Hawk: (13 page)

At the Sullivan’s log cabin home, Sarah was waiting and opened the door for them. She slid her arms around Hawk’s waist and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around the petite brunette, returning her hug. Looking over the top of her head, he saw his former
squadmates and Abby gathered together in the living room. Caleb shut the door behind him and stood next to the chair where Easy was sitting.

“So
, what happened?” Shooter asked.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. “Well, that’s our biggest problem,” he announced to the group. “Because Tildy isn’t saying anything at all.”

“What do you mean?” Tex asked. “Then how did Hawk get pulled in for questioning?”

“Tildy won’t talk about what happened,” Caleb replied. “Right now, she won’t even admit that she and Hawk spent time together in the parking lot in his truck. According to her, he only held the door for her
, and they went their separate ways when they got outside. She says she walked to her car and didn’t see where Hawk went.”

“That’s bullshit,” Hawk interjected. “We fooled around in my truck. I admitted that. Why is she lying?”

Caleb looked at Hawk. “Well, Tildy
won’t
admit it. So far, she is absolutely sticking to her story that she never saw you after you held the door for her. She says when she got home it was dark, and she tripped outside her parent’s garage. That’s her shitty-ass explanation for her injuries.”

“What injuries?” Hawk demanded.

“She’s got a cut above her eye she’s trying to hide and a split lip. Neither of which she’ll see a doctor for. There
was
a witness,” Caleb told Hawk. “Rawlins didn’t lie about that. But there are problems with her statement too. First off, she was high. So her word can’t be taken for too much, especially not in court. But the woman says she saw a man grab Tildy from behind by her hair and slam her face into the frame of her car door.”

“Oh, God,” Sarah cried
, and Chris put his arm around his wife to comfort her.

“The woman says he pushed Tildy against the car and ripped off her underwear from beneath the dress she was wearing. She couldn’t really tell what was happening at that point
, but shortly after that he left Tildy and took off. But between the witness being impaired, the rain and it being dark as hell outside, she can’t identify him. Not a chance in hell. Or even the truck really. Just a black truck. Which happens to match the description of
your
truck,” he told Hawk. “Not that it means much, because that’s roughly half the trucks in the whole damn state. Add to that the fact that Tildy
will not
admit that anything happened to her at all; RCPD doesn’t have much of a case.
Against anyone.
Not even the bastard who really did attack her.”

“I don’t get it,” Easy said. “Why won’t she tell them? I mean she won’t even say she was with Hawk before it happened. And she knows he didn’t hurt her. What the hell?”

Caleb grimaced. “I’m... not so sure.”

The men sat forward. Tex’s eyes narrowed. “You are not accusing our brother of-”

“No,” Caleb said, holding up a hand. “I’m saying I don’t know if
Tildy
is sure. Hawk admitted that he and Tildy fooled around, but she wouldn’t have sex with him. Rawlins latched onto it like a pitbull, and he pushed his theory that Hawk was pissed at being told no, followed her out of the lot, and attacked her.

“Accord
ing to the eyewitness, for whatever it’s worth, the attacker came up behind Tildy, bounced her head off the door, and bent her over in about five seconds flat. Tildy never saw the man that hurt her. Unless he said something to her during that time that could have identified him, or at least ruled out Hawk, it’s entirely possible that Tildy actually believes it
was
Hawk. Like I said, Rawlins was pushing that theory pretty hard and not just to get Hawk to confess. He hammered Tildy with it too, trying to get her to pin it on Hawk.”

Caleb held out his hands. “I have no idea what Tildy thinks
, because she refuses to talk. She’s obviously scared. She’s had time to come up with that falling down story, and she’s sticking to it, come hell or high water. It is possible that it’s Hawk she’s afraid of, and that’s why she’s denying they even spent any time alone together. Maybe she thinks she can avoid his retribution if she just won’t name him at all. I don’t think she meant to bring up his name. Right after she did, she kept trying to steer Rawlins away from him. But she
was
attacked. High or not, there was a witness and Tildy has injuries she can’t explain.”

