Page 44 of Rawhide and Ransom

Tucker’s expression danced with humor that nobody else in the room shared. “Do twins run in your family?”

Her insides grew even colder. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

His smile faded and was replaced by a look of abashed puzzlement, as if he was just then realizing that neither of his companions looked amused.

Hawk straightened and nodded encouragingly at her. “Tell him, babe.”

Feeling painfully exposed, Annalee launched haltingly into her pathetic tale. “I spent my childhood in foster care, had a kid of my own at the age of seventeen, and got adopted shortly afterward by an older couple.”

“Foster care,” Tucker repeated slowly. He turned back toward his computer screen. “What was your last name before you were adopted?”

The feeling in her chest grew heavier. “Gilbert. It didn’t change. Quite a coincidence, I know, to have the same last name as my adoptive parents.”

She wasn’t sure why she’d never questioned it before. At the time, she’d simply viewed it as one of life’s many oddities. Her world had been too full of baby bottles, diapers, and high school homework to feel anything other than gratitude about her adoption. The Gilberts had been so kind to her and Miley, treating her baby like she was their own grandchild.

Because…maybe she was?

Annalee drew a sobbing breath as new possibilities washed over her. “What if…?” She shook her head at Hawk, unable to finish the sentence.

He held her gaze as he returned to his chair and reached for her hand. “We’re gonna figure it out.” He wasn’t looking at her any differently. He still had her back.

She placed her fingers in his, adoring the way his hand curled possessively around hers. Though she greatly feared what else the investigation into her husband’s death might uncover, she took a moment to soak in Hawk’s strength.

Tucker typed on his computer some more. “Should I keep going?” He paused to meet their gazes. “In case I wasn’t clear enough earlier, what I’m doing here is strictly off the books.”

Annalee gulped, not wanting to even think about the privacy laws and other laws he was bending. However, not knowing the truth about her past was quite possibly what had gotten her husband killed. It might also be why their lives were still in danger…along with the lives of anyone she and her daughter dared to love.

Like the man sitting next to her.

She met Hawk’s gaze, trying to read his thoughts on the subject.

“We don’t have to take this any further if you don’t want to.” His voice was gentle with understanding.

“But I do,” she sighed.Oh, but I do!If it was wrong of her to say that, it wouldn’t be the first mistake she’d ever made. “I want to know…everything.”

Without any further ado, Tucker attacked his keyboard. “Then let’s keep digging.”

It took a few hours, but he was able to give her some of the answers she’d waited so long to hear — answers that chilled her to the bone.

Mirabelle Gilbert wasn’t some random crazy person who just so happened to share her last name. Mirabelle was her twin sister. They’d been separated at an early age, placed in separate foster homes, and eventually adopted by different families.

Or so the paperwork made it appear.

Tucker kept hacking and uncovering new information. Before the evening ended, he was able to paint a very different picture about Annalee’s past. A horrific picture. One that was almost too painful to bear.

Mirabelle and Annalee hadn’t been separated until the age of three. It was the point at which Mirabelle had been expelled from their daycare for injuring another child. Sadly, it was an injury that had resulted in permanent paralysis. Family Services had gotten involved and ultimately removed both sisters from their home, claiming everything from child negligence to general abuse. Their parents had gone to prison for it, where both had perished under dubious circumstances.

“Man!” Tucker’s voice was hushed. “The prison system has never been kind to folks with those kinds of convictions.”

Annalee was sick to her stomach about everything she’d learned, but one question in particular was still burning inside her. “What happened to my sister?”

Tucker waved at the computer again. “According to everything I’ve uncovered, she’s been confined to a state hospital since the age of three.”

Three!Annalee couldn’t recall ever hearing of someone so young being punished so severely or so permanently. Maybe it was justified due to her violent tendencies, but it still felt wrong. Horribly wrong.

“How did she escape?” Hawk’s calm, dispassionate voice was a reminder that they still had a lot of details to unravel concerning the case.

“Good question.” Tucker frowned as he scrolled through his findings. “After Gilbert Farm went belly up, the funds keeping her there dwindled, and she was moved to a less secure ward.”

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