A woman asks questions...

...and finds answers that threaten her unborn child

Young and pregnant, Nova Ellis arrives in Mustang Valley, determined to find her missing father, Ace Colton. In her search, she uncovers that Nik Slater—the PI she’s just hired—is looking for the very same man. Immediately, Nova falls for Nik’s protective nature, a man who cares for her and her baby. But will unexpected danger and long-kept secrets draw them together...or shatter their dreams?

ADDISON FOX is a lifelong romance reader, addicted to happy-ever-afters. After discovering she found as much joy writing about romance as she did reading it, she’s never looked back. Addison lives in New York with an apartment full of books, a laptop that’s rarely out of sight and a wily beagle who keeps her running. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com or on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/addisonfoxauthor) and Twitter (@addisonfox).

Also By Addison Fox

The Colton Sheriff

The Cowboy’s Deadly Mission

Special Ops Cowboy

Colton’s Deadly Engagement

Cold Case Colton

Colton’s Surprise Heir

Silken Threats

Tempting Target

The Professional

The Royal Spy’s Redemption

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Deadly Colton Search

Addison Fox

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90526-2

DEADLY COLTON SEARCH

© 2020 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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For my fellow authors in The Coltons of Mustang Valley continuity. It’s been a pleasure writing this with all of you!

And most of all to our fearless leader, Carly Silver. She understands the importance of uniform color, proper names of Mustang Valley watering holes and the exact position of town landmarks to ensure we all stay on track. I know I speak for us all when I say we <3 you with the affection and gratitude of a million Corgi photos.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Epilogue

About the Publisher

Prologue

Nova Ellis lay in misery on the small leather couch in her boyfriend’s office and prayed for death. Anything—the horror of a firing squad, the terror of being snared in a noose, even contracting some flesh-eating bacteria—had to be better than this.

Roiling waves of nausea that suggested she’d somehow gone from the rock-solid streets of New York City to the high seas of the Atlantic mere hours before a hurricane hit assaulted her system with ruthless abandon. At the mere thought of a wavy ocean her stomach rolled once more and Nova held tight to the couch, praying she’d be allowed to keep what little was left in her stomach.

Like its lining.

Because that was all that was left, and after the past three weeks of abject afternoon sickness she was even starting to wonder about that.

It was her fault. Realistically, she knew that. The bagel smothered in whitefish salad she’d inhaled that morning had tasted great at the time but the fish had had its revenge. So had the tapioca pudding she’d snagged at the deli on her walk over to Ferdy’s office. And the small bag of gummy bears she’d dug out of the bottom of her purse—shocked and grateful when she’d found that prize—had been the last thing to seal her fate. She’d even eaten the lime-flavored ones, something she’d avoided her entire life.

Who even liked lime?

Why did they even make lime?

That hateful flavor she should have avoided, as lime-flavored whitefish made a rather unpleasant combination when one couldn’t keep anything down.

She closed her eyes, willing the dancing images of gummy bears and bagels out of her head and vowing that all she needed was a few more minutes. She’d come to tell Ferdy the good news of her pregnancy and she wanted to look nice when she told him.

She wanted him to be as excited as she was.

Even if the small voice that kept whispering he wasn’t going to be excited seemed to be winning as of late.

Oh, sure, it wasn’t the most ideal time. They’d only been dating a few months but their relationship had been a whirlwind from the start, and she knew he was looking toward having a family of his own. He’d told her as much on their first date. He wasn’t a man trying to play games or keep diving into the dating pool.

He wanted a future and he was seeking a woman who wanted the same.

They’d talked about everything that first night. Their love of music and movies, their dreams and aspirations, and their equally challenging childhoods—his with parents who couldn’t seem to make up their minds between overbearing and absent, and hers with a mother whose idea of encouragement and support was shopping on the Champs-Élysées to solve any problem.

Ferdy had seemed to understand and she’d been so happy to find that in her significant other. Even if he hadn’t shown the same understanding since then, his own behavior oddly like that of the father he spoke of with disdain. He seemed to be overbearing or absent far too often.

But could she blame him? He had a busy job and was often out for days at a time working on real estate deals. And it wasn’t like she’d been totally honest with him, either. It wasn’t a complete lie that her father had died, but it wasn’t totally true, either.

The dead man she’d always called “Dad” wasn’t actually her real father. She’d spent most of her life believing Paul Ellis was her father and her mother’s deathbed confession—that Allegra Ellis had gone out and found a more attractive man after her ill-fated relationship with another had resulted in the pregnancy with Nova—couldn’t change that.

Even if it had changed everything.

But no, she wouldn’t give in to that line of thinking. There might be some man named Colton all the way out in Arizona who was her biological father, but he hadn’t been her real father. Hadn’t been the person who’d raised her. Her mother might have believed she was getting her revenge on the man by never telling him that she was pregnant, but Nova couldn’t see how. Now that she was pregnant with a child of her own, she understood the difference.

A door opened in Ferdy’s outer office and she mustered up a wan smile to herself, thinking of his face when she told him. She’d settled on surprising him in his office, taking some strange comfort in her mind’s eye that there would be others nearby. Of course, because he’d be so excited he’d want to share his joy.

Of course it would be excitement.

His dark brown eyes would crinkle at the corners, before his strong lips pursed in thought. He was always like that, considering the world around him before he let his emotions come through.

Before his dazzling, bright white smile would take over his face and he’d pull her close in happiness at the news he was going to be a father.

She struggled to sit up, desperate for the sweet image in her mind to will away the nausea that still had her stomach quaking. Slowing her movements, she gingerly laid her head back against the thick leather cushions.

Just a few more minutes with her eyes closed... That was all she needed.

Nova had no idea how long she’d been out, drifting on the blessed wings of sleep, when she heard a heavy crash from the outer office. Was that a glass? One of the pretty crystal tumblers Ferdy kept on his credenza?

“Come the hell on, Ferd. I expected that shipment three days ago!”

“Port’s on lockdown, Gino. My contacts there can’t do nothing about it.”

Eyes popping open, Nova struggled to sit up. She didn’t know all the ins and outs of Ferdy’s business but she knew enough to know that something wasn’t right. He worked in real estate, not shipping. And she’d never heard that terse tone in his voice before.

It was...nasty, somehow. Dark.

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine, the blessed cool of the room she’d reveled in a few minutes earlier suddenly making her skin clammy.

“My business partners and I trusted you with that shipment!”

“And I’m telling you I can’t do a damn thing until the Feds ease up their sniffing around the docks. It was bad luck all around the Russians lost that shipment a few weeks back. Got the Feds on high alert, especially after they found a thousand kilos of smack nestled inside all those cheap nesting doll souvenirs.”

The nausea that had coated her stomach like battery acid changed in that moment. The roiling upset was still there, but something had changed. Fear coated her tongue, leaving a bitter, metallic taste behind that had nothing to do with lime-flavored gummies.

Ferdy was a real estate developer. Yet from the sounds of it, he knew how shipments came in and out of port and which ones held drugs or other illicit substances.

Scrambling off the couch, she grabbed her purse and ran to the private bathroom off the side of his office. When he came in she’d claim she’d gotten sick off her lunch and had been huddled in there feeling miserable. For the first time since arriving twenty minutes ago, she was grateful for her pasty white visage and bloodshot eyes.

She just might convince him she had food poisoning.

And if he thought she’d been in the bathroom he wouldn’t know what she’d heard through the door.

It would buy her some time to figure out what to do. And would give her a small window to plan her next step.

The door to his office clicked open and she heard voices grow louder as Ferdy walked into the room with the man he’d been talking to. Nova was tempted to peek through a crack in the door but she stayed where she was, convinced things would go easier if she was discovered huddled over the toilet instead of watching through the door.

Thick footsteps traversed the outer office, moving around as the conversation continued. More talk of shipments and an “expected delivery” and estimates of when issues at the port would calm down.

Each word more damning than the last.

And each syllable like a bullet to the chest, convincing her that the man she’d believed herself in love with—the man whose baby she carried even now—was a liar and a cheat.

And a drug dealer.

Good Lord, who had she taken up with?

She laid a protective hand over her stomach, suddenly grateful she hadn’t had a chance to share her news of the baby.

Once again, footsteps came perilously close to the bathroom door before the shrill ring of a cell phone filtered through the partially closed door.

“Adler,” Ferdy snapped out.

Nova heard a few mumbled yeses, noes and even a “not my fault,” before she heard the distinct sound of his phone hitting the glass top of his desk. The string of curses that followed suggested the call hadn’t gone as planned, but it was the added taunt from the other faceless voice she’d heard that had her wincing.

