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I’m no longer frightened of Ezra. What I’m afraid of is that Hawke will actually kill Ezra and end up in jail. He looks downright murderous.
Snapping out of it, I dart inside and grab my phone. I quickly give the operator the information and they tell me they’re sending the police right away. It can’t have been more than a minute since I left the deck, but when I get back, both men are bleeding heavily from the face. Hawke’s white bandages are dirty and bloodstained and the front of Ezra’s shirt is soaked with blood as well.
“Oh my god.” The phone slips from my hands as I watch the nightmare play out.
Hawke snarls and leaps forward. Ezra puts his arms up to block his face. Unfortunately for Ezra, Hawke’s target isn’t Ezra’s face, but his midsection. Hawke lands several hard blows to Ezra’s ribs before jumping back out of reach.
“You sick motherfucker. You’re going to regret hurting my girl.” Hawke’s voice is so low, it’s almost a guttural growl.
“Fuck you, superstar,” Ezra says. “Are you fucking her? Is that why you’re here?”
Ezra swings, landing a glancing blow to Hawke’s stubbled jaw. Hawke’s eyes light up with fury and he returns the punch, connecting with Ezra’s temple. Ezra’s body drops like a two-hundred-pound bag of sand. A loud thud resonates as he literally hits the deck.
?
??Fuck!” Hawke groans, shaking out his hand.
All at once, everything catches up to me, becoming too much to handle. Without warning, I burst into tears and my knees go weak.
“Abby!” Hawke notices, crossing the deck just in time to catch me before I join Ezra unconscious on the ground.
I clutch at Hawke but my hands are shaking too much to get a good grip. He scoops me up and sits down on a chair with me curled up on his lap. Soothing fingers run through my hair while whispered words calm me down.
“It’s okay, Bee. It’s okay.”
How anything is okay is beyond me. Everything in my life is crumbling to dust while I stand in the center of the storm, doing nothing to stop it from happening.
Ezra groans and I whimper, snuggling closer to Hawke, letting the steady sound of his heart guide me back from the edge of losing it completely.
The loud sound of someone squawking on a radio erupts from nearby and I feel Hawke relax beneath me. The police are here.
This is it, the turning point in my life. I can feel it. It’s sink or swim for me. Do I want to continue down the path to destruction, always choosing the wrong men, loaded down with issues I’m compelled to fix? Or do I get my act together and pursue a healthy relationship?
I know what feels right, who feels right, but what is right?
Not knowing the answer, I inhale Hawke’s earthy scent and bury my face in his neck. For now, I’m content just to be in his arms again.
Hawke
“No. I’m fine. Honest.” I have to hold my phone away from my ear as Gavin shouts in concern on the other end. “Gav, no. I’m only staying with Abby until her mom gets here.”
I flick my gaze over to where Abby is huddled up on her couch under a fuzzy red blanket, her eyes closed. She looks tiny and heartbreakingly fragile. A far cry from the strong woman I know. I feel sick at the thought of her trapped underneath that asshole as he attacked her.
Fuck. If he had hurt her… I can’t even imagine. I’d either be in the jail cell next to him or he’d be in the morgue.
“I gotta go, Gav.” I hang up before he can yell at me some more for getting into a fight that involved the cops. But that bastard got everything he deserved. I literally wanted to kill him.
It takes a few deep breaths for me to calm down enough to turn away from the glass doors of Abby’s back deck. Padding softly so I don’t disturb her, I cross the living room and sit on the chair opposite the couch, push my glasses up on my head, and rub my aching hands over my face.
“Hey.”
I drop my arms at the sound of the low voice. “Abby? I thought you were asleep.”
She blinks a few times, her dark lashes fluttering against her pale skin. “I am pretty tired.”
I get up and sit next to her, rubbing a hand on her shoulder. The heat from her body would normally drive me insane, but lust is the furthest thing from my mind right now. All I want to do is erase the sad, weary look from Abby’s face.
“Why don’t you go lie down? I’ll wait here for your mom.”
