Free In Hawke's Eyes by Tressie Lockwood Page B

trouble. I had the situation in hand.”
    His friend chuckled. “So I can see, but don’t worry, I made sure I had enough evidence against Ms. Jessica Wringer before moving in. You taking out her closest boys saved me some trouble. Jessica,” he shouted, “you’d do yourself a favor by giving up now. None of your lackies are standing on their feet. If you want to make this hard, by all means…”
    Hawke stared down at the blood staining his shirtfront and the pants he borrowed from a guard. Since he hadn’t shown his face, there wasn’t a reason to tie up that loose end, but he couldn’t leave examinable blood at the scene either, and if he didn’t get out of there quick, more questions would need to be answered. He redirected his gaze to his fingers, which had already begun the change. When injured, he tended to shift. From his experience, all shifters were the same. Transformation made for faster healing, as long as the wound wasn’t fatal. Damn it, I fucked up.
    Hawke peered over his shoulder in time to see Jessica standing with her hands raised. Officers rushed up to lead her out. He noticed Jim giving a status report in his phone. While no one watched, Hawke struggled to his feet. He staggered to the phone on the desk, which was still off its hook, and depressed the button so he’d get a dial tone. He punched in a few numbers and then paused a couple beats before punching in a few more. That would do it.
    “Hey, you need a ride anywhere? Hawke?”
    Hawke made his way along the ventilation tubing in bird form, cursing himself all the way. At least he knew he’d called in another contact, this one a shifter who would mix in with the forensics team assigned to go over the office. Hawke’s blood and any evidence that someone nonhuman had ever been in the room would disappear forever. The only problem he saw now was that he didn’t have a medical connection in New York. He never got sick, and if he did have issues, he would fly to Sutland. In his current condition, he wouldn’t make it. In fact, it was looking like only a miracle could get him out of this building and to somewhere safe.

Chapter Eight
     
    “Stephanie.”
    She looked up at Toron’s voice. They didn’t have much need for chatting since she’d come several days ago. She spent time with Sienna and Meechi, and when she got a little bit braver, she joined her friend at her shop in town. Convinced she would not be here long, Stephanie had kept Meechi home from school. Her bravery didn’t extend to leaving her baby in a place where there was nothing but young lion shifters.
    Toron stopped where she sat near the living room window to do some writing. Something in the way he spoke her name didn’t sit right with Stephanie. Butterflies stirred in her stomach, and she set her pad and pen aside. “What’s wrong?”
    “Hawke.” He scratched his head and drove rough fingers through the blond locks. “He’s missing.”
    Stephanie gasped, and her eyes widened. “B-but how do you know? Maybe he just hasn’t checked in because he’s busy—”
    “He had been calling me every day. In the last thirty-six hours, I’ve heard nothing. I checked with a couple of his contacts that I know of, and they haven’t seen him either.”
    Stephanie couldn’t believe it. Hawke hadn’t called her once since he left. Not that she thought he should report in, but she’d worried, and now that feeling intensified. What if he lay dead in an alley somewhere, or in the river? The people after her didn’t play, and while Hawke was an investigator, that didn’t mean he was invincible.
    She rose, hands fluttering and mind racing about what to do. “I need to look for him.”
    “No, I do,” Toron corrected. “Sienna convinced me you deserved to know what was going on. You can stay here, but I promise I’ll bring him back. I’m taking my two best hunters with me.”
    Stephanie eyed the two people behind Toron, one being a woman. She frowned. “If she’s going,