“Told you the boss wasn’t going to be happy.”

After another muttered curse, Ferdy’s voice came loud and clear through the door. “Looks like it’s our lucky day. Bastard wants to see both of us. Now.”

Those thick footfalls vanished nearly as quickly as they’d come, the door to his inner office slamming closed. Nova counted to a thousand, willing herself to stay right beside the toilet. It was her only defense in the event Ferdy came back and the only way she could brazen her way through a confrontation if he questioned what she might have heard.

Picking herself up off the marble tile, she reached for her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She forced herself to walk back out of the office with the same calm she’d walked in with, and offered a silent prayer of thanks as she passed his secretary’s desk. The woman had been out for lunch when Nova had arrived and was still gone.

Small miracles.

Pieces of a heavy crystal tumbler lay in a pile on the floor beside the credenza, further reinforcement of all she’d heard.

She kept her walk steady and easy, breezy even, as she walked to the elevator and on down to the lobby. Her purse swung from her fingertips as if she had nothing to lose.

As if her entire world hadn’t just cratered.

It was only when she was outside once more, the fresh air blowing in her face, that Nova made her decision.

Whatever Ferdy was into, sticking around and trying to get to the bottom of it with him wasn’t going to end well. If it hadn’t been for the baby she might have tried it. Might have given him the slightest benefit of the doubt and brazened her way through a conversation, but not anymore. She had a child to look out for.

With that sole thought pounding through her mind, Nova made her decision.

And ran.

Chapter 1
Five months laterMustang Valley, Arizona

Nikolas Slater rubbed the bridge of his nose as he reread his contract with Selina Barnes Colton. The woman had a temperament that would make a rattler turn tail and slither away, yet that hadn’t stopped him from making a deal with the she-devil.

Which meant he was either really good or miserably foolish.

He preferred smart over fool any day but knew that, in order to stay afloat, a PI with an expensive set of services needed to take the big fish when they knocked on his door.

And Selina Barnes Colton was a big fish.

Coldly beautiful, the second—and now ex—wife of Payne Colton was a piece of work. And while she might be seriously high maintenance, she wasn’t asking anything out of line.

Besides, the ink was well and dry on the contract and he’d already cashed Selina’s up-front payment, so really, he had nothing to worry about. Something he kept reminding himself of even as he went over the agreed-to work and considered how he was going to approach the case.

Things did not look good for Ace Colton. The man had had a solid, upstanding reputation, but recent events had seriously tarnished it. A gun discovered in his apartment—one definitively proven as the one used on his father—was bad enough. The fact the man fled when the cops went to charge him was just bad news all around.

And then Selina had come calling.

Selina had hired him to prove that Ace Colton had shot his father, former oil exec Payne Colton, in cold blood. While it was a handy story and one that had kept Mustang Valley talking since the January shooting, something didn’t fully play for Nikolas. Even if it had played for the local press like a well-tuned piano. The golden boy. The powerful father. And a family name that had plenty of notoriety. Hell, a distant cousin of Payne’s had served as president.

Nikolas suspected the recent escapades of the Arizona branch weren’t finding too much favor with such illustrious relatives, no matter how distant, but they didn’t call certain branches of families black sheep for nothing.

Even now, Payne remained in a coma over at Mustang Valley General Hospital, the victim of a gunshot wound late one night in his office at Colton Oil. A situation that had kept the local press busy for nearly nine months and that ebbed and flowed in and out of the national news, as well. While they might no longer be husband and wife, Selina was still a bigwig at Colton Oil. And while it wasn’t a secret she carried no soft feelings for Old Man Colton, she was also clearly not interested in losing her cash cow.

Despite the cynicism, Nikolas had played various angles in his mind. Was it so hard to believe she wanted to do right by him as well as the company? Or that she wanted a guilty man caught, especially if the whispers were true and it was Payne’s oldest son, Ace, who had done the deed?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Nikolas kept his ear to the ground and he knew there was more going on than even what Selina had briefed him on. The entire town had discovered over the past few months that Ace Colton wasn’t actually Payne’s son. Selina had confirmed that by showing him the result of a DNA test. The Mustang Valley rumor mill was working overtime, fixated on the notion that Ace had been switched at birth. If it was true, it gave Ace a possible motive for murdering the man who wasn’t really his father, after having been ousted as the CEO of Colton Oil when it was proven that he wasn’t really a Colton.

Add on the fact that Selina’s desire to find Payne’s shooter didn’t seem fully altruistic—especially since she already had a candidate in mind—and Nikolas knew to watch his back. He might not have a particularly large reserve of restraint in the face of a beautiful woman seeking his professional help but he did have standards. Which meant he needed to stay focused and keep his nose clean.

And do whatever he could to determine who had put Payne Colton in his or her crosshairs.

In the meantime, he’d given Selina his agreement to work the case. The long-term success of Colton Oil depended on happy stockholders and a healthy leadership. If Payne didn’t recover and the investment community caught wind of so much drama at the top, the stock prices would fall and all the Mustang Valley Coltons would suffer. As PR director for Colton Oil, Selina had the job of making sure that wind never swirled above a whisper. And Payne’s daughter Marlowe, the current CEO, had managed to keep a firm finger in the dam, despite her own danger earlier in the year and the arrival of her new baby.

Even with the effort, there were cracks.

And it was his job to find answers before they split wide open.

Nova walked through the main downtown thoroughfare of Mustang Valley and thought longingly of the breakfast bar she’d buried in her purse. She’d been trying to ration the food she had left, and the two boxes of breakfast bars she’d stumbled upon in a buy-one-get-one deal at a convenience store just over the line into Arizona had been too good to pass up. But she was always hungry now and the baby had her burning food like crazy. She was worried whatever passed as strawberry filling wasn’t the healthiest approach to eating during pregnancy, but hadn’t figured out any other choice.

She took some solace that it hadn’t been like this the whole time. After the whole debacle in Ferdy’s office, she’d run from New York, doing little more than grabbing a suitcase full of stuff from her apartment before she took off. Her mother’s occasional notes of wisdom had come surprisingly handy and Nova was suddenly grateful she’d paid attention.

Her entire life her mother had always kept cash in the house. “Enough to pay a month’s worth of bills” had always been the ever-eccentric Allegra Ellis’s motto. Nova had often thought it an odd juxtaposition to a woman who’d willingly spend the same amount on a wild bender of a shopping trip, but some things stuck and she’d done her best to maintain that stash since going out on her own. It was only after she’d needed to go off the grid that she’d come to recognize the wisdom in her mother’s teaching.

Between the five thousand she’d squirreled away and the odd jobs she’d taken at diners across the country, she’d gotten by. The diner owners she’d worked for hadn’t cared that she was pregnant, only that she could work, and they’d been more than willing to feed her three square meals from the kitchen.

She’d been more diligent then, eating a proper balance of protein and fruit, keeping away from anything unhealthy and taking vitamins. Her first few weeks on the road she’d fallen love with the sticky buns on the counter in one of the diners where she’d worked and had quickly realized that there was no way she could fuel her growing baby on just sugar and carbs. So since then, she’d adhered to a strong eating regimen and even found ways to conserve gas in her car while walking around whatever town she’d worked in, getting some solid exercise in the process.

Even as kind as most everyone had been at all her stops along the way, she’d refused to stay anywhere for too long. The cell phone she’d stuffed in her bag had remained resolutely off and she’d finally given in and spent the money to get a burner phone in Iowa so she’d have some link to help if she needed it. Luckily, she hadn’t needed it. Nor had she seen any sign of Ferdy or his colleagues, even as she’d kept careful watch every one of the one hundred and fifty days since she’d run.

Throughout that time, she’d questioned her initial panic. Would Ferdy really hurt her? Especially once he knew about the baby? Sure, he’d seemed different after that first date, a bit more hot-tempered and emotional than she’d expected. But wasn’t that life? He had a big job and that meant big problems.

She’d nearly convinced herself to turn back about two weeks in, but something had ultimately held her back. That discussion of shipments and problems at the port sticking in her mind on an endless loop.

Ferdinand Adler was a real estate developer. Not a drug dealer. And yet...that exchange she’d overheard through the door suggested he was exactly that. Could she really expose her child to that?

So she’d stayed on the run. After a circuitous path out of New York, she’d headed straight for Tennessee before heading back north to Michigan, steadily weaving south and west from there. Somewhere deep inside of her, she’d known where she’d end up. The idea had nagged at her since her mother had shared the news of her real father’s identity so many months ago.

