The Searchers

The Searchers
Kay David

The truth is supposed to set you free…After the birth–and death–of her child, Maya fled her hometown and made a new life for herself. Many years later, her lover's brother reveals she was told a lie. Her son is still alive. And now Maya is prepared to do whatever it takes to find him.Shepard Reyes wants to find his brother's child as much as Maya does. Now that the truth about his nephew is known, the boy's life is once again in danger. There are too many people who don't want him to claim what is rightfully his….

“Tell me what you want, then get the hell out of my life.”

“Fine,” Shepard replied. “As I said earlier, I’ve been given some information that I need you to confirm. It involves my brother…and you.”

Maya shrugged. “There’s nothing to confirm or deny. What happened between the two of us took place too many years ago to matter now. What is it you really want?”

“I want the truth.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” he said. “When you were a teenager, you took a lover five years your senior. He was my brother, but he was also a criminal who justified his actions in the name of revolution. In the end, he paid for his foolishness with his life.”

“He made his own choices,” she said stubbornly.

“And so did you. But there’s more to the story than that, isn’t there?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “A woman recently came into my office and told me something. A secret, she said.”

Maya’s face slowly became the color of bones.

“You know what she told me, don’t you?”

“Of course not. How could I?” She licked her lips.

“You’re lying.” Shepard leaned across the table. “And this is the time for truth. Tell me, Maya, did you have my brother’s child?”

Dear Reader,

My husband opened a fortune cookie last week and the little paper inside read, “Stop your search. What you seek is already yours.”

I love this message because everyone I know seems to be searching for something—the right relationship, the perfect job, the flawless body…. We’re all constantly looking for more than we already have, and I’m as guilty as the next person. Why do we do this?

My mother would have said we’re cursed with ambition, and in a way, she would have been correct. Most of us are ambitious and we want the best.

There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, because these searches make us better people. Sometimes, though, the treasures we seek are in our grasp and we’re blind to that reality. We don’t recognize what we already have.

There’s a corollary to this. I call it the “unexpected treasure.” This is when we search for one thing and discover another.

In this story, Maya Vega is searching for legitimacy. She wants, once and for all, to be someone others look up to. What she doesn’t realize is that she already has this respect. And Shepard’s looking for a truth that he already knows. He’s been able to deny the reality for some time, but his eyes are about to be opened in a way he can no longer ignore.

Together, Maya and Shepard begin their search, their pasts interwoven as tightly as a braid. Both come to realize the answers they already knew and then they discover something better, something they weren’t even seeking in the first place. They encounter the unexpected treasure.

In all your searches I hope you find the same success. Just remember…be open to unexpected treasures and consider the idea that whatever you’re seeking might already be yours.

Sincerely,

Kay David

The Searchers

Kay David

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

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

PROLOGUE

Punto Perdido, Colombia