Page 9 of Hawk on the Hunt

She left the bathroom and walked into her bedroom. She slipped into panties and a bra, picked out a skirt and a matching top, and looked in the mirror, just as Dylan stepped behind her. Their gazes met in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured.

She knew he found her beautiful. She didn’t doubt that. What she wasn’t so sure about was whether he would really stay this time, or whether she would find herself alone again, without a means to contact him.

“I will call you, I promise,” Dylan added.

“You don’t have my new cell number,” she said, turning away, an idea forming in her mind. “Where’s your cell?”

He reached for his pants that he’d brought in from the living room, and dug into one pocket.

She stretched her hand out. “I’ll program it in; you’d better get dressed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He handed her the phone.

Zara shook her head, chuckling. “What’s your code?”

He smiled at her. “Same as back then.”

Her heart made a somersault. He was still using her birthdate as the passcode to unlock his phone? She felt tears well up in her eyes, and for a moment, her hands trembled. Dylan put his hand on hers, clearly having noticed how emotional she reacted to such a mundane thing.

“I thought of you every day,” he whispered.

“I thought of you too.”

When he turned away to put on his clothes, she entered her cell phone number as quickly as she could before she opened another app, typed in what was necessary, then navigated back to her own number to make a call to her phone. Her cell rang from the living room where it was still in her handbag. She’d forgotten to switch it off before going to sleep, like she normally did. Zara disconnected the call.

“You’ve got my number now, and I have yours,” she said and handed him back the phone just as he slipped into his shoes.

Dylan took the phone and shoved it back into his pocket, before glancing at the clock on the bedside table. “I’ve gotta run, baby. Can I drop you somewhere?”

She shook her head. “I still have to do my hair.”

“You want me to wait for you?”

“It’s sweet of you to ask, but you know that it takes awhile.”

He pulled her into an embrace. “All right then.” He kissed her, one hand on her nape, one around her waist. This kiss didn’t feel like a goodbye. It rather felt like a prelude to something more. Like a promise that he would be back, and they would be a couple again. She responded to him with the same fervor as the night before, showing him that she wanted him back, that she wanted a fresh start.

A sound like a low rumble rolled off his lips, and he ripped his mouth from hers. “Damn, Zara, do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

He took her hand and pressed it over his fly, where a hard ridge greeted her.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“How about I take care of that for you later?”

“You’d better.” He pressed another quick kiss on her mouth, before he left her apartment.

6

Outside the iron gate of the large mansion in the outskirts of Washington D.C., Dylan stood for a moment, wondering whether Ace had given him a wrong address, or if he hadn’t remembered it correctly. Considering what had happened right after Ace had left the coffee shop, it wouldn’t be all that strange that his mind wasn’t at its sharpest and felt like a scrambled egg. Seeing Zara again after so many years had done a number on him. It would have been smarter to spend the night at the hotel he’d stayed at upon his arrival in D.C., rather than in Zara’s arms. However, he couldn’t regret their encounter, nor could he leave her again, and that threw up all kinds of problems, none of which he had a solution for right now.

One thing at a time, he cautioned himself and reached for the doorbell next to the brass plaque with the engraving Sober Living Rehabilitation Center – No soliciting. But before he could press it, a buzzer sounded, and the gate unlocked. He pushed against it, and it opened. Before he entered, he glanced up and looked into the camera that was affixed on top of the brick wall surrounding the property. Somebody took their security very seriously.

Dylan walked up the short path to the front door of the impressive villa surrounded by mature trees and bushes. The door opened, and Ace appeared in the door frame.