Hailey's Truth Read online

  “They died the week before my fifteenth birthday. Jeremy was nine, almost ten. His birthday’s in March.”

  “What happened?”

  “We were on our way home from a welcome home party. One of Daddy’s friend’s sons had come back from some sort of military training. It was a big deal. We lived in Northern California and it was cold—colder than any of us ever remembered. The roads were icy. Daddy swerved to avoid a car that came into our lane. We hit a tree.” She squeezed his hand. “It didn’t occur to me until a couple years later that everyone was still alive after that initial impact. We all would’ve walked away, but then the car hit us and we collided with another tree. That’s what killed my parents. I thought Jeremy was dead too, but all I cared about was my seatbelt. I remember that more than anything else; I couldn’t get out of my seatbelt. I stared at the blood dripping from my mother’s face, at my dad hunched over his airbag, and Jeremy so still against the window. But all I wanted was out of my seatbelt.”

  Austin stared at Hailey’s profile as she spoke quietly, lost in her memories. “You were just a kid.”

  “I’ve never been just a kid.” Her lips curved in an absent smile. “When you grow up in the system, you don’t have a chance to be just a kid.”

  “What was it like?”

  She looked at him for a long time before she answered. “I don’t usually tell people about my past. I think it changes who I am in their eyes, and I hate that.”

  “I like who you are now. Your past can’t change that.”

  She held his gaze until she turned back to stare in the dark. “My first four years were bad, as bad as they get, or so my mom told me when I was old enough. My biological mother was a drug addict and prostitute—a pretty way of saying crack whore.” She raised her chin, meeting his eyes, waiting to be judged.

  “I came home to fresh-baked cookies after school and ate a hot breakfast every morning after I milked the cows. That doesn’t make me better than you, Hailey. It just makes me damn lucky.”

  She rested her head against his shoulder in what could only be a moment of weakness. His arm came around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

  “When the State stepped in and took me away, I was malnourished and didn’t speak. They found me nibbling stale bread in a crib, sitting in my own waste. I was covered in sores from the ammonia in my urine and infected bug bites. My mother said it took them a year to finally get me to come around. The State hadn’t held out much hope. The doctors told my parents I would more than likely have severe emotional and cognitive setbacks, but Mom and Daddy didn’t listen. My parents loved me unconditionally. They never gave up. They saved me with love.”

  Austin took her hand, kissed her palm. If he’d thought Hailey remarkable before, he had no words for what he thought of her now. And he finally understood her need to protect Jeremy. Her parents had saved her; now she needed to save Jeremy. “What about Jeremy? What was it like for him?”

  “My parents brought Jeremy home when I was seven. I fell in love with him the moment I laid eyes on him. He was so bruised and broken, literally. His mother’s boyfriend sexually abused him as often as he could and ended up breaking his arms and leg in a fit of rage. Jeremy wouldn’t let Daddy near him for weeks, but he responded to me and mom. His eyes were so tortured, so sad—sadder than a two-year-old’s should be. When I got off the bus each day after school, he would be waiting for me, ready with a big hug. I would get out my homework book and practice reading it to him until mom called us for dinner. The first word he spoke was ‘sissy.’ I adored him, treasured him, until the day my parents died and the State separated us. I still do.”

  Austin couldn’t begin to imagine what Hailey and Jeremy must have gone through. “That’s cruel. I’m sorry.”

  “What’s cruel is that I didn’t do enough to protect Jeremy.” Self-loathing sharpened her voice.

  Austin skimmed his thumb over her knuckles, attempting to sooth the deep pain away. “You were fourteen.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I should’ve fought harder to keep us together, but I didn’t. I left him alone, small and scared in his hospital bed. I walked away. I can still hear him crying, calling for me, and I can’t stand it.” Hailey freed her hand from his, stood, and stepped into the sand.

  “You can’t blame yourself, Hailey.” Austin toed off his shoes, pulled off his socks, and followed.

