Pursuit of the Truth

by K. D. Richards

  “Someone is tailgating us,” Ryan said.

  Nadia twisted so she could see the car behind hers and Ryan’s. The SUV rammed the back of their vehicle. Nadia jerked forward as the car slid, fishtailing, but Ryan kept them on the road. He guided them out of the skid and revved the engine, sending them flying forward.

  The SUV sped up, hitting them again and sending Nadia crashing into the dashboard.

  “Nadia! Are you okay?”

  She groaned. Ryan risked a glance at her. Blood trickled from a gash on her forehead.

  The SUV hit them again, sending them into a tailspin. Ryan fought to regain control of the car as the tires slipped off the road and the car headed down an embankment.

  “Ryan!” Nadia screamed.

  Brush flew by as he pumped the brakes, trying to slow the car. Several large oaks at the foot of the embankment loomed. Ryan wrenched the wheel to the right moments before the sound of crumpling metal filled the air...

  PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH

  K.D. Richards

  K.D. Richards is a native of the Washington, DC, area, who now lives outside Toronto with her husband and two sons. You can find her at kdrichardsbooks.com.

  Books by K.D. Richards

  Harlequin Intrigue

  Pursuit of the Truth

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Nadia Shelton—The CEO of Shelton Hotels is determined to find out the truth about her brother’s apparent death.

  Ryan West—The co-owner of West Securities has carried a secret torch for Nadia for over a year and will not allow anyone to hurt her.

  Nathan Shelton—The former CEO of Shelton Hotels and Nadia’s brother faked his own death in an effort to avoid the consequences of a deadly mistake.

  Shawn West—Co-owner of West Securities always has his brother’s back.

  Olivia Bennett—Nadia’s administrative assistant and best friend.

  Erik Jackson—Nadia and Nathan’s uncle and Shelton Hotel’s accountant has secrets of his own to protect.

  Mike Dexter—The president of rival hotel corporation Aurora Hotels and Nadia’s former boyfriend is determined to purchase Shelton Hotels, whether Nadia wants to sell or not.

  To Delria, who taught me I could do anything, and to Neil, who makes anything possible.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Excerpt from Hideout at Whiskey Gulch by Elle James

  Chapter One

  Goose bumps tingled over Nadia Shelton’s arms and neck as she exited her apartment building. She scanned the morning commuters looking for signs of someone watching her. And like every previous morning, all she saw were fellow New Yorkers hustling along the sidewalk, somewhat faster this morning than the morning before, as the gray clouds overhead pelted them with rain.

  Nadia pulled her purse and briefcase closer to her body, hoping to shield them from the worst of the rain, and tightened her grip on her umbrella. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention as she entered the flow of bodies on the sidewalk. There was no time for paranoia. She was already ten minutes late getting to work. Granted, that was not typically a huge deal since she was her own boss, but this morning she had a meeting she did not want to be late for.

  Should have thought of that while you were primping for a certain security specialist with sexy hazel eyes.

  Nadia caught a glimpse of herself in the large front window of the corner bodega. She slowed and examined her reflection as she passed by. Her plum-colored sheath accentuated the curve of her hips and popped vibrantly against her dark skin. The dress showed just a hint of her ample cleavage—sexy, but still work-appropriate. The off-white trench coat she’d slid into on her way out the door completed the look. She’d dressed to feel good about herself, and looking into the storefront window, she felt as if she’d succeeded.

  Goodness knows she deserved some happiness. The last several months had been the most trying of her life.

  She took a step away from the window, then jerked to a stop once again when the reflection of a man on the other side of the street caught her eye. He huddled under the awning of a bookstore, its interior lights still darkened.

  Nadia strained to make out his features, but the window distorted his image, even as scores of people hurried by, making it even more difficult to get a clear view. She mentally noted the dark hoodie, navy jeans and black work boots before starting down the sidewalk again, her heart rate picking up its pace.

  She shot a glance over her shoulder, but the man had moved from the doorway.

  You’re being paranoid. He was probably just taking a reprieve from the rain.

  There was absolutely no reason for anyone to be watching her, and any other day, she probably wouldn’t have even noticed the man. But this hadn’t been the only odd occurrence lately. An image jumped into her head. Born and raised in New York, she’d seen her fair share of rats, even dead ones, but never mangled so horribly.

  She shook her head to clear the memory of the rat from her mind. Her neighbor’s cat had most likely left that little gift for her—it couldn’t be anything more sinister than that.

  And her keyed car and the late-night hang-ups? Was the cat behind those things too?

  Stop.

  It wasn’t as if the garage she parked her rarely used car in was Fort Knox. Teenagers had probably keyed the car. And the hang-ups could be teenagers too. Or telemarketers. Or simply a wrong number. Repeated every night for the last two weeks?

  She chewed her bottom lip as she hurried along the sidewalk, dodging open umbrellas. She was overreacting. The pressures of being thrust into the role of CEO of Shelton Hotels was making her jumpy. And anxious. And short-tempered.

