by Geri Krotow
“Allow me to clear that up.” Her voice snapped like a whip. “Neither my ex-husband nor my father will be storming your ranch in pursuit of me.”
Your ranch. He knew the words meant nothing to her, but they sent a pleasant sensation coursing through him. If he found the proof Isaiah told him about, it might very well become his ranch. He and Spencer and Bella would own the Triple R. Wouldn’t that be a kick?
“What is that face about?” She circled a finger in the air around her own face.
“Nothing important.” He wasn’t about to let her shift the focus of this conversation. “Lover? Real mother of the baby? Who are you hiding from?”
Her gaze lit with fury. “Silas is my baby. I’m the one nursing him. Or did you miss that detail?”
He hadn’t missed anything. In college, he’d been infatuated with Mia Graves, model. Everything from her sly and sultry expressions to her wide, gregarious smile captivated his imagination. Her meteoric rise had set the advertising and marketing world on fire. More than one of his professors had made them study either her career or the brands she represented.
“Okay,” he allowed. “That was ridiculous. So clear it up for me. I can’t protect you or the ranch without information.”
It was hard for people to understand just how much territory was out here, how much ground the crew had to cover. “If you found a way to sneak in, someone else could do the same.” He didn’t want to think about coming back to check on her and finding a tragedy. On the flip side, he didn’t want some crazed person destroying the ranch in an effort to find her.
“I’m here because this is the last place anyone will look for me. Can’t we just leave it at that?”
“Afraid not.” He couldn’t allow her to stay here at all. Infatuation or sympathy aside, his responsibility was to the ranch.
“Why should I trust you to do the right thing?”
“Do you have a choice?” Her gaze dropped to the scarred plank floor and he felt like a jerk. “You don’t have to tell me everything,” he added quietly. “You aren’t hurting anyone out here and no one needs to use this place. But you’re isolated. I’d rather not come back to find someone hurt you.”
“I really can’t tell you anything.”
“If not your dad or your ex, what other man has the resources to drive you to this?”
Her shoulders hunched and she cuddled her son closer as her bravado vanished. “Not a man,” she said. “A woman. A woman with influence and access to far more resources than she deserves.”
Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN: 9781488063992
Colton’s Deadly Disguise
Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Geri Krotow for her contribution to The Coltons of Mustang Valley miniseries.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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