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Tessa

My head whips up when I hear the back door of Bianca’s open. “Tessa?” Hawk’s voice is full of concern.

“I’m in the bedroom,” I call out as I put my kindle down on the table next to me.

As soon as he reaches me, he lifts my legs and takes a seat. He grips my legs and pulls me on to his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, he buries his face in my hair. I feel him inhale deep and release a shuddered breath. “It’s over, Tessa. You don’t need to worry any longer.”

I pull away from him. “What are you talking about?” I search his eyes to give me some clue as to what he’s talking about.

“We found him, we found the last of them. You don’t have to worry about coming in contact with any of those bastards who hurt you again. It’s over.”

It takes a moment for me to understand what he’s talking about when, but I do, I gasp. “Hawk–”

“They’re all gone, Tessa.”

“No…” I can’t believe what he’s telling me.

“It wasn’t me, baby. It was Cruise.”

Cruise? I can’t believe it. “What are you talking about, Hawk?”

“He’s spent the past few years righting a wrong. There was one guy left, but we found him last night.”

The faces of the men who took so much from me flash through my mind. Their sneers, the laughing. Their grunts. For years it has haunted me. “It’s over?” I can’t believe this is happening. “Cruise, he’s the one–”

He nods. “He’s the one.”

I grab onto Hawk’s shoulders and pull him to me when a sob breaks from my chest as relief floods my body. “Oh my God,” I cry. “You’re serious? It’s over.” I kiss his neck, up his jawline and make my way towards his lips.

“Baby,” he rasps.

I look him in the eye, “Make love to me Hawk. Please, love me.”

He picks me up and places me on the bed. I blink back the tears of relief as I take in his face. “Thank you,” I tell him.

“I love you, Tessa. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

The feel of his body against mine and the heat of his skin as he shows me just how much he loves me is the best feeling in the world. I’m free. After all this time I’m free, and he’s showing me just how much I have to live for.

Hawk

“What are you working on, buddy?” I muss Sam’s hair as I walk by and grab myself water from the fridge.

“Math.” His shoulders slump as he drops his pencil.

“Let me see.” He’s seven, how hard can math be? He’s adding two-digit numbers. Even though it’s not hard, I’m not sure I can explain it to him the right way. Shit, I don’t remember doing this type of math in the first grade. To be honest, I don’t recall the first grade.

“And you have to show your work?”

He lifts his head and looks at me with his steel blue eyes, the same eyes of the man that I know are no longer walking this earth. “Yeah.”

He sounds so defeated, and I want to do anything I can to help him. My gaze lifts when I hear the back door open and see Jenni walkthrough. “Oh, hey!”

“Just the person we need.”

She pulls out a chair and sits on the other side of Sam. “What’s up?”

“Sam’s having issues with his math. He’s adding two-digit numbers.”