“No,” he said. “I want everything.” A pause. “I don’t care how long it takes.” His voice dropped lower. “Find him.”
Something about the tone made my stomach tighten. He ended the call just as I stepped off the last stair.
There he was—leaning against my kitchen counter like he owned the place. The kitchen suddenly felt smaller. Or maybe it was just him. Hawk filled the space without trying, broad shoulders and long legs creating a presence that made the room feel crowded, even when he wasn’t moving.
A mug of coffee rested easily in his hand, and my eyes drifted to the microwave clock. 6:32 a.m. Which meant one thing: Hawk had been here all night. His eyes lifted and immediately locked onto me, moving slowly over my appearance—my messy hair, the oversized hoodie, the cast wrapped around my wrist.
His gaze lingered there before he took a slow sip of coffee. “Morning, Trouble.”
I blinked. “Trouble?”
“You broke a man’s nose.”
He said it like he was commenting on the weather. “Seems fitting.”
I frowned. “I didn’t break his nose.”
Hawk raised one eyebrow. “Pretty sure you did.”
“Well, he deserved it.”
That earned a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth—not quite a smile, but close.
His eyes dropped back to my cast. “How’s the wrist?”
“It’s fine.”
He snorted. “Bullshit.”
“It is fine.”
“You have three fractures.”
I paused, taken aback. “You were listening?”
His eyes flicked back to mine, steady and serious. “You think I sat there for three hours staring at the wall?”
“Well,” I said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet, “I assumed you were regretting your life choices.”
He shrugged lazily. “You walking ten miles with a broken wrist already ranks high on that list.”
Rolling my eyes, I moved toward the coffee maker. “You didn’t have to stay.”
“I know.”
“You could’ve left.”
“I know.”
I poured coffee into my mug and turned around. “Then why didn’t you?”
He took another sip, the corner of his mouth twitching again. “Bored.”
A laugh escaped me. “Wow. I feel so special.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“You’re kind of a jerk in the morning.”