But the search for Ace Colton—and her belief in his ability to help her—had grown deeper and more intense as she checked one state after another off her list.

She needed his help and she had to believe that he’d give it. And once safe, secure in the knowledge her child would be protected, she had to find a way to get word back to the authorities in New York.

Because there was no way Ferdy Adler was a good guy.

She’d finally given in and done an internet search at one of the towns she’d passed through. She’d noticed signs for the local library and had gone in to use the public computer terminals, curious to see if she’d find anything to help her understand the real personality of the man she’d believed herself in love with.

The man who had fathered her child.

What she’d found was full of suspicion and innuendo and a few all-out accusations, and it all reinforced the suspected drug dealer angle. Several articles had comment sections underneath and the anonymous notes were not favorable. One mentioned he was “a real leg breaker,” and another had flat out accused him of putting “laced dope” on the streets.

God, how could she have been so stupid?

Like, bone-deep stupid with a side of flighty airhead on the side. She knew better than to give her heart that easily. After all, what had she really known about Ferdinand Adler? Other than the good conversation they’d had on that very first date, his behavior after had been modestly kind at best. But oh boy, had he hooked her good.

She’d had a lot of time to think over the past months and one thing had become embarrassingly clear: Ferdy had played her like a fiddle. He’d somehow keyed into her deepest needs and desires on that very first date and had pushed and played every button she had from that moment on. Which didn’t excuse her role in any of it, but it had given her a sense of how she’d found herself in such a raging mess.

And how she needed to protect herself—and her child—moving forward.

Although she hated coming to town feeling like she had her cup in hand, the idea to find her father had been a persistent flame since her mother had first told her of Ace Colton and their brief teenage love affair. The research she’d done on the man had turned up more than a few surprises, especially the notion that the man was suspected of trying to murder his own father and was recently ousted as the CEO of Colton Oil. There was also a blog post she’d read that gleefully shared “all the Mustang Valley gossip” and said that the man wasn’t even actually a Colton.

Was it possible?

Could the man whose blood flowed in her veins be that cold? That devoid of feeling or decency? And not at all the man her mother had told her about?

Even as she asked herself the question, images of the attractive, warm-eyed man she’d seen in photos didn’t match the bill. Neither did the few memories her mother had shared with her.

Allegra Ellis and Ace Colton might have had an unintended consequence of their teenage romance while both on family vacations at a resort up in Montana, but from all her mother said he was a good person, even then. She’d spoken of his talk of his family and the warmth with which he spoke of his siblings, Ainsley and Grayson, his adoptive brother, Rafe, and his half siblings, Marlowe, Callum and Asher.

In her own way, Allegra had made it all sound so magical, and it was only as her story went on and on that she shared what Ace had told her on their last night together. While he hoped for a bond with his family, there were cracks in their relationships. His father’s multiple marriages and the sheer number of siblings weren’t quite as problem-free as it seemed. Yes, he loved them, but things weren’t quite as easy as he’d made it all out to be.

And then he’d told Allegra the biggest secret of all. That he had a girlfriend back home. One he was likely being groomed to marry.

Although she was well past childhood, Nova had listened to her mother’s story with a mix of shock and envy and, at the evidence of Ace’s youthful choices, sadness. How much time had been lost?

And what would her life have been like if he and her mother hadn’t been inexperienced teenagers?

Questions that had no bearing on her current reality.

Allegra had talked of other things, as well, all more evidence that the fleeting days she’d spent with Ace had meant so much to her. Ace’s future at Colton Oil and his love for the family home in Mustang Valley, Arizona: Rattlesnake Ridge Ranch. Allegra had smiled as she’d spoken of it, her desire to have had a chance to see it—the “Triple R,” she’d said with a smile—had been clear.

Nova shook her head, willing those memories to offer more clues about her father than the latest shocking headline in the Mustang Valley paper. Ace Colton had to be a good man.

She was betting her future on it.

Which, she well knew, flew totally in the face of the harsh lessons that had come from her relationship with Ferdy.

Her gaze caught on a wooden bench on the main thoroughfare through Mustang Valley and the image of that breakfast bar shimmered in her mind’s eye once more. She was hungry and it was important to keep up her strength. And despite thinking of it all through her drive out to Arizona, she was no closer to understanding how to approach her real father.

Hey Dad, I’m here. The kid you never knew you had. Pregnant and alone and on the run from a possible criminal. Aren’t you happy to meet me?

Shaking off the grim thoughts, she dug out that breakfast bar and opened it up, forcing herself to take small bites instead of devouring it in four like she really wanted to. It was all she had for a while and she’d better make it last. Plus, hadn’t she read somewhere that eating slowly made you feel more full?

Doubting that was at all possible, she took a small bite anyway and chewed, thinking about the tiny human she carried inside.

She was going to be someone’s mother.

In her more vulnerable moments the idea was scary beyond measure. In her quieter ones, like now, she considered what it all meant. Yes, she would be totally responsible for a defenseless human, but she’d also have a beautiful child to raise and watch him or her grow up.

Pride swelled within her at the thought and she laid a protective hand over her stomach. She could do this. If the past five months had taught her anything, it was that.

She was capable and not nearly as helpless as she’d allowed herself to believe in those alone and adrift days after her mother had died. And she refused to ever be that vulnerable again. She had two capable hands and wasn’t afraid of work. Somehow she’d find a way.

If she found it with the support of her birth father, then she’d be thankful and grateful. And if he didn’t want her and the baby in his life, she’d still be thankful and grateful she’d found out, and move them both on.

“Nothing but upside,” she whispered down at her stomach. “Because we’ll have each other.”

The baby gave a swift kick, as if in agreement. Which was silly—it was most likely due to the sugar content in all that strawberry filling that had hit the baby’s bloodstream—but Nova could allow herself the quiet moment to believe it was agreement, anyway.

A soft breeze whipped up, swirling the ends of her hair in the warm spring sun and Nova’s gaze caught on a building across the street.

Nikolas Slater, Private Investigator.

Nova considered the sign and the tagline beneath his name—Results. Period.—and wondered if this Mr. Slater might be able to help her. She had no money and no earthly idea if this man would even listen to her, but it couldn’t hurt to talk to him. Who knew, he might take some pity on her and at least answer a few questions for free.

Maybe?

Besides, if he was a resident of Mustang Valley he might at least know about the town grapevine and any news traveling on it about her father.

The idea took shape and form, the breakfast bar forgotten in her hand.

Did she dare?

It was a leap to let someone in but this PI might be the answer to her prayers. At the very least he might have some pull in getting her an introduction to her father or a few answers to all the questions that had dogged her since she’d left New York.

The baby kicked again and, once more, Nova thought her little partner in crime was agreeing with her.

What was the harm in trying?

When that tiny kick came once again, Nova made her decision. Taking the last bite of the breakfast bar, she stood and dropped the wrapper in the trash.

And headed determinedly in the direction of Nikolas Slater, Private Investigator.

Nikolas rubbed his stomach and ignored the heavy growl, promising himself he’d get some lunch after he finished running a few more names through his database. He was on a roll, and while he’d like nothing more than a steak sandwich from his favorite sub shop, he wanted to get a handle on the Colton project.

He’d already spent an hour hunting through the endless layers of information on the internet, surprised at how many articles had been written on Ace, his family and their elite position in Mustang Valley. The oldest child of Payne Colton, CEO of Colton Oil, and his first wife, Ace had been groomed to ascend to his father’s place from an early age.

Although Selina had been cagey in what she shared, it hadn’t taken much to put two and two together throughout the course of their conversation. She claimed her sole concern was catching Payne’s attempted killer so that Colton Oil could continue to thrive.

She’d even—tearfully—suggested Ace had snapped and gone after “poor Payne.”

What would it do to a man, if he’d believed he’d lost all that? All that position and prestige? And how much worse would it be if that loss also blended with the pain of discovering you weren’t who you believed you were?

Nikolas imagined it, his own privileged upbringing winging through his mind. Only unlike Ace Colton, Nikolas hadn’t run around with a whole pack of siblings. His mother, Clara Rivera Slater, had loved his father to distraction, but Guy Slater’s playboy ways hadn’t abated with marriage. He’d be a loving husband and father for a period of time, then something—or someone—shiny would catch his eye and he’d become aloof and distant again. Nikolas had spent his youth living the cycle, watching his mother’s happiness when his father was around and attentive, and then sad and lonely when he was all wrapped up elsewhere.

Whether by circumstance or a sadly determined effort, his mother hadn’t ever had another child and Nikolas had found himself adrift five years ago when she’d died.

