FORBIDDEN LOVE

by LAURA HARNER

  Things were happening much more slowly with his operations in Généreux than he’d anticipated. He knew it was because he wasn’t there to pay personal attention. Although Andrea was a very capable woman, she wasn’t the key player and people knew that. All of his development strategies for the Tower and the Pier District had depended on his ability to personally persuade the city officials and potential customers to see things his way. Now permits were being tied up in bureaucracy, executive leases of the Tower suites were slow, and media coverage was starting to take on a critical tone. Something should be done.

  He flipped to the next page of the report, and the small words at the bottom of the page seemed to leap out at him. Yesterday afternoon Danielle Delacroiux and Todd Tollefson had filed a thirty-day notice of intent to nullify their lease.

  So, she’d finally decided to move on. It was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Then why was it killing him to know Danielle wouldn’t be living under his roof, to know that someday another’s arms would hold her, another’s lips would kiss her. Hawk had been waiting for this to happen, hadn’t he? For her to move on and be happy?

  He sucked in air through his nose, trying to fill his lungs, a drowning man breathing in the sea, going down for the last time.

  He started to ball the report when he realized there was another page. A small newspaper article from the gossip column of the Généreux Spectator had been scanned and was included as an attachment.

  Charbonnet and Demetrios Merger?

  Rumors have been circulating throughout Europe that bad-boy heir apparent to the vast Charbonnet holdings may no longer be London’s most eligible bachelor. Julian Charbonnet confirmed yesterday that his son, Hawk Charbonnet, is seriously involved with the lovely and wealthy Olympia Demetrios, niece of shipping magnate Constantine Demetrios.

  When asked if wedding plans were in the works, Julian would only say that the two were inseparable and we should look for an announcement very soon. He added the happy couple would no doubt reside in Généreux in order to be near their families. Sounds serious to us.

  Hawk Charbonnet, owner and developer of the Renaissance Tower here in Généreux, has been in London for several weeks and was not immediately available for comment.

  “Deuce, can you come in here a minute?” Hawk called out, checking his watch. Failing to convince himself that it was too early to start drinking, he poured a generous shot of whisky into his coffee. He was wondering why he was bothering with the coffee when Deuce walked in.

  “A little early, Hawk, don’t you think?” Deuce said.

  “Never too early. Hell, it’s surely five o’clock somewhere. Besides, I thought I’d start the celebration early. It seems my father couldn’t wait to let the cat out of the bag.” He grabbed the report from Généreux and tossed it at Deuce. “Go on, take a look.”

  Deuce scanned the report. His eyes flickered for a moment when he looked at the news article, but Hawk realized he wasn’t surprised to see the note about Danielle and Tolley.

  “You already knew they were moving!” Hawk accused.

  “I did,” Deuce said, tossing the report back on Hawk’s desk. “What of it? You’ve made it abundantly clear that it’s no longer your concern what Dani Delacroiux does. Christ, Hawk, you’re getting fucking engaged tonight! Party of the goddamn season. Why would you give a rat’s ass what Dani does?”

  Hawk looked at his friend in surprise. Deuce had made plenty of comments about Hawk’s personal choices before, but they were usually along the lines of good-natured teasing. Now Deuce stood with his feet apart, breath deliberately slowed, fists balled at his side. Hawk recognized the fight position. Deuce was pissed. Who the fuck does he think he is to judge me?

  Suddenly, all the rage that had been building over the last six weeks burst from Hawk and he surged to his feet, knocking over his chair and spilling his coffee. He rushed around the desk and took a swing at Deuce, snapping his head back with a swift right hook. Deuce’s knees buckled for a moment, but he stayed upright. Hawk crowded into him, protecting with his shoulder, pounding with his fists in a machine-gun volley of body blows.

  Deuce took the beating with his hands by his sides, giving nothing more than a grunt for each blow that landed.

  “Goddamn it, hit me back,” Hawk demanded after each blow. “Hit me back, hit me back.”

