Shadow Hawk

20

Cheyenne Memorial Hospital

HAWK AND ABBY PULLED INTO the hospital parking lot just as a nurse wheeled out a large woman and her baby.

Hawk hopped out of the SUV, squatted before the wheelchair and grinned for the first time in two days. “Congratulations on your new arrival.”

“Fuck you,” Logan said from beneath his Vegas showgirl-style wig. He looked at Abby, then back at Hawk. “Huh?”

“What?”

“I just never thought you’d ever land yourself someone as classy as Abby, that’s all.”

Abby’s brow shot up. “And how do you know he ‘landed’ me?”

“It’s all over your face. Both your faces.”

She blinked, then looked at the pretty nurse behind Logan, who smiled and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Callen. And don’t worry, I don’t see anything but a lovely glow.”

Abby put her hands to her face. Hawk looked over Logan’s multitude of injuries, then glanced at Callen. “You didn’t do so shabby either.”

Logan reached for Callen’s hand. “Yeah, I did pretty darn great.”

Callen smiled dreamily, but that faded as two police cars pulled into the lot. “I wonder if that’s related to our new problem?”

“New problem?” Hawk asked.

“Later. Run now.” They all piled into the vehicle, with Logan looking a little green despite his grin, which told Hawk he was hurting much more than he wanted to let on.

“New problem?” Hawk demanded from behind the wheel. “And the cops? What do they want? My head?”

“On a platter,” Logan said. “The ATF has large sums of money going in and out of your accounts. Out being the key operative here, apparently. Supposedly you’ve just withdrawn a huge sum of money. Then there’s the memory stick Tibbs found. And, wait for it…in spite of the fact that they do not have Gaines’s body and all the evidence is looking right at him, they’re charging you with kidnapping Abby.”

“Is that all?” Hawk asked in tune to Abby’s gasp. “Hell, that’s not too bad.” He met Logan’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “We’ll go to Gaines’s ranch in two hours.”

“Why two hours?”

“Because nightfall will be a better time to get close to Gaines.”

“We can go to my place,” Callen said.

It seemed as good a plan as any, especially since Logan really did look like death warmed over and Abby seemed ready to shatter. They’d take a few minutes, hopefully get their game plan together and finish this.

One way or another.

Callen’s condo

HAWK PACED CALLEN’S SMALL spare bedroom while Abby sat on the bed watching him. “Okay,” he said. “So he’s got the money, freshly laundered through my account. He’s going to vanish, and soon. Unfortunately, he’s run into a snag. Me.”

“If he sees you, you’re dead.”

“Right,” he agreed. “Which is option number one.”

“And option number two is?”

She sounded pissed, a front for her fear, which he appreciated, but he didn’t plan on dying. “Me turning myself in on the mercy of the legal system.”

Abby’s eyes were conflicted. “I’ve been thinking about that. Given how he’s handled everything so ruthlessly, that’s not a good option. He’ll try to have you killed while you’re waiting for justice.”

“Probably.”

“So we move to option three,” Abby said tightly. “Which is me offering myself up.”

He stared at her in utter speechlessness. Finally, he managed to say, “Over my dead body.”

“No, listen. We both know he has this obsession with me. He’s got an ego the size of Texas, right? And he thinks I worship the ground he walks on, that’s what keeps that ego going. You know it,” she continued when he opened his mouth. “I’m the one thing he never got, and it’s eating at him, Hawk, you know it is. I offer to go with him if he leaves you alone. It might work.”

“Abby.” His belly felt hollow. That she’d even suggested it after what she’d been through last year told him how much he meant to her. Touched beyond words, he ran a finger over the cut on her cheek, then leaned in and kissed it. “Not happening.”

“I don’t want you to die.”

“Makes two of us.”

She looked into his eyes, her own soft and sweet and heartbreakingly open. “Remember last night, when you said you’d do anything to make this all up to me?”

“Of course.”

She backed to the door and hit the lock.

“What are you doing?”

Her hands came up and pulled off Serena’s sweater, beneath which she wore her own bra. “I just figured out how you can do that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Hawk’s voice was no longer so steady, and neither were his hands as he shoved them in his pockets to try to keep them off her. But God, she stood there, offering him everything with her eyes, her body…

She reached for the zipper on the jeans. It was a tribute to how much she’d stunned him that she managed to shimmy out of them before he moved. Good Christ, she was commando. “Abby-” He reached for her but she slapped a hand to his chest.

“No, I’m not naked yet. I want to be naked with you.”

His mouth went dry. All of his blood rushed to his groin so fast he got dizzy.

“Please, Hawk,” she murmured, unhooking her bra and letting it drop, standing before him, gloriously nude. “Love me.”

The kicker? He already did. So goddamn much he could hardly breathe. Gently pulling her in against him, he slowly backed her to the bed, following her down, down…ah, yeah, ending up right where he wanted to be, between her legs.

Home.