He loved her and had spent his life wanting to protect her. Wanted to prove to her that there was someone in her life she could depend on.

But it was five years later and no amount of money could fix that loss, or how it had put his entire life into perspective. A good living made life comfortable, but it didn’t make life happy. And since his father’s ongoing attitude once his dependable, loving wife had passed was that women only wanted you for your money, Nikolas had done his level best to focus on his job and off anything that carried an air of permanence.

Was he a coward? Nikolas wondered. Or had something simply broken in him the day his mother died?

Regardless of the answer, his dedication to his firm hadn’t been entirely misplaced. He’d built something strong and solid on his own, with hard work, determination and the quicksilver tongue his mother said he’d been blessed with.

What she always added was that she wasn’t sure if the gift had come from the good Lord above or the very devil. To which Nikolas had shot back with a quick wink and a grin that they’d both claim him depending on the day.

The swat she’d drop on his dark curls was never quite hard enough to bite, nor slight enough not to feel, and he smiled as the warm memory washed over him. Even now, he could feel her small palm lying against the back of his head after she gave him that playful pat, full of the affection that had always flowed easily between them.

A steady presence at odds with his father’s flit-in-and-flit out approach.

A light buzz interrupted his thoughts, the front door to his office emitting the standard notice of a new arrival. Was Selina back to dish more dirt or make more demands about her former stepson?

Nikolas glanced one last time at the image of Ace Colton still sitting on his computer screen. Sure, the man looked formidable, but he hardly looked like a patricidal maniac.

Nikolas loved nothing more than a juicy case, but he had to admit, even if it was just to himself, that it was quite possible he’d bitten off too much with this one. Yes, the case was exciting, but he wasn’t going to make up evidence or put a good man through the wringer.

On an inward sigh, Nikolas once more forced himself to look at the situation objectively. It was the same argument he’d made to himself earlier that week when he took the case. He’d been honest with Selina from the get-go that he would do the job and he’d stand by his findings about who shot Payne—whatever they were.

She’d agreed but he hadn’t missed the skepticism in her eyes, as if she figured that the verdict would be a guilty one.

Which was her problem, not his.

Stepping out into his outer office, he’d already braced for round two with Selina when he found a different woman entirely. Small and petite, she had a mane of blond hair pulled back in a messy braid that was somehow enchanting for all its disarray. Pretty green eyes peered back at him from that small face and he felt something strangely protective kick in his gut, banishing all thoughts of food.

That protection shifted slightly—along with a subtle disappointment he couldn’t quite define—as his gaze moved from her face to her small frame.

And the large, round, beach ball of a stomach that unmistakably announced her pregnancy.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Mr. Slater?”

“Mr. Slater’s my dad. Please call me Nikolas.”

“Right. Nikolas.” She clasped and unclasped her hands beneath that round belly, before glancing around. As if realizing she hadn’t stepped fully inside, she finally did so, then turned to carefully close the door.

His intrigue grew apace with his curiosity. “And you are?” he finally asked.

“Oh. Sorry.” She closed the rest of the distance between them, her hand out. “I’m Nova. Nova Ellis.”

Although she shook with her right hand, she’d lifted her left to rest on the top of her belly and he couldn’t help noticing there wasn’t a wedding ring.

Or any ring, for that matter.

Which might be explained by her pregnancy weight, but somehow he didn’t think so. There was no white line on her ring finger.

He let her hand drop, impressed by the solid handshake from such a small woman. No shy, retiring hothouse violet here. “How can I help you, Nova?”

“I’m looking for my father.”

Not her baby’s father. Her father. “I might be able to do something about that. When did he go missing?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I thought you were looking for him.”

“Well, I am. But I’ve never met him and he’s never met me. He doesn’t even know about me.”

Realistically, there was little he could do for her. He’d give her the number for a national adoption organization and send her on her way. Which had him oddly disappointed their conversation was going to come to such a swift end.

“I’ve got a few people you can reach out to. I don’t typically work on adoption cases but I do have some resources that can connect children with parents if both parties are willing.”

“Sorry.” She shook her head, a pretty little flush creeping up her neck. “I’m messing this up terribly.” Her hand shot out to rest on his arm. “My mother knew who my father was. Before she died last year, she told me about their teenage fling. She never told him about me but she did tell me about him.”

Nikolas gave her his broadest, most professional smile. This one was open-and-shut, and while he was strangely reluctant to send her on her way, he also had a sense that his fees were somehow out of her range. “If you have his name, reach out directly. There’s no reason to pay for an investigator’s services.”

“Um. Well. I think maybe there is.” Her gaze alighted on the small stack of the week’s papers he kept on his waiting room coffee table. The latest story about Ace Colton was on the top, the headline screaming about the apparently guilty Colton heir, who had recently gone into hiding after the gun that had shot Payne was found in his apartment.

Some odd premonition skimmed over his nerve endings before seeming to rest on the back of his head, as warm as his mother’s palm used to be.

In fact, he wasn’t even all that surprised when Nova bent and picked up the paper, turning it so the headline faced him.

“Ace Colton is my father.”

Chapter 2

Nova’s words hung in the air between her and the cute private eye, seeming to expand and fill the space. She wasn’t sure why she’d made such an impact, but something in the utterance of the words “Ace Colton” had stilled Nikolas Slater.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his hazel eyes growing darker by the moment.

Although she suspected there was some sort of confidentiality clause that protected all she might say to him if she were a client, she wasn’t one. Nor did she have the funds to become one, she well knew. It would be worth confirming what she should—or shouldn’t—say. “I can talk to you freely and confidentially, yes?”

He seemed to consider her for a moment and she figured that even if he did find a way to use the information she shared, she’d at least rest secure in the knowledge she’d tried to protect herself.

But she needed answers. And right now that need trumped what might happen later.

“Sure, I’m willing to do that for this conversation.” That darkness cleared somewhat, even if that underlying sharpness she’d sensed in him hadn’t faded one bit. In fact, he practically hummed in anticipation.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes, of course I am. Whatever you tell me is confidential.”

Nova debated briefly with herself before she dived in. She’d already made the decision to come here; she might as well go all in. “I’m here because my mother told me that she had a relationship with Ace when they were both teenagers and I was the result. He’d already broken up with her, telling her he had commitments back in Arizona, and she never told him about me.”

“Did she have any proof?”

“A few old photos and a couple of stories that she claimed would be something only the two of them would know.”

“The Colton family is powerful.” Nikolas pointed to the paper she’d dropped back onto the coffee table. “Even without his current situation, Ace Colton is a force in Mustang Valley. So’s his family. Are you sure you want to pursue this?”

Whatever she’d expected on the long drive across the country, she’d never considered the idea that she shouldn’t seek out her father. Or worse, that she’d be looked at as having ulterior motives if she did.

The hand she’d laid instinctively against her belly tightened as she imagined what she must look like. Young and pregnant.

Alone.

While she didn’t want to risk telling anyone, even this stranger, about her relationship with Ferdy, she did suddenly have a sense of what she must look like. Despite Nikolas’s kind eyes and willingness to listen to her, a cold sense of dread washed over Nova. “In spite of what you may think of me, I’m not here for his money.”

“I didn’t say you were.” Nikolas scrubbed a hand over the dark stubble that coated his jaw and cheeks. She had a suspicion that he carried a perpetual five o’clock shadow, even with a daily shave, and found the look appealing. Dark and dangerous and, for reasons she couldn’t define, protective.

There was something about the man that made her feel safe. After five months on the run, she hadn’t realized just how badly she needed a few moments to feel that way.

“What I’m trying to say is that the Colton family wields a lot of power and has a lot of press attention. Do you want to wade into that? Especially in your—” he waved a hand “—condition.”

Some small voice whispered that she should have been insulted by his words. But instead, there was something in the gesture that struck her as inordinately cute and she couldn’t resist a moment of fun. “I’m not pregnant.”

His eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline, an “I’m sorry” already spilling out when Nova started laughing.

“It’s just too fun to mess with people. Even if you deserved it because you didn’t abide by the golden rule of pregnancy conversation.”

He apparently didn’t see the same humor as she did and the wariness in his gaze was evident. “Which is what?”

“Unless a woman tells you she’s pregnant or you see the baby actually coming out of her uterus, all comments are off the table.”

“Oh. Um.”

She took pity and laid a hand on his arm once more. Just like the first time she’d touched him, she didn’t miss the firm strength there. “I’m teasing you again. It’s totally clear that I’m pregnant. But you do bring up a good point about the Coltons. They’ve got a lot of attention right now and a long-lost kid—with a baby of her own on the way—might be a little much.”

