minor.” Hawk tried to follow Renee but was stopped by the nurse.
“Let’s take a look at your arm,” the nurse commented.
Hawk wasn’t interested in getting the wound tended, but the nurse had a determined look in her eye that told him she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He thought about flashing his badge, but knew he wouldn’t be any help to Renee in the E.R.
He nodded. “Afterward, you’ll check on the woman I brought in.” When she hesitated, he added, “I’m a cop.”
She didn’t look convinced until he produced his badge.
“You got a deal, Lieutenant.”
After his arm was cleaned and wrapped, the nurse went to check on Renee. Hawk couldn’t sit still. Adrenaline still raced through his veins.
Someone had tried to kill Renee. There was a slight possibility that what happened tonight was a random crime, but he didn’t buy that scenario. He had a feeling the crime had been directed at her. Emory’s fears were well-founded, and he was going to have to stick closer to Renee than her skin.
Needing to report the incident to the police, he went back to his car, grabbed his phone and dialed Houston PD and told the operator what had occurred, then asked for his ex-partner, Tony Ashcroft, who was now a homicide detective. In minutes Hawk would have to answer a lot of questions.
But then again, the police weren’t the only ones who wanted answers.
“I don’t know anything else, Detective Ashcroft,” Renee said to the HPD detective. Her head pounded.
The tall, athletically built man closed his notebook and slipped it into his pocket. He was thirty-five, with a youthful appearance that probably fooled a lot of people into believing that Tony Ashcroft was younger than his years. Yet, from the looks he exchanged with Hawk, Renee had the feeling that the detective wasn’t easily fooled.
“If you remember anything more, please contact me, Ms. Girouard.” He handed her his business card.
She nodded.
Ashcroft looked at Hawk. “I’ll call you later and let you know what we’ve uncovered.”
When he left, Renee asked, “You know Detective Ashcroft?”
“Yeah, Ash and I were rookies together. I went to law school and he became a detective.”
Her eyes fluttered closed.
“Are you feeling sick, Renee?”
Her eyes popped open. “No,” she lied, pressing her fingers to her lips. “I was trying to go over what happened to see if I could recall anything new.”
“Did you?”
“No.” She paused. “But there is something bothering me.”
Caution entered his eyes. “What exactly is that?”
“Why were you so sure something might happen?”
He flushed. “I had an itch between my shoulders.”
“What?”
“Sometimes cops get a feeling—” He shrugged.
Her eyes widened. “Are you talking about intuition?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t shake this feeling that something wasn’t right. I went to your place, but you weren’t there, so I drove to your office.”
He moved to the side of the bed. His fingers lightly brushed back the strands of hair that had caught on her bandage at her temple. A look of tenderness crept into his eyes, making her breath catch. It was the look that had stolen her heart before everything had fallen apart.
“Your father was right. Someone doesn’t want you to inherit his company.”
“I don’t believe anyone—”
“When I went to Emory’s locked drawer to get the copy of your birth certificate, it was open, which means someone knows.”
She knew he was right, but didn’t want to accept it. “What if I publicly say I don’t want Emory’s money?” She felt as though she was trying to push a boulder uphill.
“You could, but what if that won’t make a difference? Emory has already decided that no matter what, his family won’t get the company.”
She didn’t have an answer for that.
“And what if the killer decides you’re a threat to them while you’re still living? Emory might change his mind if you die before him. The danger’s not going to go away.”
His arguments were ugly and persuasive.
“Emory’s solution seems the best way to deal with the problem,” he added.
“By marrying you?”
He nodded.
“My own personal bodyguard.” Her gaze met his. She felt his will pulling her to agree. There was such passion in the man, and she knew that only too well. But his passion—his loyalty—was for Emory, not her. Her eyes fluttered closed, not wanting him to see her pain.
“I’ll think about it, Hawk.”
“You do that, Renee.”
He walked out the door, leaving Renee staring at the closed door.
Renee knew he was going to break her heart again.
After making sure that a private guard was posted outside Renee’s door, Hawk made his way to Emory’s room. “Emory, you were right. Someone’s after Renee.” Hawk explained what had happened.
“Is she okay?” Emory demanded, his expression full of anxiety.
“Yes.”
“How are you?” Emory glanced at Hawk’s arm.
“It’s nothing.” He rubbed the back of his neck to ease the fear twisting the muscles into knots. “I was almost too late.”
“So I was right to be concerned when you discovered the drawer open,” Emory sighed.
As Hawk had told Renee, when he had gone to get Renee’s birth certificate from a secured file in Emory’s office, he’d found it unlocked. The key hadn’t been in the place Emory had said it would be. When Hawk informed the older man of the situation, he offered to come up with a protection plan for Renee. Emory insisted that marriage between the two of them was the best way to keep her safe. “I’m afraid so. Now I think Renee believes us.”
Emory frowned. “After you two get married, we’ll announce it to the world.”
Hearing Emory speak of that event brought Hawk a mixed bag of feelings. With his track record of a failed marriage and his parents
