His hands gripped the steering wheel as his heart clenched in his chest. Pressing the gas pedal downto the floor, he whipped down the drive to the ranch, registering two men walking from the barn towards the house as he pulled up in front of it.
“Hawk?” Colt ran in front of him. “What the hell are you doing driving up here like that?”
“Jessie. Someone was in the house. Destroyed her room…”
He heard the panic in his own voice, and he knew her brothers would too. Hawk let Colt and Beau run after him. All he cared about was getting to her. If something happened to her or the baby, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
“Jessie?” Hawk yelled the second he stepped inside the house. She didn’t respond. Spinning around, he found Colt standing right behind him. “Where the fuck is her room?”
“Upstairs. Follow?—”
Hawk didn’t let him finish. He was already running the steps two at a time. Turning down the hallway, his ears picked up on an all-too familiar sound.
She was getting sick.
He pushed into her room. Fuck, she hadn’t been exaggerating. He didn’t stop to take inventory, but he’d be surprised if a single thing in that room had been left untouched. It didn’t matter in the long run. There were only two things that were irreplaceable to him, and they were both on the other side of the bathroom door.
“Jess, I’m coming in.”
His eyes found her immediately, crouched down with her elbows resting on the toilet seat while her head rested in her hands.
She groaned, her eyelids fluttering but still staying shut.
“Nah, Pretty Girl, that won’t do. I need you to open your eyes. I need you to tell me to quit being such a pushy worrywart.”
His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he rubbed his thumbover her cheek, sweeping her disheveled hair back over her forehead with his other hand.
“Jessie,please,”he begged. It was taking all his strength not to scoop her up and run out of the house with her to find help. She fucking needed help.
“I’m fine.” Her eyes slowly opened, her pupils wide, but focusing on him as she came around.
Thank you, God.
“What happened?”
“He was still in the bathroom. Must have heard me talking on the phone and decided to make a run for it. I threw my phone at him. A very satisfyingthunkwas heard as he climbed out the window, but I think my phone is probably broken. ”
“I’ll get you a new one if it is,” Hawk scoffed. “God, I was worried when you screamed. Took at least a decade off my life, Pretty Girl. You should have run to hide.”
“I couldn’t move. My body froze. Throwing the phone was the last thing I could do to slow him down and try to get any defining details about him.” She groaned, her head dropping into her hands. “God. Everything’s spinning.”
“Okay, try not to move. We’ll get you sorted out.”
“The ba?—”
“Your brothers are here, Jessie.” He hated cutting her off, but knew she’d be so upset to not have the chance to tell everyone the way she wanted.
“It’s the smell of him… I’m going to be sick again,” she whispered as sweat dotted her brow.
Hawk scooped her hair up and rubbed her back as another spasm rocked through her.
“Fuck.” Colt already had his phone out. “I’m calling 9-1-1, Jess.”
“They need to know, sweetheart.” Hawk ran his hand over her back. “Did anything happen to Bumblebee?”
“What the fuck isBumblebee?” Beau asked, his eyes going wide as he watched Jessie get sick again.
“Our baby,” Hawk said, not missing the way Beau’s eyes went wide and Colt went stiff as a board.
