Saving Serena (Hawk Security #1)

Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

Serena

“Munchkin, I’ve got good news,” Dad said. His face turned perplexed as he took in the crowd.

Lucas’s phone received a message. I turned, and Dad opened his arms to me. Nobody said a thing until our hug was complete.

“Or…” Sanchez murmured as I looked at the screen Lucas angled my way.

JORDY: Out of surgery - successful

I didn’t know exactly what successful meant, but I’d take it as a win. The ordeal was over, and Duke was alive. After a deep breath, I faced Sanchez again. “Or what?”

The agent pointed a finger at me. “Rossi offered you the blackmail scam for a piece of the action.”

“That’s uncalled for,” Constance insisted.

“What’s going on here?” Dad bellowed.

“Who is this?” Sanchez demanded.

Newson backed up a step. Recognition shone in his eyes. He could see the storm brewing.

Lucas made the introduction. “This is Serena’s father, Lloyd Benson, and it sounds to me like you’re accusing his daughter of something criminal.”

Sanchez went pale. He hadn’t recognized Dad’s face, but it seemed he knew the name and reputation. “Not at all. Just verbalizing all the harebrained possibilities so we can discard them.”

Dad’s jaw clenched. “What’s your name, son?”

“Uh…Special Agent Luis Sanchez.” He puffed out his chest. “FBI.”

I wanted this to be over. “If you don’t have any more questions for me,” I said firmly, “I think we’re done. You have all the material that was in the locker, and that should be more than enough.” I couldn’t let Dad run roughshod over everybody. It would never end.

“I’d like to see that,” Dad said, moving forward and stretching out his hand.

I blocked him. “No, Dad. Let them do their job now.”

“But, Munchkin?—”

The Munchkin comment was the last straw. “No.”

“We still have some questions about the kidnapping,” Sanchez said.

I could see the steam coming out of Dad’s ears. “Kidnapping?”

“I’m okay,” I assured him. “It was no big deal.”

“We could threaten false imprisonment instead,” Newson suggested.

Sanchez didn’t sense the danger. “She was abducted and moved. That falls under felony kidnapping, and I want to be in a position to file charges first thing in the morning.”

Dad seethed. “No. You’ll do no such thing.”

“That’s not up to you,” Sanchez said.

“Who’s your boss, son?”

“Why?” Sanchez demanded.

“Never mind.” Dad pulled out his phone and dialed.

I saw Newson pull Sanchez’s arm.

Dad’s face was flushed, and there was no stopping him now. “Cindy, get a hold of the vice president and tell him I want a meeting with whoever the hell is running the FBI office in our city.”

“ Vice president? ” Sanchez mouthed.

“Of the United States,” Lucas whispered.

Sanchez went pale.

I couldn’t see from my vantage point, but I was ready to bet money Sanchez had wet himself.

“I think nine o’clock, my office. Thank you, Cindy.” Dad ended the call. He directed his rage at the hapless agents. “There will be no discussion of kidnapping a Benson whatsoever. Unless I say otherwise, it didn’t happen. Am I clear?”

Heads nodded all the way around.

“You may leave now,” Dad commanded.

The two agents decided against any more questions and left with all the physical evidence Winston had brought.

As soon as the door closed, Dad turned his guns on Lucas. “Lucas, you sure screwed this up.”

Lucas gritted his teeth.

“Where the hell was her supposed bodyguard while all this went down?”

Before Lucas could respond with either words or fists, I stepped between the two men. “Duke took four bullets protecting me,” I yelled at my father. “That’s where Duke was. Duke, Lucas, and the whole team saved me.” I poked a finger in his chest. “Now you apologize.”

“Munchkin, I didn’t mean?—”

I jabbed him again. “Yes, you did. Now apologize or get out of my house.”

Dad had a rule that he didn’t apologize, but he surprised me. “I’m sorry I acted inappropriately.”

“Understood,” Lucas replied.

“You said you had good news?” I asked him.

“We don’t have to worry about Fox anymore.”

That was good news. “Why?”

“The sheriff just told me he tried to rob a liquor store in Torrance and ran into an armed owner. He was wounded, caught, and his parole will certainly be revoked.”

I thought I’d feel elated to hear news like that after what he did to me, but I didn’t. Relieved maybe, but not elated. It delayed the day of reckoning, at least.

I woke up my phone to dial Duke again. He was my future, and every additional minute not knowing how he was doing or hearing from him grew more unbearable. “Lucas, why don’t you tell Dad the status?”

“Lloyd, the important thing is that Serena’s now out of danger…”

I left the kitchen for privacy to make my call.

It went to voicemail again.

I couldn’t handle not knowing how he was.

An hour or so later, Dad had left, and Constance and I were prepping a simple dinner for the Hawk team as we all awaited news of Duke.

