☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
We had drifted off to sleep again, and when Pearl woke me up, I jumped up and threw on Hawk’s jeans, mistakenly thinking they were my borrowed ones, to take Pearl outside before she peed on something else that she wasn’t supposed to.
While I was waiting for her to do her business, I felt Hawk’s phone in my pocket.
I couldn’t resist opening it and reading the last text he received.
“Her father is a prick. He’s not biting. Bring her back and let her go.”
Who was Blackie? I checked the time stamp and it was right before Hawk had come back to bed a few hours ago. So this was about my father. And did ‘he’s not biting.’ mean he was refusing to pay the ransom? Was he really that much of an asshole that he wouldn’t pay for my safe return? My heart sank. I knew he didn’t love me, but this was the final nail in the coffin. Especially considering I was here because of whatever shady shit he was into.
Thank goodness I had been kidnapped by Hawk and wasn’t being hurt or raped. Or was I? Hawk had received this message hours ago, hours before he had come in and made love to me again. Was that because he didn’t want me to leave, or because he was just using me for sex? It didn’t feel like just sex, but I had to remind myself who he was.
I didn’t know if I felt angry or flattered that he hadn’t taken me home right away. By the looks of his phone, he hadn’t replied to the message at all. I didn’t really know what to think about Hawk. I had actually enjoyed the time we had spent together, and part of me didn’t want to leave either. But I couldn’t live in Hawk’s world, and he couldn’t live in mine. The chances of things going any further than this job of his were slim.
It was true, though. My father was a prick. It was just like him to turn the other cheek and avoid doing anything at all. If Blackie, whoever he was, had come to me, I probably could have told him that before they wasted all the time and energy to kidnap me. My father was heartless, I had learned that long ago. As much as this hurt, it was still no surprise.
If you wanted to get to my father, you had to aim straight for the heart. And not many people knew him well enough to do that.
The sound of Hawk’s footsteps by the front door jolted me and I quickly put the phone away, but not before he saw it.
“Is that my phone?” he asked as he walked out into the sunshine, his hair shimmering and wispy around his face.
I nodded solemnly, pulling it from my pocket and handing it to him.
“So you saw the message, I take it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, honey. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Vanessa.” Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed my lips softly. “To be honest, I’m not ready to let you go.”
I gazed at him, trying to read his eyes, looking for any trace of deception, and I saw nothing but gentleness and sincerity.
“Hawk, I know how to change his mind.”
He pulled back slightly, cocking his head inquisitively.
“What do you mean?”
“My father. He refused to pay the ransom, right?”
“It appears that way.”
“Yeah, well he’s a prick, and he hates me. All he cares about are his career, and my precious, perfect sister, Kate. But I know the big, family secret. He’d do anything to keep it from getting out.”
“Why are you telling me this, Vanessa?”
“Because I want to help. With the ransom. You give the information to your client, my father pays up, and we split the money equally.”
“Are you serious, Princess? You want to assist in your own kidnapping?”
“Listen, my father probably already thinks I’m behind this anyway. He thinks I’m a lazy hippy that doesn’t want to work and that I want everything handed to me.”
“I don’t know about this, Vanessa.”
“Why not? When I tell you this family dirt, you’ll see that it’s foolproof, he would do anything to keep this information under wraps.”
“Well, then tell me.”
“Only if you promise to take it to this Blackie guy, and only if he agrees to the money split before you tell him the information. We can split the money and go on with our lives.”
“Why aren’t you mad at me, Vanessa?”
Why wasn’t I mad at him? That was a very good question. But then I remembered the caress of his hands on my skin, the way he kissed me and made me forget the world existed, and the way he made love to me like it was the last thing he was ever going to do…and then I knew the answer.
“Because I’m falling in love with you, Hawk. And I really fucking hate my father.”
His eyes widened and his face broke out in a huge grin. He kissed me hard, his hot mouth capturing mine, possessing it as held me tightly.
“I’m falling in love with you, too, Princess.”
I smiled up at his gorgeous face, not knowing how this was ever going to work out between us, but determined to try.
“Let’s go inside. You can tell me everything over dinner.”
He grasped my hand, his fingers lacing into mine as if we had been lovers for years.
As he was cooking, I sat in the kitchen watching him, with Pearl sitting in my lap.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” I explained. “My sister Kate isn’t really my father’s daughter. My mother had an affair early on in their marriage, but my parents covered it up. When I was ten, I heard them talking about it late one night in their bedroom. When I confronted them about it, they insisted I never tell another soul, including my sister, saying that it would ruin my father’s career. He had huge aspirations, even back then, for a while he thought he might run for president. He has long since forgiven my mother, but only under the condition that it remains a secret forever. He was too concerned with ‘appearances’ to ever let the truth get out. He’ll be devastated to know I told anyone.”
“Well, that is some very interesting information, Vanessa.”