Read Online Wild Hawk by Justine Dare Justine Davis - Free Book Online

town yourself?” Alton asked, eyeing the boxes and luggage piled in the back seat.
    “Not yet,” she said. “But I think it’s only fair to tell you, Mr. Alton, I no longer work for Hawk Industries.”
    Alton merely lifted a shoulder negligently. “Hawk Industries didn’t hire me. Aaron Hawk did. And he made it clear from the beginning that this was purely personal, and had nothing to do with the business. And,” he added, “ ‘Mr. Alton’ is my father.”
    “All right.” She smiled. “George.”
    It seemed Aaron had, as always, chosen well. She remembered when she first realized that half the reason Aaron was so rough on the people who worked for him was to see which ones would stand up to him and which ones wouldn’t. The ones who did were the ones who rose up the ranks; the others were either intimidated into quitting or remained in their low-profile positions, praying not to draw the attention of the big boss. George Alton didn’t seem the type to be intimidated by much of anything, despite his easygoing demeanor.
    And while he had a demeanor that was anything but easygoing, neither did Jason West. She turned her head to look across the street at the motel. She could see the racy gray coupe parked in front of a room with the lights on. A room separated from the next obviously occupied one by several dark and apparently vacant rooms in between. She wondered if it was by chance or Jason West’s choice.
    “I found out from my airport source that he came in on a flight from San Jose,” Alton said, “connecting from Seattle.”
    Kendall looked back at him. “So he does still live there?”
    Alton shrugged. “Can’t be sure yet, but it’s a good possibility.”
    “We had several Jason Wests on the list from that area, didn’t we?”
    Alton nodded. “I called an old buddy of mine who has an agency in Tacoma, after I found out they were living up there when his mother was killed. I emailed him the list, and what little we knew about the kid. Now that we’ve got more to go on, we’ll find out who he is and where he’s been.” He grimaced. “Too bad we didn’t get through the list before Aaron died.”
    Kendall didn’t think her expression changed, but Alton gave her a kindly look of sympathy.
    “You have someplace to go?” The man gestured at her baggage. “I know you were living up at the house, so you’re not just out of a job, you’re out of a roof, too.”
    Kendall smiled, touched by the man’s concern. “I’ll be fine.” Her smile turned wry. “If all else fails,” she added, pointing across the street, “it seems they have plenty of rooms.”
    Alton frowned. “That might be all right for a while, but not long-term. If it’s money, with Aaron dying—”
    “Really, I’ll be fine, Mr. . . . George. Aaron paid me very well, and his investment counselors have given me some good advice over the last ten years.”
    It was true; if she was careful, she could live nicely for years on what she had. After that there was the trust fund, if she needed it. But unemployed idleness was not a goal she aspired to. She needed to work. She had to work. She’d find something, somewhere. Someplace without an Alice Hawk to deal with.
    At the ugly reminder, she pondered telling Alton the whole story, of the codicil and the threat of a criminal frame that was hanging over her head. It seemed wise to have someone else know, but she wasn’t certain she should make that decision alone. Jason was involved in this as well, although he didn’t know it yet. He had a right to decide what should be done. She would wait, she thought, for now.
    Besides, she had other things to attend to first. Like living up to the trust Aaron had placed in her. She looked over at the motel again.
    “You want me to stick around while you talk to him?” Alton asked.
    She glanced back at him. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
    Alton didn’t look very happy. “I heard he got kind of ugly at the