She bit her lip. “I think he was there. At the bar.” A yucky feeling creeped over her skin, like she could remember him touching her. She wanted to shower and scrub herself clean.
“Keep going,” Jase coaxed.
“I remember talking to Lincoln about a job. Everything was fine then.” She looked at him for confirmation.
Lincoln squeezed her arm again. “Yes. We agreed to meet on Sunday, so you could see the house and give me a price.”
“Right. I gave you my card and Desiree and I walked away.” She closed her eyes, trying to remember. “You made me a drink.”
“Peach sangria. You loved it.” Lincoln’s gaze narrowed. “So did your friend. She kind of stole it from you for a second.”
Jase studied Lincoln. “Did Desiree say anything, do anything?”
Lincoln shrugged. “She seemed…” He winced at Lucky. “Jealous of you.”
“What? No.” Desiree was her best friend. “She was sore that you didn’t ask her out.”
“I told you the truth that night. I’m not dating right now. Plus…I didn’t like her vibe.”
“She can be a lot,” Lucky admitted. “After that, I don’t know what happened. I have these flashes of memories. Hearing his voice. Seeing the stars. Smelling pine. Being dropped. Hearingcritters in the bushes, crickets chirping. The cold.” She shivered. “It was so cold. And then when I was finally more lucid, I just hurt everywhere. I felt trapped. I couldn’t really move. I tried to call out for help. I didn’t see anyone or hear anything. I tried to listen for a car. I felt…so alone. Lost.”
“You were about two miles from the nearest road.” Hawk pressed another kiss to her palm.
“Did anyone hit on you at the bar?” Jase asked.
“Not that I remember. But I’m not usually the one who gets hit on.”
Lincoln chuckled. “Like ten guys were staring at her while we talked.”
She shook her head. “You mean staring at Desiree. She’s the pretty one.”
All the men gawked at her.
“What?” They made her really nervous.
“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart.” Hawk nodded to reassure her. “Don’t doubt it for a second.”
The door swung open. “Well, aren’t you a lucky duck to have all this man candy surrounding you?” Desiree swept into the room with a smile and flirtation in her eyes.
Lucky didn’t realize she’d sunk her nails into Hawk’s wrist until he tapped the back of her hand and brought her attention to where she’d gripped him so hard. She tried to let loose, but something had gone haywire inside her as she stared at her best friend.
Hawk stood and moved in close, his lips at her ear. “Relax. You’re okay. No one is going to hurt you.”
She loosened her grip, but didn’t let him go.
“That’s it.” He kissed her forehead, staring into her eyes, grounding her in the here and now.
“I’m sorry.”
Hawk brushed his fingers through her hair. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
Jase caught her reaction and turned to her friend. “Desiree. Nice to see you again.”
“Love the uniform.” Desiree eye-fucked Jase, blatantly and shamelessly.
He seemed less than interested as his gaze turned stony. “Heard you and Lucky were at Gunn Brothers Bar Saturday night.”
“We were. We ran into Lincoln. My girl landed a job with him. We danced. My lightweight friend had too much to drink—and not enough sleep as usual—so we called it a night kind of early.”
