Chapter Two
Hawk wanted to kill his brother. Not the first time he’d felt that way. Wouldn’t be the last. But as he stared at his brother, knowing he’d probably done something to piss off the woman who cleaned his house, he wanted to wrap his hands around Lincoln’s throat and strangle him to death.
He didn’t have a lot of good things in his life. The bad seemed to squeeze out all the good. But he had his family, the businesses they ran, his work with the local search and rescue team, and he had Lucky.
She made his life, his week, his black heart brighter.
And Lincoln had somehow fucked that up.
“Listen, man, it’s like I said. I saw her at the bar on Saturday night. I asked her to clean my place. We were supposed to meet on Sunday. She didn’t show or respond to my texts. I was nice to her. I don’t know why she blew me off.”
“Not just you. Me. She didn’t clean my place yesterday like she always does. Every Monday like clockwork. No exceptions.”
“Maybe she’s sick.”
“She’d have texted me and rescheduled.” His gut felt like a knot he’d never unravel.
Lincoln grinned. “You really like her and you’re pissed that I tried to hire her, too. Admit it. You’re jealous.”
“I’m pissed that you did something to make her not want to work for me anymore.”
She’d never missed cleaning his place, except once when she broke a tooth on a piece of almond brittle and texted that she’d reschedule to do his place on Thursday instead of Monday, like usual. She was responsible and kind. She wouldn’t just leave him hanging.
Lincoln put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “First, I didn’t do anything. Second…do you two have something going that I don’t know about?”
Hawk tried to hold on to his patience, even as he shook off his brother’s hand. “It’s none of your damn business. I knew I shouldn’t have told you about her leaving me food and stuff.”
Lincoln’s grin grew. “Hold up. ‘And stuff?’ All you shared was that she sometimes makes you something to eat. What else does she do?”
Make my whole fucking world a little better with her notes and books and reminders to eat and try the meditations for sleep in the book she left me.
“Nothing. Forget about it.”
“No. Not happening. You’ve been a brooding asshole who’s pushed everyone away for way too long. We get it. You needed space when you left the military to find your way out of the trauma of what happened, but we’re way past that and you’re still so closed off and…”
“What? Let me guess. Moody.”
“You’re being a straight up asshole right now. I talked to your girl for like five minutes. That’s all. I know you have a thing for her, even if you don’t want to admit it. You know how I know that? Because she’s the only person you talk about outside of your coworkers and us.”
“It’s not like that.” You want it to be like that.
“You want it to be,” his brother echoed the voice in his head.
“You just don’t want to admit it. Or give in to it, because you think you’re broken or whatever else you tell yourself that keeps you from asking out that smokin’ hot, nice, kind, real woman.
And when I mean real, I mean someone who is exactly what she seems.”
Hawk took a chance and admitted. “While we have this kind of running conversation going, I haven’t actually seen her in person in two years.
” He’d been working on getting better, getting his head straight after two tours of duty overseas left him with flashbacks and nightmares to go along with several surgeries after he’d crashed his chopper.
Not to mention the other times he’d been shot or wounded in the line of duty.
“Maybe you should change that. She seems really nice. You could use some of that.”
I have some of that. She leaves it behind every time she’s at my place.
Lincoln prodded some more. “Does Lyric know about her?”
Hawk shook his head. His cousin’s wife had taken it upon herself to be his best friend.
At first, it was mostly one sided. But the woman wore him down a little at a time until they were exchanging phone calls a couple times a week and she and Mason visited him in Montana once a month.
He went down to Wyoming a few times a month, usually when Mason or Nick needed his help on one of their FBI cases.
“If you need more encouragement, or a woman’s perspective, you know Lyric would tell you to go for it. She’s been trying to set you up every chance she gets, but you keep turning her down. Now I know why.”
“It’s not about Lucky. It’s about the baggage that comes with me.”
Lincoln hooked his arm around Hawk’s shoulders. “We all have baggage. If you expect her to carry some of yours, you might remember that she’ll expect the same. It’s called a relationship. And if you haven’t noticed, you’re already in one with her.”
Am I?
Yes.
Sort of.
And the thought of it made him…happy?
He hadn’t felt that way in longer than he could remember.
