Page 28 of Hawk

I wasn’t surprised by his answer since he’d talked me into keeping them out of everything so far. But I still had to ask after what we’d found here today. And I wasn’t as convinced now that they should still be kept out of it.

I heaved a deep sigh. “Okay.”

“Stone will handle everything,” he added, moving close again to wrap his arms around me.

“Stone?” I echoed. The name was familiar, but I’d met so many guys at the clubhouse that it was difficult to keep them all straight.

“He’s the club lawyer, so he knows how to work the system better than any of us.”

I felt a little better knowing Callum was getting their lawyer involved, just in case things somehow got even worse than they already were. Between Ellen being missing, the bug he found in my studio, and the destruction we were staring at, I didn’t even want to consider what else could go wrong.

Almost as though he could sense the direction my thoughts had taken, Callum’s arms tightened around me. “Stone is damn good at what he does. He’s gotten some of my club brothers out of even more fucked-up situations than this before. And withEllen missing, he’ll be all in. We don’t mess around when it comes to protecting people who need it. Club or not.”

It finally clicked for me. The Iron Rogues wasn’t just a motorcycle club. They didn’t ask the cops for help because they were the help.

They handled things on their terms and in their own way. Fast and without all the red tape the police had to deal with.

I let out a shaky breath as the guilt I’d been carrying for dragging them into my mess began to loosen its hold. I hadn’t asked for this level of protection, but they hadn’t hesitated to offer it. Calling Lainie had been the best decision I could’ve made. I was lucky to have the Iron Rogues on my side.

And it had brought Callum into my life.

I leaned back to look up at him—this gorgeous but dangerous man who made me feel seen—and something inside me settled.

I wasn’t alone. Maybe I never would be again.

Feeling a little lighter, I gestured toward the mess surrounding us and asked, “What about all this?”

He smirked. “One of the best parts of being an Iron Rogue…someone is always around to help clean up when shit goes down.”

11

HAWK

The second I saw the state of Gemma’s studio, I’d felt something split wide open inside me. The beast pacing just beneath the surface had surged forward.

My knuckles tightened around my phone as I stepped away from Gemma to call Maverick. She stood frozen beside me, her fingers trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself.

“You good?” Maverick asked when he picked up. He’d known where we were, so he probably assumed I wouldn’t have a reason to call unless there was a problem.

“I need help with cleanup at Gemma’s studio.” My voice was low and even despite my pulse thundering in my veins. “Front’s been tagged, lights smashed, and the yard is a fucking mess. They even gouged the door.”

“You check the security footage?”

“No cameras caught it. Bastard knew we’d upgrade the system, avoided detection outside, and didn’t step foot in the studio.”

“Fucking hell. Okay, I’ll get a few prospects out there and a couple of patches to supervise.”

“Thanks. See if Stone is around. Going to need help keeping the police outta this shit.”

“Done.”

I hung up and stared at the vulgar streaks on the siding again, imagining how it would feel to slam the man responsible face-first into the concrete.

Gemma let out a shaky breath and stepped a little closer to me. I turned and pulled her back into my arms, inhaling deep to calm the heat boiling in my blood. Her eyes darted around, her mouth opening as if to say something, but nothing came out. She just buried her face in my shirt and took several deep breaths. But her attempts to calm herself didn’t work, and when I heard her sniffle, I decided whoever had done this would suffer before he met his end.

Before we could say anything else, Stone pulled up on his hog. He dismounted slowly, like he had all the time in the world, but I knew better. Stone moved deliberately when he was sizing up a situation. Especially when he wanted the person responsible to sweat.

He took one look at the door, then glanced toward Gemma. “You call this in?”

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