Since walking into Nikolas Slater’s office, Nova had gotten the distinct impression that not much ruffled the man. So it was empowering to see that she’d shaken him a bit.

It was equally impressive to see him take the conversation back firmly in hand. “Why don’t you come into my office and tell me your story? The whole story. We can game-plan from there.”

“But you don’t want my case.”

“I don’t not want your case. But you may not want me for your case.”

Her gaze dropped to her stomach before heading back up to meet his. “I’m not exactly in a position to be picky right now.”

“You may be once I tell you my side of things.” He gestured toward his office. “Come on back and take a seat.”

She followed him, taking in her surroundings as she walked back. The total office space was small, but he’d made the most of it. His cherrywood desk held minimal clutter—not much beyond his computer and large monitor, a few small files and a photo of what she guessed was his mother.

Interesting, Nova considered as she continued on around the room. No photos of a girlfriend or wife and family. In fact, very little personal detail at all.

Was he a neat freak?

Unbidden, an image of Ferdy’s immaculate office came back to her. The cool, sleek furniture. The pink marble in the bathroom. Even the thick-cut glass decanter and glasses he’d kept in both his outer and inner office.

On a quick glance, she realized that not only did Nikolas Slater not have a credenza, but there wasn’t a liquor tray anywhere in sight. Instead, he had three matched apothecary’s cabinets along the far wall that he obviously used to keep his files. The old-fashioned touch was at odds with the modern computer and monitor, yet somehow it fit.

“Please,” he gestured toward one of the seats opposite his desk.

She sat down, her perusal of the office and the ready comparisons to Ferdy still crowding her mind. The impulse that had her laughing in the outer office had fully faded, replaced with the same serious worry that had dogged her every single mile since leaving New York.

Was she really going to tell this man her most closely guarded secrets?

“This is what I needed to show you.” Before she could question his intentions, Nikolas had his computer monitor turned around to show her the display.

A website had been minimized on the large screen with a digital note-taking program open. Her father’s face filled the left side of the screen, dominating the top of an article.

But it was the easy-to-read file name in Nikolas’s note-taking program that stopped her in her tracks.

Ace Colton Case. Task: Determine Guilt.

Nikolas half expected the woman to go running when she saw his screen, her messy braid flopping in her wake. He’d already imagined trying to chase a pregnant woman down the stairs in his building and out into the street, and wondered how big a show they’d put on for the lunch crowd out and about in downtown Mustang Valley.

Which made her next move that much more surprising.

Just like the way she’d teased him about her pregnancy, the intriguing Nova Ellis did the unexpected once again.

She flopped back in her chair, shaking her head. “This whole experience cannot get more surreal.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean it. From the moment my mother mentioned the name Colton to me, it’s been one ride after another on the crazy train.”

“What crazy train?”

“The crazy that has become my life.” She glanced down at her purse, settled on the guest chair beside her, her gaze focused on something only she could see.

Nikolas watched the play of emotions across her face, fascinated by both her expressiveness as well as how hard she still was to read.

Was she scared? Angry? Curious?

He’d sensed all three in a matter of moments, yet she’d still been able to laugh and make jokes. Had still been able to assess his points on the power of the Colton family in Mustang Valley and reshape her reasons for coming in to see him.

Who was this woman and how had she landed squarely in his life?

“Why don’t we both start over? I can’t really talk to you with any level of depth until you’re a client.”

Her face fell at that. “I’m sorry but I can’t afford you.”

It was what he’d expected—known, really, since she’d walked in—but he pressed on anyway. “I know that. And I’m willing to take on your case pro bono. On a trial basis.”

“Trial basis? How? Or more to the point, why? You don’t know me.”

“And you don’t know me. So we’ll figure it out as we go along. But I do need your agreement to keep our conversation going. And I need to charge you something to make it official. Would a dollar work?”

She glanced down at her purse, seemingly considering his offer. Was there even a dollar in there? Nikolas wondered.

It was only when she lifted her gaze, a rueful smile at her lips, that he sensed another surprise coming. “Can I ask a favor first?”

“Sure.”

“Do you by any chance have any food here? A small package of peanut butter crackers or pretzels?”

His gaze narrowed at that even as he was already reaching into his desk drawer. “As a matter of fact, I have both.”

He handed her both packages, curious to see one more string of expressions cross her face.

Gratitude. Hunger. And unmistakable relief.

He’d deal with sharing stories first and then he was going to do something about the hunger. He didn’t want to leave a pregnant woman hanging but the protein in the peanut butter would likely hold her for the half hour it would take to get her story. Then he’d get some real food into her and the baby.

Besides, he figured he’d need to earn a bit more of her trust to convince her to let him buy her lunch. And if she was hard up enough to gaze longingly at a bag of crackers he figured that would extend to a lack of hotel arrangements, too.

“Thanks. And thank you for the offer to work my case. We have a deal,” she added hastily before tearing open the crackers. She took a dainty nibble off the first one. He nearly smiled at the restraint as he reached for a pack of his own.

“Like I said, client confidentiality. I do maintain it. But I can tell you I’m working on a case involving Ace Colton.”

“What are you doing, exactly? Or what can you share?”

“I’ve been tasked to find any information on his guilt or innocence. And if I get lucky enough to stumble upon him, I’m to get him back into town if at all possible.”

“Where is he?”

“No one knows. He wasn’t supposed to leave Mustang Valley, but with the rumor mill working overtime it’s hard to fault the guy for hightailing it out of here.”

“Is he a criminal?”

“Not yet, but suspicions are rising.”

“That he shot his father?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

Nova pulled another cracker out of the sleeve, her expression thoughtful. “Thanks for telling me. And consider this question rhetorical, but why shoot his father? What is there to be gained?”

Quite a lot, actually. Nikolas briefly considered saying something to that end but held back. He did need to manage his confidentiality with Selina, and despite the rumors flooding the town, the family had been keeping Ace’s status quiet.

So he shifted gears to her last comment, asking a rhetorical one of his own. “Why do people do lots of things?”

“I suppose you’re right about that.”

Nikolas stood and walked to the small fridge he kept in the corner of his office, snagging two waters. He handed her one and she took it with a smile as she chewed the rest of her cracker, a considered look on her face.

“You shared with me,” she finally said, “so it’s only fair I share with you.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

Although he’d only noticed how attractive she was when she’d walked in, that small, sweet, pixie face sort of blinding him momentarily, he could see the food had restorative properties. Her cheeks had brightened and he could see a gleam in her deep green eyes. All of which only reinforced his determination to get a full meal into her.

“My mother died about ten months ago. She was diagnosed with a fast-growing cancer and didn’t have a lot of time there at the end.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am, too. She was about to be forty and I’d believed we’d have a long time together, you know?” Nova brushed at a stray tear that leaked from the corner of her eye. “She had me when she was seventeen.”

“It’s hard to lose a parent.” His eyes drifted to the photo of his mother he kept on the corner of his desk. Her vivid smile and warm, compassionate eyes always made him feel like he was looking at love. Or what love was supposed to be.

Generous. Understanding. And the brightest of lights.

“It is. And that was on the heels of my father’s passing a few years before.” She rubbed a hand over her belly, a gesture he’d seen her now do so often he suspected it was subconscious. “I’d always thought he was my father until she told me otherwise.”

“That’s when you learned about Ace Colton?”

“Yes. Their teenage love affair burned hot and wild one summer. They met while both were on family vacations at a ritzy resort. They’d had an affair before he had to come back to Arizona and the life planned for him here.”

“Why didn’t your mother ever tell him about you?”

Nova screwed up her face. “It’s not going to make any sense.”

“I’m a private eye. Trust me, I get told a lot of things that don’t make sense. It’s why I have a job.”

“My mother had her fair share of eccentricities. She was raised in a wealthy family and never really dealt with the real world, if you know what I mean.”

“I do.”

Nova’s description made Nikolas think of his own father and Guy Slater’s views on life. Although not Colton wealthy, Nikolas’s father had done okay for himself. But the fact that he spent every spare dime he had on his latest obsession had definitely skewed his perception of “what women wanted.” While Nikolas didn’t share his father’s perspective, he had seen his parents’ mess of a marriage and wanted no part of that for himself.

“For some reason, she came to the conclusion in her own mind that by not telling Ace she was somehow winning a point against him. At the end of their relationship, he told her that he had a girlfriend waiting back home. He left, she reasoned, so it was his own bad luck he’d never know he was a father.”

