Chapter 19
Hawke paced his room. Everly had fallen asleep hours ago. He’d sat with her for a long time before he’d left, listening to her delicate snores, watching every little twitch and flutter of her eyelids.
He wondered if she could hear the music she so loved to dance to in her dreams.
It came to him that he’d never asked her how she’d lost her hearing, if she was born that way or if it was from some type of injury.
Then again, the how and why of it didn’t really matter now.
Alone, in his room, he could be honest with himself and admit that even if he’d figured out her heritage earlier, it wouldn’t have mattered to him either way.
He still wouldn’t have passed up the chance to be with her. He craved her even now.
They’d talked for a long time tonight, and Hawke was completely convinced she had no idea at all who she was or where she came from.
Only who she became after she was adopted into the system.
Her brother, on the other hand, was another story.
She’d talked about him a lot, told Hawke how she’d found him, what their reunion had been like, how happy she’d been to find this link to family.
Her eyes had filled with tears as she’d remembered, but she’d wiped them away before they could spill over.
In the end, it didn’t change anything. No matter what he’d been through or was going through now, they had to think of the safety of the coven, and he was a hell of a lot more dangerous to their existence than Everly.
Giving up on the idea of sleep, he made his way above ground.
As it was still daylight out, he opened the door an inch at a time as he always did when he was the first one to come up.
Caution was the reason he’d lived as long as he had.
The club was dark and empty, everything intact.
Closing the door behind him, Hawke went to the office and collapsed into the desk chair.
Everly’s brother paced his cell with erratic jerks of his body.
Occasionally, he would rush from one end to the other with a sudden burst of speed.
When he turned, Hawke saw white bone partially jutting through the skin of his back.
As he came back toward the camera, he looked up for only a fleeting moment before he twisted around and rushed to the other end, but it was enough for Hawke to see the glow of his eyes and the misshapen shape of his face.
He took deep, calming breaths as he hit some keys and scanned the room with the camera. The lab was empty, all the scientists gone for the night. The fucking bastards. They’d left him like that, partially shifted, his features twisted in agony.
Hawke sat back in his chair and scratched at the scruff on his face with both hands. He actually felt a twinge of pity for her brother. Matthew? Is that what she said his name was? If he wasn’t fucking crazy before, he sure as hell would be now.
“Damn it.” Despite what he’d told Everly earlier, he’d been hanging on to a slim thread of hope that he would be able to deliver her brother back to her intact and unharmed.
His reasons were nothing short of selfish.
He wanted to be her hero. What happened to the male after that would depend on if he had been as na?ve as Everly about his other half.
If so, perhaps Kohl would decide to just let him go, once he knew neither of them meant any harm to the coven.
Problem was, Hawke was no longer so sure he could say the same about his sister.
As if she knew he was thinking about her, Everly opened the office door. Her eyes were red and her skin was blotchy, like she’d been crying. Spotting Hawke sitting behind the desk, she closed it behind her and joined him.
He didn’t try to hide the camera feed from her. It was better for her to see it. Hiding things like this from people didn’t achieve anything. She would find out sooner or later, and then she would turn her anger on him for not telling her what was happening with her brother.
“What’s wrong with him?” Her voice shook, and she cleared her throat. “What is that on his back?” She turned to Hawke with horror-filled eyes.
Though it was quite obvious, he told her anyway. “Those are his wings,” he told her. “Or a part of them.”
“Why are they like that?”
Hawke watched the creature in the cell for a few moments.
“It looks like they’ve succeeded, at least partially, in finding a way to keep him from shifting.
And I say partially, because, as you can see, he started to turn.
But they stopped it somehow. My guess is it won’t be long until he won’t be able to shift at all. ”
“And then what will they do to him?”
He turned in his chair to face her. “I don’t know for sure.”
But she wasn’t fooled. “They’re going to kill him, aren’t they?”
“If I had to guess, I would hope so. Because his other option is staying right where he is and continuing to be their lab rat.” He touched the back of her hand with his fingertips, and then let his arm fall back to his lap.
“I’m sorry, Ev. I really am. I wish there was something else we could do.
But the only thing I can offer is to take him out quick so he doesn’t suffer anymore.
” Hawke was surprised to find he truly meant it, if for no other reason than to see her truly smile again.
Little lines appeared between her brows as she studied him. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.” Then she turned and stared at the monitor as she said, “What about me?”
With her attention diverted, Hawke allowed himself the time to drink her in, from the top of her curly head to the sweet curve of her ass and all the way down to her sneakers.
He smiled when he saw they were purple this time, but still sparkly.
When he looked up again, he was met with the cloudy sorrow of her stare.
“What’s going to happen to me when this is all over? ”
“I don’t know,” he told her honestly.
“Will you ‘take care of’ me, too? Put me out of my misery?”
No. No, he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that.
Turning his chair toward her, he slid his hands up the outside of her thighs and gripped her hips.
He opened his mouth to reassure her, but the words wouldn’t come.
So, he ended up pulling her toward him until he could rest his head in the soft curve of her stomach.
Inhaling deeply, he breathed in her scent, sweet and warm, and exhaled through his mouth.
