Page 30 of Hawk

The world dimmed around me. All I could see was her face. That light in her eyes when she talked about helping women feel beautiful. About building something sacred.

And these fucking bastards had turned it into a market.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

“I’ll keep digging. I’ll text when I have a trace on the account owner.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “I should also warn you. I’m sure there are stolen photos from other photographers, but…”

My gut clenched at the anger vibrating in his voice.

“I don’t think all of the photo shoots were consensual.”

“What the fuck?” I breathed.

“I don’t have proof with the professional pictures, but there is something about the expressions on some of these people. They can’t completely hide the fear.”

“You think they’re being coerced? Blackmail?” I guessed.

Deviant sighed. “Or forced.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Not all of the pictures are staged, though. It’s obvious that some were taken when the subject had no idea they were being watched.”

His words took a few seconds to sink in, then the fury I’d been stamping down broke through my carefully constructed barriers.

“What the fuck?” I roared.

“Keep it together, Hawk,” Deviant snapped. “Gonna send your girl runnin’ if you don’t.”

My teeth ground together until my jaw ached. Rage blistered inside me, stretching the edges of my control until it nearly ripped free. Deviant was right, but the beast inside me didn’t give a shit. It wanted out. It wanted a fucking blood bath.

“Let you know when I have more, but you should get back here as soon as you can. Fox wants to strategize.”

Then he hung up.

I stood there, breathing heavily and clenching my fists while I tried to find the strength to contain the monster once more. Gemma didn’t need to see me like this. I didn’t want her to.

Then behind me, Wrecker’s voice cut through the haze. “You know why we call him Hawk, right?”

He had to be talking to Gemma.

Fuck!

“Because once he’s locked onto a target, he doesn’t blink. Never hesitates. Doesn’t stop until the motherfucker is gone. Until the threat is eliminated.”

There was a small gasp, and I froze. Afraid to turn around. To see her recoil. Worried I would see the trust in her eyes splinter.

But then I felt her steps behind me. Quiet. Steady. A second later, her hand curled gently around my arm. I turned, expecting distance, fear, or even disgust.

What I got was calm, reassuring brown eyes. Our gazes locked, and she searched mine for a second, then seemed to have a realization.

“I’m not scared of you, Callum,” she said softly. “I could never be. I know you’ll always keep me safe.”

I didn’t speak. I had no words to tell her what it meant to me to hear her say that. So I just pulled her into me and kissed her. One hand curled behind her neck, and the other gripped her waist. I didn’t care who saw it. The whole damn street could stop to watch. I kissed her like I needed her breath to survive. Because I did.

And I needed her to feel it. Everything I couldn’t say.

The claim. The promise. The fire.

---