Chapter 16
16
Hawk held on for dear life as the Bronco spun along the wet road and edged off into the ditch. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
He couldn’t hold back his complete frustration. With himself, not Remi.
“I’m sorry.” She stared at him. “Maybe you could have told me sooner. What do you mean he’s your brother?”
Anger flashed in her eyes. That and a lot of confusion. She reached for her gun, slid it out, and gripped it, keeping it ready. Well, that was just great. His dreams were finally coming true. She was looking at him like he was a bad guy now.
Hawk lifted his hands in surrender, palms up. “I didn’t know my brother was the guy behind your attacks, I swear. But now that we know the truth, please believe me that I have nothing to do with what happened to you.”
“Do you even hear yourself? It cannot be a coincidence that your brother is here at the same time you are. He attacked me. Abducted Jo. You probably know about my missing days. You lied to me, didn’t you?” She shook her head.
She wasn’t wrong about the coincidence.
“Listen—”
“I don’t believe this.” Beyond willing to listen, she cut him off, and then she stared at him, a long, mean, scrutinizing stare that left him wondering if he should fear for his life. After huffing a few times, her face relaxed a little, and a hint of warmth replaced the cold in her eyes. “I would tell you to get out of my Bronco, but I’m supposed to take you to the hospital.”
She shifted into four-wheel drive. The tires spun as she floored it, and finally the old Bronco gained traction. The back end fishtailed as she sped back onto the road. How did he make her understand when he was still trying to figure it out?
“Start talking, Hawk. Tell me right now what’s going on.”
Oh, I’d love to, but ... “You need to let me get a word in for that to happen.”
“I—” She glanced his way, then closed her mouth.
He might have smiled at that on a better day, but he wasn’t going to comment. Hawk just wanted to close his eyes and rest in a nice, soft bed for maybe a thousand years, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he was cozied up under a bunch of heavy, warm blankets.
She was waiting.
“His name is Cole Mercer.”
“Wait, not Beckett?”
“He changed his name.”
“But why?”
“Just ... didn’t want to be part of the family anymore. We were competitive growing up. Too competitive. I hadn’t seen him in person for eight years.” That didn’t mean he hadn’t been searching, especially when he’d heard that Cole had shifted to the dark side, working for the wrong people. Hawk needed to weigh just how much to share at this junc ture. He needed to find solid footing. “At times I’ve even wondered if he was still alive. Tonight, he was the one to hit me over the head and tell me to stay out of it.”
“It. Stay out of what?”
“You. It’s all about you.”
My brother even threatened to end me if I got up. Hawk had been shocked to his core. He’d tried to find him and then received the news from John eighteen months ago that Cole was a gun for hire. He and Cole were close growing up but, at the same time, at odds their entire lives. Hawk would take back everything he’d ever said to get his brother back. His words might have been the catalyst to send his brother away.
Regardless, Cole was lost.
He glanced at Remi, unsure what he would see in her eyes. Compassion? Understanding? But she didn’t look at him. Instead, she remained focused on the road, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her hands squeezing the steering wheel too tightly.
And he couldn’t stand the silence filling the cab. “I get it. You don’t know what to believe. You don’t know if you can trust me.”
“Did you tell Deputy Hunter more than just his description? Did you tell her that Cole is your brother?”
“I told her his name and that he’s a hired gunman. Though maybe that was a mistake. Telling her could just make things worse and put you in more danger.”
“I can’t believe she didn’t tell us everything that you shared. And she knew this information and let you walk out of there. She has to know that you’re connected somehow.” Remi’s voice shook.
“She doesn’t. I didn’t tell her that I’m connected, but she’ll find out soon enough.” Man, he was digging his own grave here. The deputy might have detained Hawk, and then what would happen to Remi? This conversation wasn’t going well, but there was no good way to break this news to her.
“And how is telling law enforcement who to look for going to put me in more danger?”
“Because he’s a ghost. They won’t find him.” He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed to get it all out there, and now was the moment. “And don’t you see? If there’s a manhunt for Cole Mercer, that could move up the timeline on his hunt for you, or whatever it is he’s planning.” He shook his head and stared out the window.
