“Not yet.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. “But I will be.”
“Come on.” He broke the hug. “Let’s get to my place, and I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”
“You’re an angel.” She chuckled.
Far from it.The thoughts running through his mind about what he’d like to do with and to Charlotte were not exactly angelic.
About five minutes after pulling out of the diner parking lot, Hawk’s phone rang.
He tapped a button on his steering wheel. “Hey, Luna.”
“Hey. I wanted to bring you guys in on a new development we’re working here.” Keys clicked.
“New development?” He shared a look with Charlotte, then turned back to the road.
“Something about that surveillance video from the electronics store has been bugging me. So I ran it through a program to clean up the image and noticed that not only did Vincent Kimball purchase the listening device, he also bought another item. As of right now, I don’t know what the mystery item is—his body is obscuring any decent view of it.”
“Are you able to tap into the store’s system to find out what it could be?” Luna’s talent for getting in and out of places electronically was nearly as good as Sammy’s.
Where she differed from Sammy was in her inventiveness and the ability to bring her amazing ideas to life. Like the bio-patches all of the operators wore during missions.
“Unfortunately, they still use handwritten, paper receipts.” She scoffed. “Can you believe that? It’s like the guy is still living way back in the 1990s or something.”
Way back in the 1990s.For a twenty-three-old, the ’90swouldseem like a million years ago. “I’ll bet the guy’s business isn’t totally legit.” No electronic trail to follow. If trouble shows up, he would just burn the receipts.
“That’s what Cole said, so he and Eddie are on their way to pay the store owner a little visit to convince him to give them the information they need.” Luna had been around this business since she was a teenager, so she understood the undertones of that statement.
“Well, if anyone can get an answer out of him, it’ll be Cole.” Hell, all he had to do was walk in the door with a mean look on his face and the guy would probably piss himself.
“He said he’d let you know if it’s something you need to worry about.” Luna clicked a few keys.
“Okay, thanks for the heads-up,” he said.
“As they say at Chick-Fil-A,my pleasure.” Luna was giggling when she ended the call.
“I wonder what else he bought.” Charlotte’s brows crunched together.
“Not sure, but Cole will find out.” He curved his hand over her thigh. “We’ll be at my place soon.”
About twenty minutes later, Hawk flipped on his blinker, turned right onto a gravel road, and continued driving deeper into the woods. He navigated a slight curve, and motion-sensor accent lights on the ground came on and spotlighted a wide wooden gate. The profile of a powerful buffalo was carved into the center of the wood, and shadows created by the accent lights brought out the details.
“Oh, Hawk, your gate is stunning.” Charlotte released her seat belt and slid forward on the seat for a better view.
Something about the intricate carving drew her, and she slowly turned to take in the man next to her. His powerful profile with his straight nose, prominent brow and cheekbones, and his square jaw spoke to generations of proud Native American ancestry. His broad shoulders were wider than the seat back, his one-handed grip confident on the wheel.
Hawk was solid, strong, and beautiful. Not in the feminine sense—certainly not. But beautiful like a perfectly sculpted representation of man.
Michelangelo’s David had nothing on Patrick Nakai.
“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Hawk smiled at her and grabbed his phone from the cupholder.
She took a moment to muster up courage and shifted to face him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything, Sweets.” He traced her jaw with his fingertip.
Sweets.He’d called her that in front of Helene. It made Charlotte feel special, and she really hoped he hadn’t said it just to tick off her coworker.
