Page 98 of Hawke

I sighed as Hawke continued to talk to Bram. I honestly wasn’t worried. The voice in my head was normal to me now. Every once in a while, she would ask how I was doing, and when I would approach the subject and ask who she was, she would go silent again.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to know who she was yet, but she hadn’t steered me wrong so far.

Later that night, I was awoken by pangs of pain in my stomach. I felt a writhing sensation, like a mass of snakes coiling in my stomach. I rose from the bed, my limbs shaking, and Hawke sat up beside me, a low growl emanating from his throat.

“What’s wrong?” He groggily pulled me to his lap, wrapping his strong arms around me.

“Danger, something is about to happen,” I whispered.

In a flash, our peaceful paradise vacation was shattered by the sound of banging on the downstairs doors.

Hawke jumped from the bed, landing without a sound, and placed his ear to the floor. I held my breath, feeling the anticipation tingling through my body as I pulled the blankets up over me.

I normally couldn’t hear anything outside of the room. Bram cast a spell to make our room completely soundproof, but his magic must be fading or he wanted us to hear.

“No, I’ve never seen her,” Bram said in the raspy, grumpy voice I’d first heard when I met him at the upscale diner. “Why are you banging on my doors so late? I’m on vacation this week!”

More mumbling sounded, and Hawke’s lips curled into a snarl. His fists gripped together tightly, and fur ran down his back. I had yet to see his wolf, but the patches of dark fur in the moonlight led me to believe it was black or dark brown.

“No, you can’t come in. You aren’t cops and don’t have a warrant!” Bram yelled, and the sound of the door slamming open and glass shattering made me jump from the bed.

Hawke grabbed me before I could hit the floor and pulled me into the bathroom, our naked bodies colliding as he pulled a bag from the closet. He locked the door quickly and put his hand around my neck, his thumb tracing my lips. “Shh, don’t talk, put this on,” he whispered harshly and put on his pants.

Sounds of wood splintering, broken furniture breaking into pieces and being and thrown beneath us made me wince. More glass was thrown up against the walls and then large thuds of shoes climbing up the metal stairs made my heartbeat quicken. I could hear them yelling, shaking the round stairway on the other side of the bathroom walls. Their voices were familiar and distant all at the same time.

Was Bram okay?

How did they find us?

The only way to get out of this apartment was to go down those stairs, and we were trapped in this bathroom.

I shakily put on the leggings, almost falling, but Hawke pulled me by my waist, giving me an encouraging smile as he threw a prepped bag over his shoulder.

After hearing the stories of Hawke being a guard and a solider in the other realm, it was no surprise that there was a bag hidden in the bathroom for a quick escape.

But now I was worried as he pulled me over to the window that wasn’t meant to be opened.

I gasped as he lifted his leather boot. “We are two stories up!” I whispered.

Hawke pushed his boot into the glass, and it fell like a trickling waterfall.

“In here!” a voice boomed. I could easily recognize it as one of Shane’s men. Chad, the chief bodyguard was also in charge of the estate when Shane was away.

He was large, close to two hundred and eighty pounds of pure muscle. His eyes lingered longer than they should, and he partook of drugs during the many parties held at the mansion. Chad was not a good guy. I’d seen him kill our own men for minor mistakes too many times just because he could.

It was so beautiful on the outside, so glamorous and elegant, but on the inside, it was pure hell. The devil rounded every corner, and the sinners constantly congregated there with their drugs, weapons, and sex parties.

I hated feeling so weak, especially in Chad’s presence. It made him feel so big and tough, and it filled his ego. But he was so much bigger and stronger. Hell, everyone was back where I grew up.

I was dragged back to the present when Hawke made me straddle his waist and jumped on the ledge of the window. I squeaked. Once he gained his footing, he leaned out and eventually let go of the wall.

I gripped hold of his muscular body, his muscles flexing, contorting like a cat as he made himself comfortable as we free-fell out the window. More glass flitted around us. He’d bent his knees, bracing himself for the fall and pushed my face into his chest.

I wanted to scream. I could feel the bile rising to my throat as the fall was coming to an end. But instead, Hawke’s knees bent, and his stance widened as he landed with perfect precision; both feet and one hand on the ground to steady himself.

The bag was still on his back, and he turned to face upwards to see Chad staring back down at us with a scowl. Hawke huffed, taking off on foot, carrying me like I was nothing, and raced to the back of the long alley where his bike was covered in trash bags.

Hawke set me down quickly and gently and pulled out my helmet. He shoved it into my hands without looking at me as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. One large leg was thrown over the bike, and he straddled his seat, settling himself, and revved the bike several times.

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