He should have recognized the man by his tactics, his movements, if nothing else. But Cole had never been much for using knives. Maybe that tactic, along with the relentless storm, had been enough that Hawk had not recognized or felt any sense of familiarity. Then again, maybe no one would recognize a masked assailant, even if they knew the person well, and Hawk was blaming himself, being too hard on himself.
It didn’t matter who the masked man was, or that the man had turned out to be Hawk’s brother. Right now, he needed to keep Remi safe. If she would let him, and that was a big if .
God, please help me keep Remi safe!
For too long he believed God wouldn’t hear his prayers anyway, so why bother? But that was all on Hawk. Holding on to his past mistakes, Hawk had been the one to pull away. Funny how desperation changed everything. He was ready to reach out and close the distance he’d created. Move past his own insecurities ... for Remi. He needed to win this time. And he couldn’t do that alone.
I need you, God. I need your help.
Seeing Cole tonight, seeing the contempt in his eyes, had stripped Hawk to the marrow.
“You could have told me this sooner,” she said again.
“Sooner? I just found out tonight, then the deputy showed up. I’m finding my way through this mess, and believe it or not, I planned to tell you tonight. As for Deputy Hunter, she’s processing through the facts, and those wheels don’t move as fast as we would like. We already know he’s dangerous. I want him caught. Incarcerated. But there’s something I want more than that. I want you to live.”
“And you think you’re the one to protect me. That you’re also the one to find your brother because no one else can do it.”
He wasn’t going to argue with her until she calmed down. No point until she was ready to listen. She was visibly shaking now, and maybe he needed to drive. But she was in no frame of mind for him to suggest it.
“I think...” She growled. “Let’s see how you are. If your head is good. If you’re going to be okay. Then I’ll bring you back to the lodge, and you’re going to check out. You should leave now, Hawk. There’s not going to be any helicopter tour package either, in case you were wondering.”
Oh man. She was kicking him hard, and the pain radiated out of his heart through his body. Between finding Cole tonight, learning he was the man after Remi, and her complete rejection of Hawk, her utter distrust of him, Hawk had never been this down and out. Not even after feeling responsible for Jake’s death, then being fired.
But he couldn’t let any of that keep him down for long. He had to get up and keep going, at least until he handed Remi’s protection off to someone else. He just didn’t know who that was. She’d done fine on her own, but everything had changed and she needed serious help now.
How could Hawk convince her? “Look, that’s not a good idea.”
“You can leave after you tell me everything. Why are you here, really? What does Cole Mercer have to do with me, and what happened that week in my life that is now gone?”
Hawk’s head was really starting to hurt now. Remi was piling the stress on, but he didn’t blame her. He was upset too. Unfortunately, he didn’t think he could convince her to let him stick around to make sure she was safe. So, he would get his head checked. They would go back to the lodge where he would pack up and ... go where? He shoved off those concerns. Remi was his priority, whether she believed him or not, whether she wanted his help or not.
“I don’t know why he’s here for you, but I intend to find out. As for the reason I’m here, someone said I’d find answers at the lodge. I thought he meant I would clear my head and find perspective. Now ... I know differently.” John had sent Hawk here because he suspected ... or he knew that Cole would show up. There was no other explanation. Somewhere in Hawk’s list of next steps, he needed to find his former CO who must have intel. Hawk would get answers from him. But first, Remi needed protection. She had no idea who she was up against. Hawk wished he didn’t.
Major Cole Mercer.
Cole. My brother. Anguish squeezed Hawk’s chest.
He’d been special forces. A Green Beret. He could blend in anywhere. And now that he’d gone rogue ... “He’s a trained killer, Remi. An assassin.” Hawk had hoped to find Cole and save him, pull him back from the edge, but he’d been caught completely off guard. As if that excuse would remove the weight on Hawk’s shoulders.
Finally at the hospital, she swerved into the parking lot, going much too fast. “What does it say about you that you have an assassin for a brother?”
“The bigger question is what does it say about you that an assassin is after you? And I promise you, he’s only been toying with you or you’d already be dead.” That must be his modus operandi. “Next time, you won’t see death coming.”