Her lips were soft, receptive and made for his, and kissing her was like heaven on earth. So was touching her. Never in a million years had he expected her to offer this again, to want him in the way he wanted her, and it hit like a freight train. “Abby.”

She was busy, her mouth spreading hot, sweet kisses down his throat, her hands shoving his jeans down at the same time so that she could wrap a leg around him, opening herself up so he could sink inside her.

God.

Yeah, he might have spent six months fantasizing about her, but those dreams had nothing, nothing at all, on the reality of being with her, feeling her body move with his, hearing her pant out his name as if there was no one else on earth who could do her right. The only sound in the room now was their harsh breathing as they struggled to keep their wordless pleas and moans from being overheard. Being with her like this was beyond his dreams, so sensual, so earthy and erotic as hell. It was also oddly unnerving because he knew…

She was it for him.

Her breasts were cushioned against his chest, her belly to his, her body soft against his hard, ungiving one. He had his hands on her ass, with each thrust driving them higher and higher, and he looked into her face, watching her go over for him, shatter with his name on her lips. Lost in her shudders, so sweetly encased in her body, he came right along with her, with only one thought in his brain.

Oh, yeah, he’d fallen. He’d fallen good and hard, and couldn’t get up.

THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE, BUT STILL struck terror into Abby’s heart. She’d described the lay of the ranch for Hawk and Logan. They’d wait until they were nearly there to call Tibbs and give him directions. That way he would be too late to stop them, but not too late to help.

Hopefully.

The possibility made Abby sick to her stomach. So many things could go wrong. Gaines could kill Logan and Hawk or her before admitting anything. Tibbs could not show up in time, or worse, show up too soon and take Hawk into custody.

The whole thing was one big crap shoot, and Abby hated gambling.

Logan, changed out of his maternal wear, got into the passenger seat of the SUV, looking far too weak for Abby’s peace of mind, but there was no stopping this. He leaned out the window and gave Callen a kiss good-bye. “I’ll never forget you,” he said more solemnly than Abby had ever seen him.

Callen shook her head, eyes fierce. “Oh, no. Hell, no. Don’t you dare say good-bye to me like you’re not coming back.”

Logan didn’t smile, or try to reassure her. “Callen-”

“You know what? Forget this bullshit.” And she climbed into the backseat. “I’m in as much danger if I stay behind. I gave Gaines my name when I thought he was your boss, and by now they’ve probably noticed you disappeared just before I left the hospital.”

Hawk looked at Abby. “This is crazy.”

Callen lifted a small tape recorder. “Not crazy. I can help. Hey, I might get something useful for you all to use later, right?”

“Absolutely crazy,” Hawk repeated.

“There’s no doubt of that.” Abby gestured to the wheel. “You driving, or am I?”

“Shit.” But he opened the backseat for her, and then got behind the wheel.

The plan was in motion now, and nothing could stop it. Abby met Hawk’s gaze in the mirror and realized one thing she’d forgotten to do, one thing that was going to haunt her if things went bad.

She’d forgotten to tell him she loved him.

GAINES’S RANCH WAS HIGH IN the hills, in rough terrain, and extremely remote. Hawk didn’t take the turn into its long dirt driveway. Instead, he took them on a four-wheel tour through the woods, entering onto the property from the back.

At the edge of a clearing, he stopped the vehicle. Down a ravine, about a half mile ahead, sat the ranch house, completely isolated. It was surrounded on two sides by running streams, and a third side by a rocky, sheer cliff.

Terrific.

“We’re going to have to hike in,” he told Logan.

They all looked at Logan’s cast.

“No problem,” Logan said confidently, and lifted his cane. “I’m feeling no pain.”

Hawk doubted that but he knew he couldn’t keep Logan from going-he’d follow him anyway. Abby was another story. He got out of the car and stopped her from doing the same. Leaning in, he put his hands on her face just to touch her, waiting until she slayed him with those eyes. “Someone needs to stay behind and protect Callen. I’ll leave you the rifle. If we don’t come back, get behind the wheel and drive the hell out of here.”

“Hawk-”

“Go directly to Regional. Plant yourself there to protect yourself from Gaines’s revenge, tell Tibbs I kidnapped you against your will, if necessary-”

“I am not going to put that nail in your coffin-”

“Abby, listen to me. If I don’t come back, you won’t need the nails. Show him your cuts, your bruises, the rifle, okay? Go back to Selena’s and get my cuffs. The truck. With all the evidence they’ll believe you.”

Her eyes filled. “If you don’t get out of that ranch house, I’ll kill you myself.”

He smiled, though he knew his eyes were shiny, too. “That’s a deal.” Hawk smoothed back her hair, and kissed her once because he couldn’t resist, letting their lips cling for a beat. “See you on the other side, Ab.” He wanted to drop to his knees, take her hand and ask her to love him forever. Yeah, he really wanted to do that. But he had to survive the next hour before he asked her for her heart and soul, that seemed only fair. So he turned, and with Logan, walked away.

But he left his heart with her.

