“Raoul, wait for me in my truck,” Hawk said.

“Raoul, don’t even think about moving,” Nicole snapped.

She watched as Hawk’s good humor faded. He pulled up a chair next to hers, sat down and leaned toward her.

He was one of those guys who took up too much space, she thought, fighting the need to scoot back. Still, she held her ground, even though he was so close, she could see the various shades of brown, green and gold that made up his irises.

“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice low. His breath smelled minty. “Raoul is cocaptain. Every Friday the captain brings in doughnuts for the guys.”

His hands were massive, she thought, distracted by their size. Big and strong looking.

She forced her attention back on the conversation. “Then he should have paid for them.”

“He can’t,” Hawk told her, still speaking softly. “Raoul’s a good kid. He lives in foster care. Normally he holds down a job, but during training, he can’t. Our deal is I give him a few bucks for the doughnuts, but I forgot yesterday and he was too proud to ask. It’s Friday. He had to provide doughnuts. He made a bad choice. Haven’t you ever made a mistake, Nicole?”

He’d almost had her. The sad story of poor Raoul had actually touched her cynical heart. Then Hawk had dropped his voice to an intimate tone and drawn out her name in a way that really annoyed her.

“Don’t play me,” she snapped.

“I’m not-”

“And don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

Hawk held up both hands. “I’m not-”

She cut him off with a glare.

She could just bet he was used to getting his way, especially with women. One flick of that killer smile and anyone with an X set of chromosomes melted like butter in the sun. Well, not her.

She stood, then grabbed her cane to support herself. “That kid is going down.”

Hawk sprang to his feet. “Dammit, that’s not fair.”