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“I keep one in my safe,” Hawk said.
He dashed into the room with the futon. I scurried in after.
I guess he was right; with money involved, basic human kindness went out the window for some people. I’d never peg Pris as someone who’d do anyonephysical harm—at least, not until she’d attacked me with her drink. That was as close to hitting me as she’d ever come.
If she needed this money that desperately, who knew what she might do if we got in the way of her getting it?
I glanced around the room, at the TV, the ties hanging on pegs by the door, and I remembered the sizzling kisses we’d shared on that futon.
“You have a gun in here?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet so his friends didn’t overhear.
That was one item I’d never encountered while cleaning his space.
“Just in case. I rarely carry it. But you never know.”
He opened a cupboard door to reveal a metal safe door within. Lifting his strong arms, he began to tweak the combination lock. He looked so attractive, so bent with purpose. The thought of anything happening to him made my stomach fist.
“Hawk,” I said, pulling him to a stop as he clipped a holder onto his belt and slipped a small hand gun into it. “This sounds dangerous. Are you sure any of us should go?”
He inched closer. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
“But what if they’re after you, too?”
“Evidence proves otherwise. It wasn’t me they set up on the cameras that day. It was you. Whoever this is, they’re trying to scare us all into keeping our hearts locked away by that stupid pact. It’s not going to work.”
His glance stilled me as he went on. “Whether Maddox and Duncan go or not is their choice, but this involves them,too. Duncan has it bad for his assistant, and he has for a while.”
“And Maddox?”
“He doesn’t have a girl that I’m aware of, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. And they don’t want anything happening to them, either. We have to find out who’s doing this.”
“Then I’m with you,” I said, sounding braver than I felt. “Every step of the way. Though I’m not sure I’m worth the trouble.”
He slid his hand into my hair at the back of my neck. His fury was directed at me as if defying my statement.
“You are unlike anyone I’ve ever known. You were this impenetrable wall that I was determined to get through because I wanted your smile directed at me. Did you know that?”
“I thought you just wanted a weekend fling with me.” I smirked.
His expression took a fierce turn. “The only thing I’ve ever noticed about you, the only thing I’ve ever cared about, has been your heart. Your quiet composure on the plane, your sweetness to me that day in the elevator. You saw past my insecurity. You made me want you.”
“The only thing you cared about was my sweetness? I seem to recall you promising to make my blood race and my palms sweat,” I said.
His smile turned into that teasing look I was beginning to love. “And what was the third thing?”
“Butterflies in my stomach.”
“Did I succeed?”
“Every time we’re together,” I said, and he brought his mouth to mine.
I didn’t need to be in a stalled elevator for the weightless sensation that the ground would drop out from underneath us at any moment. It felt like we were plunging toward something incredible and unbelievable and only ours.
The kiss slowed, but still, he held me. Our gazes locked. His hands secured around my waist, and I teased the hair at his nape with my fingers while my heart thrummed a melody in my chest.
This was the kind of moment where wonder dominated, where my heart no longer belonged to only me. A piece of it detached and drifted to plant itself with him.
“Are you two going to make out, or are we going to catch whoever’s behind this?” Maddox called from the door.
