“Did you know Jossi Tudor? She was a Whimsy witch here. Did you bring her to this place?” I asked. It would tie it all together. Had she somehow gotten this magic and then passed it on to me?
His head jerked back as he stared at me for a second. “No. I never took her there. I found her too irritating to be around. Why? Who’s she to you?” Marvin took a hard look at me as if trying to connect this with the present.
“No one,” Hawk said, stopping me from answering.
If Marvin believed Hawk or not, he didn’t have any desire to fight. “That’s all I ever did, and I stopped before things got crazy.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you stopped the very second,” I added.
Hawk stood and nodded to the door.
I stayed put as he made his way out and then stopped, waiting for me.
I looked at Marvin and then back at Hawk before joining him outside the office.
“That’s it? We’re leaving him?” I asked, as he took another few steps away.
“Yes.” He kept walking.
After a few seconds of debating, I followed him.
I waited until we were away from the building before I said, “As far as an interrogation goes, that sucked.”
“He was telling the truth.”
“So? I think he deserved a few punches anyway.” I might have to consider trading Hawk in for Bibbi.
“I’d rather leave him alive in case we need him for something later.” He kept walking.
Alive? I hadn’t planned on killing the guy. Only rough him up a bit.
“Well? What do you think? Any thoughts on our next move? Because that didn’t seem to help matters.” I hoped he had something, because I had zero ideas of where to go from here.
“Other than I think there’s a connection? No. But maybe we should at least confirm there is a connection with the hill.”
“Bibbi style? We bring the stone to there?” I pulled my jacket closer as the few people out and about crossed the street a few blocks away. The buffer zone had definitely grown in the last month.
“Yes. We bring the stone to the hill as soon as I get it back,” Hawk said.
Back from where? Did he really need to lend it out? Did he not know it was sort of important?
No. It was his stone, and I was not telling him how to use it because no matter what anyone said, I wasn’t controlling, not the way he was.
“Is there a problem?” He stared at my crossed arms and fisted hands.
“Of course not.”
He smiled, as if he knew I was lying. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of saying a word, and it was killing me.
Bibbi glared across the room at where Gillian had taken a seat next to Hawk on the couch, who was reading over some papers.
“She never stops,” Bibbi whispered. As much as I wanted to stay and commiserate with Bibbi, I’d rather pull my eyeballs out of my head than remain here. How long was I going to deny it? The disgusting truth was that I had a thing for Hawk. Some messed-up part of my brain wanted him, and there was no getting past it. I’d have to bear it while waiting for the feelings to fade away. It would definitely happen next time he did something else high-handed, but I’d had enough torture tonight.
I got up and grabbed my jacket off the hook.
“Where are you going? Do you need a buddy?” Bibbi asked.
Hawk’s attention shifted to me. I pretended not to notice him or Gillian.
“I’m going to do a perimeter run. I’m not going to be long, and it’s better off if I go alone.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.
“Where are you headed?” Oscar asked, walking in the back room.
“Just going for a walk,” I said, trying not to let the desperate need to escape leak out into my voice. It was hard when I couldn’t get out of the building without having to answer to every person in the place.
“I was heading to Zark’s. I’ll head out with you. It’ll be a nice little moonlight stroll,” he said, smiling at me as he put on his act for the room.
“Sounds lovely,” I said, not caring how it sounded as long as I got out of that room.
I felt Oscar’s hand on the small of my back as we walked out. “Where are we heading?” he asked. His hand dropped as he switched back to friend mode when we hit the streets.
“Anywhere but there.” I walked, not caring where I ended up right now. “You know, if you keep going with this little charade, people might start to believe there’s something going on with us.” At the moment, it seemed like a nicer reality than being the girl who was always watching Hawk with someone else.
“That’s the point. I hope he does. He’s being an idiot, and I’m enjoying this. Did you see his face when we left?” He smiled like a man who’d tasted triumph.
“No.”
“Good. It’s even better that you didn’t look back. But just so you know, it was burning him up.” Oscar laughed. He might’ve been the only man in Xest who found it amusing when Hawk was annoyed with him.
“Trying to drive us together isn’t a good idea, because I don’t want him,” I said.
Oscar laughed harder. I glared at him. He kept laughing.
“Fine. I’m attracted to him, but I don’t want to be.”
“You want him and he wants you, and I want you to be with him. It’s got to be you. There’s no one else like you. He can’t be with someone weaker than him, especially not from Xest. They’d idolize him, and he’d eventually run roughshod over them because it’s who he is. If you don’t stand up to Hawk, that’s what happens. It’s not to be mean. His tendency is to run the show and call the shots.” Oscar shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.
I picked up my pace, wishing I’d gone alone. “So I get to be the lucky person because I tell him to go to hell?”
“It doesn’t hurt that he wants you more than I’ve seen him ever want anyone.” His voice had lost every shred of humor.
“That’s not true.” I picked up my pace even more.
“I know him. It is,” he said as I left him standing in the street behind me.
28
Hawk walked toward me with a purpose, not stopping for any niceties with the rest of the room as they finished breakfast.
“You ready?” he asked.
I still had a half a cup of tea and a full biscuit left. For what needed to be done, and I was certain it was the hill, I’d finish later.
Gillian was calling his name and rushing over before I had a chance to stand. Bibbi glared across the room. Someone needed to take the butter knife away from her.
“Hawk, you’re not walking me to work?” Gillian asked.
“Zab will do it.”
“But—”
“It’s fine. He can handle it.” Hawk walked away from her before she could continue her damsel-in-distress act.
Gillian was frozen in her spot. I made my way around her, trying to not look in her direction.
Zab was slumped in his chair, looking as happy as Gillian was as I left the room.
We stopped in front of the hill as if planned. I had clear reasons to be nervous about walking on it. Last time hadn’t been bad exactly, but not normal. Hawk’s issues weren’t as obvious. He was staring at it like he’d been the one that had been nearly stuck to it.