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He leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose "When did everything change? She used to be one"

"She’s growing up"

"I don’t want to lose her"

"She’s not lost It’s just different"

"I don’t like different"

"You don’t get to pick"

"What am I supposed to say to her?" he asked

"That you love her and you’ll work it out"

"I want to beat the crap out of Raoul"

"Sorry, no It took both of the, Nicole thought Brittany was fa

She was surprised at the ache in her chest, then realized the cause She wanted someone to feel that way about her She wanted to be loved And not just by anyone, but by Hawk

An iht Was that just like her or what?

"I should be getting back," she said "I don’t want to leave thee has been done"

"I know, but I’m responsible I can’t helpto learn to embrace my inner control freak"

"I like your inner control freak"

He walked her to her car and kissed her The fanored it Aset home

"Rain check?" she asked

He nipped her earlobe "Sure This is Seattle It rains all the time"

"No, a rain check works the other way When it’s not raining"

"I don’t care about the weather"

She laughed and then got in her car He watched her pull away She knew because she was looking at hi ould happen now Did anyone stand a chance against the memories Serena had left behind? Sure Hawk had wanted to date, but that wasn’t the sa he wanted--ould he want to do it again?

She told herself not to go there That they were just at the beginning of their journey She shouldn’t borrow trouble

She ed to work in a couple e, turned off the car, then walked into the house It was quiet and dark, but it was also nearly ten so she expected that She didn’t turn on any lights on her way to check on Sheila, so she almost didn’t see the piece of notebook paper on the kitchen table Once she spotted it, she flipped on the lights

She picked up the note and read it, then read it again before letting the paper fall to the floor She blindly reached for the phone She was too stunned to knohat to think This couldn’t be happening

Hawk picked up on the first ring

"They’re gone," she said "They ran off together They have a fake ID for Brittany and they’re going to get h the house, looking for clues Most of Raoul’s stuff was still in his roo from the basement and while Raoul’s car was still parked in front of the house, Brittany’s was nowhere to be seen

"At least they took the newer, more reliable vehicle," Nicole muttered to herself as she ran outside and stood impatiently on the porch She’d already called Hawk and kneould be over any second

Sure enough, his truck rounded the corner and screeched to a stop behind Raoul’s car

"Did you know about this?" he yelled as he got out of the truck and jogged down the front path

She blinked "What? No Are you serious? You’re asking ether? As if I’d keep that fronant"

She was both outraged and aware he had a point "That was different"

"How?"

"It just was When you found out wasn’t going to change the facts She asked ive you the infor with it I would never go along with this plan"

"So you would have told , but if you’d approved, you would have kept it quiet"

He was furious She could see the anger in his eyes, but she couldn’t figure out why she was the bad guy "You telland at the sa responsibly You have to pick, Hawk Either I’o"

"I didn’t"

"You let her go the way you let Jesse go"

She felt as if she’d been slapped "You have no right to co, Jesse is hter, and for another, she’s over twenty-one Brittany is only seventeen"

"We have to find them"

He walked past her and went into the house Nicole trailed after hi few hours together How could he have held her and touched her and made love with her, then turn on her like this?

He walked through the house, as if they were still there and somehow Nicole had missed them When he walked into the kitchen, she handed him the note