I still hadn’t heard a response from him when Lucas came in to show me another message.

JORDY: On the way

“See?” Constance said. “He’s too ornery to stay in a hospital for long.”

I nodded, and then it struck me that I’d been stupid. Duke probably hadn’t responded because he didn’t have his phone on him. That put a smile on my face.

Then more lines of messaging showed on the phone.

JORDY: Johnson Spinelli boarded a flight to Phoenix. Rented a car. Headed east after that. I haven’t located him yet.

“Shit,” Lucas swore. “I really wanted him to stick around so we could nail him.”

“This means it’s over, right? There aren’t any more goons after me?”

Lucas nodded. “Apparently. But I’ll feel better when the FBI or whoever catches the bastard.”

A half-hour later, I looked over Lucas’s shoulder when another message arrived.

JORDY: Dropped Duke off at home

“I’m going over there,” I announced and grabbed my purse without waiting for any damned permission. Shit. “I need a car.” Mine was a burned-out hulk in a junkyard.

When the guys looked at each other, Constance fished keys out of her bag and threw them. “Take mine.”

The drive over felt like it took forever. Liquid heat pooled between my legs as I considered how to bang Duke’s brains out for all he’d done for me. I also needed to come clean and tell him I’d fallen totally in love with him—right after giving him one hell of an orgasm. It was a good plan.

What would be best for him? Doggy? Bent over the couch? Me on top cupping his balls? Should I turn around and bring my vibrator?

Shit, what was I thinking? He’d been shot and knifed badly enough to need surgery. The bangfest might have to wait until he was well.

In the meantime, I’d have to settle for blowing his mind by explaining in excruciating detail all the things I intended to do to him and let him do to me. Maybe he couldn’t do any of the work, and I’d have to give him the world’s best blowjob while he stayed still.

I parked and power walked—jittery with excitement—into the lobby of Duke’s tall building. Oliver, the doorman, was as pleasant as ever as I scooted past him.

I punched the button for his floor and butterflies filled my stomach. How had I gotten so lucky to find a man willing to go all out in my defense, including taking bullets for me? As the floors dinged by, I had to hug myself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. I couldn’t have imagined a better place to end up in life than as Duke Hawk’s girl.

Finally at his floor, I pressed the buzzer to his unit.

Nothing.

I knocked on the door. “Duke? Duke?” When I didn’t hear anything, I upped my game to banging my fist on the door. What if he’d fallen or started bleeding and passed out?

I was about to go down to get Oliver when, “Hold on,” came through the door.

Duke

Serena wouldn’t stop banging on my door.

She wouldn’t like the words I was going to force myself to say, but I knew it was the right thing for her, for her long-term happiness. Everything was so much clearer now.

I shuffled gingerly to the door. “Coming.” I wished I could put it off until tomorrow, give me some time to come up with the right words—the least-hurtful words to explain it to her.

After a breath, I unlocked and opened the door. “Hi. I’m not feeling so great.”

She pushed the door open and barged in.

When she went in for a hug, I shook my head and put an arm out, backing away. “I’ve got broken ribs,” I exaggerated.

“Oh.” She backed away. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” She licked her lips. “I owe you so much?—”

“It’s the job,” I said, interrupting her and backing away for more space between us. This was going to be incredibly hard, but it had to be done.

She batted her eyelashes and lowered her gaze to my crotch. “Yeah, but I’ve been thinking of all the ways I could repay you.” She grinned. “You didn’t get shot below the belt.”

I put my hands in front of me to hide the reaction she caused. “We shouldn’t… We can’t.”

Confusion crossed her face. “I’m sorry. Since you’re standing, I thought…” She waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. What are your doctor’s instructions? How soon can we…you know?”

God, this was hard. Without the right, soft words to make this easier, I blurted out the harsh ones. “We can’t because I’m not right for you.”

Her face dropped. “What? I love you, and?—”

“We have to end this,” I said before she could go on. More mentions of the L-word were not the way to go. “Before?—”

Anger welled up in her face. “Before what? Did you not listen to me? I fucking love you, Duke Hawk. I drove over here planning to tell you while I was banging your brains out.” Her jaw clenched. “Did you hear me? I love you, and I thought you felt something for me, too.”

I took in the deepest breath I could with my wounded ribs. “You’re the one who’s not listening. I’m not right for you.”

“You’re worse than my father. I’m the one who gets to decide what’s right or wrong for me, not him or you.”

“Your father was right.” I motioned between us. “This isn’t going to work. You should go.”

Her face turned even redder. “You mean you don’t want to put in the effort to make it work.”

The words were poison on my tongue. “That’s right. I don’t.”

The door slammed behind her with finality.

She was safe.

My world collapsed around me.