Page 6 of Hawk

Eventually, he leaned back and gave a slow nod. “Alright. You meet her tomorrow. Lainie will bring her to The Midnight Rebel in the morning since you’re upgrading Savage’s security feed.”

I didn’t answer. Didn’t have to. Just turned and walked out.

A glance at my watch told me I was late for my shift at The Midnight Rebel.

Dammit.I was not in the fucking mood to grit my teeth through drunk assholes, slap away a few wandering hands, and pretend not to hear every groupie giggling over which biker they wanted to “accidentally” fall into.

But Savage was taking the night off, and I’d promised to fill in as extra security since Fridays were always chaos.

The walk to the bar only took a few minutes, but I spent it trying—and failing—to get my shit together.

I wouldn’t let this bombshell interfere with my life. For fuck’s sake. I didn’t even know the woman.

I wasn’t like my other brothers, who were already locked down and happily pussy-whipped. I’d stayed detached. Focused. Professional.

I’d never even looked twice at the women who hung around the bar. But now I couldn’t stop picturing Gemma on that couch. The image was burned into my brain.

When I got to the bar, the doors banged open as I stormed in.

“Late,” Savage muttered, glancing up from the prep work he was doing before the bar opened, and he bailed with his wife and kid.

“Take it up with Midnight,” I grunted as I marched toward the bar. “New assignment.”

I snatched a glass and a bottle of my favorite whiskey, poured two fingers, and tossed it back.

“Fucking client briefing,” I muttered. “What kind of a name is Gemma, anyway?”

Gorgeous.

That was what it fucking was.

Just like her.

Shit!

“Sounds soft. Too soft,” I muttered as I took the glass and whiskey with me into the kitchen. I poured a third drink and downed it slower this time. “Probably sweet. Probably fragile.”

But that wasn’t what had me on edge.

She was dangerous in a way I couldn’t explain.

And somehow, she already belonged to me.

Gemma Moffitt had no idea what she’d done to me. Or what I was going to do to the bastard who stole her photos.

But she was about to find out.

3

GEMMA

Ipaced back and forth across the hardwood floor in my living room, practically wearing a track through the wax while I waited for Lainie to arrive. My nerves were probably frayed more than they needed to be since she’d assured me that her brother’s club could help, but I couldn’t stop freaking out. Too much was on the line.

It wasn’t my reputation as a photographer that I was worried about. My expenses were low enough that I could survive for a long time on the rest of the money my parents had left me if my business failed. But my clients wouldn’t emotionally recover so easily from their privacy being invaded…and neither would I.

The midmorning sun streamed through my curtains, but I still felt like I stood in shadow. The tension in my chest hadn’t eased since I received the email last night. Every time I blinked, that photo of Ellen flashed behind my eyes. The thought of showing it, and all the other stolen pictures, to a stranger made my stomach twist, even though I had a good reason for doing so.

A sharp knock on the door made me jump. I wiped my palms down the front of my jeans and forced myself to take a breath before opening it.

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