Page 19 of In Hawke's Eyes (Toron's Pride 2)

Hawke stared down at the blood staining his shirtfront and the pants he borrowed from a guard. Since he hadn’t shown his face, there wasn’t a reason to tie up that loose end, but he couldn’t leave examinable blood at the scene either, and if he didn’t get out of there quick, more questions would need to be answered. He redirected his gaze to his fingers, which had already begun the change. When injured, he tended to shift. From his experience, all shifters were the same. Transformation made for faster healing, as long as the wound wasn’t fatal. Damn it, I fucked up.

Hawke peered over his shoulder in time to see Jessica standing with her hands raised. Officers rushed up to lead her out. He noticed Jim giving a status report in his phone. While no one watched, Hawke struggled to his feet. He staggered to the phone on the desk, which was still off its hook, and depressed the butt

on so he’d get a dial tone. He punched in a few numbers and then paused a couple beats before punching in a few more. That would do it.

“Hey, you need a ride anywhere? Hawke?”

Hawke made his way along the ventilation tubing in bird form, cursing himself all the way. At least he knew he’d called in another contact, this one a shifter who would mix in with the forensics team assigned to go over the office. Hawke’s blood and any evidence that someone nonhuman had ever been in the room would disappear forever. The only problem he saw now was that he didn’t have a medical connection in New York. He never got sick, and if he did have issues, he would fly to Sutland. In his current condition, he wouldn’t make it. In fact, it was looking like only a miracle could get him out of this building and to somewhere safe.

Chapter Eight

“Stephanie.”

She looked up at Toron’s voice. They didn’t have much need for chatting since she’d come several days ago. She spent time with Sienna and Meechi, and when she got a little bit braver, she joined her friend at her shop in town. Convinced she would not be here long, Stephanie had kept Meechi home from school. Her bravery didn’t extend to leaving her baby in a place where there was nothing but young lion shifters.

Toron stopped where she sat near the living room window to do some writing. Something in the way he spoke her name didn’t sit right with Stephanie. Butterflies stirred in her stomach, and she set her pad and pen aside. “What’s wrong?”

“Hawke.” He scratched his head and drove rough fingers through the blond locks. “He’s missing.”

Stephanie gasped, and her eyes widened. “B-but how do you know? Maybe he just hasn’t checked in because he’s busy—”

“He had been calling me every day. In the last thirty-six hours, I’ve heard nothing. I checked with a couple of his contacts that I know of, and they haven’t seen him either.”

Stephanie couldn’t believe it. Hawke hadn’t called her once since he left. Not that she thought he should report in, but she’d worried, and now that feeling intensified. What if he lay dead in an alley somewhere, or in the river? The people after her didn’t play, and while Hawke was an investigator, that didn’t mean he was invincible.

She rose, hands fluttering and mind racing about what to do. “I need to look for him.”

“No, I do,” Toron corrected. “Sienna convinced me you deserved to know what was going on. You can stay here, but I promise I’ll bring him back. I’m taking my two best hunters with me.”

Stephanie eyed the two people behind Toron, one being a woman. She frowned. “If she’s going, I can go too. You probably think—”

“I think Stella is a shifter,” he interrupted.

Sienna smacked his shoulder. “Stop being so mean, Toron. Everybody here is worried about Hawke, not just you.” She faced Stephanie. “Sweetie, you and I can hold down the fort until they come back. Stella don’t play. The female lions are serious hunters. She’ll sniff Hawke out real quick.”

“I’ll bring him back,” Stella said, her tone full of determination.

Stephanie had no choice. She couldn’t force them to let her come along, and she would lose valuable time if she tried making her own arrangements. “Okay, I’ll wait, but if you’re not back here with Hawke within a day, I’m doing things my way.”

Toron grunted. “Understood.”

They pulled out in a couple of vehicles flying down the drive at top speed. Stephanie estimated it would take them five hours to get to New York, less if they floored it and the police didn’t pull them over for speeding. She heaved a sigh, and Sienna slipped a hand in hers. “Come on. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

Stephanie frowned. “I’m not in the mood…” She fell silent, remembering Meechi, and then moved to pull her daughter close. Meechi hadn’t said a word, but Stephanie sensed her little one was just as scared for Hawke. “It’s okay, baby. Come on. Ice cream sounds good.”

Sienna got her son Jamie and the rest of them in her car, and soon they were in the local ice cream shop. For the first time, Stephanie didn’t concern herself with the fact that people who weren’t human surrounded them. She let the normal conversations, the chatter, the laughter, and even young girls getting fresh with boys, bring a bit of calm to her mind. They were like her, she realized. They loved and were sad, worried about work and school. The one difference beyond changing into animals Sienna had told her was that their rate of divorce was almost nonexistent. They only married after they were mated. She didn’t fully understand the meaning of the word, but the sense of an everlasting love touched her. She and Hawke were not mated as far as she knew, and they never would be.

By midmorning the next day, after a sleepless night, Stephanie rushed down the steps toward the front door. They had returned. “Where is he?” she demanded of Toron who had just walked through the door. He held something in his hands in front of him.

“I have him. I’m just picking you up. We’re headed to the doctor’s. Are you ready?”

She squinted at the shadows but nodded. Maybe they dropped Hawke off first and had come back for her. That made sense if he was injured. “Yes, I’m ready. Is he okay?”

“He’s been shot.” Toron’s tone was flat, but she picked up on the strain as well. “I think there’s infection.”

They rushed from the house and piled into the car. Stephanie noticed Toron didn’t drive. He sat in the front seat, still with whatever it was in his arms. She strained to see and thought she heard a squawk like a bird but figured she must be mistaken. Who the hell cared about a bird when Hawke was in trouble?

The doctor’s office crowded with people, but Stella stepped forward and commanded most of them out. Toron led the way into a back room. Sienna took her hand to follow.

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