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Three hours later, he got out of the shower and pulled on the clothes that one of Callahans’ employees had collected from Connor. He’d rescued his stuff from the bag that had been left in the living area. He left the bedroom he’d taken and walked back out to find everyone gathered around the bar.
Remy was sitting on a barstool, drinking a glass of white wine with Lacy on one side of her and Alex on the other. Her hair was up in a bun, and she had on the gray sweater he’d bought her. It did bring out her eyes as he thought it would, but she looked pale and sad. He didn’t know whether to be mad as hell at her for risking her life or to just be thankful that she was still alive. He decided he didn’t have to choose at the moment.
He went over and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa from Gage. “Did you get it sorted?”
Gage nodded. “Yeah. We’ll go over it when everyone is here. Logan is cooking.”
Hawk leaned forward and grabbed a piece of cheese and a couple of crackers off the charcuterie board on the coffee table. “How does he do all this and still get any work done?”
“This is how Logan relaxes. He cooks like we work out. It gives him the same sense of Zen and accomplishment. It’s how he stays balanced.”
Mitch came over, grabbed some olives and cheese, and flopped into the armchair on Gage’s left. “I hear we’re good to go.”
Gage nodded. “We have the makings of a plan, but there’s still a lot to do.” He munched on a cracker. “How did your meeting go?”
Mitch shook his head. “Dragan is on his way back. There’s more going on than anyone is saying, and I don’t like it.”
Gage let out a sigh.
Hawk remained silent. He knew if he said that he wanted to join them here at Callahan Security, they would tell him what was going on and ask his opinion about it. That’s who they were. But he wasn’t ready to commit yet. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why.
He knew he wasn’t going back to working for Drake. That decision he’d already made. He glanced over at Remy. The rest of it was up in the air.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Remy walked over and collapsed into the armchair next to the fire once again. Dinner had been amazing. The leg of lamb was divine and the lemon potatoes were so satisfying, of course, she’d eaten too much. But that had been her strategy to avoid having to talk to Hawk.
She settled into the chair and tried to suck the warmth of the fire into her bones. Her insides hadn’t unfrozen since earlier when the man had put his hand over her nose and mouth. Strike that, her cheeks were on fire with embarrassment over her fucking stupid action. She could have claimed it was a mistake, but it was more than that. She’d risked everything, including Hawk’s life because she was claustrophobic. She could have just done yoga, but no. Not her. Hawk had told her to do what he’d said, when he said it, and she’d ignored his instructions. Stupid.
She glanced at him as he’d entered the room. Somewhere over the past few days, he’d become important to her and the fact that she’d jeopardized him was unforgivable.
Gage and Mitch pulled up some bar stools at either end of the sofa while Lacy sat down on the sofa nearest to Remy. Alex sat next to Lacy, and Dani sat in the far corner.
“We need to talk out a plan,” Lacy explained. “We think we can get the key back and get you to the meeting, but it’s going to take some doing.” She reached out and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “You okay?”
Remy nodded. “I can’t thank you enough, Lacy. You, Logan, all of his brothers…it’s just so overwhelming, what you all are doing for me.” She swallowed the lump building in her throat. “It means the world to me to know that you have my back. I’ve felt so alone since Gramps died.”
Lacy squeezed her arm and gave her a sympathetic smile. “You don’t have to feel alone. We’ve been besties since college. You’ll always have me—”
“And me,” Alex chimed in. “Once you’re part of the pack, we won’t let you go. It’s like being in a gang.” She grinned and Remy couldn’t help but smile.
Hawk sat down across from her. The weight of his gaze heightened her discomfort and chagrin. She tried to swallow the guilt she was feeling, but it was like a pill stuck in her throat. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to dislodge it.
Logan placed a plate of cookies on the coffee table and then claimed the bar stool closest to her. “Just in case someone needs a little bit of sugar to get them through.” He winked.
“Don’t mind if I do,” Mitch said, reaching for a cookie.
Alex playfully batted his hand away. “You just ate five of those.”
“I’m a growing boy.” He grinned.
“You’ll be growing in the wrong direction,” Gage said as he plunked down on the floor next to Dani’s feet.
Mitch took his cookie and sat on the bar stool. “Not me, bro. I have the metabolism of a teenager.”
“Yes, and it’s so damned annoying,” Alex agreed.
Gage started, “We think we’ve figured out how to get the key back, at least in theory. We know Asad Najeddine has it, or at least his people stole it, so it follows that he has it. We’re reasonably sure he’s going to use a biometric wallet to carry the key in.” He went on to explain how that worked. “What we need to do is get the wallet from Najeddine to Remy so she can be at the meeting.”
