Page 139 of Deserter

I rushed forward, only to pull back with an anguished cry. The wooden box lay on its side near my pillow, empty. I lifted the pillow and dropped to my knees to check under the bed, but the contents were long gone.

The thieves had come for the money—both Jamie’s and mine.

“How much of it was in there?” Hawk demanded, running his hand through his hair.

I bunched my fists in the comforter and slowly pulled myself up. In spite of the chill, a line of sweat ran down my spine and I shivered as I continued staring down at the empty box.

Jamie knew what I’d done.

It was why he’d shown up at the house. He was trying to catch me. Maybe he’d sent someone to break in and teach me a lesson.

“Celia.” He snapped his fingers. “Look at me.”

I pulled myself away from my irrational thoughts and tried to focus on Hawk. “It’s all gone. All of it.”

He cursed and began pacing the room while I stood rooted to the carpet, praying to any saint who would listen.

At first, it was just a few dollars here and there. I assumed I’d gotten careless or forgetful. Then, it became harder to ignore. Money began running out days, sometimes even weeks before Jamie made it back.

The electricity had been shut off more times than I could count, and if it hadn’t been for Hawk, I would’ve lost everything.

With no way of reaching Jamie, and my mother’s outright refusal to loan me one red cent, I’d turned to my biker bodyguard for solutions.

The club switched up their burner phones so frequently that Hawk never seemed to have any luck contacting them for more cash. Eventually, we stopped trying.

“We’ll find another game,” he muttered to himself. “That’s all there is to it.”

I lowered my shoulders with a sigh. “I can’t. I told you I was out after the last one. Besides, a couple hundred bucks is just a drop in the bucket compared to what I need. We’ve gotta call the club.”

“Mama?” Kate tapped the door as she entered. “Is everything okay? Did they take anything?”

“No, sweetheart,” I lied. “Something must’ve scared them off. Why don’t you and Dakota brush your teeth and get your pajamas on. I’ll be in to tuck you in soon.”

She pulled the door closed behind her and Hawk and I resumed our stare down.

“You really wanna call in the club? You know Grey’ll have my ass for letting this happen, right?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked back down at the bed. “He’ll have mine too when he realizes I’ve been playing blackjack to cover my losses. Hawk, what if one of the guys from the last game followed me home?”

“I would’ve seen them, and you were missing money before then. If you’re hellbent on calling in the club, I’ll try to reach out to them. I know Grey was going on a run somewhere down south after his last visit.” He scratched along his jaw and followed my stare back toward the bed.

“Must’ve not been a long ride. He went down south and then came back within a couple of days.”

His gaze locked on my face. “Wait, he was here—as in, here at the house? Not another motel? When?”

I wrapped my arms around myself and nodded. “He was here the morning of October twenty-first. It was only for a few hours and when I woke up, he was gone again. You didn’t know? Isn’t that your whole purpose for being here?”

Hawk nodded and looked down at the carpet, muttering under his breath.

“What’s the deal, Celia? What am I not seeing here? I’ve canvassed the entire goddamn neighborhood looking for a thief yet come up empty-handed every single time. Where’s the money?”

My head jerked up in surprise. “You think I took it?” I spluttered. “Why would I steal from myself, Hawk?”

He studied my face. "You tell me, doll. Maybe you think that if you blow through the money quicker, Grey’ll turn up more often, yeah?”

I shook my head. While I wanted Jamie here, I wasn’t willing to jeopardize my children’s safety and well-being for sex. “You really think I’d do that to my girls? We’ve had the power shut off.”

“Drugs?”

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