Savage Collision: A Hawke Family Novel (Hawke Family #1)(34)

“Who’s there?” I ask, my voice shaking slightly. Shit, adrenaline does weird stuff to your body.

“Danika, it’s Gabe, open up.”

I recognize his voice and turn the lock, opening the door and letting him in. He offers me a kind smile and closes and locks the door behind him.

“Why isn’t Savage back?”

He walks to the bar and grabs a glass, glancing around for something. He finally sees the bottle of Blanton’s on the desk and they flicker to me. He grins. “Bourbon girl, huh?”

I nod and walk over to the desk, scooping up my glass and taking a long pull while I take a seat.

This night is becoming a hell of a lot more stressful than I had anticipated.

“Savage has to sort some stuff out at the bar,” he explains, grabbing the bottle and giving himself a generous pour before dropping down into the chair across from me.

“And you or Byron couldn’t do it?” I ask with a little more snipe than I had intended.

There goes your mouth again, girl. Rein it in.

He grins at me. “If you haven’t noticed yet, Savage likes to be in control, especially of his business. Getting him to delegate isn’t easy.”

I sigh and slouch back into the chair I dragged over after Savage left. “Has he always been like this?”

“More or less, but it definitely got worse after the accident.”

I glance at the picture frame in the corner of the desk. It’s Savage and a young, female version of him smiling widely at the camera with snow-capped mountains in the background. “Did you know her well?” I ask, turning the picture around to face Gabe.

His gaze falls on it and his smile falters. He takes a long drink from his glass. “Yeah, I did. I grew up with the Hawkes. They’re like family to me.”

The sadness in his voice rips at me.

I probably should just leave it alone, but opportunity to delve deeper into Savage with his best friend and business partner is something I can’t pass up. “Did you go to school with Savage?”

His eyes flicker to mine and his smile returns. “We met in first grade. My mom died giving birth to me, and my dad was always so focused on work. I was basically raised by nannies and babysitters. Savage’s mom found out my situation and kind of adopted me into the Hawke clan. We only lived two blocks away, so I ended up spending almost every day and night there.”

While I don’t know much about Savage’s family, being adopted into the Hawke clan sounds like it would pretty amazing.

“What was she like?” I know he knows I mean Star without me saying her name. He returns his stare to the photo and the corners of his mouth turn up in a sad smile.

“Star was quiet, reserved, brilliant…kind of a perfect angel.”

“Is Skye a lot like Star?”

He bursts out laughing, tossing his head back and wiping at his eyes. “Fuck no. They couldn’t be more different. Don’t get me wrong, Skye is brilliant, too, but their personalities couldn’t have been more opposite. Even if they tried to trick someone by switching places, they always gave themselves away the second they opened their mouths.”

“So, Skye is what? A troublemaker?”

He scoffs and drains his glass. “Troublemaker is an understatement.” His hand tightens around the now-empty glass, his knuckles turning white as a muscle along his tense jaw flutters.

“What about the other two? Stone and Storm?”

He shakes his head and grins at me. “Boy, aren’t we inquisitive?”

I feel my face flush and grab my drink, draining the glass to cover my embarrassment at being busted. “You have something else you want to talk about?”

He leans and sets his empty glass on the desk before reclining in the chair. “I’d rather hear about what’s going on with you and Savage.” His smirk returns and he watches me squirm.

Shit.

“Well, that certainly isn’t happening, so, why don’t you tell me about them instead?”

He grins. “Fair enough. Storm is kind of the responsible one in the family. She married Ben Matthews several years ago, and they have a little girl, Angelina. She’s an architect and he owns a construction company. She actually designed this building and Ben’s company built it.”

I look around the room, taking in the tray ceiling, crown molding, and built-in shelves. “It is a beautiful building.”

For a pussy palace.

“I know.”

“What about Stone?”

He huffs out a laugh. “Well, he is a shining example of youngest child syndrome. Savage’s father died when Stone was pretty young, and his mom really babied him. She let him get away with a lot that never would have flown with the big guy around. He’s a bit of a loose cannon, but, in the last couple years, he has more or less straightened himself out. I mean, he managed to graduate top five in his law school class.”

A knock at the door has me practically jumping from my chair.

Gabe laughs and stands. “Relax, I’ll get it.”

I glance at the computer screen and don’t see Savage anywhere the camera's cover. It must be him. My stomach flip-flops and my heart practically breaks my ribs as I wait to see him.

Gabe unlocks and opens the door and Savage enters, his eyes immediately searching the room until they find me. I try to stand and wobble as the room spins.