“Cap said go all out, didn’t he? You’re supposed to be fixing all the gripes we have now that we’ve spent some actual time operating and running people through tactical simulations at The Trident. Mount them from the floor and the ceiling for the simulator. Easy fix.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“So, why are you really dragging your feet on this?” Nash asked. Leave it to him to see through Hawk’s bullshit.
“I’m not sure I want this. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really want this opportunity. To step up for the team. For the business. For Cap. But I just keep thinking this isn’t the right moment. It’s not what I want to be focusing on right now.”
“I get it. When Lace was pregnant, I couldn’t think about anything else. I just wanted to be with her in case she needed something. God,” he chuckled, “that used to drive her up a wall. She’s getting better about asking for help, butshe probably lost her mind a time or two with how much I hovered.”
“I’m not trying to hover?—”
“Yeah you are.” Nash smiled. “But that’s not a bad thing, Phoenix. You’re working to show Jessie she can count on you to be there. I don’t envy you, man. Trying to navigate it all.”
He nodded, his hand coming up to rub along his eyebrows. “I actually wanted to ask you?—”
His phone vibrated wildly against his thigh. “Shit. Sorry. One sec.” Hawk pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID.
Baby Mama.
“It’s Jessie.”
Nash nodded as Hawk pressed the green button to accept her call.
“Hey, mama. I’m almost ready to head out the door. Everything okay?”
“Someone was in my room,” she whispered, the anxiety in her voice instantly raising the hair on the back of his neck.“I-I don’t know where my mom is. She should be here, but my dad is out on the ranch somewhere and I think I’m alone at the house. And my room is trashed.”
“You’re there alone right now?”Fuck.
“I’m standing in the doorway. Someone rifled through everything. My s-stuff is everywhere,”her voice hitched, and he hated that she was so upset. But he needed her to get somewhere safe until he could figure out what the hell was going on. That was his top priority.
“Jessie, go to another room and lock the door. Another bedroom. A bathroom. I’m on my way. Don’t open the fucking door until I get there.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Hawk.”
“Baby. Go, now. Whoever did that could still be in the house.”
Hawk needed her to snap out of the shock just long enough to make it somewhere safe. She gasped, and the next second, her scream tore through the phone. He was out the fucking office door.
“Jess?! Jessie!! Fuck!” He stopped, turning to look at Nash, who’d followed him down the hallway.
“Go. I’ll call for a deputy to head out there. And I’ve got things covered here. Fucking text me when you know what’s going on.”
Hawk didn’t answer. He just gave a nod and ran. Ran like his life depended on it. Because it did. If something happened to Jessie, if something happened to the baby…
Ten minutes later, six white gift bags with blue and pink ribbons were being tossed haphazardly around the back seat of his truck as he took a curve at a speed that was likely to get him pulled over. He’d forgotten all about them.
‘The perfect way to tell my family.’
Jessie had worked so hard on them over the last few nights, but Hawk would fix them later. Nothing was stopping him until he got to Jessie. That fucking scream was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Hawk swallowed down the panic. What was the first thing hetold any special ops guys who trained at The Trident? Emotions would get them killed. Jessie was going to be okay. She had to be.
Fuck! Hawk slammed his hand down on the steering wheel as his foot pressed harder on the gas. If he hadn’t been thrilled that Jessie was staying most nights at the ranch instead of his apartment with him before, he was fucking irate after hearing the fear dripping in her voice.
He should have been with her.
Christ, he was never leaving her on her own again.
