Page 43 of Heat Force

“You could come with me,” he said, the words so soft she almost didn’t hear them.

She stared at him, and for a moment, couldn’t breathe.

Come with him?

He couldn’t be serious.

“Hawk…” she began, but he cut her off, his tone more urgent now.

“I mean it, Lexi. Come back to New York with me. You don’t have to stay here. The rebels are pushing closer every day—it’s not safe. You’ve done so much already, but you could do more back home. We could do more. Together.”

Lexi’s stomach dropped, and she turned away, unable to meet his gaze.

“Don’t ask me that,” she whispered.

“Why not?” She could hear the frustration in his voice, tinged with desperation. “I don’t want to lose you, Lexi. I’m not ready to let you go.”

Her heart shattered at his words. She could see the sincerity in his eyes, the raw vulnerability he was trying to hide, but that only made it harder. “My life is here, Hawk,” she said, her voice trembling. “You know that. I’ve built something here, something I’m proud of. I don’t want to give it up.”

He paced up and down in front of her, reminding her of a caged animal. “I can’t imagine never seeing you again.”

Her breath hitched as tears welled in her eyes. “I know. That’s why this is so hard. But I can’t leave. I can’t go back to that life.”

“You wouldn’t be going back to the same life. You’d be with me.”

Her tears spilled over, and she turned away, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. “And then what? What happens when I’m in New York, and you’re off running your company, jetting around the world? What happens when I’m left standing in the shadows again, like I was before?”

He went silent, his jaw tightening. She could see the conflict in his expression, the way her words hit him like a blow.

“I’ve been there before, Hawk,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I can’t do it again. I can’t lose myself like that again.”

He scraped both hands through his hair. When he spoke, his voice was hollow. “I understand. Fuck, Lexi, I’m sorry. That was a dick thing to say. I know you can’t leave, and I don’t expect you to. I just… I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.” He punched the side of the cabin, not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to feel it.

Her heart ached at the pain etched into his features. She reached out, taking his hand in hers. “Me too,” she whispered.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, the weight of regret pressing down on them. Then Hawk sucked in a ragged breath. “I should go. Robert’s probably wondering where I am.”

Lexi couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face as she watched him walk away. She didn’t call after him. She didn’t try to stop him. Because deep down, she knew this was how it had to end.

As the jungle swallowed him from view, she wrapped her arms around herself, the emptiness in her chest threatening to consume her. Hawk had left his mark on her, just as he’d promised. But instead of warmth, all she felt now was the ache of his absence.

And she knew she would carry that ache with her, always.

CHAPTER 19

New York.

Hawk satin his sleek New York office, staring at the spreadsheets glowing on his monitor, though the numbers meant nothing to him. His desk, usually an emblem of control and authority, felt cold and lifeless. The hum of the air conditioning and the distant din of Manhattan traffic only highlighted the oppressive silence of the room.

His mind wasn’t in New York. It hadn’t been since the moment he’d stepped off the plane a month ago. No amount of meetings, deals, or strategies could distract him from the pull of the jungle, from the face that haunted his every waking thought.

Lexi.

She was everywhere. He pictured her in the clinic, her hands steady and sure as she treated the injured gorillas. He imagined the way she smiled when she brought him iced tea during breaks from the construction site, her dimple flashing and her eyes sparkling with quiet mischief. He even caught himself wondering if she was laughing right now—probably at something Moyo had said—or whether she was working, her hairpulled back in that no-nonsense ponytail that somehow only made her more beautiful.

Fuck, he missed her.

Hawk clenched his jaw and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He’d always prided himself on being a man of control, someone who could compartmentalize. But Lexi had shattered that, leaving him raw and unbalanced. She’d made him feel things he’d never let himself feel before—things he wasn’t sure he even wanted to feel.