Page 38 of Witness Protection

Hawk shoved a 9mm into his holster. “No, I can’t risk him knowing we’re coming. He could panic and kill her.”

“You shouldn’t go alone,” said Vlad. “We have a lot of men at our disposal.”

The old man had been a fixture in the Morenov home for as long as he could remember. He’d helped Vasily train him. He was all Hawk had left besides Sophia. “As soon as she’s safe, I’ll call you. I promise, I won’t fuck this up.”

He put his cell away and slid the last handgun into the back of his black jeans. It was time to set things straight, to make amends. He’d paint the street with that fucker’s blood.

The drive was quiet at this time of night. It gave him time to think and reflect. With the sun set, the lights of the city were a thin line in his rearview mirror, inky blackness all round him. Some days the darkness swallowed him, not giving him enough air to breathe. Killing helped him feed the beast, sate the evil growing inside him. Vasily raised him to hate, to break, to kill. It was his norm. The only glint of light in his world was Sophia—her innocence, her love of painting, her big, brown eyes. She kept him grounded. Reminded him to be human.

He couldn’t lose her.

Then there was the day everything changed between them. That kiss had become his obsession. Her lips were soft, her little tongue teasing. She was fucking precious to him, the only woman he wanted—but couldn’t have.

His sole job as her protector was to keep her safe, to carry on his duty even though Vasily was gone. Hawk’s loyalty was stronger than death.

He stopped his car several blocks from his target. For the last mile, he drove in darkness. There were no lights on in the factory, but that didn’t mean a thing. Cayden was a professional, so Hawk wasn’t expecting a cake walk. He wasn’t foolish enough to let down his guards until Sophia was safe in his arms. As he moved in closer, he spotted the car that had helped lead him here. He kept close to the building, his back scraping the brick as he moved to the entrance, his gun at his side. There was a video camera near the entrance, so he kept in the shadows. The only way this would work was with the element of surprise. No mistakes.

Hawk dropped his duffel bag, rooting through the contents to find his glass cutter. He moved painstakingly slowly, carving out the closest large panel and removing it with care. He peered inside, mentally plotting his path. There was only one door at the rear of the factory, so that was where he’d head.

He took a breath, leaving his bag outside as he slipped inside. His boots crunched on broken glass and metal shards. “Fuck!” he whispered aloud. Even the floor was booby-trapped. Every step was punctuated, making his journey through the old factory as noisy as a minefield.

He was more than halfway to the basement entrance when a car door slammed shut outside. A flashlight bobbed up and down beyond the dirty glass panels, heading towards the building.

A loud rapping echoed through the empty factory.

Footsteps pounded up the steps from the basement. What the fuck was going on? He rushed to the back of the factory, using the banging as a distraction for his steps. Only seconds later, Cayden appeared. He flicked a switch, a single lightbulb dangling from the vaulting ceiling giving a wash of light to the massive factory.

Sophia had to be downstairs.

He swung around once Cayden was near the main door, keeping his gun drawn as he descended the staircase. He never realized these old factories had basements, or maybe it was a bunker made specifically for hiding out. Everyone in this business was paranoid.

And for good reason.

The lights were brighter in the basement. It was nothing like what he expected. As soon as he reached the bottom, his sights were on her.

Sophia sat cross-legged on a sofa.

Alive.

His adrenaline crash made his vision swim. The relief of finding Sophia Morenov after days of worrying was surreal.

“Sophia.”

She looked up at him, not moving, not speaking. He started to think she’d been drugged and didn’t recognize him, but then she got up and ran over, throwing herself into his arms. He kissed the top of her head, holding her close. Breathing her in.

Hawk closed his eyes, savoring the high of having her back. The past few days he’d been a fucking mess, thinking the absolute worst.

“You found me.”

“Of course, I found you, baby.” He never wanted to let her go, but now they had to get out of the building alive. “Who’s at the door?”

“Pizza.”

He looked around the room. It was completely renovated, out of place in the basement of an abandoned factory. Pizza and takeout containers were piled on the coffee table. There was an elaborate, top of the line computer set up and a bed at the back, the blankets rumpled.

“Did he touch you, Sophia?”

“What? No.”

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