Page 126 of Restless Hawke
“You can. I just can’t be involved with anything having to do with the Hawkes.”
He issues a low humming sound, as if he’s considering my words and downs the rest of his espresso. His eyes stay locked on me as he climbs to his feet, rebuttoning his suit coat. “What am I to do with you now, Allegra? If I can’t rely on you to be my ally, does that make me your enemy?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. But I just can’t. I can’t mess with him anymore. Find another way to keep an eye on him. If you really need another weakness, it can’t be me. I won’t ever see Coen Hawke again.”
He raises another silver brow. “Able to predict the future now?” A slow grin spreads across his face. “That’s an incredible talent to have, Allegra. I hope it serves you well.”
“I’m not your enemy…” It comes out sounding far too much like a plea for my liking, but I had to reinforce those words. “You have Coen for whatever you need him for. Please don’t push me on this anymore. Please.”
I hate asking him for anything, even more so to actually have to beg for it.
But I don’t have any other choice right now.
We both know what he’s capable of and how dangerous he is when he wants to be. The Hawkes are still squarely in his sights, and that means there’s always a chance Coen’s going to get hurt even more than I’ve already hurt him.
I can’t be part of making things worse.
I’m barely surviving Coen as it is.
18
TWO WEEKS LATER
COEN
Iwatch the casino floor on the hundreds of monitors covering the entire wall in front of us. All the happy players as they win and the not-so-happy ones when they lose.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Nothing I don’t see every single day when I come to work.
Still, the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, my knee bouncing incessantly, a nervous energy I can’t shake coursing through me. “I don’t like this. Something feels off.”
Gabe turns his head toward me, raising a sandy-blond brow from where he stands beside me with his arms crossed over his chest, examining the monitors with his well-trained eye. “How so?”
Itlookslike a normal day.
There hasn’t been a single issue since I arrived three hours ago.
And we’ve spent weeks planning for today.
But it isn’t normal.
Pretending that it is will only cause us to let down our guards when we need to be on full alert to avoid imminent disaster.
It’s the biggest day for Hawke Hotel since the grand opening, one that will help establish our position as one of the premier locations to stay and play.
I keep scanning, keep searching for thatonething that would warrant this feeling I’ve had in the pit of my stomach all morning. “I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
Gabe nods slowly, narrowing his eyes as if he might be able to ascertain what has me rattled just by looking at me himself. “Well, as a Ranger, I learned to trust my gut because it was very seldom wrong.”
“That isn’t very reassuring.”
He offers a shrug. “It wasn’t supposed to be.”
That’s one thing I’ve always greatly appreciated about Uncle Gabe. The man doesn’t beat around the bush about anything. He doesn’t pull punches. He will tell it exactly like it is, even if it leaves others uncomfortable.
But his warning to trust my gut sits heavy in it.
