“I need you to try to read my mind like Professor Xavier does. But because it’s so noisy in here, you need to concentrate real hard and not move at all. Not even a muscle, okay?”
Matty nodded again and then he briefly opened his eyes to look at Hawke and then me. “It’s okay, Matty. Go ahead and read Hawke’s mind,” I urged.
Matty closed his eyes again and I watched as he scrunched up his face, his brow furrowed.
“Very touching, Chrissy,” Buck drawled and I held my breath as an ugly smile split his lips and he raised his gun. But it wasn’t pointed at me. It was pointed at Hawke.
“His name is Tate,” Hawke whispered and then everything happened so fast, I barely understood what I was seeing. I saw a flash of silver in my peripheral vision and a split second later, Buck was screaming in pain as a knife pierced the wrist of the hand he was holding the gun with. The gun discharged, but the force of the knife had caused his arm to swing wide and instead of the bullet flying over my shoulder towards Hawke, it slammed into the floor several feet to Buck’s right. At nearly the same time, Hawke launched his body over me, hitting Buck hard and knocking him to the ground. Matty went down with them, but as I scrambledtowards him, I saw that neither man had landed on him. I dragged him into my arms and lifted my eyes just in time to see Hawke yank the knife from Buck’s wrist and jam it into his neck. Buck let out a terrible gurgling noise as blood sprayed everywhere and I had to turn away from the gruesome sight.
Even as my father struggled with his last breaths, I turned all of my attention on Matty and began checking him for injures.
“Matty, does it hurt anywhere?” I asked.
Matty was crying and it took several seconds before he finally shook his head. “Can I open my eyes, Daddy?” he asked as the puppy squirmed in his arms.
I glanced over at Hawke who’d climbed to his feet. My father’s body was still twitching and there was blood everywhere so I said, “No buddy, not yet,” and pulled Matty against me as I stood. I carried him out of the barn and then dropped to my knees in the grass and put him down in front of me.
“Okay, buddy, you can open them.”
Matty slowly opened his eyes and then looked around briefly before he burst into tears and launched himself into my arms.
“It’s okay, Matty. It’s over,” I whispered as I held him against me. The puppy was stuck between us, but all she did was lick at Matty’s face so I left her where she was. “You were so brave,” I said as I patted Matty’s back once his sobs slowed.
“They were bad men,” Matty announced as he pulled back from me.
“They were,” I said. “But they can’t hurt you ever again, okay?”
Matty nodded and then looked over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to see Hawke walking towards us. His shirt was covered in blood, but I knew it wasn’t his. I was stunned to see Mav walking behind him. And I knew instantly where the knife that had hit Buck in the wrist had come from.
Hawke dropped to his knees beside me. His face was drawn tight with emotion as he dragged Matty into his arms and buried his face in his shoulder.
“I read your mind,” Matty announced when Hawke released him.
“Oh yeah?” Hawke said, his voice thick and uneven. He shifted his gaze to me and I nearly lost it when his hand went around my neck and he just held me like that. I didn’t need words to know what he was thinking. I pressed up against his side as I focused on my son.
Our son.
“You were thinking about saving me and Daddy.”
Hawke lifted his other hand to stroke Matty’s cheek. “That’s exactly right,” he said.
“And you know what else?” Matty announced as he wiped at his tear stained face.
“What else?”
“You were thinking that Daddy and I should stay with you forever.”
I felt my own throat tighten as Hawke and I exchanged another look. Hawke nodded slowly and then he was pulling Matty into his arms. His free arm dragged me closer and he held us both as he said, “Forever and ever.”
Epilogue
HAWKE
One monthlater
I tookmy eyes off the sight in front of me only when Ronan tapped my shoulder with the bottle of beer. “Thanks,” I said as I took it from him. He settled down onto the concrete step next to me and took a sip of his beer.
“So when were you planning on telling me you’re out?” Ronan asked.
