“One is Elise, right?” At Penny’s nod, he asked, “Who’s the other?”
“My grandmother. She’s good stuff,” she admitted. “Everyone else is something else. Trust becomes a rare commodity in this line of work.”
Hawke nodded slowly, regarding her deeply.
“What?” she asked with a laugh.
“I just learned something about you, that’s all.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “What exactly did you learn?”
“That our lives have been defined by an unyielding pursuit of justice, but that pursuit has come at a cost—one that we both bear silently, like invisible scars etched upon our souls.”
Penny couldn’t look away from the softness in Hawke’s eyes. He touched on something that made her armor fall, revealing a heart yearning for connection and healing. And she hated him for that. How easy it was for him to slide past all her defences.
“There she is,” Hawke said, breaking the silence.
Penny jerked her gaze toward the building as she watched Julia leave and lock the door behind her, her long dark curls cascading down her back. Penny snapped back to reality. “Go. Go now!”
He was out the door a second later.
Penny watched Hawke as he strode away from the truck, his muscular build and chiseled features a testament to his years of training. She couldn’t help but admire the quiet intensity with which he moved, every step purposeful and efficient. The streetlights lit up his cropped dark hair, until he faded into the darkness around the block.
Within minutes, Hawke was calmly walking back to the truck like he was going to get groceries, his expertise and resourcefulness evident in the seamless execution. Penny felt a surge of admiration mixed with surprise; she had expected the task to take much longer.
Hell, he was good.
As Hawke made his way back to the truck, Penny couldn’t suppress a shiver that ran down her spine. It wasn’t fear. She knew they were doing what needed to be done. But rather a thrill at knowing a man like Hawke was, by all accounts, actively pursuing her.
Dammit. She was in so much trouble.
“Done,” Hawke announced, sliding back into the driver’s seat. He held up a plastic bag. “I grabbed a knife and fork from the dishwasher for the prints.” His dark eyes met hers, and for a brief second, Penny allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to cross the unspoken boundary between them. But she couldn’t go there… shewouldn’tgo there.
“Nice job,” she said in approval. “Let’s get to work.” Her fingers danced over her laptop, tracking the data as it streamed across the screen. The bugs Hawke had planted were working perfectly, as was the audio. “Everything looks good,” she said. “We’re connected.”
“Great,” Hawke replied. “We need to make a stop at my place so I can change for tonight.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
He started the truck and took off, his dark eyes never leaving the road as he navigated through the city streets.
Penny really did hate the thoughts that swirled through her mind—the main one being that she wouldn’t mind seeing his bedroom… and more importantly, his bed.
The thought hadn’t escaped her even an hour later, after she stepped out of her bathroom at the warehouse, the steam from her hot shower still clinging to her skin.
The mix of anticipation and nervousness danced in her veins, making her heart race. She never went out in the field. Elise did that as a private investigator, never her. But she was up for the challenge. She dressed in a tight black dress with sexy heels to match, before quickly doing her hair and makeup. Then she found Hawke waiting for her in the living room.
He stood before her, an image of raw power and masculinity. His muscular build was evident even through the sleek black dress shirt and slacks he’d grabbed from his condo. His chiseled features were accentuated by the sharp angle of his jaw, contrasting against the soft glow of the evening light filtering through the curtains. The man was a force to be reckoned with, and Penny’s pulse quickened at the sight of him.
Her breath hitched as Hawke’s gaze lowered, taking in every inch of her body with a deliberate, almost predatory intensity. The way his eyes roamed over her body made her skin prickle with a heat that seemed to radiate from her very core.
“Wow,” he murmured, his voice low and husky as his gaze lifted to her face. “That dress is out of this world, Red.”
“Thanks. You look great too.” Her cheeks flushed at his words, and she felt a tightening sensation in the pit of her stomach. She became acutely aware of herself, of the way the short black minidress clung to her hips and thighs, revealing just enough to stoke the flames of desire but leaving plenty to the imagination.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked, moving closer.
Damn. He thought she was hesitating for all the wrong reasons. “Of course,” she replied firmly. But beneath the surface, she nearly ripped her dress off to see that heat burn deeper in his eyes.