“She’s sort of right.”

“Maybe. Or she saved him from a lifetime of responsibility. It’s hard to miss something you never knew you had in the first place.”

That determined rubbing over her belly changed, her hand settling in place over the front of her stomach. Like she was protecting her unborn child and warding off danger.

Nikolas sensed the change, as well, the air around her growing still. And suddenly, he knew that there was more going on here than a hunt for Ace Colton.

Nova Ellis was running from something.

He’d bet his life on it.

Nova saw the change in him immediately. Although she’d said nothing about Ferdy, somehow, some way, Nikolas Slater knew her secret.

Or sensed it, since she hadn’t actually given any specifics.

“I am sorry for your loss. But it’s curious you waited so long to come find Ace. Why wait?”

“Like I said, showing up on his doorstep would make him realize what responsibility he’d escaped all those years ago.”

“It would also let him know he’s a father. Most men would want to know that, even if the discovery upends their life a bit.”

A bit?

She wanted to laugh at that even as she considered Nikolas’s words. Yes, most men would like to know if they were a father. It was why she’d breathed a sigh of relief that she’d managed to escape Ferdy before telling him about the baby. But what if he knew?

Somehow, she didn’t think he’d rest quiet if he knew he had a child out in the world somewhere. Nor did she think he’d give up until he had control over her and the baby.

The first few days on the run, when she hadn’t thought to turn her phone off, she’d gotten increasingly nasty texts from him. If he was so irate over some texts, how would he be over the baby?

Throat dry, she lifted the bottle of water to her lips.

Would she put the baby in danger if she told this PI about Ferdy?

With that foremost in her thoughts, she opted to keep her own counsel. She’d come here looking for Ace Colton. That had nothing to do with her own failed relationship and poor choice in a boyfriend. And even though she hadn’t known about the trouble her biological father was in when she’d started the journey to Arizona, she’d learned pretty quickly that this was the worst time to try and enter his life.

If it was just for herself, she’d put her tail between her legs and leave. But she had a child to consider and had lost the room to be choosy.

Pushing as much brass into her tone as she could muster, she stared Nikolas Slater straight in the eye. “I had my reasons for waiting. But now I have my reasons for looking for my father.”

“Fair enough.” Nikolas met her gaze, unblinking and direct. It should have made her feel uncomfortable, only it didn’t. Instead, she saw something warm unfurl deep in his eyes. “Why don’t we go grab lunch?”

“Lunch?” Her voice came out on a small squeak at the same moment the baby let out a swift kick just beneath one of her ribs.

“Yeah, lunch.” A small smile ghosted his lips as he stood. “You know. Food consumed at midday.”

Was she really willing to give up the precious few dollars she had on a restaurant lunch? And wasn’t it funny that her thoughts had shifted so drastically after only a few months?

There was a time she’d gone out for lunch every day, either with friends at work or with Ferdy down near his office. Dinner had been the same, eating out several nights a week.

And now... Now she was rapidly calculating how she was going to make her last sixty-eight dollars last her until she could pick up some work. Well, sixty-seven after she paid him the dollar.

If she’d used brass before now it was time to use a bald-faced lie. “I know what lunch is but I just had crackers. I’m not hungry.”

“I am. And lunch is on me, so if you’re not hungry maybe you order something to take with you for dinner.”

On him?

“You can’t do that. I came to you for help. And you’re only getting a dollar.” Nova barely held back a wince at the squeaky tone in her voice.

“Consider it an investment.”

“In what?”

He shrugged. “I’ll come up with something later.”

Fifteen minutes later, Nova was still puzzling over what excuse Nikolas Slater would possibly put in his business expenses, as they were being seated at a welcoming pub about two blocks from his office.

He might have kept the confidence of the person who’d hired him to track down Ace Colton, but Nova suspected that his client would be sorely upset to know Nikolas had even spoken to her, let alone spent time with her. Or taken on her case, even if she was a charity.

Nikolas opened the menu their waitress had left for him. “The fish and chips here are awesome. So are the burgers.”

Nova’s stomach gave an involuntary growl at the idea of a burger but it was the fish and chips that lodged in her mind. She hadn’t touched any sort of fish since that morning so many months ago that had preceded her visit to Ferdy’s office.

Was it possible she’d rediscovered the taste for it?

Her morning sickness was long gone, but she hadn’t risked anything in the fish family for fear of losing it. But now, with the seed of the idea of deep-fried cod and equally deep-fried potatoes having been planted, she found she could think of little else.

When their waitress came back, Nova quickly ordered the dish before she could change her mind, and added a glass of water. The fried food might not be good for her but she could at least keep on top of her hydration. Even if it would mean about eight stops that afternoon for a ladies’ room as she hunted for work and a place to stay while she looked for her father.

Nikolas ordered a burger, then waited until their waitress had left, before returning to their earlier conversation. “If you did want to try and reach out, we could connect you with one of Ace’s siblings.”

An emotion that felt a lot like belonging speared through her chest before she tamped down on her reaction. For the same reasons her father may not be excited to meet her, his family might not, either.

Even if they were somehow okay with having a surprise show up out of the blue.

“That’s not really fair to him.”

“Fair’s got nothing to do with it. He’s not here and you are.” He took a sip of the iced tea the waitress had set down along with Nova’s water. “I’d say you deserve at least an equal chance to find out about your father as he does about you.”

Nova wasn’t sure how she’d found one Nikolas Slater, Private Investigator, but somehow, she had. And whatever she might have expected, the man sitting before her didn’t match up with a single thing she’d imagined in that short walk from her perch on the town bench to his office.

He didn’t mince words, which she appreciated.

He was far too attractive for his own good, with that olive skin and thick, dark curls.

He had an interesting sense of honor, which had come through in the way he’d sneakily got her out to lunch, as well as the way he’d protected his existing client’s confidentiality.

Nikolas eyed her over the rim of his glass. “Are you sizing me up or questioning my fashion choices?”

“You’re surprisingly charming.”

“Surprisingly?” He set the glass down. “Most women just tell me I’m charming.”

“Under your spell, no doubt,” she added dryly.

“But of course.”

She fought the grin at that and kept to her underlying point. “What changed your mind?”

“About what?”

“Before. In your office. You were cautioning me about trying to get into the Coltons’ world.”

Their waitress returned with their food and, once again, Nikolas showed his discretion by waiting until they were alone before picking up their conversation. “It’s my responsibility to show you the options and the angles.”

“So you think it’s a good idea?” she pressed, curious to realize how badly she wanted him to say yes.

“I don’t think it’s any sort of idea. But I do know you came a long way and I do know you’re Ace Colton’s daughter.”

“You believe me?”

“I do, but that’s beside the point.”

Nova reached for a fry. “Why’s it beside the point?”

“Because you look like him. A small, petite female version, but the resemblance is clear. The same nose and chin. Same arch to your eyebrows. You’re Ace’s daughter, all right.”

Chapter 3

You’re Ace’s daughter.

Those words had raced through her mind, over and over, like her new favorite song. Only Nova didn’t think she’d ever tire of hearing them.

Lunch passed quickly, the fish and chips as amazing as advertised. And she hadn’t had even the slightest hint of a negative reaction to the delicious food, which she took as yet another good omen on the day. The baby had also quieted down, seemingly sated by finally having a solid meal after their limited fare over the past few days.

Nova figured he or she would start back in with the afternoon gymnastics session she’d come to love and look forward to around 4 p.m. each day, but for now, she had a few hours of quiet from the sweet little baby inside.

Which would allow her to focus fully on Nikolas’s idea of seeking out Ace’s family.

In for a penny...

“Do you have a place to stay tonight?” Nikolas asked, breaking into her post-lunch food coma.

“Hmm?”

“Where are you staying?”

“Oh, I’m good.”

Her lunch date stopped being easygoing as Nikolas halted midstride, turning toward her right there in the middle of downtown. “How long are you going to keep up this ‘I’m fine’ routine you’ve got down?”

“I am fine.”

“No, you’re not. You didn’t have any food for lunch and I know what you were doing by saving half of your lunch for later.”

“Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I have to overeat.”

“Come on, Nova. Be straight with me.”

Did she dare? Because there was no way to talk about her situation and lack of ready cash if she didn’t talk about Ferdy. She’d deliberately not used a credit card or her ATM card since those texts that had turned threatening, for fear he’d have some sort of tracker on her.

And it had worked, hadn’t it? Despite her constant vigilance, she hadn’t seen him or any of his colleagues. Even if she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder or avoiding talking too long to random strangers she met.