“I don’t know how helpful a real statement would be from her,” Caleb admitted. “We might be able to catch him, if she heard or maybe saw something, like a scar or a tattoo on his hands or arms. Or she might not be able to give us any leads at all. But right now there’s nothing we can do
, since she won’t even talk about it.”

Abby looked up at Caleb. “Well, can you talk to her? Tell her that you can’t find this guy unless-”

Caleb shook his head. “I’m not allowed anywhere near her. Period.”

“You’re a cop,” Easy protested.

Shooter shook his head too. “He’s also Hawk’s friend. And if Rawlins is so dead set that Hawk is the guy, they don’t want him acting like Hawk’s personal bodyguard and possibly threatening Tildy to keep her quiet.”

Caleb nodded. “I got a lot of shit for not mentioning that Hawk spent time with her at the bar. I didn’t want Rawlins to do exactly what he did, which was
to stop looking for anyone else. We can be damn sure he’s going to interview every single person who was at Maria’s that night to make sure that Hawk came back and stayed ‘til close.”

“I guess this means I’m not supposed to see her,” Hawk declared.

“No,” Caleb said. “It’s not a good idea. Rawlins has her all twisted up and scared of her own shadow. He even made a veiled threat that he might arrest
her.
”

“For
what
?!” Hawk snarled.

“Having knowledge of a crime and not reporting it,” Caleb replied sarcastically. “But there’s no way he’ll do it. He’d get suspended in two seconds for bullying a sexual assault victim. No one wants that kind of publicity. Rawlins may be obsessed with charging you, but he’s not stupid. He’s not going to jeopardize his career. He’s already under a microscope for fucking up so spectacularly the last time. Like I said, it was a veiled threat
. If Tildy tries to tell anyone about it, he’ll just say she misunderstood what he was saying.”

“Bastard,” Hawk replied. He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, where is she?

“Home for now,” Caleb replied.

Hawk pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I shouldn’t have left her.  I thought she’d be fine. I shouldn’t have left.”

“It’s not your fault,” Caleb replied.

“Bullshit!” Hawk snapped. “This should not have happened to her! It wouldn’t have if I’d made sure she was safe! He might try again
, and I can’t protect her. I can’t even talk to her! Caleb you have to get someone to talk to her. You have to get her to understand that she might still be in danger. She shouldn’t go anywhere alone, especially at night. She should-”

“She knows,” Caleb told him. “She knows. I talked to her about varying her routine. About not taking chances when she’s alone.”

Hawk still shook his head. “It’s not enough. Fuck! She’s so small. She doesn’t even have a gun. She’s not
like
Sarah and Abby. She’s not
tough
like they are. She can’t take care of herself, not like that.” He snatched his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number he had saved in the memory. It rang, but she didn’t answer. He didn’t even get a voice mail.

“God damn it!” he growled and nearly crushed the phone in his hand. He looked at Caleb. “Does she really think I’d do something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Caleb replied gravely. “I can’t tell what’s going on with her.”

Hawk flopped down into one of the chairs and rubbed the back of his neck. His angel
thought he was a monster. He was, or at least she would think he was, if she knew the kinds of things he’d done overseas, but it was never like this. He couldn’t imagine doing anything to hurt a woman, especially not Tildy.

Tildy’s phone rang, and she checked the screen. A lump formed in her throat.
Hawk calling...
  She hoped he’d just give up and go away. She hadn’t meant to mention his name to the officer. It was all just a huge mistake, even down to accepting a ride from him in the first place. She should stick to the familiar. She didn’t belong in that world, didn’t know how to navigate it.

Home, in truth, was almost
as dangerous, but Tildy was an expert on living there. She knew the signs that meant her mother was about to get angry or was biding her time until she had Tildy alone. As the years went by, Tildy learned better and better how to avoid most punishments. Since she’d gotten her driver’s license at sixteen, it became even easier. Maria’s bar and its patrons were uncharted waters, and anyone could be a shark.

