Mercy tried to hide her smile, but a hint of it peeked through before she caught herself. “Uh, thank you for telling me.”
“You might say yes to him once in a while,” Hawk suggested, a hint of humor in his voice.
“Yes. Well. Back to business.” With that, Mercy hurried down the hall to the open door three down from Hawk’s.
“What brings you by, sweetheart? Did you miss me?”
“I hope it’s okay I just dropped in.”
He pulled her into his spacious office. His desk was to the left, a credenza and bookshelves behind it. He had a laptop open on the desk, along with a phone and pen holder, otherwise there was no clutter. A couch and coffee table to the right of the door provided another seating area. And on the far wall were low file cabinets beneath a wall of windows that looked out toward the warehouse next door, mountains in the background.
“You can drop in whenever you want. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I think so.” Before she could explain further, Lincoln rushed into the room, stopping short when he spotted her.
“Hey, Lucky. Good to see you.” He looked at Hawk. “Have you seen Mercy?”
Lucky didn’t know what came over her, but she backed away, the room feeling like it was getting smaller and smaller. She couldn’t breathe. There wasn’t enough air.
Hawk hadn’t taken his eyes off her and noticed immediately. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
She stared from him to the door, Lincoln in front of it. No way out. She couldn’t get out. Her ass hit the filing cabinet by the window as Hawk stalked closer to her, his hand out to her.
“You’re okay. Just breathe. No one is going to hurt you. You’re okay.”
She shook her head, her eyes glued to the door behind Lincoln.
Hawk followed her line of sight. “Lincoln, get the fuck away from the door.”
Lincoln moved without question, walking toward Hawk’s desk. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to block you in.”
“Breathe, Lucky. Do it with me,” Hawk implored. “Deep breath in. Hold it for four, then blow it out for four.” He did it with her, inching his way closer to her until he had his hands on her cheeks.
Her heart slowed and she could breathe again. She put her hands on his wrists and sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” She sagged into Hawk’s chest and he wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s okay. You had a panic attack.”
“I’m really sorry,” Lincoln said again with so much feeling.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just me.” She met Hawk’s worried gaze. “I’m okay now.”
“Why did you come? Were you upset? Did something happen?”
“Aside from my fucked up life?”
Hawk held her face. “Talk to me.”
“Jase called. He wants to talk to me. I thought maybe you’d come with me if you had time.”
“Yeah. Sure. No problem.”
“Just like that?” She couldn’t believe how caring he was, or how he’d drop everything for her.
“Yes. Just like that. All you have to do is ask.”
“Um, I need to find Mercy. I’m going to leave you two now,” Lincoln interrupted, heading for the door. “Lucky, I hope you get good news.”
Probably not. She didn’t have that kind of luck. “Thank you. And I’m sorry I made you feel bad for walking in here.”
