Tempting Gabe (The Hawke Fortune)

by Victoria Pinder

  His fingers made her skin pulsate with desire, even as her eyes widened. "What do you think you'll find?"

  "Nothing except how much more I want to know about you." He kissed her hand. She felt branded. No one had ever kissed her hand before. It was only a moment she ever saw on television.

  He let her hands go and she curled them around her glass at the same time she looked away. "Ask me anything."

  "I haven't had a steady girlfriend since I returned home." Wow. Her heart beat faster in her chest while she thought that he was asking her.

  She flipped her hair behind her ears as she tried to silence the thunder she felt inside. "You haven't?"

  He scooted closer to her and she could sense her desire growing, which made no sense, except that she more than liked him. "Megan, I know we just met and that your brother wants to kill me, but I hope when this is all over you'll consider sticking around and just be with me when it's quiet."

  Anything he wanted. She lowered her head and reached out for his hand. "Yes. I'll be your girlfriend."

  "Good."

  He was so close. In that white T-shirt of his, he was sexy and adorable. She leaned closer to kiss him, when his phone beeped out an alarm. She sat straighter but she clutched the table like it might help her. "Why is it going off now?"

  "I don’t know. Let me check." He said and jumped out of his seat and reached for his laptop.

  Right. The bell his phone and not on the wall so there was no fire. She uncurled her hand from the table and picked up her coffee cup. She poured more coffee for both of them cranked while he returned with his laptop and typed fast. She gave him a few minutes, and she finished her second cup fast. Thirty seconds later, she took the seat next to him.

  "What's happening?" she asked as she curled closer to him.

  He glanced at her and gave her leg a squeeze. "Give me a minute."

  "Okay." She stared at the screen, but to her the words on the screen seemed gibberish. If he looked at her accounting files, he'd probably think the same, so she waited.

  He typed fast and finished in a blink. "Someone is cyber-attacking Hawke Inc. I have to go to the office."

  Her own job was how she paid her bills so she completely understood his rush to his job. "Ohh. Well should I go to work then?"

  "No." He reached out, held her closer and kissed her forehead. "This is an old military maneuver where you hit both sides of the army at the same time to throw off the planks.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I have an emergency situation. I’d bet money that you're about to get an emergency that will separate us and it's better for both of us if we stick together like glue."

  With Gabe, she'd have a shot at not spending her life alone, which was what she assumed her life was heading toward. She nodded and he let his hold on her lessen. She turned her chair toward the kitchen. "This is a lot of food we haven't touched."

  He put his head on her shoulder and hugged her over the chair. "Does that mean you agree?"

  She turned back toward him and nodded. Then she kissed his cheek. "As long as there is time for me to eat. I'm famished."

  Before she could scoot her chair toward the table, Gabe shoved a laptop in front of her. "Okay, please check your email from this computer."

  She narrowed her gaze while she rested her fingers on the keyboard. "Why?"

  "I have a tracker on this that will reverse any worms you have."

  With a deep breath, she logged on and found the email service. She clicked in, placed her hand on Gabe's thigh. "There is an email from Maddox."

  "Read it but remember it will be news that will want to separate us."

  She held her breath and read. Sis, I'm sorry about yesterday. I went to Mom's grave before I left town and someone had vandalized her headstone.

  She felt an electric zap and fisted her hands. "My mother doesn't deserve to be part of this."

  "Whatever happened, I can get it fixed."

  Gabe and his money hasn’t given Maddox any right to do this. This was wrong, and Gabe should not have to fix what her brother had done, vandalizing their mother's eternal resting place. She scooted out of her seat. "That's not the point. Maddox shouldn't..."

  "You can't control him." Gabe said as packed his laptop and fixed their chairs to face their breakfast that had been pushed aside.

  If she went to work with him, she was dressed already. "After your work, we'll go to the graveyard?"

  "Yes. Together."

  "And I will talk to the caretakers on the phone."

  "Good plan."

  Her thoughts cleared. At least this way they would get everything in order and be together. Her stomach no longer rumbled for food. She pointed to the front door. "Better get going."

  He arranged the plates in front of them. "Relax, you're with me now and you were hungry."

  She let him guide her to sip her coffee without complaint. While he folded her napkin in her lap, she tugged at her ear. "Gabe, why me of all women?"

  He winked at her. "Because you make me feel like I'm home."

  Perfect answer. She picked up a piece of toast as she felt her face grow warmer. "I feel the same which is funny because my mother told me I was the strong one who could survive anything."

  "We can both be strong, together."

  For once, she had a partner and this was great. If only her brother didn't ruin her chances to be happy and fall in love because Gabe Hawke was amazing and the best man she'd ever met.

  Chapter 8

  Gabe held the front door for Megan that she walked past him and into Hawke Inc. He placed his hand on her lower back and led her to the elevators. No one said anything to them, but he saw his employees glance over and then look away. Megan agreed to be his girlfriend, and he worried he couldn’t offer her all she deserved since they were starting off on this path with her brother between them. Once her brother was captured, he'd make the time to whisk her off to Venice for the weekend where they could eat at his favorite restaurant.

