Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
He thought the worst was over.
He was wrong.
Hawk Bellamy has always been the calm in the storm—the one who cleans up the wreckage his family leaves behind. But even he can’t control the chaos closing in now. His younger brother is fighting for his life, and Daniela Agudelo, the woman Hawk loves, is caught in a deadly game that began long before she escaped Colombia.
Daniela wants to believe she’s free. But someone out there remembers her face. Her name. The taste of her fear.
While Daniela fights to stay ahead of a predator who knows her every secret, Hawk is haunted by his own. Each revelation tears at the fragile peace he’s built, each choice pulling him closer to the morally gray line he swore he’d never cross.
Now the world around them is unraveling—his brother is fighting for his life, the Bellamy empire is cracking under the weight of its secrets, and Daniela’s predator is closing in.
Hawk will do anything to protect her. But in a world built on lies, obsession, and revenge, saving her might cost him his soul
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
DANIELA
For a moment when I wake up, I’m not sure where I am.
Then I know.
Hawk’s place. Hawk’s bed.
I jerk upright.
Vinnie and Raven will be worried sick.
I grab my phone from my purse on the floor. Sure enough, there’s a text from Raven.
I’m fine, I text back. I’m at Hawk’s.
Then the three dots.
We figured you were. I tried to call you both but they went to voicemail.
Yeah, we were busy, but I don’t say this.
I’m sorry to worry you.
It’s okay. Love you.
Love you too.
Hawk isn’t in the bed next to me. Where is he? I walk to the bathroom. He’s not there. I turn on the shower and get in, letting the warm water pelt over me. After I wash my hair and then dry off, I put on my dress I wore to court yesterday without the underwear. Commando for now, until I get a change of clean undies.
Then I leave the bedroom.
I find Hawk in the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee.
I inhale. It smells so good, almost as good as the coffee I had back in Colombia.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says. “Did you shower without me?”
“Guilty,” I say. “But I’m always up for another.”
“Coffee?”
“Please.”
He hands me a cup, and I take a long sip of the strong brew. “I had some calls from Raven,” I tell him.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I didn’t even hear it ring. My phone was buried in my purse. She and Vinnie were concerned when I didn’t come home.”
He cocks his head. “Didn’t you tell Raven you were spending the night with me?”
I shrug. “I did, but she probably wanted to check in. She knows about my history. But I’m an adult.” I sigh. “I should have let them know I’d be staying over, so I feel bad. I don’t want to cause them any pain.”
He gives my shoulders a squeeze. “Ray will get over it. So will Vinnie. Which reminds me, I haven’t looked at my phone in a while either.” He leaves the kitchen.
When he doesn’t return after ten minutes, I pour myself another cup of coffee.
I could get used to waking up in Hawk’s house.
I could get used to a lot of things.
1
HAWK
Five missed calls from Eagle, all from last night. A few from Robin this morning.
A bunch of texts from Eagle, too.
Asking for help.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The last one just says I’m coming over.
The doorbell last night. That was Eagle.
He needed my help, and I ignored him.
But I was with Daniela… I couldn’t just leave—
Then my phone buzzes.
It’s Robin.
“Robbie?” I say.
“Damn, Hawk, I’ve been trying to get you for over an hour.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Eagle,” she says. “Something triggered him. Fuck, he’s been clean for so long.”
My heart sinks. He’s relapsed. And I wasn’t there to cover for him this time, so the whole family is going to know.
It’s going to kill Mom.
And again I need to pick up the pieces.
“Where is he?” I ask. “I… I know where I can take him to get him help. It’s…not the first time this has happened.”
“What the hell do you mean? Eagle hasn’t relapsed, Hawk. He’s in the hospital,” Robin says. “He OD’d. And it’s bad, Hawk. It’s bad.”
A wave of terror seizes me and wraps around my heart like a boa constrictor. My breath is shallow, my pulse erratic.
“What?” The word comes out as a choked whisper, barely audible, even to me.
“OD’d, Hawk. Overdosed.” Robin’s words are hard and cold.
I feel numb. Shocked. Denial creeps in.
No, that can’t be. Eagle would never OD. Relapse, maybe, but…
Except not denial.
All this time, I knew he wasn’t keeping clean. I hid his problems from the rest of the family. He asked me to, and I did it.