FIFTEEN SWEATY MINUTES LATER, Hawk and Logan came to one of the streams.

“Oh, boy.” Logan weaved unsteadily.

Hawk reached out to grab him. “You okay?”

“Ask him.”

Hawk followed Logan’s gaze to a big-ass moose, who stood twenty-five yards away, watching them balefully. Between his huge palmated antlers, his elongated snout wriggled as he took in their scent.

“Just keep moving,” Hawk said. “I’ve got your back.”

“Why do I have to go first?”

“Because you’re the injured one. The one most likely to get eaten. Jesus. Just go!”

The moose wriggled his nose again but was too lazy to chase them. It took another fifteen minutes to get down to Gaines’s house. Gaines’s deserted ranch house.

“Think the bastard already took off?” Not looking so hot, Logan sank to the porch swing.

“No.” But it was so still as to be eerie. “He’s here, somewhere.”

Any minute, Tibbs and company were going to burst in with a blaze of glory, and damn it, having Gaines here would be ever so helpful. Hawk stepped into the yard and turned in a slow circle. “He’s probably watching us.”

“If that was true, we’d already be dead.”

“Then he’s watching something else.” Narrowing his gaze, he turned again, stopping short at the sight of a surveillance camera mounted in the tree off the right side of the porch. A matching camera was on the left. And he’d bet every last cent he had, there were many, many more. Shit. He whipped back to Logan. “Abby and Callen.”

“What?”

“This place is surrounded by cameras. He’s been onto us since we first arrived. He’s probably already at the car.”

Logan swore and got to his feet, huffing and puffing. “Jesus. I’m worthless. The drugs are wearing off. Just go.”

Hawk came back to him and shoved a shoulder into one of Logan’s armpits, working as a human crutch. “Like I’m going to leave you behind now, after all these years that I’ve been carting your sorry ass around.”

“Shut up and run.”

It felt like it took them an eternity, but in twelve minutes they were back at the top of the hill, where they separated to circle around. Hawk came in from the east and hugged up to a tree. Damn it, he couldn’t see. He’d have to climb the tree, which led him twenty feet straight up into hell before he had a good, dizzying, oh-holy-shit view.

God, he hated heights. But he hated what he saw even more. In front of the SUV, Callen was crumpled on the ground, eyes closed.

And Gaines. The bastard was leaning back against the car as if he had all the time in the world, Abby held tight to him, a gun to her temple.

“Might as well come out and join the party,” Gaines called out.

Bullshit. Hawk aimed his gun directly between Gaines’s eyes, which unfortunately put him damn close to between Abby’s as well. “Let her go.”

At the sound of his voice, Abby gasped and looked up until she locked gazes with him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “He got the jump on me.”

“Of course I found you.” Gaines pressed his cheek to hers. “I always will. Now, here’s how this is going to work, Hawk. You’re going to put down your gun. And Logan? I know you’re out there. Might as well show yourself.”

Logan did not appear. Hawk had no idea if this was strategy, or if he hadn’t made it around yet. “Let her go,” he repeated, his gun still sighted right between Gaines’s bloodshot eyes. “Do it. Or I promise you, this will hurt.”

“I’m sorry.” And actually, Gaines did look sorry. He sported a bandage around his shoulder that reminded Hawk he’d shot the bastard last night. “I can’t always be looking for you over my shoulder. You have to die.”

“No,” Abby gasped, terror filling her gaze, terror for Hawk. “Elliot, don’t be stupid, you’ll never get away with this.”

“You’d be surprised what I can get away with.” Again, he ran his cheek over hers, his eyes softening. Then he shifted the muzzle of his gun from her temple to just beneath her jaw, and Hawk’s heart just about stopped. The guy’s hands were shaking, he was a loose cannon who was going to go off and shoot her in the process.

No. He wasn’t going to let that happen. If he could get Abby to go limp and drop, he could get a clean shot. “Do you remember that one thing I wanted from you?” he asked.

She nodded. Trust. It was there in her eyes for him to accept, take. “Good,” he told her, and nodded his head once, trying to signal her to drop. “That’s real good.” As his finger applied slow pressure, she looked him right in the eyes and mouthed “I love you,” and on that stunning revelation, she didn’t drop but shoved back with her elbow, landing it hard in Gaines’s windpipe. A harsh sound expelled from his lungs, and then Abby dropped, in that split second giving Hawk the free target he needed.

Except that before he got a shot off, a different gun rang out, and both Gaines and Abby crumpled to the ground.

Hawk slid down the tree, racing toward the pair as Logan burst out of the woods, limping toward them, his gun in hand.

Hawk had never been so petrified in his life as he was in that very moment, that single moment of clarity, when he knew he was never going to be the same. Abby had just come into his life. With her smile, with every breath she took, she’d made it better.

She’d made him whole.

Goddamn, but he’d been waiting for that without even knowing it, and now that he’d experienced it, he was afraid he couldn’t live without it.

Without her.