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Hawk stood beside her. He touched her arm. “Do you want to tell us how your grandfather died?”
She blinked to try to focus. What she really wanted to do was throw herself into Hawk’s arms and have him hold her tight. She needed his strength, his calm in the storm that was her life right now but that wasn’t going to happen.
She cleared her throat. “Right.” Only Lacy knew and, she presumed, Logan but the rest would be in the dark. She explained the situation and then took another sip of the whiskey. It was early in the morning for alcohol, but she didn’t really care. It seemed like it was the only thing keeping her steady. That and Hawk’s presence. It was reassuring. Solid. Somehow, she knew he wouldn’t go off and leave her in the middle of this mess on her own. But could she ask him to continue to help her?
“Was your grandfather buried or cremated?” Mitch asked in a quiet voice.
“Sorry, what?” She’d been so lost in thought she missed what Mitch had said.
Mitch repeated the question.
“Buried,” Remy answered. “He picked out a family plot in a little cemetery out in Princeton, New Jersey. My parents are buried there as well. He said if the cemetery was good enough for some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, then it was good enough for the family. He also used to joke that would be as close as he got to someone famous.” She smiled at the memory, but then the smile slipped from her face. “Why do you ask?”
Hawk leaned down slightly. “He’s asking because, if you would like to know for sure, you can have your grandfather’s body exhumed.”
The nausea roared back. There was no way she could dig up her grandfather’s body. No way at all. That was just wrong. She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to do that. If he was murdered, then he’s been through enough violence. Digging him up just seems…so intrusive and wrong.”
“Okay. You don’t have to do it,” Hawk said simply. “To be honest, there are more pressing things at the moment.” He hesitated. “I think there are two options.” He held her gaze. “We can find a place for you to go somewhere you’ll be safe, or we can do our best to keep you safe while we search for the token.” He glanced up at Logan and then Mitch. “I’m saying ‘we’ because I know I can’t do this totally on my own.”
“Whatever you need,” Mitch said.
“Ditto,” Logan agreed.
Lacy nodded. “I really liked your grandfather, Remy. He was a good person. I firmly believe that.” She rested her hand on Remy’s arm and gently squeezed.
Remy gave her a tight smile. She was overwhelmed by the support. Lacy had always been supportive but now Logan’s entire family was offering her the help she needed and it was marvelous. The fact that the Callahans were willing to stand by her eased the tightness in her chest. The only snag was Hawk.
She glanced at him. She was drawn to Hawk, and she had to admit that he’d been there for her over the last couple days for no reason other than she needed him to be. That was truly a gift, but the reality was, this whole situation was going to be dangerous. The Callahans were prepared for that. They were a security company after all.
Hawk, on the other hand, was a lawyer and no matter how safe and protected she felt around him, she couldn’t ask him to risk his own safety to help her. She’d been glib about it last night, but the scope of danger had increased dramatically with Dragan’s explanation. She didn’t need a lawyer anymore. She needed a hired gun. She glanced at Dragan. He was a good-looking man, no doubt, but more, he had the experience she needed.
She turned to face Logan and Mitch. “I would like to hire you guys to help me.” She glanced at Dragan. “Dragan seems to be familiar with Archer Gray, so maybe he could help.”
Mitch shot Logan a glance. Logan gave a tiny shrug. Mitch looked back at her. “We are swamped at the moment. We’ll help however we can, but I can’t assign Dragan. He’s actually heading out of town in the next twenty-four hours.”
Dragan spoke up. “I’ll poke around some more before then. Maybe I’ll turn something up.”
Her stomach clenched. She was going to be alone. Risking Hawk’s life wasn’t something she was willing to do. His law degree was no defense against bullets no matter how secure he made her feel. “Um, is there someone else you can provide?”
“I’m sorry,” Mitch said, “we really don’t have anyone. Hawk will take care of you, though. He’s one of the best. You’re in good hands.”
She frowned. “One of the best what?”
Mitch frowned. “You didn’t tell her?” he asked Hawk.
Hawk shrugged. “Subject never came up.”
Heat was rising up her neck and into her cheeks. What secret had this man kept? She stared at him. Humiliation was imminent. She hated being embarrassed. Moments like these made her want to crawl into a hole and die.
Mitch shook his head. “Hawk is a former Navy SEAL. He was a tier-one operator in most of the hellholes on this earth, and one of the absolute best at it, or so I’m told. We didn’t serve together, but I’ve only heard great things about him. As a matter of fact, we’re trying to get him to give up practicing law and come work for us.”
She stared at Hawk. The sudden change in him when they were down that stairwell now made sense. As did the way he stepped up to put himself between her and the man with the gun. She could cook an egg on her cheeks at this moment, her humiliation was so complete. “I see. Well then.”
Logan cleared his throat. “I’m sure Hawk can help you until you can get this sorted out. We’ll start by finding out more about the Lock and Key Society. In the meantime, Remy, if you can make a list where your grandfather might have kept his token, I think that would be very helpful.”
Well, no shit that would be helpful. Did he really think she hadn’t been wondering that herself? She bit back a retort. She was pissed off because she felt humiliated. She needed to let it go. Her grandfather always told her to hold her tongue instead of lashing out, as was her habit. He was right, of course, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still miffed that Hawk hadn’t mentioned his past. To be fair, if she had to, they weren’t exactly bosom buddies. Until now, he’d just been a man who kept showing up to help when she needed it most. Kind of like Superman or the Avengers.
Shaking her head, she cleared her throat. “I’m at a loss, to be honest. I don’t even have a cluewhatit could be. He never seemed attached to any one inanimate object. I would’ve thought somewhere in the shop or his apartment, but as both of those have been searched, I don’t know where to look.”