“I need to get out of here for a while. I’m going for a hike.
I’ve been meaning to up my training anyway—now that the weather’s improving, search and rescue is going to be inundated with calls from hikers.
Some of the places they get lost in are rough terrain.
And my stamina isn’t what it used to be. ”
Lincoln eyed him critically. “Not from what I’m seeing. You’re probably in better shape than when you left the military.”
He kept in good shape for a reason—so he could help those in need. He loved working at the distillery with his brothers, but he loved his search and rescue work even more. It gave him a sense of purpose. One he needed after his military life.
“Let me clear my head. I’ll call Lucky’s service and see if they know why she didn’t show on my way out.”
Lincoln’s eyes filled with concern. “Let me know what you find out. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d blow someone off.”
“She isn’t. That’s what concerns me.” He headed out of Lincoln’s office and to his car.
He’d already packed all his gear this morning, knowing at some point he’d get tired of spreadsheets and distribution questions.
He preferred the outdoors. He’d spent the past weekend helping a buddy from SAR paint the inside of the house he’d just bought with his new wife.
They’d seemed so happy and in love and ready to start the next chapter of their life together and expand their family.
Maybe that’s why he was thinking so much about Lucky and the note he’d left her last week. At the time, it felt right. But then he started second-guessing himself about how much he’d revealed by being so open and honest.
What if he’d crossed a line, and this was her way of letting him know he’d gone too far?
He slid into his car and connected his phone to the Bluetooth. “Call Happy Helpers Cleaning Service.”
The phone rang twice before a woman answered. “Happy Helpers. How can I assist you?”
“I’m trying to get in touch with Lucky. She was supposed to clean my place yesterday but never showed up.”
“Oh no. Is this Mr. Gunn?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry. I was supposed to call you.”
“Is she sick?” He really hoped that’s all it was, even though his gut was telling him something was wrong based on how the woman’s voice filled with concern.
“Um. No. I don’t think so. I really don’t know. No one has been able to get ahold of her. As far as I can tell, she’s been missing for a couple of days.”
His stomach tightened with dread. “Did you call the police?”
“Yes, but they said we had to wait forty-eight hours. Adults are allowed to take off without telling anyone if they want to.” That last part sounded like a quote from whoever she talked to at the police department. “We have to wait until tomorrow to file an official report.”
“Okay, well, I know she was at Gunn Brothers Saturday night with a friend. My brother talked to her while she was there.”
“Yes. We know. Her friend Desiree told us they’d gone out. Apparently Lucky had too much to drink and Desiree took her home, though I was surprised to hear that.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucky’s not really a drinker. She doesn’t like to take anything that will alter her ability to think clearly. Not even an antihistamine when her allergies are bad, probably because of what happened to her family.”
“What happened to them?” He had a vague memory about her parents dying years ago.
“They were all drugged and murdered by her boyfriend.”
Holy fuck!
“Has someone been by her place?”
“All of us have checked everywhere we could think of to find her. Strange thing is, her car is at her place.”
That did send up a huge red flag. If she wasn’t there, that meant someone took her somewhere most likely. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she drive herself?
He had to ask the hard question. “Is she seeing anyone now? Someone who’d know where she is, or be with her?”
“No. She doesn’t date, though we’ve all tried to coax her to take a chance. But after what happened…”
Yeah, she probably didn’t trust men.
“Okay. Well, would you ask her to call me when she shows up?” If she showed up. He didn’t want to think that, but his gut just kept nudging him that something was terribly wrong. “I’d really like to know that she’s all right.”
“Of course. And what about your cleaning? Would you like me to send someone else over to do it.”
“No.” He didn’t like strangers in his house. He only wanted Lucky. “Let’s hope Lucky returns soon and I can reschedule with her then.”
“Okay. Please let me know if you change your mind and we’ll make arrangements to make this right.”
“I understand. Sometimes people just need some space. Let’s hope that’s all this is and she comes back soon.
” He could relate to that. He’d done it enough times himself.
He was about to get lost in the woods right now just to get his head straight again and blow off the excess energy building up in his system.
“Thank you for your patience, Mr. Gunn. I’ll be in touch.”