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His words hung there, stubborn and considerably more solid than whispers of smoke. Hawk Huntley wasn’t a man who liked to be wrong. Most men didn’t, and she had three brothers and a surrogate father who proved that fact each and every day.
But she sensed Hawk’s determination came from somewhere else. That it ran far deeper than stubborn male pride or a desire to be right.
“Okay, then. Convince me. Give me all your reasons why.”
“It all started with your mother’s recent escape from prison.”
The welcome sign for Shadow Creek faded from her rearview mirror as Claudia fought the grimace that threatened at Hawk’s comment. “As good a place to start as any, I suppose.”
“It’s put her back in the spotlight. I remember her case a decade ago—few who lived in Texas at the time have forgotten it—but like anything else in the 24/7 news cycle, life moves on.”
It had moved on. Wasn’t that why she’d gone to New York in the first place? To follow a dream, yes, but it had been something more.
It was a chance to start fresh. New. Unnoticed. An opportunity to start out as a nobody. In the competitive world of fashion, no one cared who you were, they just cared where you were going.
And she’d been going places.
Places that were hell and gone away from Shadow Creek, Texas.
Funny how she’d found her way back anyway.
The thought had dogged her for the past few months. She knew why she was there. Her family needed her. More, she belonged there. But she still hadn’t figured out how the one place on earth she’d believed she’d never return to had been the first place she’d run.
Home?
Or was it something more?
Her entire life people had whispered secrets about her mother. For a long time she’d managed to shut them out, simply pretending they didn’t exist. Then her world had crumbled with Ben’s increasingly menacing behavior and her brother Knox had dealt with the kidnapping of his son.
All of it had combined to pull her home.
“Your mother’s always been big news in Texas—the entire Colton family is—but it was when I saw the blog article about her that I sensed a connection.”
“What blog article? What connection?”
“The Everything’s Blogger in Texas article that came out a few months ago.”
Claudia’s mouth soured at the mention. That article had nearly destroyed her sister Leonor. The betrayal—at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, who’d run to the press with every detail she’d ever shared—had made its way on to one of the biggest gossip blogs in Texas. Although the pain of the blog had oddly been the pathway for Leonor to find her fiancé, Joshua, the article had done sufficient damage to their family.
Worse, it had destroyed Leonor’s self-confidence and sense of security.
“You mean the website that took private information obtained from my sister and broadcast it like it was some sort of fluffy infusion of cotton candy.”
Hawk nodded. “That’s the one.”
“Just wanted to make sure.”
“Even if their ethics should be questioned to the hills and back, it didn’t diminish the information. Or the connection to the Krupid family.”
Claudia came to another four-way stop. The sign for Whisperwood indicated downtown was two miles away. “And this family thinks my mother is involved?”
“The Krupids think nothing other than the fact that their pregnant daughter went missing nearly twenty-seven years ago. I’ve not yet shared this lead as I don’t want to get their hopes up.”
There it was again. That subtle thread of remorse that was layered beneath his words. She genuinely believed he didn’t want to hurt that family.
And why did that streak of compassion strike her as so important? Deeply important, somehow.
“So walk me through this connection.”
“The Krupids tried to leave Russia for many years. During that process, their teenage daughter, Annalise, became familiar with a shady group who’d offered to spirit them out through less legal means, pretending she was a mail-order bride. She’d encouraged her parents to consider the offer, but they were wise to the scam and told her to ignore the vague promises.”
“So how did she end up here?”
“Based on the timing it looks like she got pregnant during that same time and the opportunity to come to the US through shady means suddenly seemed like a way out.”
Despite her skepticism, Claudia could see it. A young woman scared at being discovered, desperate to take the promise of a new life far away. Hadn’t she sought out the same by going to New York? Sure, her reasons were different, but she understood the desire to leave.
To escape.
“Did her parents know she was pregnant?”
“Her mother suspected, but it wasn’t until the days after Annalise vanished that her boyfriend came around looking for her. He shared the news of her pregnancy.”
“It’s a sad story, but I still don’t see what it has to do with my mother. Or me, for that matter.”
“The trail for Annalise goes cold after she was spirited out of Russia and into Mexico. She was one of your mother’s.”
“How’s that even possible?” Although she had no doubt he believed what he said, Claudia knew there were holes in Hawk’s timeline. “My mother was convicted of prostitution here in the States.”
“But she had to have a pipeline of women.”
“A pipeline?” The tantalizing whisper that she might not actually be Livia Colton’s daughter faded at the reality of what Hawk suggested.
“One of your mother’s lines of business was human trafficking. It provided her ready supply of prostitutes. And her ring is known to have associated with the mail-order bride scammers, among others.”
“And you think this girl was one of hers?”
“Yes.”
“And you think she was in the early stages of pregnancy when she was enslaved into service to my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I can wrap my head around all of this, how would my mother steal her baby? Why would she even bother?”
“That’s for your mother to know.”
Claudia pulled into the parking lot of the small coffee shop that was their destination. While she couldn’t deny the sincerity of his story, or even the possibility that this young woman had come into her mother’s orbit, the leap to actually being this woman’s child was still shockingly large.
“Annalise gave birth twenty-six years ago. You’re twenty-six, aren’t you?”