  Nadia drew in a breath and exhaled slowly, her therapist’s advice not to be so hard on herself echoing in her mind. The last year had brought a lot of change, and it would take time to settle into a new normal.

  For six years, she and her older brother, Nathan, had run Shelton Hotels, the company their father built from nothing into a small chain of boutique hotels in New York City. As vice president of operations, Nadia concentrated on the day-to-day workings of the three hotels they owned, specifically their flagship hotel in Harlem where she kept her primary office. CEO Nate handled the big-picture stuff and was the face of the company.

  That had all changed when Nate died in a car accident eleven months ago.

  Nadia had inherited Shelton Hotels, lock, stock, and barrel. As the newly minted CEO, it was up to her alone to keep the family legacy intact. Not everybody believed she could pull it off.

  She reached the corner a block from the hotel as the stoplight changed from green to yellow and the pedestrian walk signal flashed a warning against crossing.

  “Excuse me,” a voice boomed in her ear, making her jump and gasp.

  A tall man skirted around her, long coat flapping around his thighs, his briefcase held atop
his head as a shield against the rain. Nadia frowned as the man dashed across the street without a backward glance.

  Her frown deepened when her gaze fell on the bus shelter beside her. An advertisement for Aurora Hotels and Suites hung on the wall of the shelter. Aurora wasn’t direct competition since it was consistently ranked in the luxury-hotel market, rather than the midscale market like Shelton. But she’d dated the president of Aurora briefly, and the whole affair had soured her on the man and the company he ran.

  She tore her eyes from the offending advertisement and, following the lead of all the other commuters waiting for the light to change, pulled her phone from her coat pocket. She’d barely swiped the screen awake when big hands landed on her shoulder blades. She twisted to see who was behind her, but a shove sent her stumbling forward before she could lay eyes on the person.

  Her knees and palms connected with the pavement, the impact sufficient to send waves of pain up and down her limbs and through her body.

  Tires screeched, and Nadia turned her head to see a yellow cab bearing down on her as car horns blared nearby.

  The cab screeched to a stop inches from her, the cab driver’s ashen face and wide, terrified eyes clear through the windshield.

  A man in an orange safety vest and tan boots ran to her side and knelt. A white hard hat was all the protection against the rain he wore. “You have a death wish, lady? Jumping in the street like that.”

  Nadia focused on the man in front of her, the shock of what had just happened, what could have happened, still wrapped around her. She pushed up from the ground, shaky as pain shot up her arms once again. She glanced down at herself, taking stock.

  Angry red scrapes covered both palms, and blood trickled from a nasty-looking gash on her left leg. Thankfully, though, she didn’t think there was any permanent damage. The same could not be said for her outfit. Dirt and grime covered her dress, and a cursory assessment made it clear that the formerly white coat would have to go in the trash bin as soon as possible.

  “You trying to kill yourself or something?” the construction worker asked with a scowl.

  Nadia recovered enough to scowl right back. “I didn’t jump in the street. Someone pushed me.”

  The man eyed her with suspicion. “I didn’t see anyone near you.”

  “Well, there was.” Nadia scanned the sidewalk. Several people had slowed, some even stopping to gawk at the scene, but in true New York fashion, most walked by without a glance.

  An angry car horn sounded.

  “Get out of the street, will you?” the driver of the cab that had almost hit her yelled, seemingly recovered from the shock of almost running her down.

  Nadia accepted her purse from a gray-haired lady who’d also stopped to help, smiling at the woman. Her umbrella was nowhere to be seen, not that the rain could do any more damage than had already been done. She limped across the street, on the arm of the construction worker, the heel of her left shoe broken. She declined the man’s offer to escort her the rest of the way to work. It was only half a block to the hotel, and her appearance would draw enough attention.

  She hobbled forward a few steps, then stopped. New Yorkers hurried by as usual. Anyone who’d been around to see her humiliating swan dive into the street had long since lost interest. Yet, the hairs on her neck stood at attention anew. She limped the rest of the way to the hotel, the feeling that someone was watching following her the entire time.

  * * *

  RYAN WEST DECLINED the coffee offered by Olivia Bennett, Nadia Shelton’s administrative assistant, and took a seat in one of two armchairs in the office. His eyes roamed her ground-floor office, noting how much it reflected the woman that worked there.

  Bookshelves lined the white walls to the left, while black-and-white photos of the Ponte Vecchio, the Millau Viaduct and the Brooklyn Bridge hung on the opposite wall. He sat facing a white L-shaped desk that sat atop a contemporary area rug, its blue-and-dark-gray hues adding color to the room. Fresh flowers graced a round meeting table tucked into the corner of the office. Feminine, elegant, yet professional, just like the woman who inhabited the space.

