We walk outof the testing center together, Daniela’s arm looped through mine.The sun outside is blinding, and for a moment I think about how easy it would be to just keep driving—head west until the road ends, forget all of it.
But that’s not who I am.
Fixers don’t run.
I take her to dinner, though neither of us is really in the mood for it.There’s a little restaurant not far from the center with dim lights and candles on the tables.The kind of place where people are supposed to have meaningful conversations.
We don’t.
She orders tea and stirs it without drinking.The silence between us stretches long and uneasy.
Until I have to say something.
“Once Vinnie finds this Gordon Brown, I’ll handle it.”
Her eyebrows rise.“Handle it?”
“Yeah.Personally.I’ll make sure he never comes near you again.”
She looks away.
Something twists in my chest.“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”
“I don’t know,” she murmurs.“Sometimes you fix things so fast, Hawk, I wonder if you ever stop to think about what they cost.”
That stings more than I want to admit.
Before I can respond, she adds quietly, “Where were you earlier today?”
The words hit harder than they should.
I consider lying.Saying I was tracking a lead.Saying I was handling something with Falcon.Saying anything except the truth.
But I’ve done enough lying lately.
I think of Reyes, of the barn, of the favor I still owe.
I take a slow breath.“I had to deal with something,” I say.
Her expression doesn’t change.“Something?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not much of an answer.”
“I know.”
Silence.The tension stretches taut between us, a wire ready to snap.
Finally, I run a hand through my hair.“Look… I can’t tell you everything right now.Not because I don’t trust you, but because I don’t want to drag you deeper into this shit than you already are.”
She stares at me for a long time, her gaze unreadable.Then she nods slowly.“Okay.”
Just that.Okay.
And somehow that hurts worse than if she’d yelled.
I feel like a sack of dog shit.
The waiter drops off our food.The candles flicker, their light catching the edge of her face, and I think about how much I love her.How much she deserves better than the mess I keep dragging her into.
I don’t know what to say to make it right, so I say nothing at all.
She takes a small sip of her tea, eyes downcast.“You think Vinnie’s really close?”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice rough.“I do.”
She nods again.“Good.”
