Page 19 of Hawk

His fingers closed around mine as he helped me from the truck, and some of the tension in my spine unwound. More of my tension eased when he settled his hand against my lower back to guide me inside.

I kept my chin up as we walked through the door, ignoring the way a few men stopped what they were doing to glance our way. I reminded myself to breathe when Callum didn’t slow down to answer any of the questions I could see in their eyes.

He practically dragged me through the large room, past leather couches and a long bar to head down a hallway and to a locked door. After unlocking and opening it, he stood aside so I could step in first.

I didn’t know what I expected from his room, but it was tidy. Stark, even.

Dark gray sheets stretched taut across a king-sized bed, no wrinkles in sight. The walls were bare except for a single hook near the door. And a desk in the corner of the room.

A faint scent lingered in the air—leather, clean soap, and something spicy I couldn’t name but immediately recognized as his.

When I stepped farther inside, I noticed a weathered paperback resting face down on the nightstand. The spine was cracked, and the cover was nearly worn off. I tilted my head to read the title.The Old Man and the Sea.

I hadn't read it, but the book seemed fitting for Callum.

I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, my fingers curling around the end of the comforter. The mattress didn’t give much beneath me.

Everything caught up to me at once. The hack. Ellen’s disappearance. The bug. Yet I felt safe here. With Callum.

He crossed the room without saying anything, opened the closet, and set my suitcase inside. Then he carried my toiletries bag into the attached bathroom, disappearing for only a moment before returning.

“You can use anything in there.” He gestured toward the door. “And there’s space on the shelves for your stuff.”

“Thanks.” I looked up at him. “This is a lot.”

His expression didn’t shift, but something softened in his eyes. “You’re handling it well, baby.”

I’d never been close enough to a guy for him to give me a pet nickname, but I loved hearing Callum use one for me. It gave me the courage to admit, “Only because of you.”

His hands fisted at his sides, his knuckles turning white and his nostrils flaring. “Fuck, baby. You can’t say shit like that when we need to head down to Deviant’s office.”

My brows drew together as I asked, “We do?”

“He’s digging into Ellen’s disappearance and wants to see if she ever said anything to you that might send him in the right direction.”

I stood, already moving. “Yeah. Of course. Whatever you need. I want to help.”

His lips curved at the edges in a slight smile. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Callum led me down another hallway, this one quieter and narrower than the one we’d used earlier to get to his room. Stopping at a closed door, he knocked once and opened it without waiting for a response. The guy at the desk looked up from his computer and gave me a quick once-over beforeshifting his gaze back to the man at my side. “I’m assuming you wanna stay for this.”

Callum quirked a brow with a nod. “You’d be right.”

“Mm-hmm.” I didn’t get the gleam of humor in Deviant’s eyes, but it vanished quickly when he looked at me again. “Gemma, right? Come in and sit down. I’m Deviant.”

“Nice to meet you,” I murmured as Callum guided me over to one of the chairs in front of Deviant’s desk. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. So we can get to the bottom of Ellen’s disappearance.”

I glanced up at Callum, who stood behind me like a wall of protection. “I’m willing to help however I can.”

Deviant leaned forward slightly. “Not sure how much Hawk has told you, but your client Ellen hasn’t just been reported missing. She’s gone completely dark. Phone’s off. Apartment’s empty. No financial activity in the past forty-eight hours. Nothing.”

My heart sank. “I hoped she was just…hiding or something.”

“So did we.” Deviant tapped a few keys. “That’s why I need anything you can remember from your conversations with her. Even stuff that didn’t seem important at the time. Something she said. The way she acted. Anything unusual.”

“She mentioned going through a rough divorce not long ago.”

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