  The elevator beeped and opened which brought him back to the present moment. No one joined them, so he leaned forward and smelled the roses of her skin that made his body ache for her. Then he stood straighter and admitted, "Memories of what happened in the desert are coming back to me."

  "Are they about my brother?" she asked the moment the doors opened to his office floor.

  "Yes." His secretary stared at the pair of them, but she lowered her head immediately. Megan kept her question to herself, but he smiled and showed her the way to his office. She stayed in step with him.

  The second the doors closed to his office and they were alone again, she asked, "What happened?"

  He led her a chair across from his desk, but she picked it up to move it closer. He held out his hands and took it from her and then placed her seat next to him. Once they were settled and he sat at his desk, he turned toward her, hands together. "Even as a Marine, I intended to take a loan from my father and start Hawke Inc as a computer security service. I was stupid at twenty-two and decided to create a hack that would grant me information about almost any company or government organization that would mutate until it found a point of entry."

  Her brown eyes seemed to assess him, like one of his computers. She nodded and said, "Sounds like a virus."

  "Yeah. I'm using non-tech terms, but that's a good comparison."

  She leaned forward. "Okay, so you created a virus hack, and?"

  Memories flashed in his mind of the explosion, of how Belle screamed and pulled Colt toward her, of dust and rocks that flew in his face the moment, and the shards of that metal fence that poked at his skin. The images blurred in every thought, but he focused on the USB and said, "I told James, Conner, Colt, Belle, Harrison and Maddox my plans and what I had done while we were on a mission. A few days later Maddox stole my hack on a USB on the day we were attacked."

  Her eyes widened. "He what?"

  "I thought he died."

  With her nod, he felt calmer. Good.
Memories of the desert and what had happened to him drained him.

  Silence clung in the air and he took the moment to regroup his energy for the day. The second ended when she asked, "So what do you plan to do now?"

  Right. Focus on today. He reached out and patted her hand. Her email was for Morgan Enterprises and that was how her brother traced her. He swallowed and said, "My clients are safe because I created a way to block my own hack years ago, but your boss is not my client and he's under attack. I have no idea how many other companies or organizations Maddox might have hacked."

  She reached out and held his wrist while her gaze read that she was almost pleased with him. "Did you feel guilty this morning when you asked me to be your girlfriend because of what you did?"

  "Absolutely not." He tugged her closer and then kissed her forehead because he didn't have a clear shot at her lips. "You're the prettiest and most interesting woman I've met in a long time."

  A slow smile emerged as she lifted her chin. "Good answer. Did you forget all of what you said?"

  “About you being my sexy girlfriend, no.”

  “I meant about my brother and what you said about the desert.”

  Later, he'd get that kiss from her. For now, he sat farther back in his chair and pointed toward the door. "Yes and no. I blocked all of thoughts about him until I heard your name from my secretary and you jogged my memories. Megan and Maddox sounds like your matching twin names."

  "So you’d want the first letter to be the same if you had twins. Got it.”

  Megan’s offbeat sense of humor made her charming. His stare went lower and he peeked at her chest for a second. Megan was a few years younger and her lips were too kissable. He needed to keep his distance or he’d follow through on his instinct. Instead, he opened his computer and continued the conversation. "Wait. Your brother has blue eyes."

  "Wait. Many Cubans are blond and blue-eyed."

  "Sorry." His face felt hot while he realized he was way too distracted from wanting to touch her and keep her close. He turned toward her. Right now, he needed to not think about fixing the potential threat. He focused on bringing her into what weighed on his mind. "I wanted you aware of what this is before I tell your boss, Peter Morgan, that his financial empire has a security problem."

  She stood, like she should leave. "Do you want me to wait outside your office?"

  "No." He stood and gestured for her to stay and sit next to him. Once she followed, he retook his seat and said, "I told you this morning, we need to stick together."

  "Even in the same building?"

  He typed on his keyboard and saw his secretary's message that Peter Morgan was in the building. They had minutes, so he answered Megan fast. "I believe your brother wants revenge. It's easier to accomplish if we're alone."

  He clicked on the proposal and hit print as Megan crossed her arms. "Why revenge then? Sounds like he stole from you though I was under the impression at his house that he hated you because of something you did to him."

  He stopped and again the memories of the dust in the air that burned his lungs threatened to overtake the present moment. "I left him to die."

  "What?"

  The tone in her voice told him she hadn't believed him. He turned toward her, took her hand in his and took a breath. Megan was a sweetheart and believed in the right thing. He swallowed his pride and tried to explain. "In the threats against my parents and sisters, it was all about taking the people who were important to me away. Now that I know it was Maddox, my friends who are guarding my family and were there now understands this all relates to the day we were ambushed and I couldn't get to your brother before the bomb went off."

  A shadow of a man came through the window near the door and Megan tensed. "Which is how he was captured and tortured. Got it." She took her hand back and scooted her chair away the moment she finished, "Okay. I'll sit in on the meeting."

  "Thanks." He stapled the proposal and stood to greet their visitor. Megan's boss walked through the door and Gabe walked around and offered his hand to shake. "Peter Morgan."