  ****

  Deuce stood there and took the beating. He was a former Navy SEAL. This wasn’t the first beating he’d taken, but it was the first he taken from someone he knew he could defeat. Not easily, because he and Hawk regularly worked out together and had sparred for years. The man was strong and he was quick on his feet. But as much as the blows hurt, Deuce wasn’t going to relent and give Hawk the ass-kicking he was begging for. That would be letting him off the hook too damn easy.

  When Hawk’s arms began to fall and he repeatedly left himself unprotected, Deuce took one shot. With lightning speed, he thrust the heel of his palm at the center of Hawk’s chest.

  As Hawk’s knees buckled, Deuce lowered him to the couch and waited while his friend struggled to breathe through the spasms in his solar plexus.

  “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, I have two other bits of news for you,” Deuce said calmly. He waited for Hawk to meet his gaze before he continued. “Olympia and her entourage are arriving in an hour so you can spend the day getting acquainted before your engagement party tonight. Which, I am obliged to point out, is the second most asinine thing you’ve ever done in your life!”

  He waited, but when Hawk didn’t respond, he went on. He knew he didn’t have much time. “The other item concerns my employment.”

  Hawk blinked in surprise. “What the hell are you talking about?” he wheezed, rubbing his chest.

  “I’ve arranged for Gomez to take over the on-site security for you. You don’t need me as a bodyguard anymore, particularly in light of this agreement between the Charbonnet and the Demetrios families.” Deuce joined Hawk on the couch. “Consider this my formal resignation. I’ll stay on as chief of security and coordinate everything from Généreux, if you want me to, but only up to eight more weeks. Give you a little time to find my replacement if you don’t want Gomez. He’s a good man, though, and I’m prepared to step aside as soon as you and he are ready.”

  “What the fuck, Deuce?” Hawk said, clearly stunned by the announcement.

  “I’m moving on, Hawk. It’s just time. We can still talk from time to time, but I can’t sit around day after day and watch what you’re doing to your life anymore.” He waited for a beat, then added, “Hawk, I need to tell you something.” The flush he felt crawling up his neck made him want to curse. “Tolley and I, well, we…um, we’re going to be getting a place together.”

  “Tolley and…What? Deuce, what in the bloody hell are you talking about? Why would I care who your housemate is? And what does that have to do with quitting?”

  Deuce just stared at Hawk, willing him to connect the dots. Shit, he really didn’t want to say all this out loud. On the other hand, maybe he could use this to get through to Hawk before it was too late. He had to try.

  “Hawk, when you came back from your first evening with Dani, you didn’t have to tell me she was special. I could see the change in you. You looked like you’d been hit by a bus. She was the one…Hell, this sounds corny, but I think she was your soul mate.”

  He raised a hand when Hawk started to interrupt. “Hold on—this isn’t really about you. It’s about me. And Tolley. I think he might be the one for me, too.” He stood abruptly and ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck.”

  Hawk just stared for a long moment. Then in a low voice, he said, “What the fuck are you talking about? I know damn well you’re not gay. Is this some goddamn half-baked idea that you think will make some point about Danielle that I haven’t already thought of?”

  “Hawk, I told you this isn’t about you and Dani, but in a way it is. I’m not gay. I like women, too. I always have, but I’ve never had a pro
blem with admiring a good-looking man, either. I just never thought…” he trailed off, his face burning.

  “Anyway, Tolley and I had this thing going on between us, this attraction, I guess. I kept looking at him and wondering, you know, like you do when you see an interesting woman. I’m a little older than you, Hawk. I’ve done pretty much as I pleased my whole life. These last few years working with you has been a great experience, but I want more. I want a chance at that one relationship that will last a lifetime. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this shit, but I want love.

  “You had that chance with Dani and I watched you throw it away because you were afraid. I’m scared as all fucking shit to try a relationship with Tolley. When I think about…well, anyway, there’s plenty about it that scares me. But what scares me more is knowing I had a chance at forever with someone and let it all slip away.”