  “But I do.” She walked closer to the waves. “I don’t want to talk about sad stories anymore. This is supposed to be paradise. There are no sad stories in paradise.”

  He took her hand again, wanting to touch her. “Did you get enough to eat? Do you want to try dinner again?”

  She smiled. “Nah, unless you’re hungry. You didn’t get to finish your meal.”

  “What about dessert? We could try the dessert bar in the west lounge.”

  “Do you want dessert, Austin?”

  He wanted her. Her story still played through his mind. This strong, beautiful woman came from hell, and she’d risen above it, not only because her parents had loved her, but from sheer strength. At the heart of her sweet center, Hailey was a fighter. He’d always found her attractive, but their last hour on the porch changed something. “Uh-uh. Have you gone swimming yet?”

  Hailey’s eyes widened as she looked toward the black water in the moonlight. “No, and I’m not about to go now. You couldn’t get me to swim in the ocean at night.” She shuddered. “I have no intention of being some shark’s dinner.”

  He smiled. “Are you brave enough to get your feet wet?”

  “That I can handle.”

  They walked into the warm surf. Austin nudged Hailey out three inches above her ankles.

  She tugged on his hand. “This is as far as I go.”

  “We’ll have to work on that. There’s something elemental about night swimming.”

  “You’ll have to be elemental on your own. It’s not happening.”

  He chuckled.

  Hailey tipped her head to the stars, letting out a deep breath. “The water’s so warm. It feels different here—softer, I think, than in California.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” She nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t laugh at me, Casey.”

  “I wouldn’t dare. Rumor has it you have a mean right hook.”

  Hailey laughed. “Hunter told you about that?”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled again. “I don’t think he’ll be giving you another pair of boxing gloves anytime soon.”

  “He said, ‘Swing on go.’ I simply confirmed the word ‘go,’ and he repeated it back to me. I thought he was giving me the signal.” Hailey bent forward with another peal of laughter. “I swung with all my might and knocked his head back. He stared at me, rubbing his cheek and cursing the room blue. I think I saw a hint of bruising at my birthday party.”

  Austin loved to listen to Hailey laugh. The sound was so full, so strong. She still chuckled as they wandered from the water toward her cabana.

  “You don’t sound very sorry about the whole thing.”

  “No way, I’m not. Hunter said ‘go,’ so I did. And he’s also a what—twelfth degree black belt or whatever? He should’ve blocked me.”

  “You have a point.”

  “Darn right, I do.” She flashed him a grin.

  They climbed the steps to her room.

  “Thanks for an…interesting evening,” Hailey said, still smiling.

  “Wow,” Austin stumbled back, as if Hailey had struck him. “I think you just bruised my ego.”

  She grinned again. “No need for a bruised ego. Interesting doesn’t mean bad, it just means…interesting.”

  Austin stared at Hailey, not wanting the night to end. The breeze blew a curl of hair against her cheek. He scooped the soft tendrils back, sk
imming his finger along her skin, testing both her and himself. “Interesting’s okay, but I think we can do better, don’t you?”

  Hailey’s smile disappeared as she stepped away. “What are you doing?”

  He wasn’t entirely sure, but it felt right. Closing the distance, he skimmed his knuckles against her temple, her cheekbone, watching the dim outside light play over her confused gaze. “What I’ve wanted to for a long time.”

  The heat of their breath mingled as he brushed his fingers down her neck and over her shoulder until she shuddered.

  Hailey snagged his hand as his fingers wandered to her hair again. “I don’t understand. I thought you said you wanted to keep things simple.”

  Her shaky whisper tickled his lips as he clasped his fingers with hers. Caught up in her honey eyes, Austin grazed her chin, his desire spinning out of control. “I don’t want simple, Hailey, anymore than you do.” He pressed gentle kisses along her jaw until her lids fluttered closed on a sigh.

  Her hands wandered up his arms, over his shoulders. She brushed her fingers through his hair.