  He shook his hand. "Gabe Hawke." He tipped his head toward Megan and said, "Megan Murdock. Did you quit your job at my company?"

  She placed her hands behind her back and shook her head. "No, sir. I needed time off, not that I thought you noticed me ever there."

  “I had my security firm run background before the meeting, and your name came up.” Peter gestured toward his seat and they all sat straighter. "So my question for the two of you is what's going on and how does this relate to Morgan Enterprises?"

  Gabe placed the proposal in a folder. "Your company has been hacked. We're working to catch the criminal, but you are technically I can’t fix your problem."

  He sat like he was a king of the world. "How do you know it affects me?"

  "I found it on my computer after Megan logged into her work email."

  Peter glanced at Megan and returned his attention to him as he lowered his head. "Gabe, I am sorry for what happened to your parents."

  The police were keeping what happened a secret so no one knew his parents were fine. He nodded. "Thank you. The man who shot them in the street is the same one who is stealing from your company."

  Megan held both of her hands in her lap. "The threat came to me from my email that I check all the time per my boss’s opinion that we always know what’s going on in the office."

  “Fair enough.” Peter gestured for the contract. Gabe handed it to him and he read fast. A few seconds later, he nodded. "I'll have my legal department look at the contract today and get back to you. We will help in any criminal investigation but my company's priority is the privacy of information about our clients."

  "I understand." Gabe stood and shook his hand. Eliminating and changing the code to reverse the virus itself to destroy the information it collected would give Morgan Enterprises total security from this theft. Hawke Inc would benefit so this was an easy win-win.

  Peter said, "Expect to hear from me today."

  Then he walked out the door. Gabe stayed still until the door closed behind him. In the same moment, Megan came beside him, tucked her hand under his arm and held him close. "That was easy. Now we deal with my mother's grave?"

  Today hadn't been what he feared. In fact, near Megan, his mouth watered. He wrapped his hands around her and drew her closer. "Yes, after you kiss me."

  Her sweet lips tasted like heaven itself and he forgot about the day.

  Chapter 9

  Megan had worried the entire time that if she saw the grave then she'd break into tears. After Gabe parked in the driveway and they stepped onto the gravel road, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Now she'd see firsthand how Maddox had changed from bullied but still sweet teen who ensured she had her packed lunch to someone who murdered and knocked over their mother's grave.

  Part of her hoped he hadn't.

  Gabe put his hand on her back and walked with her toward the grave. At least his warmness gave her a sense of home and belonging. She stayed in his arms.

  A caretaker stopped them in the office. He stepped in front of them and said, "Miss Murdock?"

  She blinked but held Gabe close. "Yes?"

  The caretaker lowered his head. "I'm sorry that someone targeted your mother's grave. We are repairing all the damage now and hope to take care of everything as soon as we can."

  Numbers ran through her head. A few months ago the figures of how much dying cost astounded her. She pressed her lips together until the figures dissipated from her brain and she asked, "Did the insurance payment cover damages?"

  "Yes." The caretaker glanced up and met her gaze.

  At least she wasn't going to be charged another exorbitant amount. She swallowed and then glanced behind the guy and to the door. She had to know what her brother had done. "Okay. Thank you."

  The moment they walked out the front door of the small office and toward the graveyard, they heard blue birds singing. The grass was freshly mowed and the cemetery see
med peaceful instead of fearsome. Her mother had always loved nature and the distant palm trees and butterflies would make her smile.

  They walked closer to the corner lot near the palm trees enclave and the tightness in her chest grew as she pointed to the split tombstone where someone likely used a jackhammer and then chicken blood and heads to act like this was a Santeria ritual. Her mother would hate this. Tears washed down her check and she turned into Gabe's shoulder and hugged him. "This is where we buried my mother."

  He patted her hair and held her tight. Having him here with her helped her trust. Being alone would have been unbearable. She left the hug and wanted to say I love you but instead said, "I needed your shoulder for a minute."

  He tucked her hair behind her ear. "We'll come back and pay homage to your mother once all of this is repaired and cleaned."

  "Thanks." The gleam in his gaze made her hope that he'd feel the same. Once her brother was captured, perhaps they could go on a date, relax and learn about each other like normal people. Right now her feelings were intense.

  She turned to walk away, but he tagged behind her, for a second until he caught up and took her hand in his. "Glad I could be here with you."

  "I'm glad too." She turned away from the grave that was knocked over with some heavy, mechanized hammer. The moment they were about to walk away, her stomach went into knots. She swallowed and her throat felt bitter, like acid. She took another step forward and said, "Something is in the air. I feel uneasy."

  Gabe held her hand close to his heart. "We'll pay someone to clean all this up. Let me get you home."

  A twig snapped behind them. The moment became crystal clear in that second she heard the unmistakable voice of her brother. "I thought you'd come alone, sis."

  "Maddox!" She turned around and stared at the barrel of the rifle that her brother pointed at them.

  Gabe stepped in front of her and tried to block her. "Let your sister leave and we'll keep this between the two of us."