“Along with a lot of other people. Yes, it’s a coincidence, but it still doesn’t mean anything.” She cut the ignition and turned to face Hawk. He’d kept that stoic calm throughout their discussion, but there was something in the depths of his vivid blue eyes that captured her. “What is it?”
“There’s one other thing you should know.”
Hawk reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He’d carefully placed an old, faded photograph in the folds of the leather. Her gaze caught on the image even before he handed it over.
But it was the blond hair and bright, vivid smile reflected back at her that had Claudia’s breath catching in her throat. It was like looking at a photo of herself.
“Who is this?”
“That’s Annalise Krupid.”
Chapter 3 (#u597b5560-eaac-5ed4-85bc-b13fd2296446)
She was too calm about this. That was all Hawk could settle on as Claudia walked in front of him into the coffeehouse. There had been that one, lone eerie moment in the car when she’d held the photo, her gaze seeming to memorize the image of the woman, only to hand it back, her own face an impassive mask.
Had he gotten through to her?
The photo was hard to argue with—it had been the biggest connection he’d made once he’d seen a photo of Claudia on the Everything’s Blogger in Texas website and made the connection to his case—but it could still be dismissed.
Anything could be dismissed if you refused to believe.
He’d spent two very long years of his life reinforcing that fact. He’d spent the next two trying to do something about it. Regardless of how you handled things—or didn’t—life had a way of smacking you in the ass. And if you didn’t choose to fight against it, it would take you down right along with it.
He’d spent too long in the bottom of that well, helpless.
Hopeless.
Claudia seemed anything but as she placed her order, then turned to him expectantly. “What would you like?”
“Coffee. Room for cream, please.” He already had his wallet out and before she could protest, he added, “It’s the least I can do.”
“Guilt, Mr. Huntley?” She hadn’t said much since climbing out of the car, but he couldn’t fully dismiss the light tease beneath her words.
“Just my good old-fashioned Southern gentlemanly charm.”
“We’ll see about that.” She smiled before moving down to wait for her coffee at the bar.
Once again, he was struck by her beauty. More, by her presence. He’d seen it in the photo—a small one taken from a distance on the Everything’s Blogger post—but was even more captivated by the same since walking into her store. She looked like something out of a fashion magazine, yet as natural and real as the Hill Country that stretched out for miles.
It was a strange juxtaposition. Texas was known for its beautiful women—he’d been fortunate enough to marry one—but there was an artlessness in this woman that drew him in.
Hawk didn’t miss the way the barista looked at Claudia while he built her coffee, his gaze drifting toward her as he juggled the staring with the coffee making. And how could he blame the guy?
Her hair fell around her face in glossy waves and the outfit she wore seemed to highlight every single curve of her body. Even the summer heat that had followed them into the air-conditioned coffeehouse couldn’t wilt her.
How was it possible?
Livia Colton hadn’t managed to spoil her, either. Neither had living in one of the world’s largest cities, working in one of the world’s most competitive industries.
So how was it she could remain calm in the face of her possible parentage, as well? More, how would someone reach adulthood as one person and then just take it on faith when a total stranger suggested it had all been a lie?
He’d assumed she would rant and rail, fighting off his suggestion that she wasn’t Livia Colton’s daughter, but Claudia had been understanding, warm and downright casual about it all.
Had life with her mother been that hard?
Or maybe money went a long way toward paving the path to easy living?
Whatever he supposed, none of it would compare to the reality of growing up in the home of a life-long criminal whose network literally stretched across the globe.
Since making the connection on the Everything’s Blogger in Texas website, Hawk had spent quite a bit of time digging into the Colton family. Livia’s crimes were considerable, holding a candle to Matthew Colton, her serial killer brother. The man had reportedly said that the only person he feared on earth was his half sister Livia.
What did that say about the woman?
Hawk took his own coffee and moved to the small station by the door to doctor it to his preferences. The wide-open window showcased the main street of Whisperwood, its storefronts surprisingly similar to Shadow Creek. A few small shops. A general store. The post office which seemed to share space with a feed and seed.
Small-town Texas life at its very best.
The coffee shop sat at the end of that street. The papers scattered on the small tables nearby appeared well-read and the trash can next to the door was close to full. Coffee had clearly become a good business here in small-town Texas. Fortunately, the rush had died down, the midmorning timing working in their favor.
Claudia had chosen a table in the back, out of earshot of the waitstaff, and he headed in her direction. She’d settled into a fluffy armchair, her gaze focused on her oversize cup.
“This is a nice place.” He settled into an equally cushy chair. “Unexpected, but nice.”
“We could use one in Shadow Creek. The drive over isn’t bad, but I’d like to have my latte fix a bit closer.”
“Do you miss New York?” If it seemed like he was delaying the inevitable discussion, she didn’t appear to mind.
“Some days I miss it terribly. And being here during Fashion Week is going to kill me. But it is nice to be home. And it’s incredibly wonderful to be with my brothers and sisters and Mac again.”
“Mac?”
“I thought you said you read the blog?”
That light tease was there again, yet there was something more in her words. A subtle challenge, as if she wanted to see just how honest he’d be.
“I did read the blog.”
“The sordid life and times of Livia Colton.”
“I suppose.”
Her eyes rose as she lifted her coffee to her lips. “You just suppose?”
“It was an exposé, I’ll grant you that. But I saw a bit more there, as well.”
She snorted at his reference to an exposé, but waved him on. “Do tell.”