It soothed him, if only for the moment. But it also excited him.
He touched the tips of his fangs with his tongue, knowing it would only jack him up more, but he did it anyway.
It was a poor substitute for the salty sweetness of her skin, the silky slide into her body, but it was all he would allow himself.
After a few seconds, her hands tangled in his hair. He thought she was going to push him away. Instead, she held him to her and spoke to the top of his head. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I have to be honest with you.”
He squeezed his eyes closed as his fingers dug into her supple flesh. “Don’t say it,” he whispered, knowing full well she wouldn’t hear him. “Don’t say it.”
But she did say it. And every word made his breath quicken and his petrified vampire heart pound with new life, longing for something that wasn’t now, and would never be, possible.
“I don’t want to leave you, Hawke. I’ve never felt so…
” She faltered, and then the words poured out, tumbling over themselves.
“At home as I do in your arms. I’ve never felt so much a part of someone as I do when you’re inside of me, when you take my blood inside of you.
I’ve never been with a man I feel so safe with.
I trust you completely, with my safety, with my body, with…
everything. I’m not na?ve, Hawke. I’m not a young girl who just loves to be in love.
But I think…no, I know, there’s something between us that doesn’t happen everyday.
” Her stomach rose and fell as she took a deep breath.
“And you’re a fucking idiot if you don’t think it’s worth fighting for. I’m not giving up that easy.”
He stayed where he was, knowing the moment would have to end and he would have to crush her dream—again—of anything happening between them.
“I’m not giving up on you. And I’m not giving up on my brother.”
Fuck.
Hawke removed his hands from her hips and leaned back in the chair so she could see what he was saying. He spoke slowly, pronouncing every word distinctly, so there would be no misunderstanding. “That’s not happening, Everly. Not with me. And not with your brother. You have to let him go.”
She shook her head, red curls swinging. “No. I won’t.”
“Everly.”
“No!” Covering her face with her hands, she took a few breaths. “I’ve been alone my entire life, Hawke,” she said through her fingers. Then she dropped her arms to her sides. “Don’t you get it? Do you know what it’s like to be alone? To not have anyone?”
“I do,” he told her. But she’d already turned away.
A tear slipped down her cheek as she watched her brother smash his head into the glass wall. It didn’t so much as crack it. “I just found him,” she whispered. Tearing her eyes from the screen, she looked at Hawke. “I just found you. And I’m not going to give up either of you without a fight.”
The door opened and Kohl walked in. He quickly took in the scene in front of him. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” Hawke answered as Everly walked around the desk and fell into one of the other chairs. He watched her for a moment before lifting his eyes to his friend. “No. We’re just having a disagreement on how to deal with Matthew here.” He pointed with his chin at the computer screen.
Eyes going back and forth between them, Kohl walked around the desk. “No change? Wait.” He leaned in closer. “What the fuck?”
Hawke stood so he could have the chair. “It looks like they’re getting somewhere with their experiments.” Though he spoke to Kohl, his eyes were on Everly. He wanted to do something to comfort her. Hell, he wanted to do more than that.
The thought appeared: he could fight for her.
And once it was there, it wouldn’t go away.
If he didn’t, she would go. Kohl would allow her to leave, eventually.
He was sure of it. She was no help to them.
Once they were sure her brother was out of the picture and Parasupe was taken down, he would let her leave.
He might request she leave town. Maybe he would help her find her Thunder. But she would go.
I can fight for her. The only danger she posed was to herself. She would need someone with her to help her get through her first transitions.
Kohl waved his hand in front of his face. “Hey! You listening to me, man?”
His thoughts dispersed into little wisps of dreamlike smoke. But like smoke, the stench stuck and wouldn’t be easily removed. “Sorry, what?”
“I was just saying, this is happening tomorrow night. Devon was in here most of the morning, and she thinks she got through the security. I’d like the coven prepared tonight.
Everyone is in on this, other than a few essential vampires who will stay here and work the club like any other normal night.
Dev’s gonna work from here, too. When we get into position, she’ll disarm the cameras and alarms remotely.
Once we have the go ahead from her, we’re taking these fuckers down. ”
Hawke glanced at Everly, but she was staring down at the desk, lost in thought. He turned his head away, just in case. “What about their prisoner?”
Kohl paused for a long time, and Hawke could feel his hesitation. But when the order came, his voice didn’t waver. “He goes down with the lab.”
Even though he knew it had to happen, and he’d just been telling Everly the same thing, Hawke wished there was another way. For Everly’s sake. “I’ll take care of him.”
Looking over the computer monitor, he met Everly’s tear-filled eyes.
Then she got up and left the office, slamming the door behind her.
His first instinct was to go after her, but he knew he couldn’t. She needed to deal with the reality of the situation. Hawke let his head fall back, then he took a calming breath before meeting Kohl’s stare.
“You know what you have to do,” Kohl told him. “I’ll call Devon and have her keep an eye on Everly until we can decide what to do with her. I’ll have Andrew stay with them, also.” He paused. “I’m sorry it has to be like this, man. But I don’t see any other way.”
With a nod, Hawke said, “I’ll go get the rest of the coven prepared for tomorrow.”