Is it pathetic that I’m lost in her eyes right now? I can’t even say anything. I just want to stay here forever. I don’t want to go back to my shithole apartment. I don’t want to deal with anything anymore. I have enough money saved that I could take care of Aidan with her. I could give her more than she has now.

“I want you,” I tell her over and over again. “Let me stay here with you. You have that extra room. I could move in and help you. I have money, Erica.”

“You’re out of your mind,” she says. “Seriously. We’ve been over this so many times. It’s not good for Aidan and it sure as hell ain’t good for me either.”

“Fine,” I sigh. I’m not going to press the issue. She clearly needs some time and that’s okay for me. I’m soaring right now. I can’t believe my night with her. I’ve been waiting for this moment for half a decade and now I’ve got it. I just need to find a way to continue it.

“You should probably go,” she says before breakfast. “Aidan will wonder why you stayed. He’ll start to think things.”

“Like I’m his father?” I smile.

“Come on, Walker,” she pouts. “Please just respect my wishes. I don’t want to cause him any more stress than he has already endured.”

“I understand.” I kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her some more. I breathe in hard as she pulls away. She tastes and smells so fucking good.

“I’ll miss you,” I tell her as she shuts the door behind us, out front.

“I’m sure you will.” She rolls her eyes.

“No, I really will. I’ll be sitting in my apartment all day, thinking about you,” I say. It’s the truth. There’s nothing for me back there. I’ll be staring at my blasted wall. I’ll be drinking a bottle of fine Scotch, while I watch the sun go down. I’ll be all alone, again. Like all Americans say, this sucks.

“You’ll survive,” she says. She kisses me one last time and sends me on my way.

Another day, but what to do? I drive home, get to my apartment, and I’m soon back inside that grey building, lifeless and cold. “Dammit,” I sigh.

I look at the bottle of Scotch on the counter. “Well, you’ll never leave me.” I smile to myself and grab a glass, pouring it to the top. I place two ice cubes inside and sip the dry contents. It burns just right.

My phone rings hours later when I’m much more drunk than I thought I’d be. Lazily, I answer it without looking at the screen. “Hello?” I cough, adjusting my eyes.

“We’ll find you,” a voice says into the receiver. It’s not Hawk. It’s not anyone I know. The voice is younger than Edward’s even, but it’s muffled and creepy. “We’ll find you and we’ll kill you. You and your kid.”

“Who is this?!” I scream, but the phone clicks and I know he’s gone.

I throw my glass against the wall and it shatters. “Shit,” I mutter. I have no patience left for this. None whatsoever. Hawk will find me. I always assumed that. I just didn’t think he’d find me so damn fast. I shouldn’t have answered the call.

I groan and place my palm against my forehead. “Oh, God,” I sigh. How in the hell am I going to tell Erica about any of this? I thought I could keep it under wraps. I thought I could handle it without her knowing. But of course, she’s going to find out. Hawk doesn’t play by the rules. He’s old school about things and he’s as dirty as they come. If you cross him, he’ll find out what you hold dear and he’ll exploit it as much as he can.

They’re in danger. My son is in danger.

Now, more than ever, it’s apparent what I have to do. Erica doesn’t think I’ll stick around, but I’m in this for the long haul. Now, I need to move in with her and it’s not just because I want to. If I’m not close to them, I’ll have no way of making sure they’re safe. I told her I’d protect her and Aidan and I intend to do that in any way that I can.

Losing them would be like losing myself. I can’t do that. I can’t be without them. My boy. The woman of my dreams. Nothing would destroy me more. Hawk can take my wealth. He can take away my freedom. But if he even lays one finger on the people I love, he’s in a world of pain. I’ll unleash a storm on him.

I’ll take him down. That’s a fucking promise.