Hawthorne?Damn. A sexy name for a sexy Alpha.
When all I do is stare at him, he fills the silence.
“I can’t stand being called Trev. I wanted to tell you, but it never felt like the right time to dump it on you.” He shakes his head. “I have a reputation in certain spaces. Hawthorne isn’t common, but Trev is just some guy, so at Haze I have to go by Trev.” He bites his lip like he’s trying to shut himself up. He’s rambling, spitting the words out rapidly as he defends himself.
A lot of people at Haze use fake names. One of our bouncers goes by Chaos. That is absolutely not his real name, but Bernard isn’t as sexy and mysterious. Bubblegum and Sunshine aren’t fooling anyone, either. I don’t know half of my coworkers' real names, if I’m honest.
“Huh.”
I tilt my head, observing him as I try to associate this new name with the man before me. Trev never fit him, but Hawthorne? Big, strong, protective Alpha Hawthorne? Yeah, that fits. It feels right—now would probably be an inappropriate time to purr…
“Hawthorne?” Apollo huffs.“Interesting.”
“Interesting?” I echo, tilting my head to the other side as Hawthorne turns back to his van to grab who knows what else he plans to strap to my body.
“Trev never suited him. More of a King Kong,”the other Alpha grunts, and I giggle at the mental image.
“Hmm, no. Not King Kong.” I bite my lip, contemplating. “More like Thor. God of storms and strength. All thunder and lightning when he’s mad? Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll call you now.”
“You can call me whatever you like as long as it isn’t Trev,” the big guy rumbles quietly, cheeks tinted pink.
“Don’t tempt me,” I whisper.
“No flirting,”Apollo growls, and the pink in Thor’s cheeks only grows deeper.
“Have you checked security cams around Beau’s property? Made sure we’re clear to enter?” Hawthorne asks, obviously trying to ignore what the other Alpha said about flirting.
Thor and I have been flirting for years. I’m not about to stop now just because we have a jealous passenger in our ears.
“Beau’s alone in his house, but it’s loaded with cameras. Watch what you say, stay on high alert, and trust fucking no one.”Apollo’s ability to hack is genuinely terrifying.“If you see his father, you need to leave. Do not engage. Get Dream out.”
“Or I could just stab him,” I offer, grinning into the tiny camera that Thor is wearing on his name tag that simply reads “Security.”
If anyone asks, I’m a danger to myself and others when left unattended. Self-destructive party girl with a very cautious father that’s loaded. Half-true. Dad is loaded, but I don’t accept his money anymore. He’s also very cautious when it comes to me.
Declan chose me for a reason, and it’s not just my ability to manipulate and lie. He knows that Beau’s dad will most likely look into me. We’ve fabricated most of my life and history. Used the name of a made-up Alpha to pose as my father. Someone rich enough to support my habits but low-key enough not to matter. To not be a threat.
“No!”Apollo and Hawthorne both growl at the same time.
“Obviously I’m kidding! Jeez, guys. I’m not going to risk Beau’s life, okay?”
“I need at least one of you to control the urge to stab people,” Thor grunts, but he winks, lightening the tension.
“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to jab an Alpha that deserves it.”
“We’ll come back to that another time.” Thor sighs.
Once he’s done making sure I’m ready, he stuffs a bunch of things in a bunch of places all over his own body.Boo.I want to wear combat pants with nifty hidden pockets to hide weapons in. Sadly, that would be neither sexy nor convincing to anyone that I’m just a girl.
Nothing to see here, just an airhead with a hot body. No complex thoughts. Boobs and butt, and nothing else.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Wait, whose car are we taking?” We can’t take Thor’s for obvious reasons, and my little old sedan isn’t going to convince anyone I’m living off Daddy’s money.
“BMW. It’s registered in your name, with your fake dad as the co-signer,” Thor explains as he opens the back driver's side door for me. “It’s covered in sensors. Remember what happened to Kodiak’s Jeep? We don’t want a repeat of that.”
“You mean the Jeep Easton blew up?” I snort. “Yeah, I remember the ground shaking, thinking it was a fucking earthquake.” Hard to believe he’s the same man who calls my bosses Daddy to fuck with his mate’s head. I wouldn’t say Tatumreformed him; it’s more like she taught him how to focus his energy outward.
