“There!” Charlotte pointed at the monitor showing the front gate. “I … I’m pretty sure I saw movement in the background.”
He grabbed the controller, maneuvered the joystick, and stopped. Hawk zoomed in and saw a van parked across from the gate. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see the license plate, but who the hell else would be all the way out here? There wasn’t another house around for miles.
The idiots had parked close to the tree line, just to the side of his long private road, thinking the van wouldn’t be seen.
Speaking of dipshits, a cluster of glowing, green heat signatures appeared from behind the van.
Charlotte moved up next to him and leaned close to the monitor.
“Is that them?” She pointed at the green figures on the screen.
“Yep.”
“I don’t see anything from the other cameras.” Her eyes shifted side to side, checking all of the monitors.
“Looks like they’re all approaching from the same entry point.” Hawk’s attention remained on the heat signatures. They started moving away from the van and toward the gate. One of them examined the security box and must have decided it wasn’t important.
“It looks like there’s four of them.” Charlotte glanced over her shoulder at him, then back to the monitors.
Remy looked back and forth between them, alert and ready for whatever might happen.
His dog wasn’t a trained personal protection dog, but he was extremely protective of Hawk, and if the way he remained close to Charlotte was any clue, she now fell under his umbrella of concern as well.
“Yeah, there’s only four.” He could easily handle all of them.
The men walked shoulder to shoulder and approached the gate, making no effort at stealth. They were either overly confident or supremely stupid.
Hawk’s gut told him it was a blend of both.
They grabbed the gate and shook it, tried to move it aside, to no avail. One of the men pointed around the area.
“What in the world are they doing?” Charlotte’s brows scrunched together.
“Trying to find a way around the gate.”Good luck with that.
“Is there?” She kept her eyes on the monitor. “A way around the gate, I mean.”
“A wall runs along the entire front line of the property, and it has steel spikes on top.” These guys didn’t seem the type who would walk the entire length through thorny vines looking for a way over. Their only other option was to scale the gate.
“Charlotte.” He turned from the monitors, laid a hand on each of her soft cheeks, and tilted her face up to him. “I have to go.”
Her throat moved up and down on a swallow, and she nodded her head. “I’ll lock myself in.”
God, he loved this woman. She’d been thrown into a new and terrifying experience yet was still trying to be strong for him.
Wait a minute. Was it really love he felt for Charlotte?
Now was not the time for wondering about his feelings. He’d think about them later, when there weren’t people trying to kill them
“Don’t hesitate to use that.” He dipped his chin toward the 9mm on her hip. “And remember, don’t—”
“I know, don’t open the door for anyone except you or one of your teammates. Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Her expressive eyes connected with his. “Hawk, I … be careful.”
“I will.” Hawk pulled her against him, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. Knowing it would be way too easy to get lost in her, he reluctantly ended the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ll be right back.”
“And I’ll be here, waiting for you.” She kissed him, stepped back, and lifted her proud chin. “Go get them, Hawk.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a casual salute and squatted down in front of Remy. “Take care of her, okay, buddy?”
