Read Online Scream My Name by Kimberly Kaye Terry - Free Book Online Page A

abandoned him, he’d been on his own.
    She’d learned of the nature of his relationship with the woman when she’d once peeked into her great-aunt’s office at the back of the diner, and seen her aunt’s large arms wrapped around the boy as he cried and told her about his life.
    She’d only been able to pick up bits and pieces, and she’d been far too young at the time to understand the significance of what he was telling her great-aunt, but she’d overheard enough and understood enough that tears of sadness had run down her cheeks.
    Quietly, though they hadn’t known she was there, she backed away, giving him his privacy as he poured out the rest of his story to Aunt Sadie.
    He’d begun working at the restaurant, and Sadie had turned one of the storage rooms into a bedroom for him. She’d invited him to stay with her and Leila, but the young man had a sense of pride even then that wouldn’t allow him to do that. With his first check from Sadie, he started giving her money for rent.
    Leila remembered seeing her aunt trying to refuse accepting the money, but soon gave up as she realized it made the young man feel better to do so.
    When her aunt had died, they all realized why the normally dominating woman had given in so easily. She’d taken the money he’d given her and put it into an account for him, and over the years it had earned quite a bit of interest. Both Leila and Hawk had been stunned, though they knew she was a generous woman.
    “Leila, you’re like a sister to me.” His words brought her attention back to him.
    “I know,” she grinned at him. “And I don’t know what I’d do without you, Hawk.”
    She leaned over and hugged him tight. They didn’t say anything else, just hugged each other, but Leila felt content. His simple statement and the meaning behind it rid her of the discomfort she’d felt, thinking he had feelings for her.
    Around the time her great-aunt had died, Leila had been devasted, and seeking to find comfort had gone to Hawk. He’d held her, but wouldn’t allow things to progress further than mild kisses and caresses, telling her that when she was no longer in grief, if she still desired him…to come to him. The look in his dark, mysterious eyes had sent hot awareness coursing through her body, an awareness she was no longer a child with a mild crush on an older boy, but a grown woman.
    However, when her grief had abated, she’d realized that her feelings for Hawk were not those of a lover’s. She didn’t want to chance changing the dynamics of their relationship by sleeping with him. She loved him too much. He meant far too much to her to do that.
    When she pulled away, she felt a familiar sensation—the same one she’d had last night, as though someone was burning holes straight into her back.
    She turned around, her arms still linked around Hawk’s lean shoulders, to glance toward the door to see what—or who—was causing the tingling sensation.
    Though she already knew good and well who was responsible.
    The café doors opened, and Brandan Walters’s overly tall, overly muscled, overly…dominating body stood in the doorway.
    Her heart thumped against her chest so harshly, she feared it would leap out and fall on the floor. Even from a distance, she noticed his eyes were narrowed, and a frown settled across his craggy features. As though he was displeased with her hugging Hawk.
    As if he had anything to do with who the heck she hugged.
    The two locked gazes, and Leila forgot all about Hawk—though her arms were still loped around his neck—until he nudged her, forcing her attention away from Brandan.
    In Hawk’s dark, nearly black eyes, a look of concern shone brightly. “Someone you know?” he asked.
    “No…I mean, yes…but he’s not important.” She dismissed Brandan, telling her best friend the bald-faced lie without batting an eyelash.
    “Are you sure he’s no one of importance?” Leila felt her face heat when she followed her friend’s gaze