Page 2 of Hawk

El Paso wouldn’t do. The club sometimes went there to cross over the border. “What if I add twenty more?”

She went back to work on the computer and then looked up at me. “Twenty more won’t do much, but thirty-four more will take you to a town called Vesper, Texas. I’ve never heard of it.”

“Me either. Sounds perfect.”

I pushed the cash across the counter to her, and she handed me my ticket.

“Stay safe, and good luck.”

“Thanks, Marge.”

I made my way to the bus that was sitting idling on the curb. Luckily, it wasn’t full, so I was able to find a spot by the window in an empty row. I shoved my backpack under my seat and sat down. I watched anxiously out the window, refusing to let myself relax until the doors on the bus closed with a hiss and we got on the road—and even then, I didn’t completely let my guard down until the lights of Las Cruces faded out behind us.

I didn’t know what awaited me when I got there, but I couldn’t imagine anyone would look for me in some town called Vesper, Texas. As soon as Marge had said the name, I’d felt good about it, but if it didn’t work out, I could always keep going until I found the right place for me to start over.

I leaned my head back and let out a long sigh as a single tear ran down my cheek. My happy ever after had turned into hell on earth, but if nothing else, it had taught me a lesson. I might find big, strong alpha men attractive, but they couldn’t be trusted, and I wouldn’t be fooled again.

Chapter one

Mika

“Mary Ellen Thompson, what are you doing?”

The last thing I expected to see when I walked into the butler’s pantry was my eighty-three-year-old employer standing on top of a stepstool, stretching to reach something.

“I’m having people over for tea today, and I was trying to reach my tiered platter.”

“Well, get down from there and let me get it. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I’m perfectly capable of getting it myself.”

“Oh really? And what do you think your physical therapist would have to say about you climbing stepstools?” She’d had a hip replacement a few months ago, and the last thing she needed was a fall.

“Fine then, you get it, but be careful and support it from the bottom. It’s old like me, and I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up if you don’t.”

I held my breath until her feet were firmly on the ground, and then I climbed up the stepstool and oh-so-carefully took down the serving platter. “Is there anything else you need that you can’t reach?” I asked.

“Not that I can think of, but we’ll be having tea in the conservatory. Could you be a dear and light the fireplace so it can warm up?” Mary Ellen asked.

“Of course. I’ll go do that now, but I’ll be right back. No climbing while I’m gone.” I crossed the foyer and went down the hallway to the conservatory, chuckling to myself.

A conservatory. I didn’t even know conservatories were real things until I came to work here. A room in the board game my sister had loved to play when we were kids, sure, but I didn’t think real houses had them. Of course, I’d never been in a house like this one before I came to work for the Thompsons.

This wasn’t just any house—it was one of the oldest homes in the city and sat in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in all of Vesper. The portion of Elm Street that ran in front of the house was made of carefully maintained brick and was lined with beautiful antique streetlights. Each house was stately and well-maintained, and you never even saw a for-sale sign go up because there were lists of buyers just waiting for an opportunity to live in the neighborhood. This particular home had been in the Thompson family for generations and would go to Mary Ellen’s niece, Vivian, when she passed away since she and her husband had never had children.

I got a fire going and then headed back to see what else she needed me to do. “The fire’s going. What else can I do to help?”

“I ordered some lovely finger sandwiches and desserts from Apertivo. They should be delivered any minute. But while we wait, we can get the table all set.”

“Do you know which dishes you want to use?” I asked. She had some of the most beautiful china I’d ever seen to choose from.

“I was trying to decide between this set and this one.” She pointed at one set that had a dark red rim with beautiful roses and another set with blue trim and yellow flowers. I didn’t know much about china, but I could tell, like everything else here, they were valuable.

“Why don’t you mismatch them?”

She got a thoughtful expression on her face and then smiled. “That’s a wonderful idea, and it’ll be so pretty with the centerpiece.”

“How many people are coming to the tea?”

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