“Calling Calliope Daniels.”
“Hey, Hawk.” It was nice to have her back to her chipper self again.
Her father recently had a health scare when a mass was found on his lungs. Fortunately, doctors were able to remove it, and after a few rounds of chemo, he was found to be cancer-free.
“Hey. How are things going there?” Hawk turned to find Charlotte anxiously awaiting her response.
“You kiddin’, Donna and I are having a great time.” Calliope laughed. “Charlotte, your mom is a hoot.”
“Yeah, she can be.” Charlotte’s relief was apparent in her grin.
“Hawk, Donna’s been asking to see Charlotte. Is there any way we can make that happen?
“Actually, that’s why we’re calling.” Hawk had already given thought to where they could meet. “Remember that diner near my place?”
“The Chicken Nest?” she asked.
“Yeah. Why don’t you two meet us there at”—he looked at the time on the dash—“four o’clock. Does that work?”
“I’m sure it will, but let me check.” Her voice was muffled as she ran the idea by Donna. “Okay, we’ll be there.”
“We took care of things at Charlotte’s office.” Hawk told her how OSI was now connected to HRA’s internal system and how Pennington came looking for them in the parking lot. “She won’t be going back there anytime soon.”
“Maybe never,” Charlotte mumbled.
“Charlotte, you’re so helpful to OSI, why don’t you just consult full-time?” Calliope’s suggestion made sense. “Get the heck away from all that bureaucracy.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” He turned to Charlotte briefly. “What do you think?”
“I never really thought about it before.” She chewed her lip. “It would be nice to do more one-on-one work with victims. And let’s be honest, by the time the dust settles on this mess, HRA may not exist anymore.”
“How about we get through this, then you can decide what you want to do.” Hawk hated the people who’d upended Charlotte’s world.
“Charlotte, I’m going to hand the phone to your mom before she tackles me and takes it away from me.” Calliope chuckled. “Hawk, watch your back, and we’ll see you at four o’clock.”
“Charlotte?”
“Hi, Mom?” Upon hearing her mom’s voice, Charlotte’s shoulders dropped, and she gave a huge sigh of relief.
“Oh, my goodness, are you okay?” Donna asked.
“I’m okay.” She turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks to Hawk.”
He felt undeserving of the way Charlotte looked at him like he was some kind of hero. But he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and to rid her life of the people who would dare hurt her.
Hawk reached over and smoothed his thumb down her cheek, then put his hand back on the wheel. She might not realize it, but his touch seemed to soothe her nerves. It certainly soothed his.
“Mom, you know the stuff I keep in the guest room for when I stay at your place? Would you mind tossing all of it in a bag and bringing it with you?” Charlotte nodded. “Yeah, I’ll need the bathroom stuff, too. Awesome, thanks. I love you, too. See you soon.”
Hawk noticed that Charlotte didn’t tell her mom the reason she couldn’t go home was because an asshole was lying in wait for her. Best to save that little detail for a face-to-face conversation.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Charlottewatchedasthecrowded, bleak highway transitioned to picturesque rolling green hills, then to a narrow two-lane road lined by tall evergreens crowded together like nature’s guardrails. Behind them, all signs of civilization had gradually begun to disappear, and with each mile added between themselves and the HRA building, the easier she could breathe.
She wasn’t sure where Hawk was taking her, and it didn’t matter. Charlotte trusted him completely.
Conversation between them had been easy and the moments of silence comfortable. He’d respected her wishes and hadn’t brought up the topic of her mom or the mystery of who her father was.
