“Hey! I’m talking to you, asshole.”
Knowing there was nothing else he could do until they could get into that computer, Hawke picked up his spare body parts from where he’d set them down on the tabletop and wiped up the blood with his coat sleeve. Then, he turned to the prisoner, silently studying him for a moment. There was something about him. Something familiar. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
Without warning, the man rushed the glass, slamming into it face first with a scream of rage. And when he opened his eyes, they glowed, burning with a fire from within that Hawke was all too familiar with.
His own fire rose within him. A fire fed by jealousy and anger and disbelief.
This male was the reason Everly needed his help breaking in here. This male was the reason he saw that underlying sadness in her dancing gray eyes.
With a sob of frustration, the man backed away from the glass, covering his eyes with his hands. Hawke walked up to the bars. He needed to know. “I saw Everly tonight.”
The man’s head whipped up, his eyes panicked. “You stay the fuck away from her!” He rushed the glass again, moving faster than a human would ever be able to. For a split second, a shocked expression crossed his face as he looked at the cell like he’d never seen it before. Colors rippled up and down his arms, the skin loose, shifting on the muscle. The male didn’t notice, or he was used to it. He focused on Hawke again. “You lay one fucking finger on her?—”
“And you’ll do what, exactly?” Hawke knew he was being a bastard, but he couldn’t help it. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead to the bars and stared through the glass. “I’ll touch her any way and any time I want. Everly is mine.” Then he flashed his fangs.
He expected the man to freak out and slam his face into the glass again, or at the very least let loose with a string of expletives. But, surprisingly, he did neither. Instead, he backed up a step, tears welling in his eyes even as he clenched his jaw in anger. He said nothing at all.
Remembering where he was, Hawke also stepped back. With a nod, he turned on his heel. He needed to get the hell out of this room. It made his skin crawl.
“Hey! Where are you going? Are you just gonna leave me here?”
Yes. Yes, I am.
Hawke didn’t spare him another glance as he left the dragon shifter in the cell.
Chapter 8
Everly woke the next morning feeling like she hadn’t slept at all. She’d tossed and turned all night, her body aching for something she couldn’t give it. Occasionally, she’d find herself drifting off, only to wake with a start, sweating and feeling feverish. Other times she was so cold she couldn’t stop shivering, longing for warmth all the blankets in her apartment couldn’t give her.
After hours of lying there in this sort of twilight state, she rolled over and threw off her blankets. Forcing herself to get up, she got a quick shower, brushed her teeth, found some mismatched underwear, and pulled her wet hair back into a tight twist on the back of her head. In her makeshift closet, she found a simple blue-striped shirtdress and slid it over her head before going to get her phone where it was plugged in on her nightstand.
Her hearing aids stared at her from the glass dish she’d put them in the night before. With a sigh, she put them in, then stared at her reflection in the mirror.
She pulled out some pieces of hair, enough so her ears were mostly covered. Then she scowled at her reflection. She looked ridiculous. Setting her jaw, she pinned most of it back again, only leaving a few strands so the devices weren’t quite so noticeable.
It’s not like she’d be seeing anyone she wanted to impress today.
A certain dark-haired, infuriating, sexy male entered her consciousness, and she firmly pushed him away again. She would most certainly not be seeing that person today. Or tonight. Or ever.
Throwing together a quick lunch, she slid on her favorite pair of Vans sneakers and a light black jacket before she rushed from her apartment. She needed to get into the office early so she could throw together the full story from the hostage situation yesterday for Mr. Malone. When she got to her car, she gripped the door handle and gave it a good tug, then almost fell on her ass when the heavy door opened rather easily.
“What the hell?”
She studied the exterior of her car. The dent was still there, but was it smaller this morning? Shallower, maybe? A blur of orange streaked across her peripheral vision and she looked up to find the old tomcat staring down at her from his superior height on the top of her car.
Everly squinted at the cat. “Did you fix my car?”
The feline sat down with a look that clearly stated he thought himself above doing such menial labor, then turned his regal head to gaze off into the distance with his hunter’s stare. He peeked back at her once, and when he saw she was still watching him, he turned his head away again with a swish of his tail, then began to wash his front paw.
Everly laughed and scratched him under the chin. “All right, big guy. You need to get down because I have to get to work.” With a pat on his back end, she shooed him off the roof of her car and waited until he was in a safe spot on the stairs before she got in and started the engine.
The entire newsroom was empty when she arrived, so she switched on a few lights and got to work on her piece. When Mr. Malone arrived, she showed it to him, and he seemed happy with it. It was going on the front page of that day’s paper. Everly thanked him and tried to be excited about the fact that her name was going to be on the front page, but her heart just wasn’t in it. Besides, did anyone really read the paper anymore? Somehow, it just wasn’t the same seeing your article on the home page of their website.
After the morning meeting, she spent the remainder of her day researching everything she could find about the Parasupe facilities. If Hawke wasn’t going to help her, she would have to find another way to get inside herself.
The day passed swiftly, and before she knew it, Tyson was tapping her on the shoulder. Looking up from the computer, she realized most everyone had gone home for the day. She hadn’t even eaten her lunch.
“Wanna go get a drink with us?” he asked her with a smile, signing the words as he spoke them.