She rejected the call so that it wouldn’t go to voice mail. He had nothing to say that she’d want to hear. She stared in the mirror at the cuts on her face. She wasn’t used to having vi
sible injuries. They would fade though, and Tildy would forget all about this. She carefully tucked away the medal into her pillowcase, even though so far it hadn’t led her anywhere good.

On Monday morning
, she caked makeup on the cut over her eye and put on a white, button down blouse. Fully prepared to fade back into her life, she walked to her Mercedes, which she had backed into the garage to hide the damaged bumper. She was on time for work, as usual, and left her blazer in her office on her way to the teller windows.

Her fingers ran through stacks of bills and across keyboards that generated deposit/withdrawal reports. Numbers were s
afe, she reminded herself. Though they were not her strong suit nor her passion, she could lose herself here, day after day, year after year. Previously, this idea had terrified Tildy- being lost in the numbers until she
was
a number- but she’d seen now what lay beyond, and it was nothing she could handle.

When the bank officially opened
, Tildy smiled her own banker’s smile as she supervised the tellers beginning their shift.

The day went by quickly enough. The bank emptied at ten after 5
, and Tildy gathered her things from her office. She rarely stayed late and had to admit that it may have played a small part in her only being a Teller Supervisor after all this time. As much as she didn’t want to be at home much, she had no desire to be here, either. She much preferred the bright yellow walls of the Community Center, tiled with their clutter of flyers and posters.

There were ads for bands she’d never see, free puppies she’d never own, but seeing them always made her feel a part of something anyway. The bank, by contrast, had star
k white walls, dull grey floors and black countertops. It was anything but inviting. Tuesdays and Saturdays were her class days, but she wished it was more often.

She used her keys to lock her office door and then the bank’s front entrance
, after having set the alarm. She turned to head to her car but nearly screamed in surprise when she almost collided with someone.

“Oh, God!” Tildy gasped, putting a hand over her frantic heart.

“Sorry!” Sarah Sullivan cried. “We’re so sorry!”

Tildy glanced at Abby, who also looked chagrined. A few of the bank’s employees glanced their way as they headed to their own cars. Tildy tried to catch her breath.

“It’s fine,” she told them.

“Tildy, we-”

Tildy shook her head sharply. “I have to go,” she told both women and attempted to move between them. Abby stepped in front of her.

“Tildy,” she said sternly. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Tildy insisted. “You just scared me.”

Abby’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I meant
, and you know it.”

Tildy frowned. “I- I’m fine.”

“Hawk’s been calling you,” Sarah admonished. “He’s worried sick about you.”

“Well, I’m fine. Just tell him I’m fine.”

“Tildy,” Sarah said quietly. “Hawk didn’t hurt you. No matter how that cop made it sound. Hawk would never-”

“I can’t talk about this,” Tildy snapped. She pu
shed past both women and hurried across the parking lot to her car. Sarah and Abby wouldn’t give up though and followed her, eventually falling into step with her.

“Tildy, you’ve got to talk to Hawk,” Sarah ordered. “He can help you. We all can. If you just-”

Tildy froze mid-step and blinked a few times. She no longer heard what Sarah was saying. She frowned at her car. There was something tucked under the windshield wiper. She took a few halting steps toward it as dread uncurled in her stomach.

“Tildy?” Abby asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Tildy
, are you alright?”

Tildy opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. She robotically stepped closer to her car
, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything but stand there. “Oh, God,” she whispered.

Abby looked at Sarah, who followed Tildy’s gaze to the Mercedes. Sarah broke off from the threesome and crossed the lot. She lifted the wiper gingerly then looked at Abby, her own face as pale as Tildy felt her own must be right now.

“Call the boys,” Sarah ordered.

Abby was already reaching for her phone.