“Yeah. Is this all you want to bring?”
She bit her lip. “Um…”
He tilted his head. “What?”
“Can I bring my plant? I don’t want it to die. Not that I’ll be at your place that long. Right? I mean, it’ll be fine. I’ll be back here in a couple days when I’m feeling better.”
Jase smacked him on the back. “I’ll leave the two of you to figure this out.”
Hawk caught the guy’s smirk. “Thanks. Keep us posted.”
“Will do.”
With Jase driving off, Hawk focused on Lucky. “Sweetheart?”
“Yeah.” She bit her bottom lip, her gaze on his black work boots.
“You’re not coming back here until whoever is doing this is behind bars.”Or six feet under.“So grab the plant and anything else you want. We can fill up the back of the Range Rover and your car if that’s what it takes.”
She hesitated again. “I don’t want to impose.”
“I asked you to stay with me. I meant it. So tell me what else you want to take and I’ll pack it up.”
The last of the firefighters filed out of her house. “We’ll be in touch,” one of them said. “We cleaned up the gasoline and aired out the place. Did you know the window in your bedroom has a broken lock?”
Lucky’s eyes went wide. “Uh. No. I’ll have it fixed.”
“I’ll let Corporal Kent know about it. He’ll probably want someone to print it just in case that’s how they got in. The lock looks secure until you rattle the window and it comes loose.”
Hawk frowned. “I’ll make sure Jase takes a look at it before I fix it.”
The firefighter nodded, then headed out with the rest of his crew, leaving them alone on the porch.
Hawk sent Jase a text with the details about the window. “Grab your plant and anything else you want.” He took her bags to his car and loaded them in back.
She came out with her plant, a laptop bag, a blanket from her couch, and a wooden box.
“What’s that?”
She smiled. “All my favorite recipes.”
“Nice.” He took the load from her and put it in his car. “You look tired. How about we come back for your car in a couple days? I’ll change the tire then.”
“Okay.” She climbed into the passenger seat.
He met her in the driver’s seat.
Before he started the car, she put her hand on his thigh. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything.” She laid her head on his shoulder, sending a wave of warmth and protectiveness through him.
All he wanted to do was keep her close and safe.
It had been a long time since he’d felt this close to a woman. No that wasn’t true. He’d never felt this close to someone. This possessive and feral about keeping her safe.
He hoped he didn’t scare her.