  He checked his watch: 9:01. Nadia was officially late for their meeting. He moved his neck in a slow circle attempting to release some of the tension there. He’d sent his brother Shawn to get started on the security-system evaluation while he waited for Nadia. It was unusual for her to be late to one of their meetings, but that wasn’t why he was irritated. What annoyed him was how much he looked forward to seeing Nadia Shelton.

  “Get it together. She’s a client.”

  He was determined to be nothing but professional when it came to Nadia, but a persistent whisper at the back of his mind challenged that determination. He may not have been as personable as his younger brother, Shawn, or as smart as his lawyer older brother Brandon, but he knew the security business. His blood, sweat and tears had grown West Security into one of the East Coast’s go-to security and investigations firms.

  As vice president of West Security and Investigations, he rarely handled quarterly meetings with clients. In fact, over the last eighteen months, he’d handled only one, Shelton Hotels. Last year their account executive for Shelton Hotels had gone on maternity leave, and he’d temporarily taken on the Shelton. Temporary had turned permanent the minute he met Nadia Shelton.

  Their first meeting had taken place in this very office. The memory of her hand outstretched toward him, an intoxicating smile on her face, remained vivid. He wasn’t dramatic or even a romantic, but an undeniable electricity had sizzled through his body when he’d touched his hand to hers.

  His anxiousness about seeing her grew exponentially in the days leading up to each quarterly meeting. Which was why he was sitting in her office in his best suit, bent out of shape because she was—he glanced at his watch—six minutes late.

  He had to turn the account over. He’d been down this road before, with disastrous results to his heart. He didn’t even have the excuse of being young and dumb this time. He tortured himself, pining for a woman he couldn’t have every time he walked into this office, and it had to stop. He wouldn’t jeopardize the company’s reputation, or his heart. Not again.

  “Oh, my goodness.”

  The alarm in Olivia’s voice had him rising. He crossed to the door but hesitated to open it, debating whether he should stay put or see if he could help. Olivia hadn’t sounded like she was in any trouble, and whatever was happening wasn’t really any of his business.

  A soft voice responded, not Olivia’s, but he couldn’t make out who it was or what they said. Shadows passed the opaque glass in the office door.

  “Should I call an ambulance?” Olivia asked, her voice fading as she passed by the door.

  He pulled the door open and followed the sound of the voices to a small restroom at the back of the office suite.

  Nadia leaned against the vanity, her dress splattered with mud, wisps of hair falling from her twisty updo. Olivia dabbed at a red gash along Nadia’s calf.

  A swear rumbled from his chest, drawing the women’s attention to where he stood in the doorway. “Get the first aid kit,” Ryan ordered, his tone harsher than he’d intended.

  He knew they had one. West Security didn’t just look out for the physical and cybersecurity of their clients. They made sure the basics that people often overlooked, such as fire extinguishers and first aid kits, were also properly stocked on-site.

  Olivia glanced at Nadia with a question in her eyes.

  A moment passed before Nadia nodded, and Olivia slipped past Ryan, disappearing down the hallway leading to the public areas of the hotel.

  Ryan scanned Nadia from head to toe. In addition to the cut on her leg, she had abrasions on her hands and a wicked scrape along her right elbow. The heel of her left shoe literally hung on by a thread.

  “What happened?” He went down on his haunches to examine t
he cut on her leg.

  “I’m the most recent victim of the commuter wars. Someone shoved me into oncoming traffic.”

  Ryan tensed. “Did you see who did it?”

  She shook her head, then winced.

  He stood and examined her for bruises before looking into her eyes. “Did you hit your head?” He gazed into her eyes, beautifully dark with flecks of gold. Scrapes marred the smooth umber skin on her arms and legs. Several chestnut curls had broken free from her updo.

  “No,” she said almost in a whisper, her eyes glued to his. After a long moment, she cleared her throat and looked away. “My hands took the brunt of the fall, but I think I might have jammed my shoulder.”

  “May I?”

  She nodded.

  He applied modest pressure along her shoulder and neck, keeping his touch gentle. An intense rush of desire nearly overwhelmed him at the feel of the silky skin of her shoulder. It took everything he had not to keep going when he got to the curve of her neck. He pulled his hand away before he did something stupid. “I don’t think it’s bad. Tell me exactly what happened.”

  Nadia pushed away from the vanity and started for the bathroom door. He grabbed her elbow, helping her balance on her broken heel. The scent of her jasmine perfume swirled around him as they walked back to her office, sending another wave of desire springing through him.

  “It was probably an accident.” Her halting tone belied the words.

  “But you think it might not have been.”

  She didn’t answer right away. Lowering herself into the chair he’d been sitting in, she looked up at him through long lashes. “It felt like someone pushed me.”

  Olivia hurried into the office with the first aid kit, cutting off his opportunity to follow up on what Nadia had just said.

  “Thank you, Olivia. I’ll be fine. You can get on with your work.” Nadia smiled reassuringly.

  Olivia shot a curious glance at Ryan. “If you’re sure. I can catch up with the other Mr. West and see how he’s doing with the security review.”