  “It’s not the same,” Hawk choked out. “You weren’t there, you don’t know. I believed she was dead. God, Deuce. You were gone and I couldn’t find anything out. Then I saw Tolley and Espinoza, and I just knew she’d been killed. The world went dark for me. I honestly could have died right then because nothing…nothing was worth living for in a world without Danielle.”

  Hawk’s eyes were filled with tears, and his voice was thick with emotion. “My father sets some sort of unholy store by what he considers family, but it is family on his terms. He believes in marriages designed to strengthen a family or business connection. He and Constantine consider themselves competitors but recognize the mutual benefit of a merger between the families.

  “A match between a Delacroiux and a Charbonnet would forever be unacceptable because of the history of our families and because they don’t bring any strength to his position. My father would consider it much more than just a bad choice.

  “I know you think I should just tell him to go to hell. Believe me, I very nearly did. But if I do that and defy him to be with Danielle, who is a Delacroiux through and through, he will consider me dead to him.”

  “Fuck that, Hawk!” Deuce said. “You don’t need him or his money. If you get your head out of your ass and get back to Généreux and run your business the way you want, you’ll be richer than he is in a few years. Why do you care what he thinks?”

  Hawk looked at him with eyes that were cold and flat. “Because if I am dead to him, I am no longer family. Then I will become one of the enemies. He would never rest until he destroyed all that I love. He would start with my businesses, find a way to take them over or destroy them. He would come after you, after Tolley. He would come after people Danielle loves, her mother, her father. Eventually, he would come after her. He wouldn’t rest until I was destroyed. Marrying Olympia will restore the balance and keep Danielle safe from my father and any of his associates.”

  Deuce felt the depth of Hawk’s despair wash over him, but now was not the time for pity. No, now that he understood the depth of Hawk’s fear, he had only this one last chance to change his mind.

  “I’m sorry, Hawk,” he said. “I know you’re afraid of what your father might do, but this was never your decision to make alone. You took Dani’s choice away. Hell, you took my choice away. You decided you knew what was right for everybody around you, and that you alone could fix it by agreeing to this absurd marriage and kowtowing to Julian’s demands.

  “You’re no better than your father, playing fucking chess and strategizing with everybody’s lives. You could have spent your days surrounded by people who love you. Smart people who could have worked with you to take your father out of the picture. Instead, you chose to be a noble and self-sacrificing ass, and push everyone away. You alone decided what was best for the rest of us.

  “You think you’re the only one really suffering because you locked yourself away and refuse to look at the destruction you left in your wake. You don’t even know what’s happening in Dani’s life right now!

  “Hawk, if you don’t hear anything else I’m telling you, hear this. You’re a fool if you think your father won’t go after Dani once you’re married to Olympia.

  “Julian knows Dani will always be a threat, because as long as she’s out there, the possibility exists you could change your mind. He’ll deal with her in a way you can’t pin on him. My best guess is a police shooting or a car accident. As soon as you marry Olympia, you are signing Dani’s death warrant. Mark my words: Dani will be dead within the year.”

  He looked at his watch, looked back at Hawk’s pale face, so full of anger, so full of hurt. “Olympia will be here any minute. You should consider cleaning yourself up to make a good first impression on your fiancée. I’m out of here. I can’t stand to watch you destroy what’s left of your life.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “It was certainly easier moving in, even if it did piss me off,” Dani said, distastefully eyeing the stack of flattened cardboard that was awaiting strips of tape and her belongings.

  “Come on, Dani,” Tolley said. “Let’s leave this for tonight. We’ve got until the end of the month. At least the boxes are up here now, that’s something. How about some dinner? I’ve got just enough time before I pick Deuce up at the airport.”

  “Oh, are they—” she broke off, flushed. “Sorry. It’s been six weeks, you’d think I’d quit asking, huh?”

  “It’s okay. Things are bound to be awkward for a while. And I doubt Hawk’s with him.” He took a deep breath, and Dani realized he was steeling himself to tell her something she didn’t want to hear. “I think his engagement party is tonight. Deuce said he wouldn’t stick around and watch. He quit his job. Gave two months’ notice so they could replace the chief of security position, but said he’d only work from here.”

