Chapter Twenty-Four
Margo tried to sleep, but after the chaotic evening, she couldn’t shut her brain down. And the twin bed in the small room wasn’t comfortable. She’d have better luck on a bed of nails. How did Hawkeye sleep on the thing?
The only comfort she found was the scent of him on his pillow.
She didn’t like that he’d left her at the bunkhouse but there was no use in arguing. She understood. The crew was sleeping, and the house was quiet, but Hawkeye assured her they’d all come running if she let out a peep.
She rolled side to side then to her back. She shook out the restless energy. No use. She couldn’t relax.
The light was on, and she stared up at the shadows on the ceiling. The wind rustled through the woods, causing the trees to rustle. She could hear every sound.
In frustration, she sat up and looked around the room. The furnishings were simple. A bed, a dresser, a chair. The bathroom was down the hall. She felt a twinge in her bladder. She’d tried to hold it, but Mother Nature was calling.
Getting up, she opened the door and listened to any sounds of anyone awake.
Silence.
Quietly padding down the hallway, she found the bathroom and flipped on the light. Shutting the door and locking it, she looked around the surprisingly clean and tidy space.
Doing her business and washing her hands, she went back to Hawkeye’s room and closed the door. She practically ran for the bed, but her foot caught on something sticking out from under the bed. She practically fell onto the bed in a heap.
She saw the backpack sticking out from where it was stashed under the bed. She recognized it as being the one Hawkeye had the day they met.
She nudged the bag further underneath with her toe, but something slipped out. As she reached to put the envelope back in, she hesitated—her attention snagged by a single detail. Her name written on the envelope.
Why would Hawkeye have an envelope with her name on it?
Looking toward the door, she hesitated. Should she wait for him to come back and then ask?
Or should she find out for herself what was inside the envelope?
Sliding open the unsealed flap, she shook out the contents. Photos scattered the bed along with her missing driver’s license. He’d kept it all along.
She looked closer at the pictures and her heart plummeted into her stomach. She felt bile lifting into her throat.
No. This couldn’t be.
She stared as if she could be imagining what she saw to be right. Seconds turned into minutes, until her vision blurred. The photos were of her. Sleeping. At Leo’s.
Who took them? Leo? Of course, he did because they were taken in his bedroom. But why did he take them?
And why did Hawkeye have them?
Unanswered questions whirled inside her mind.
Anger, sadness, and confusion settled inside of her.
She took her hand and gave it a long sweep across the bed, knocking the pictures onto the floor. They scattered but blared at her with damming evidence that Hawkeye hadn’t been honest. He had lied, about everything. He couldn’t have the pictures without being guilty of betraying her.
Tears burned in her eyes, but they didn’t fall. She refused to weaken.
She sat there for another few minutes, swallowing the pain of reality. She eventually gathered the photos and shoved them back into the envelope. She couldn’t look at them another second.
She was about to return them to the bag but reconsidered. With trembling hands, she placed them into the top drawer of the nightstand instead.
Her attention fell to the bag.
What else was he hiding?
This time she didn’t even question whether she should look.
Margo’s fingers trembled as she took a manilla envelope from inside the bag, thick with documents and secrets. There was personal information about Leo, his assistant, and even Margo. There were notes about his comings and goings. Hawkeye had been surveilling Leo for weeks.
Who was Dean Hawk?
From what she saw in the documents before her, he was spying on Leo.
She couldn’t look any longer.
She tossed the envelope back inside wishing she could erase the evidence of lies. A fine layer of dust coated her fingers, a tangible reminder. The room felt like a cave, dank and dark.
The sound of a door opening made her jump. She watched Hawkeye enter, looking tired. Lies would make anyone exhausted.
She knew that all too well because they’d been living a distorted version of reality since she met him.