You can’t run forever.

Empirically, she knew that. She did have savings, as well as the money her mother had left her but refused to access anything for fear of discovery. She wasn’t destitute and she’d already figured she’d finally have to give in and do something about money when she went to the hospital to deliver the baby.

But for now...

For now she wanted that continued protection of staying off the grid.

You’re Ace’s daughter.

That additional truth—especially if her father’s family accepted her—could mean all the difference. Whatever Ferdy Adler was into back in New York, he’d be hard-pressed to come after her and the baby if she had the protection of one of the most powerful families in Arizona.

Add on a new name and a new life, and he might not even ever find her.

Nikolas still stared at her expectantly and she finally relented slightly. “I do have a way to take care of myself, but I don’t have ready access to my finances at the moment.” Determined, she continued to brazen it out. “I’m okay overall.”

“But not tonight?”

She thought about all the places she’d found jobs along the drive out to Arizona and knew that she’d find something else. She might not get it in the quaint town of Mustang Valley, but she’d find something not too far away. Diners always needed waitstaff. She’d find something to keep her going for the next few weeks while she considered what to do about Ace and his family.

While she went back to regular work and steady meals to keep her and the baby nourished and fed and her mind determinedly off the mess she’d left back in New York.

“Nova, come on. Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“I will.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I stopped off to talk to you before I continued on with my other plans today. I’m looking for work.”

“Which won’t pay you in time to shore up a hotel room.”

She mentally crossed her fingers and hoped she’d get to work the dinner shift right away to pocket some tips. “I’ve got a little. I’ll get by.”

“Why aren’t you being straight with me?”

“Why are you pushing this with me? You don’t know me. You certainly don’t have to worry about my problems.”

Even though it was nice that he did.

Whatever else Nikolas Slater might be, she hadn’t gotten even the slightest indication that he was a jerk. Or that he’d try to take advantage of her.

It didn’t mean she could drop her guard.

After their first date she’d have said the same about Ferdy and look how that turned out.

“Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll go with you while you look for work. I need to do some errands around town anyway, so it’s not out of my way. If you find a job, I’ll back off. If you don’t, you play it my way and take my guest room tonight.”

“I can’t—”

He held up a hand. “The room has a lock on the door if you’ll be more comfortable. I know we don’t know each other and I can appreciate you being cautious. But sleeping in your car or at a cheap motel isn’t the right alternative. Or safer,” he added after a beat.

She wanted to argue with him but Nova knew he was right. She’d done enough of the “cheap and seedy” on her drive west, and while she hadn’t run up against any real problems, her pregnant state hadn’t even stopped some less savory characters from making passes at her.

“It’s a deal. On one condition.”

“Tell me.”

“You wouldn’t give me your opinion before. On if I should or shouldn’t reach out to Ace Colton’s family.”

“Why do you want my opinion?” Nikolas asked.

“Let’s say it’s sort of like your lunchtime expense.”

“My what?”

Confusion stamped itself in his hazel eyes, and once again, Nova felt something flutter deep in her belly that had nothing to do with the baby. He really was attractive. In a roguish, sexy way that was deeply appealing. And nothing like the overly slick, three-piece-suit look she usually went for.

Add on that thick head of dark curls and long-lashed eyes that would make a supermodel envious and she figured she’d better keep her head about her and her hormones off Nikolas Slater.

And hormones or not, there was something about him she trusted. Which was the last thing she needed to be doing after the whole Ferdy mess, but still...there was something there.

The kind way he’d taken on her case and then bought her lunch. Sure, he might be looking to get as much intel as he could for the other case he had on Ace Colton, but he was still helping her.

He’d even acknowledged that she had no reason to trust him.

It was a risk but she needed the help, too.

“Before,” she pressed on. “When I asked you why you were paying for lunch, you told me it was an investment and that you’d come up with a way to explain it later.”

“So I did.”

“Then that’s my answer.”

“About Ace and his family?”

“Yep. I want your opinion. Sooner or later I’ll figure out why.”

Nikolas had to give her credit, the woman paid attention. She was sharp and smart and she continued to amaze him at every turn.

Even if she was too stubborn for her own good.

And too focused on maintaining her independence to consider the realities of her safety.

No matter how capable she might be, she was seriously pregnant. A reality she seemed to keep ignoring. “When is the baby due?”

“A few more months.”

“Wow. That’s close.”

She rubbed a hand over the large mound that was impossible to ignore. “Not as close as you might think. Especially if you were the one staring down at many more weeks of an alien invasion.”

“An alien what?”

She smiled in a way that lit up her whole face, and again, he caught the teasing underneath her words. “There are moments when it feels like I’ve got an alien growing inside instead of a baby. The way he or she moves or a random foot that suddenly sticks out the side of my belly. A few weeks ago I swear he was doing jumping jacks.”

Nikolas smiled back, the idea of a baby inside of her taking on new shape in his mind’s eye. Of course he understood the mechanics of pregnancy—both how it happened and what followed on after that exciting first act—but he’d never really considered the experience itself.

Never considered it as a practical reality for himself. His parents’ marriage had set a course he had no desire to pursue. And yet...because of his determination not to follow in their footsteps, he’d dismissed the idea of having his own children, too.

Ignoring the sudden shot of remorse that thought ignited, he focused back on Nova. “And your little alien is practicing for entry to earth?”

“When she takes over as alien overlord of the western United States.”

“I guess it’s as good an explanation as any other.” He shrugged. “You’ve already called the baby a he and a she.”

“I don’t know what I’m having, so I switch off.”

Absurdly pleased by the idea of a small baby, Nikolas smiled to himself. And pulled up short.

Was he actually smiling about babies? And despite his lifetime refusal to enter into commitment, each time he looked at this woman he was oddly smitten.

Nova Ellis had commitment written all over her, from her green eyes to her pregnancy and impending motherhood to the messy braid that fell over her shoulder.

He found her deeply attractive and altogether sexy and...

Whoa.

Where had that come from?

He needed to protect her, not have the hots for her. Even if she was wildly attractive in a fresh, enticing way. Despite the seriousness of her situation, there was a lightness about her. She was still able to laugh and find humor in the world around her.

That was a gift. One he saw less often than he’d have liked.

In fact, when was the last time he’d been out with a woman and she’d poked fun at him or at herself? He mentally rolled through the last few years of his dating history and realized the number wasn’t just shockingly small, it was zero.

Was that possible?

Even as he thought it, he had to admit that it was. He’d chosen the bright and the shiny over substance. Most of his dates were incredibly attractive arm candy who accepted his company for a fancy evening out on the town. In exchange, he had a glamorous dinner companion to take to a business event.

Why hadn’t he ever noticed it before?

Women only want you for your money, Nikky, my boy. That’s all they want and it gets more and more true with each year that passes. So treat ’em kind and take good care of them but don’t get attached and don’t expect too much.

What had passed for his father’s words of wisdom echoed in his mind, rattling around with all the finesse of a pinball striking bonus lights, and Nikolas fought to shake off the voice. He’d come to an understanding a long time ago. He might not have liked his father’s behavior but his father had genuinely grieved his mother when she’d passed. It had been that moment when he’d finally come to grips with the relationship.

And all his father would never be.

Pushing it all back down in that small space he kept feelings for his father, he gestured Nova forward. “Come on. Let’s go back to my office, and we can make a plan to reach out to Ace’s family.”

“Doesn’t he actually have quite a few of them?”

“He does. His family is pretty big. But I’m suggesting a few of his female siblings. His sister, Ainsley, and his half-sister, Marlowe, are who I have in mind.”

“Okay.” Nova stopped and turned, her opportunity to slow their forward progression. “Even if you still haven’t answered my question.”

“The one about if I agree or not.”

“That’s the one.”

“You don’t miss much, do you?”

She shrugged, those delicate shoulders nearly hitting her earlobes before dropping back down. “I guess not. The hazard of growing up an only child, spoiled by my mother. I didn’t have to share much, and if I wanted to know something, I asked. And, my mother being who she was, pretty much always gave me an answer. Besides, since it was just me, there wasn’t a whole lot to distract me when I really got going.”

Nikolas considered that and compared it to his own upbringing. He, too, was an only child, and even with his father’s intermittent distractions had been fairly doted upon his entire life. Although he doubted that was the sole reason why his mother’s passing had affected him so hard, he also knew that was a big piece of it. He hadn’t had any siblings to share the grief.

Or to reminisce about all the good times they’d had together.

All those memories lived in his head and that was all he had left. All he’d ever have. That and his father’s pithy words of wisdom about what women wanted, of course.

