around and smiles. “There sure is, and we’re having that discussion, whether you like it or not.” He turns and walks out the kitchen. I puff out a breath. Damn him, why does he have to be so hot when he says that.

“There you are, I’ve been looking for you,” Jasmine says while walking in with more dirty plates.

“I’ve been in here stacking the dishwasher. Here, let me grab them off you. You shouldn’t be carrying too much.”

“Are you serious right now? You’re beginning to sound like Quill.”

I laugh as I continue taking plates out of her hand.

Suddenly there’s a loud bang, and another, then one that sounds like it’s coming from just the outside the kitchen. That one has Jasmine and I running for cover. We duck and fall flat on the concrete floor, and that’s when I hear it, a loud cry coming from Jasmine. Gunshots begin to sound loudly, and I quickly move to hover over Jasmine, trying to cover her as much as I can, protect her from getting hit. Bullets shoot past and I duck my head even more. Tears are streaming down my face, and I can hear Jasmine groaning in pain.

“Be strong, Jasmine, be strong. I know you’re hurt, but I’m here. I’ll get help,” I say trying to get up, but Jasmine grabs my arm.

I look down at her face, she’s biting down on her lip, trying to hold in her pain. Her face is red and covered with a layer of sweat as she tries to push through it. “Don’t leave me,” she begs.

I’m torn between getting help for her, and trying to not get shot. Another bang sounds and I protect my head with my hands, leaning over Jasmine again.

Gunshots continue to ring out, and I hear screams and shouts coming from out front. “I’m scared,” Jasmine admits shakily, and I run my hand over her damp forehead.

“I’m here, Jasmine, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

My phone, where the hell is my phone?I remember leaving it on the bar before coming into the kitchen, so I could juggle the plates I was holding. I just need to get to my phone, to call the police and ambulance. The gunshots stop for a second, and I quickly whisper in Jasmine’s ear, “Jasmine, listen to me, I’m going to go grab my phone. I’ll just be a minute.”

“You can’t be serious?” she replies, covering her stomach with her hand. “Oh, God. Lu, I’m bleeding!” she cries out, and I look to where she’s pointing. Her denim shorts are soaked with blood between her legs.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Please God, don’t let her lose her baby.

“It hurts so much, Lu,” she whimpers.

“Shush, just be still, I’ll be back.” I lean down and kiss her forehead. “You’re going to be fine, and so is your baby.” I’m trying hard to not break down, and be strong for the both of us.

I can hear female voices screaming in fear, and then the gunshots start up again. I crawl on my hands and knees across the floor of the kitchen, leaving Jasmine behind. I have to do this. God, please make me get out of here safely and get Jasmine help.

When I’m out of the kitchen, I continue to crawl, keeping myself down low to the ground. All I can see around me is smoke and I begin to cough. I try to breathe but the smoke burns my throat, and causes my eyes to burn.

“Hawke!” I yell. “Quill!” No one can hear me, it’s so loud with all the yelling and screaming, and bullets that sound like they’re being fired from machine guns. “Oh, God, please let Hawke be okay.” I wait until the gunshots quieten down, and when they do I quickly crawl behind the bar, and slowly get up off the floor and stand. I bend my legs, still not wanting to be visible to anyone who might be lurking, but what I see has me close to fainting. Bodies lie on the floor, presumably dead, and there is blood everywhere. I try to make out who the bodies belong to, praying that none of them are Hawke, but just as I’m about to start looking for my phone, pain shoots along the back of my neck as someone grips it hard.

“Puta, you’re coming with me,” the male voice whispers in my ear with a strong accent. His tongue licks along the side of my neck, traveling up to my cheek. The smell of stale smoke and strong cologne hits my senses, and I feel sick in the stomach. Whoever he is drags me to the front of the bar, pulling on my hair.

When we get to the center of the compound I see members of the club lying on their stomachs on the ground, their hands tied behind their backs. The smoke is less dense here and I look around, realizing that most of the dead bodies must belong to the enemy since I don’t recognize them. Hawke and Quill are standing in the center of the group, guns pointed at their heads.

“No!” I scream out.

Hawke’s eyes look deep into mine, his expression muting me instantly. He’s begging me to shut my mouth, stay quiet.

“Ah, puta, which one is your man? I don’t see a ring on your finger, so I’m guessing it’s Hawke.”

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