Page 48 of Hawk

“Then it’s settled.” I don’t give him a chance to respond and open the door to leave, turning back to add, “And I don’t want to see any of the guys hanging around outside the spa either.”

I hop in my car and skedaddle down the road toward town.

Hawk

Leaving Gerry’s Auto Supply Store with a check in hand for the money owed for double paying invoices is very satisfying. The extra money is going to go a long way toward investing in the tattoo parlor. I’ll bring it up at our next meeting, but I’d be shocked as hell if anyone objects.

My phone rings as I’m about to leave Gerry’s lot and Sasha’s name flashes up on the screen. Immediately, my gut clenches in fear.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Is Etain still at the shop?” Sasha asks. “Our appointment was a half hour ago, and she’s still not here. I figured she got lost in her paperwork, as usual.”

“Fuck! She’s not with me.”

“What?”

“Go home, Sasha, and check her place. See if she’s home. I’m going to start looking for her,” I finish. I dial Etain first, but it goes straight to voicemail. I curse myself for not putting a tracker on her phone, but our relationship is still new, and Etain balked at the idea as “overkill.” I call Drifter next. “Etain’s missing.”

“I’ll get the guys searching,” Drifter responds.

“Thanks, brother.”

“We’ll find her.”

“We fucking better. I love that woman.”

“I swear to God, we’ll find her,” he repeats and hangs up.

My motorcycle roars to life, and I drive like a bat out of hell, heading for Etain’s house. I wind around the curves of the streets, taking the shortest route. As I get closer, I see Sasha banging on the door, calling out for Etain, then sorting through her keys.

By the time I run up the steps, Sasha’s shaky hands finally have the key in the lock. I move her out of the way and turn the knob myself. I shove the door open, but Etain isn’t here. I race through the house and find the back door wide open. There’s only one set of prints in the dirt, but it looks like Etain was dragged out. Beyond the house is the line of trees that surround the property. It’s a small, forested area and seems like the logical place to start searching. With Drifter right behind me, we weave through the trees to look for my girl.

I hear a faint voice. “Quiet!” I shout. Drifter doesn’t move; neither of us does. There it is again. I turn in the direction of where I hear the sound coming from. In the distance, I see Etain lying on the ground.

I rush to her side and press my ear to her chest to listen for her breathing. “Call 9-1-1,” I shout. I cradle her in my arms, lifting her from the hard ground. I feel her faint breath on my chest. Drifter is on the phone calling for help, and as soon as Sasha sees us running back to the house, she rushes over. Drifter wraps an arm around Sasha and moves her out of the way so that I can get Etain to the couch and lay her down. She’s so pale, it scares me. “Baby. Etain, come back to me,” I say, vaguely hearing Sasha sobbing in the background.

Her eyes flutter open. They’re glassy and hazy. “Ro-bert,” she manages to say.

“Shh, baby. Ambulance is on its way. Everything’s going to be okay,” I whisper soothingly. She blinks her eyes and squeezes my fingers.

Ididn’t leave her side when the paramedics were looking after her, and insisted on riding with her in the ambulance. Drifter had to tear me away from her when they wheeled her in for tests. I don’t even remember when Drifter got there.

Now I’m sitting in a chair next to her hospital bed, a riot of emotions running through me. I’m scared out of my mind I’ll lose her, even though the doctors said she’ll heal just fine. But she hasn’t woken up again since the moment I found her, and I need to see her beautiful, loving eyes.

“Why don’t you go grab something to eat? I won’t leave her side until you get back,” Sasha suggests gently.

“No. You go ahead,” I say. Sasha hasn’t left either, and Drifter has been in and out of the room. Half the club is in the waiting area, I heard. The other half is out looking for Robert. While the EMTs were working on her, they found skin under her nails and sent it out for DNA testing. I called in a favor, and Orion was able to get the results. It was Robert who took her and drugged her with the intention of killing her. Sasha’s pounding on the door must have scared him off before he could finish what he started.

None of this was making any sense until Orion got back to me to let me know that Robert had taken an insurance policy out on Etain a couple of years ago, naming himself as beneficiary. Apparently, Robert’s business has been tanking since Etain left, and with his lavish lifestyle, he thought it would be easy to get Etain out of the way and collect the money.

Sasha sits back down. Drifter comes back into the room, this time loaded down with sandwiches and coffee.

“You both need to eat.” He shoves a sandwich into my hand. “Etain is going to lose her mind if she knows you’re not looking after yourself. How can you help her if you don’t eat?” he lectures. He goes over to Sasha. “You too, sunshine.”

“I should have called you sooner. I just thought she was late,” Sasha says quietly. “I never thought…” She can’t go on without crying. The woman’s been crying for hours.

Suddenly, I feel Etain’s hand move. Her eyes open, and she looks up at me. “Love you, Ethan.”

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