  He had to taste her. Unable to wait any longer, Austin took her mouth. Soft lips met his, clinging, parting, as tongues touched and tangled. He held her cheeks in his hands, taking them both deeper as he pressed her to the door and plundered, drowning in the sweet flavor of Hailey.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer, until her small, firm breasts pressed against his chest.

  More. He wanted more. He couldn’t get enough. Austin picked Hailey up and set her on the wooden beam of the tiny porch, nestling himself between her legs. He nibbled at her top lip as he’d fantasized doing since the moment he met her.

  She moaned as he ran his palms up and over smooth thighs, under her blue dress, until he cupped her butt and scooted her forward, pressing heat against heat, causing her to whimper.

  Austin moved his hands to her face again as his mouth grew hungrier. This is too much, too fast, he thought, but as he did, cool fingers tracked down his arms and gripped at his wrists, sending shivers along his skin as she pulled him closer in her eagerness. He needed this, needed her—wanted, craved. Why had he waited so long?

  Austin’s mouth left hers with a trembling breath as he traced her ear with his tongue, breathing in the peach scent of her hair. “Hailey.” He nuzzled her neck, ready to ask her to give him everything, knowing she would. He eased one slim blue strap down her shoulder, leaving open-mouthed kisses in its place as Hailey tugged his shirt free of his waistband. “Hailey,” Austin said again, as he twisted the key she hadn’t taken from the lock. The door opened and he wrapped his arms around her, ready to pick her up, to bring her inside and take what he’d craved for too long.

  A movement by the docks caught his eye. Instantly on alert, Austin pulled Hailey closer and wrapped his arms tighter around her, rubbing his cheek against soft curls as he scrutinized the dark.

  Austin kissed Hailey’s forehead as he watched a figure fade into the shadows. He eased back, trying to ignore the discomfort of being watched.

  Hailey stared up at him, eyes dark, full of passion. “I definitely wasn’t expecting this.”

  Austin fought to stay in the moment. “Neither was I.” And he meant it. He’d fully intended to stick to the plan and keep his hands to himself, but now that he’d tasted her, now that he’d felt her soft skin against him, he knew he didn’t have the strength to resist her again. He twisted a curl around his finger. “Do you want to come to my place and watch a movie?”

  She smiled. “Is that code for, ‘Do you want to have sex?’”

  Austin smiled back. “No. It’s code for, ‘Let’s order in some snacks because I’m hungry and watch a movie.’ Something action-packed and funny, like usual.”

  “Okay, but why don’t we just stay here?”

  His gun was in his room. He wanted it. Although he no longer saw anyone by the docks, his gut told him someone was there.

  Austin helped Hailey down from the wooden beam. “I want to change.”

  “Me too. Go put on some shorts and meet me back here.”

  Damn it. He didn’t want to leave her alone, not even for the time it would take to grab his gun and change his clothes. “Nah, I’m all set.”

  “Austin, don’t be silly.” She poked him in the belly. “You can’t relax in slacks and a polo. Go change.”

  He was stuck. “Okay, I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  “Take ten, take fifteen. We’re on vacation. I’ll order us something to eat. What do you want?”

  “Surprise me.” He hurried down the steps and started across the sand. “Lock your door. I’ll be back in a second. When Hailey shut her door, Austin rushed to his own cabana, let himself in and unlocked the padlock on his suitcase, taking his Glock from the small lock box he’d brought along. He took bullets from a box, loaded his clip, shoved the magazine in the weapon.

  Austin secured the safety and put the box of bullets back in the lock box before he yanked off his clothes and pulled on gym shorts and a white t-shirt. With few options, he settled the gun in the waistband of his shorts. He couldn’t exactly wear his holster and not expect questions.

  As he made his way back to Hailey’s, Austin scanned the darkened beach. The small patches of palm trees and tall grasses gave the cabana suites privacy from the hotel. He looked toward the docks, still not seeing anyone. But someone was there; his instincts told him he and Hailey were surrounded.