  Dani felt as though she’d been stabbed straight through the heart. How could Hawk go through with this? How could he get engaged to someone else when he’d said he loved her? She’d been so naive to believe him. She’d nearly convinced herself that his leaving had nothing to do with his feelings and everything to do with keeping her safe. Until she’d found out he was getting married.

  He’d told her once that Julian believed arranged marriages, because people understood business, but that didn’t explain this. She turned away from her painful inner thoughts.

  “So. You and Deuce, huh? You’re really going to do this? Get a house together? That’s such a huge commitment, Tolley. I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks, honey, I know you are. I just wish…” he trailed off.

  “I know. Me too. Go on now. Go get your man. I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure? I could text him to catch a cab. He wouldn’t mind.”

  “I’m sure. I think I’ll go for a run. I need to burn off a little tension,” Dani said. “I’ll get out of your hair for tonight so you can have the run of the place.”

  “No, that’s not something you’re going to do,” Tolley said. “We’ll have a late dinner together, the three of us. Maybe watch a movie. I mean it, Dani. I want you here with us tonight. Promise me?”

  Dani looked at her friend for a long time and saw he was sincere. She saw something else, too. It finally looked as if Tolley would find his happily ever after. She could be happy for him. She’d make tonight a little celebration for just the three of them. It was as if they were starting a new friendship built on the solid foundation of the past.

  “Yeah. I promise. I’ll order the pizzas and get some beer in the refrigerator. I’ll see you when you get back. Dinner at seven!”

  Tolley bounced onto the elevator, and Dani went to her room to put on her running clothes. She pulled on a tight-fitting jogging bra, slipped on her capri-length running tights, and grabbed her Sauconys. She caught site of herself in the mirror and realized she’d lost more weight. She knew she hadn’t been eating or sleeping well since Hawk had gone. She needed to start taking better care of herself. She had to be in top condition for her job, not this distracted, mopey-eyed waif. She twisted her hair into a hasty braid, pulled on a visor, and headed for the
elevator.

  She waited while the car made the return trip from the lobby, but realized she’d forgotten her water. Detouring back to the kitchen and grabbing the bottle, she returned to find the elevator open and waiting for her.

  And so was Hawk.

  Dani stopped dead in her tracks, a thousand thoughts running through her mind at once. She kept her expression neutral, unsure of his intentions. She was equally unsure of her own reactions. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be celebrating his engagement thousands of miles away. Did this mean he’d called it off? Had he come to his senses?

  Torn between the desire to throw herself into his arms and wanting to kick his ass for being stupid, Dani decided her run was exactly what she needed before she heard what he had to say. She needed time to clear her head.

  “Hawk,” she said casually. “I was just about to take a run. Want to come with me?”

  She was surprised when he gave a curt little nod and turned back to cross through to his own place.

  “Give me five minutes,” he said through a tight jaw.

  “Meet you downstairs,” Dani called to his retreating back, reluctantly admiring the way his faded jeans hugged his ass. Blowing out a breath, she headed down.

  Dani had completed her warm-up by the time Hawk came outside, so she worked on catching her breath while he stretched. It wasn’t easy considering he wore a loose pair of running shorts, sneakers, and nothing else. His broad expanse of golden chest with its brush of soft brown hair made her want to whimper. Or lick and bite. There was no way she could run alongside him. She’d have to be in front.

  She set her watch for a brutal pace. “Let’s go,” she called out and took off.

  Hawk had a long, easy stride, and her much shorter legs took two steps to his one. He matched his pace to hers, which pissed her off, because he made it look so effortless. Still, she pounded through the first mile ahead of the eight-minute pace she normally targeted. She kept up the pace through miles two and three. Neither of them spoke. By mile four, Hawk’s gait became just a little uneven. He was finally working at keeping up with her. So she turned it up another notch and finished the last two miles at closer to seven minutes each—and leaving a very winded Hawk to wobble in several yards behind her.