Suddenly sick of his thoughts, he decided to answer Nova. Whether to humor her or because it was important to her, he wasn’t sure yet, but he broke his personal rule of investigating and decided to stick his nose into it.

All the way in.

“You want my opinion? Okay. Here goes. Yeah, I think you should reach out to Ace’s family. If he was here, I’d suggest you go to him first. But like I said at the restaurant, he’s not, and you deserve some closure.”

“Thank you. I was hoping you’d say that.”

And just like that, she upended him once more. From happy and funny to questioning and serious, to poking at him with a big side of sassy, he’d seen so many facets of Nova Ellis in a few short hours. Yet, here was another one.

Vulnerability.

“I’ve actually met Ace’s siblings. Why don’t we go back to my office, and you can give them a call.”

Ferdinand Adler didn’t like to be kept waiting.

He didn’t like waiting for a meal. He didn’t like waiting for a car. And he sure as hell didn’t like waiting for news of his traitorous ex-girlfriend.

Standing up from his desk and stalking over to the credenza where he kept several bottles of liquor, he poured himself a generous helping of some of Kentucky’s finest bourbon. Tossing back half of it, he slammed the tumbler back onto the countertop, the hit of crystal against thick glass causing a satisfying crack.

Where the hell had she gone?

He’d asked himself that same question for the past few months. The same day the shipment went to hell. He wanted to chalk it up to a coincidence, but something about the timing bothered him.

Had she been a plant all along?

An undercover cop?

Or just another young, naive blonde, which were in abundant supply in New York?

He was depending on that shipment to make his mark and move up into the inner circle of trust with his business associates.

Associates who had not been pleased by the challenges at the port and the delays in getting the prime, grade A heroin they’d been depending on into circulation.

It had come in eventually, and they had grudgingly accepted his apologies when their stock was delivered in full, but it hadn’t gotten him that seat in the inner circle he so coveted.

It had also put him several more “tests” behind as a way to prove his loyalty.

He’d done them all, of course. He’d had no choice. The three private flights with cocaine stuffed into false chambers in his carry-on suitcase. The additional money laundering he’d had to add to one of his personal operations down in the East Village. And the hit he’d executed by himself in a dimly lit area of Central Park one night.

Oh yes, he’d done them all and done them flawlessly.

None of it explained why Nova had gone missing the very day the shipment had been held up. A seemingly minor detail that had nagged at him for five freaking months.

He had put his best tech guy on the problem about three days in when it became evident he couldn’t find the stupid bitch, his texts going unanswered. Wally had put trackers on all of her accounts, her cell phone, and even attempted to put one on her email.

Yet nothing had hit.

Which had left him in an uneasy conundrum. Had she simply run away? Or had his wannabe boss done something to her? Or worse yet, was she working with the cops, biding her time in some witness protection program?

Regardless of the answer, she had to be punished. And for several months he figured the tracking on her bank account would ultimately give him what he needed to hunt her down and deliver the punishment himself. Only it hadn’t, because other than the regular, automatic payments she had scheduled to come out each month from her checking account for her rent and utilities, nothing else showed up.

Her body hadn’t shown up, either, killed as an example to him of his mistakes. No one had told him she was dead, or showed him pictures, or produced a body.

So he was now back to door number one, with his questions. He hated loose ends and Nova Ellis was a big, honking loose end.

Why had she run?

What did she know?

And how in the ever-loving hell was he going to find her?

Nova tried to still her tapping fingers, but no matter where she put them, she couldn’t get them to hold still. On her lap, on the arms of Nikolas’s really uncomfortable office chair or even on her hips, when she’d stood to pace after getting sick of said uncomfortable office chair.

Was this really happening?

From the time her mother had told her about her father, Nova had imagined what it would be like. She’d spent her entire life up to that conversation believing she was the daughter of Paul Ellis. And it was only after that she was forced to reevaluate everything.

Like did Paul know she wasn’t biologically his?

Would he have cared if he did?

Unfortunately, her mother had been in the last stages of her life and getting straight answers out of her had been a challenge. But best as she could tell, Paul had died believing she was biologically his.

Was that why her mother had kept it a secret for so long? To spare his feelings?

Or to hide her deception?

Allegra had told Nova that she’d rushed into a relationship with Paul—an older, handsome family friend who lived in Europe and had been groomed as a suitable love interest from an early age—as soon as the pregnancy from her summer love affair had been discovered.

Even now, Nova wondered how it had all come about. How could she have simply leaped into a marriage with one man to hide from an affair with another? Yet her mother had done it, obviously burying her feelings. By all accounts she had been relatively happy with the decision. She’d grieved terribly five years earlier, when Paul had died in a car accident. And she’d always spoken of Paul Ellis as the love of her life. And Paul had always loved Nova as his own.

Had it all been an act?

Or a way to rewrite history and the pain of a failed teen romance?

As they often did when she thought of her mother’s doomed romance, thoughts of her time with Ferdy filled Nova’s mind. The past five months had given her a good amount of distance—both physically and emotionally—from the man, and she’d come to understand more about what had made him so appealing.

And why she’d leaped with little understanding of who he really was.

It wasn’t something she was proud of, but she wouldn’t lie about it to her child. Nor would she hide her baby’s paternity from the man she would eventually share her life with. She still had hope she’d find love in her life. Her child would be a part of that family they created, and Nova would tell him or her the truth of their paternity.

She’d accepted that she would never really know whether Paul Ellis was aware she was not his daughter. She wouldn’t go through life doing that to a man who came into her life. The situation with Ferdy might be scary and even embarrassing, thanks to her poor judgment, but if she was lucky enough to find love, she wouldn’t hide any of it.

She continued pacing, the movement needed after the heavy lunch and equally heavy thoughts, but her gaze surreptitiously shifted to Nikolas.

Goodness, he really was attractive. Her mother had always thought swarthy men were the most gorgeous of the movie stars, and while Nova hadn’t thought she was wrong, per se, she honestly hadn’t ever paid much attention. But oh, wow, did she ever now. The dark curls, the olive-colored skin and the five o’clock shadow all did things somewhere low in her belly that had nothing to do with a growing baby or a large lunch of fish and chips.

No, this was a different sort of heaviness. The sort that made her remember, despite all the changes currently happening inside of her, that she was a woman.

Which pulled her up short because—hello!—she’d just met Nikolas Slater that morning. And she was having another man’s baby. And she was on the run from that same man who was likely a gangster of the first order, even if Nikolas didn’t know that part of the story.

But still, she kept sneaking glances at him. And even if she shouldn’t feel attracted, she did feel attracted and there wasn’t much she could say to herself to feel differently. Because whatever appealing qualities Nikolas Slater carried in the looks department, he’d proven himself an even better man.

The kindness with which he’d listened to her story about Ace. The confidentiality he’d still maintained with his existing client. Even the sweet gesture of lunch when he figured out how hungry she really was. Even the maneuver he’d just pulled on the sidewalk, negotiating her into a safe place to stay for the night.

All of it had combined to demonstrate that he was a good man.

Nikolas’s voice broke into her thoughts. “You ready to make the call, Nova?”

She took a deep breath and resumed a seat in the torture chair. “Can we walk through it once more?”

“Of course.”

He turned his computer monitor around so she could see it, then tapped a few notes into a search bar. In a matter of seconds, an image from a society event popped up and Nikolas clicked on it, expanding it so that it fit the screen. The man she recognized as her father smiled back from the middle of the photo, dapper in a tuxedo, with two women, one under each arm. The women’s resemblance to each other was easy to see, even without the caption below the picture.

Asa “Ace” Colton poses at the annual Mustang Valley General Hospital Pediatrics Gala with his sisters Ainsley Colton (left) and Marlowe Colton (right). The Colton family are patrons of the hospital and established the gala in memory of Tessa Ainsley Colton, late first wife of Colton Oil CEO, Payne Colton.

“Those are my aunts? Or sort-of aunts?” She swallowed around the lump in her throat, the image making things real in a way it hadn’t been up to now.

“I know them both. The blonde is Marlowe and the darker-haired one is Ainsley. They’re both good women and devoted to the family. They’ll want to meet you, Nova. I know they will.”

Nova drank in the image, struggling to believe it could be so easy after all this time. Even if the women in that photo weren’t related to her father by blood, they shared history and a lifetime together.

They were still her father’s family, which meant they were her family, too. They’d be her child’s family.

As the reality of that sank in, something she’d been holding onto very tightly crumbled.

The idea that she had to do this all alone.

“Let’s make the call.”

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