Page 52 of Leading Conviction
“Listen, little Tommyhawk, you can argue all you want with that tiny tyrant, but you ain’t gettin’ what you want. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“Phoe-nik is right, Tommy. I always win. Everyone says I’m the boss.”
Hannah snorted at Thea’s high-pitched voice claiming the authority of a CEO. Hawk’s broad smile stretched over his face as he chuckled with her.
They both took fortifying breaths before she opened the door. Even as she let go of his hand and walked through, the feel of him lingered under her skin. It always had.
I never wanted to forget mi cielo, mi amor.
“I never forgot you, Hannah.”
Those words felt like the start of something big. But there couldn’t be a beginning to their story, right? They’d already had an ending.
“Tommy, time for bed,” she called out.
Her son groaned about not having enough TV time as he trudged toward their room.
“Hawk, where ya goin’?” Phoenix asked in a singsongy voice.
Hannah turned to see Hawk scowling at him with his hand hovering over the stairwell knob.
“Going to take a shower in the gym,” he answered gruffly.
“Would that be acoldshower, maybe?” Phoenix taunted.
Hawk’s rolling eyes caught hers. He winked, making her core flutter again. She smiled back but before she turned toward her room, she noticed the mixture of hope and fear in his vulnerable gaze. Her heart cracked seeing the swirl of emotions so much like the ones pounding in her own chest. It physically hurt when she finally looked away.
She didn’t know how their story would go, but the one thing she knew without a shadow of a doubt was she couldn’t go through the same ending. She’d do whatever it took to make sure that never happened, even if that meant walling off her broken heart.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Nine years ago
Eagle quietly packed his bag, trying not to bring attention to himself as he eavesdropped on the argument in the next room.
“So, you’re choosing this new team, your career, myfather… over me?”
The way Hannah shouted at Hawk made Eagle’s stomach churn. For some reason, the last accusation about her father sounded more damning than the others.
As far as Eagle knew, Hannah loved her father. Even if their relationship was strained, she’d still never said a bad word about the man—or talked about him, now that Eagle thought about it. Then again, maybe there was more to their relationship than he knew. After all, despite the fact the man had given them this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance in their careers and make a real change in this world, General Smithers was still a ruthless bastard.
“I’m sorry, Han, but you’re not safe now that I’m on this new team. What happened yesterday might just be the beginning with me around.” Hawk’s words were clipped and succinct, but his low voice cracked with pain.
Eagle listened on as Hawk broke the news to Hannah on the other side of the wall. It wasn’t right to invade their privacy. He knew he should’ve given them space. But when he’d come over to the apartment to gather the rest of his things for his move on base, he accidentally heard Hawk cutting it off and Eagle’s curiosity got the best of him—like it always did. Hawk was making the right choice, but how he had the willpower to say goodbye was a mystery to Eagle.
Logically, Eagle knew if Hawk took the selfish route and held on to Hannah then he would be putting her in danger. And if he quit MF7, General Smithers would have him court martialed for desertion. With the way he unabashedly hated anyone who got close to his daughter, he might even push for something as extreme as execution, especially given the top security nature of their team and all the information that had been shared with them already.
But Hawk would never tell Hannah her father hated him so much that he didn’t care about hurting his daughter in the fallout. Eagle had heard the way Hawk hero-worshiped his pops. Hawk would never want to ruin Hannah’s perception of her own father, even if he was a total dick.
Leaving was what would keep her safe and alive. Leaving would keep her relationship with her father intact. Leaving was the ultimate sacrifice Hawk could commit, and he was a saint for it. If the shoe was on the other foot, Eagle wasn’t sure he would have the balls to do it.
“I can’t help but think my father is doing this on purpose somehow. That you’re choosing him,” Hannah hissed.
“Han, it’s not like that. I’m choosing your life. Your safety. If you got hurt because of me—”
“Who cares?! I want to be with you! The Braves game could’ve had nothing to do with this MF7mierda.”
“Han,” Hawk’s voice muffled and Eagle imagined him holding her close. “I love you. I won’t have my career put you in jeopardy.”
