Page 25 of Witness Protection

Chapter Six

Hawk rewound the security footage again, zooming in on Sophia and Cayden Walsh. They were only visible for seconds, exiting the elevator and leaving through the parking doors on the lower level. The bastard had his hand on her. And he’d changed her hair. Her gorgeous blonde hair was now pitch black, or maybe it was a wig. Hawk almost hadn’t noticed them. It was Cayden’s neck tattoo that caught his attention.

He slammed his fist down on the desk, the pens and papers jumping “Look at her, Vlad. Look what’s he’s done to her.” The older man braced a hand on the back of his chair, watching the screens as Hawk played the clip again and again. “He’s going to pay for this.”

“Antonio’s men will find him. It’s what they do,” said Vlad.

Hawk shook his head. “Why are they wasting their time and resources to find Sophia? Just to make peace? With who? It’s not like the Baretti family to go out of their way if they aren’t getting paid.”

“Maybe they’ve changed their ways. Death can change a person.”

He scoffed. “Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t like any of this. Vasily didn’t raise me to be a fool.” He tapped his fingers on the desk. He hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. He was too strung out, his mind scattered. “I have no idea where he’s taken her.”

“If he hasn’t killed her yet, that’s a good sign. As long as he’s using her as a hostage, we have a chance to get her back alive.”

Alive was one thing, but there was a lot a man could do to a woman and still leave her breathing. Hawk didn’t even want to think about anything happening to his girl. The poor thing just lost her father, and now he’d let her down. He should have stayed with her and watched that damn movie, but he’d been weak—she alone made him weak.

He stood up and rolled out his shoulders. The security guard was still out cold, hunched over in the corner. He’d been lucky just to get pistol-whipped.

No sleep.

Sophia missing.

Hawk was going to crash hard.

He didn’t trust the Baretti family, and one of his informants said a bigtime gang leader wanted Sophia dead. He was waiting on more information. So now there was a price on her head. Didn’t they realize she wasn’t a player? With Vasily dead, his empire died along with him. Hawk had no intention of running the business, and he knew Sophia wanted nothing to do with it, and she never had. Why couldn’t they all celebrate that their biggest rival was out of the picture and leave them the fuck alone?

“I’ve already done what I can. That fucker uses a credit card or shows his face in any public place, I’ll know. I’m going to get a drink, and then I’m getting some sleep. I’m no good with my head in the clouds.”

“Yes, rest. Call me when you find out anything,” said Vlad.

He nodded. “You still staying at the house?”

“We wouldn’t want looters.”

“Spread the word that Sophia isn’t taking over the business. This power struggle is going way too far. Vasily’s barely been dead a week, and the vultures are coming from every corner of the city.” Hawk adjusted his jacket, then left the security office, looking both ways in the hallway before heading to the emergency door at the back of the hotel.

He walked down the strip, looking for the first bar he could find. Hawk occasionally used alcohol as a vice, but he preferred the gym. Right now, with Sophia gone, he needed to forget it all. There was nothing more he could do until Cayden made a mistake … and he would.

It was just a matter of time.

After entering a dive bar, he found an empty stool at the counter and pulled out his cell. He ordered his first two drinks and called his informant. The place was noisy enough that no one would hear or give a shit about his conversation.

“Anything new on the hit?”

“Dollar amount just went up. Three million. Dead or alive,” said Danny, one of his long-time informants.

“Why do they care about Vasily’s daughter? She’s not in the business,” he said.

Cayden wasn’t his only problem. Sophia was a shining target to every power-hungry bastard in the city. He knew of at least one credible contract for her life.

“She’s the heir to an empire. That’s a threat to a lot of dangerous people. So far, it seems only one has made a move.”

“Send me the name of whoever put out the hit. If you don’t know, find out,” said Hawk. He put his phone in his breast pocket and swallowed the glass of mind-numbing alcohol, then the second. He tapped the counter for a refill, already feeling the burn all the way to his stomach.

Protecting Sophia was going to be a full-time job. If he got her back, it still wouldn’t be over. Would they ever be in the clear? It didn’t matter to him. He wanted to be her protector, and a hell of a lot more. Hawk needed to drink enough to dull his desires, to strip away every nasty thought in his head.

Sophia was his ward, not his woman.

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