Chapter 28
28
“ H ow’s the hand?”
Strolling into Hawke’s office, I see the man in question hunched over what looks like a shit ton of files and paperwork, and honestly, it seems as if it would be a goddamn living nightmare.
Give me intestines and tongues any day over a computer and spreadsheets.
His blue eyes flick up to mine, and I see his hand flex slightly at the mention of his exploits from last night. “Fuck off.”
“Must be sore.” Poking my tongue against the side of my cheek, I wander over to one of the armchairs beside the giant fireplace that is currently sitting, lifeless and empty.
Hawke does his best to ignore my presence and carries on typing.
I give him a few minutes before starting to play up. “Do I gotta wear a sexy little set of bra and panties to earn a moment of your time, or what? Red lingerie your preference these days?”
That earns me a heavy exhale and a withering glare that is just about customary where the Calliano brothers are concerned. He tilts his head back and pinches the bridge of his nose, and it’s far too tempting to sit here figuring out all the ways to try and crack his carefully put-together shell of indifference.
“You’re not sleeping at the house.” This man might think he can hide behind a bullshit story of being busy, but there’s no coincidence that the man hasn’t ventured to his room since our little captive came out of her drug-induced haze.
“Neither are you.” Eventually, he gives me a long look.
“Keeping track of where I lay my head at night, aren’t you the romantic.”
He scowls and seems ready to toss something particularly acidic my way, then must think better of it.
The silence hangs in the air, punctuated by the tap of the keys of his computer.
“Well, you’re certainly a delight today. This is why I have to put up with Ky always bitching about you and Thorne, isn’t it? What’s brought about this wonderful mood to bless us all?”
Hawke drags a hand through his dark hair, ruffling it slightly, and I can’t help but notice the dark circles around his eyes. This man loves to burn the candle at both ends in pursuit of the good he and his brothers do in secret, but the threads holding his soul in place are looking mighty fragile in that small glimpse behind the mask of the man.
“It's Lilith House.” He meets my gaze, that expression he schools so flawlessly for all his clients, and the Anguis remains unreadable as ever.
“What is?”
“Where she’s to be taken next.”
Every muscle in my body tenses, and I’m up on my feet before I can even register the movement. “You’re fucking joking. That shit isn’t funny, Calliano.”
“Do I look like I’d joke about something like this? ”
How he can sit there and stay so composed is unfathomable.
“No fucking way.” I run my palm over the back of my head. “For a start, no. Second, Angel will start a goddamn riot.”
Hawke leans back in his chair, watching me pace the floor with piercing intensity. “We don’t know who has asked for this. There are plenty of others within Lilith House, and exactly like it is here, there are good people amongst the rot.”
“What if they’re the ones who want her? Then what?” I might not be raising my voice, but I’m damn near ready to flip every piece of furniture in here. “Are you gonna be satisfied damn near killing one of your own? Because I tell you now, that’s what it’ll do to him. Don’t forget all the reasons why we got him out of there in the first place.”
“I can’t save everyone, Greyson. I’m doing my fucking best, alright?”
My veins pump with a twisted sense of unease. Eventually, I stop and lean on the back of the chair with both hands, fixing my eyes on his. “I know you are. I’m not pissed at you. I’m just saying that this shit is more complicated now.”
“How so?”
That almost makes me goddamn laugh.
“You might fool others, but I see through that shield you love to erect. I know what lurks beneath all those pretty boy genes you’ve got going on.”
The man is a master at hiding the truth and moves to continue talking logistics and details like none of this is the biggest fucking disaster for Poe. Considering we’ve saved her once, for whoever these assholes hidden in the shadows are, now there’s every possibility we could be delivering her up to foul goddamn people, and my gut is churning at what this might mean.
“I’ll text you the details. I’ve got shit to do, you know.” He turns back to his computer, trying to dismiss me in the way he loves to do.
“Yeah, don’t you always?” I shake my head. “But I know you’re hiding and burying yourself neck deep in whatever bullshit is on that computer and phone of yours out of guilt. At least give her the respect of admitting what it is you want.”
That brings his heartless, icy stare back my way. “I’d stick to what you do best if I were you, butcher.” His words are measured and slow.
“And what’s that exactly?”
This time, Hawke seems to chew over what he wants to say, and I don’t even give him the opportunity to think.
“Because from where I stood last night… I saw a man who moved quicker than a flash as soon as Andreas Noire made an appearance. I saw a man who gave that girl exactly what she asked for. I also saw a man who had a hard-on the size of your fucking forearm by the time you were done spanking her sweet little ass.”
Pushing off the back of the chair, I move closer to his desk, tucking my hands in my pockets as I do so.
“So tell me again how this is all business, and you’re keeping your ice-cold goddamn heart locked in the deep freeze as always, because I can’t even begin to tell you what you’re missing. Although, I’m pretty sure you know, and you’re just too much of a proud asshole to admit it.”
His eyes narrow. “You know exactly why I had to get her away from Andreas. That doesn’t mean shit.”
Of course, this man is always going to play the martyr. Ever the savior and forever pretending like his own life doesn’t matter.
“Hawke… you and your brother have suffered more than most, I get it. But there’s no sense in letting them keep winning. What if this is something good in amongst all that crap you’ve su rvived, huh? Don’t you think even just a temporary bit of peace might be worth it?”
His jaw tics as those words hang in the air. Eventually, he picks up his phone, and I know that’s his way of ending this conversation.
“They’re expecting you there by tomorrow evening. Poe needs to be shown around, seen amongst the members of Lilith House. I don’t know if there will be other Households they require her to visit, but that’s the orders we have for now.”
“You’re not coming.”
“No.”
Tilting my head to one side, I give him one last nudge, because fuck him. After last night, having to deal with the shit he pulled, and just about having to try and wrestle Angel to the ground before he went nuclear and tore Hawke to pieces, I’m more than interested to see what this man has to say for himself.
“She’s got a lot of interests that are pretty damn well aligned with yours. Have you read her form yet?”
There’s the tiniest second, when anyone else would never notice, but I see the way his shoulders tense beneath his shirt. “No, I haven’t.”
“Afraid of what you might confirm for yourself if you do? What you already suspect, I’m assuming.”
“I think you should go chop a few bodies up and give yourself something to do.”
A chuckle comes out of me. “We’ve done this dance side by side for a long time, Calliano. I think you need to seriously consider that if you don’t give in to this, you’re gonna fucking regret it once she’s gone, and you never gave yourself even a shot. We don’t get happy endings. We’re the assholes, remember? So quit acting like you’re over here being noble by denying something.”
“Kindly fuck off, Greyson. ”
That’s the moment Hawke’s attention is fully taken away, when a phone call comes in that he answers immediately. Faintly, I can hear his brother on the other end of the phone.
As I make my way out the door, I call over my shoulder, loud enough for the man in question to hear me. “Oh, and tell Ky he needs to send some more toys my way to play with. My workshop’s looking a little empty.”