  Vacation had just begun, yet Austin no longer shared Hailey’s enthusiasm for their six days in paradise. He wanted it over. He was looking forward to picking up Jackson at the airport—eager for the backup—and getting on with Project Mexico. But Hailey’s problems wouldn’t end in three months when everyone packed up and went home. They never would. Hailey was as bound to the Mexican drug cartel as Jeremy, and she didn’t have a clue.

  Jeremy stood by Mateo, sweating, queasy, waiting for what he knew was to be his next rite of passage. When one of his buddies offered him a ‘prime opportunity’ two months before, he had no idea it would lead to this. Selling a little rock, a little dope was one thing, but this…

  He wiped his damp palms against his jeans as he tried not to breathe in the rotting trash piled high in the shadows of the alley. Jeremy looked left, right, trying to think of a way out, but Señor Rodriguez showed him death was the only option. Because Jeremy didn’t see that as a choice, he kept his mouth shut, attempting to ready himself to do what he had to.

  The junker pulled into the dark space, lights off, and rolled to a stop.

  “Time to make him pay, homie. Let’s go.” Mateo walked to the vehicle as two men got out of the front seats.

  Jeremy followed.

  “Rio, you got him?” Mateo asked.”

  “Fuck yeah, we got him. What kinda question is that?”

  “Well, let’s see him.”

  Rio, one of Donte’s hulking guards, opened the back door, reached in, and pulled a bound and gagged man, still dressed in his police uniform.

  “Yeah, there you are, mother fucking pig.” Mateo spit in the officer’s face. “You don’t want to work for the Zulas? You too good for us?” He kicked the man in the balls, making him groan and crumble forward.

  Rio chuckled, pulling the officer to his feet. “We’re just getting started.”

  “Bring him inside.” Mateo opened the door to the crumbling two-story building. “You’re going to help us send a message to your little pussy friends, just in case they’re having second thoughts about whose side they’re on.”

  Rio shoved the officer into a seat in front of a video camera while the other guard closed the door and stood outside.

  “Here, put this on.” Mateo tossed a black mask to Jeremy as he secured one over his own head.

  Jeremy pulled the wool
hat over his sweaty hair and down his damp face while Rio tied the man to the chair.

  “Hit record, Rio. Homeboy,” Mateo said to Jeremy, “you’re on, man.”

  Rio pressed record and Jeremy swallowed hard. There’s no way out, he reminded himself, as he shoved the leather gloves on his hands, took the pistol Mateo handed him.

  Jeremy read the officer’s tag. His name was Sanchez, and he was about to die because he refused to bend to the Zulas.

  Sanchez tilted his head up, his eyes boring into Jeremy’s as Jeremy held the gun to his temple.

  Mateo stepped in front of the camera, shouting to the lens in Spanish, pointing wildly.

  Jeremy caught specific words: police, Sanchez, family, Zulas, death.

  Mateo, still on his tirade, rushed to Sanchez, yanking his head back by the hair. “Beg for your life. Beg like the pussy you are.”

  Sanchez remained stoically silent as he waited for death.

  Mateo rammed his elbow into the officer’s face. “Beg, fucker.”

  Silence filled the room.

  “Fuck this shit. Do it, homie. Show them what happens when they cross the Zulas.”

  Jeremy’s hand sweat on the handle of the pistol as he stared into Sanchez’s brown eyes. The drumming beat of his heart echoed in his head. He barely heard Mateo’s shout to ‘fucking do it now’.

  He had to. Jeremy glanced at the madness dancing in Mateo’s eyes, at the gleeful smile on Rio’s face behind the camera.

  “You fucking pull that trigger, man, or you’re next,” Mateo whispered harshly.

  Jeremy swallowed again and pressed the barrel more truly to Sanchez’s forehead. He pushed his index finger against the trigger. The deafening pop echoed through the rundown room as blood and brains flew through the air.