Page 10 of Hawk

“Whatever you say,” Maverick murmured, but there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Gemma slid into the booth with Lainie at her side, and I took the seat opposite, my thighs brushing the edge of the table as I settled in, hands flat against the wood to keep them from twitching toward her. I could still feel the phantom weight of that dossier in my hands. The photo was seared into my mind. But with her in front of me now, the picture was so much more vivid.

She was temptation wrapped in vulnerability. Confidence barely caged under the weight of whatever danger she’d walked into.

Up close, her scent filled the air—warm and clean with an underlying hint of something floral. My hands curled on the table. I wanted that scent to surround me, to be on my skin and soaked into my sheets.

Focus, asshole.

“Start from the beginning,” I said, my voice low and even. “Know some of it already, but I want to hear it from you.”

Gemma hesitated. Her fingers fidgeted with the sleeve of her shirt before she stilled them with a breath. “Someone hacked into my archive.”

“Encrypted?” I asked, though I already knew.

She nodded. “It wasn’t supposed to be possible. I paid for a custom system. It was built by someone who came highly recommended.”

Lainie scoffed. “Yeah, well, they clearly weren’t Iron Rogues recommended. You’re ours now, Gem. We’ve got Deviant.”

Gemma gave a shaky smile and turned to me. “She’s right. I just…didn’t know where else to go. I’m scared. And not just for me. One of the images that was stolen was of a client. A very private one. And she’s…she's really fragile right now. I can’t stand the idea of her being crushed by this. The message in the email…” She paused, and I caught the way her throat worked as she swallowed, glancing at Lainie like she needed a second of courage before looking back at me.

“It said, ‘You should’ve kept your clothes on.’”

I forced myself not to react. Not to let the rage boiling in my gut show on my face. She didn’t need that kind of intensity right now. But my hands curled tighter against the table, the grain pressing into my palms as I clenched my jaw so hard I could feel it throb. Her voice didn’t shake. She wasn’t sobbing. Her hands trembled just slightly. Not from fear. From fury.

She was brave. Protective of her clients. And I fuckinglovedthat.

But she was also watching me, wide-eyed and uncertain. I saw the question lingering there—Can I trust you with all of this?

I softened my voice. “You’re safe now. But you gotta tell me everything if we’re going to protect you.”

I didn’t rush her. I just met her gaze and let her feel my calm and certainty.

Her shoulders loosened the tiniest bit, and her lips parted. She stared at me for a long second, like she was trying to figure out why she already trusted me. I wanted to tell her she didn’tneed to understand. That some things didn’t make sense on paper. They were just meant to be.

After taking a deep breath, she nodded. “There’s one more thing.”

I already knew what she was about to say, and my pulse pounded, roaring in my ears.

“There’s a photo of me,” she whispered. “In the stolen files. One I never meant for anyone to see.”

My hands clenched on the edge of the table. Hard. Wood bit into my palms. I kept my voice even, careful not to let the fury slip into my expression. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Iknewit. From the second I saw that curve of hip, that dip of collarbone. My gut had gone tight, my cock harder than steel.

But she didn’t need my carnal reaction right now. She needed calm. Control.

“I’m setting up surveillance at your place and studio.” I redirected the conversation before I did something stupid. Like drag her over the table and kiss the fuck outta her in front of everyone. “Deviant’s already working on tracking the files. I’ll meet you at your house in a few hours to go over security.”

A small smile curled up the corners of her lips. “Okay.”

I didn’t want to let Gemma go. Every protective instinct in my body screamed to keep her within reach. But I had no excuse to make her stay. Yet.

Lainie nudged her. “Come on, Gem. Let’s go.”

Gemma paused, her warm brown eyes meeting mine. “Thank you, Hawk.”

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