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Charlie could see Hammer’s jaw clenching as Ajmal spilled everything. Somehow, he managed to stay in his seat, though Charlie had serious concerns when she saw him rubbing his fist in agitation. When Ajmal confessed that Hammer had never done anything wrong and Ajmal had framed him for his own crimes, she expected a courtroom brawl to break out.
Calm down,she tried to urge him wordlessly.He’s going to get what he deserves.
Almost as if he could hear her, he glanced around the room. Their gazes locked once again. He nodded in agreement, and this time she could feel the sparkle in her own eyes.
The court showed absolutely no leniency, reading off a sentence that gave him the maximum punishment for everything they could think of.
Couldn’t have happened to a better person,Charlie thought with a sneer. Ajmal was going to rot in jail just like he deserved.
TWENTY-SIX
HAMMER
“God, that’s gonna be a hell of a scar,” Cannon noted with a grimace, eyeing the fresh mark on Hammer’s neck. He leaned closer, poking it with a finger.
Hammer scowled, jerking away. “What are you doing? I just had it taken out yesterday, nimrod. Stop touching it.”
“So, how does it feel?” Cannon asked curiously. “I mean, all those years with a GPS in your neck, and now it’s gone. Does it feel like freedom?”
Hammer’s face relaxed, thinking it over. “I guess,” he finally admitted slowly. “I’m glad to be done with it. I think the oddest part is just realizing how much I had adjusted to it. I didn’t notice how it felt until it wasn’t there anymore. Like I could suddenly remember how my neck was supposed to feel.”
One hand came up to gently put the gauze pad back in place that had been covering the surgical wound. “Of course, it hasn’t healed yet. Maybe it’ll feel more like freedom when it stops aching enough to keep me up at night,” Hammer remarked drily.
He stared at Cannon, getting down to business.
“Now, why did you ask me here? Just to stick your dirty fingers in my open sore?”
Cannon made a face at him, expressing his annoyance. “Of course not. Actually, I had an offer for you. The operative word is had. Now I’m starting to have second thoughts. I don’t need your bad attitude on my team,” he teased good-naturedly.
Hammer’s piercing gaze didn’t change. “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.
Nydia interrupted the conversation. “He wants you on his team. Well, we both do.”
“If you want,” Cannon added hurriedly, “there’s always a place for you. Now that you’re free and clear, we just thought that it might be your next step. You’d be a perfect fit, and we’d be happy to have you on board.”
Hammer hesitated, seriously considering it. Deep in his gut, he already knew the answer. But he turned it over in his mind, not wanting to reject the offer too hastily.
“Cannon, I’m honored,” he began slowly.
It was true … he knew that just being invited was a privilege. If his heart wasn’t so dead and cold, he might have even gotten emotional at the suggestion.
But he didn’t, and it was. “All I ever wanted, when I was locked up, was to someday get out and have a place to myself. A little cabin out on a mountain, away from everyone. I don’t think I’m ready for your team.”
Cannon nodded, and Hammer felt a sense of relief pass through him at how easily he seemed to take the rejection. “I understand,” he offered. “I can respect that. You’ve lost enough, and it’s past time that you do whatever makes you happy. If that’s a mountaintop retreat, I wish you well.”
“Well, I don’t,” exclaimed Nydia, looking disgruntled. She opened her mouth, and Hammer could tell she was preparing to launch into a speech designed to make him change his mind. But Cannon shot her a sharp look, and she clamped her lips shut, holding her tongue.
Still, her face wrinkled in frustration. Hammer had a feeling it was more about Nydia’s need to have everything and everyone under her control rather than her actual need to have him on the team.
He decided to let it go, not bothering to explain his decision any further. That was just the way that Nydia was, always wanting to be the boss. She would have to learn to accept his choice, even if it meant she didn’t get to call the shots.
She’d get over it. Someday. Or not … to be honest, Hammer didn’t really care. It wasn’t his problem.
“I’ll let you come up and visit me someday,” he offered, not sure if he really meant it. The whole point of the house on the mountain was to finally be left alone. There was really only one person he hoped would come to see it someday.
And speaking of, he had a date with that someone tonight.
“I have plans to meet with Charlie tonight,” Hammer began. “As nice as this little reunion has been, I better get going.”
