Until You Loved Me (Silver Springs #3)(94)

“Were you doing anything wrong?”

“Not really—”

“So if the police came calling, you could’ve explained that you were working a case. They barely put rapists and murderers in prison these days. What could be the penalty for going through someone’s trash?”

There was a long pause before he said, “You’re right. I got what I needed, a beer bottle for DNA evidence. After that, I should’ve walked away without responding. I wasn’t thinking.”

Jones had seemed clever, had managed to do what even the police could not. That he’d been so obtuse at Matisson’s house didn’t make sense. “Why are you calling now?”

“I have what might be considered good news.”

Hudson heard the emphasis Jones put on the word might, so he wasn’t optimistic. “I’m listening.”

“Cort Matisson just called me.”

“He called you.”

“Yes. He was upset that you threw him out when he tried to talk to you, but he said he’ll give you one more chance.”

Hudson felt his muscles tense. As far as he was concerned, Matisson had gotten off easy. “One more chance to do what?”

“Help his daughter. If you wire a million bucks into his bank account, he’ll never contact you again. He won’t say anything to the press about being your father, either. The manner of your birth and the details of your abandonment will remain a mystery, at least to the rest of the world.”

Hudson felt his jaw drop. “He’s blackmailing me?”

Jones cleared his throat. “He’s...asking to be paid off.”

How was that any different? “He can’t come forward,” Hudson said. “Not without risking criminal charges, maybe even attempted murder, for leaving me out to die.”

“He’s willing to risk it for his daughter’s sake.”

Tightening his grip on the phone, Hudson almost told Jones to tell Cort he could go to hell. Although Hudson wasn’t unwilling to help Julia, he refused to be forced into anything.

The words were on the tip of his tongue when a flicker of hope stole some of the fire from his anger and made him think twice. Could he buy his way out of this? It was too late to escape the knowledge of his shameful conception. But it would be much easier to bear if only he and those who were closest to him—Ellie and Bruiser, whom he would’ve told even if Ellie hadn’t—were aware of how he’d come to be born. With the amount of money he made, he could afford the loss. He’d originally offered that much to Ellie in exchange for custody, hadn’t he?

“He’s threatening to talk to the press?” Ellie dragged the sheet with her as she got up on her knees.

Hudson covered the phone. “Matisson claims he’ll keep his mouth shut and go away—if I give him a significant amount of money to do so.”

She scowled in obvious outrage. “You’re not going to pay him, are you? Like you said, he can’t come forward, not without incriminating himself.”

“He claims it’s for his daughter.”

“What if she’s not even sick? So far, all we have is his word, and I don’t see him as reliable.”

Neither did Hudson. He just wanted the whole thing to go away as soon as possible, wanted to return to enjoying Ellie and preparing for the birth of their son without this dark cloud hanging over him, making him feel worthless whenever his mind wandered back to the encounter with Matisson in his living room.

He uncovered his phone so he could agree to Matisson’s terms. He’d be helping a dying woman, someone who had kids.

But after he wired the money, there’d be nothing to stop Matisson from selling his story to the press to get even more—or threatening to do it every time he needed a quick infusion of cash. Hudson would be a fool to believe someone like Cort—someone who could impregnate his own daughter and leave her newborn outside to die. If Hudson was going to help Julia, it had to be on his own terms.

“Try to buy some time,” Ellie whispered. “If Julia’s as sick as he says, you might want to help, anyway. And if she’s not...”

“If she’s not, this guy’s the parasite he appears to be, and I can’t let him get his hooks into me.”

“That’s the way I see it, too,” she said.

He returned to his conversation with Jones. “I’ll consider it on two conditions.”

“I’m not sure you should mess around with this guy, Hudson,” the PI said. “Imagine what your life will be like if he goes to the press.”

“His will be worse, since he’ll probably go to prison,” Hudson countered. “Tell him I’d like to meet Julia, speak to her myself—and get her medical records to verify his story. Then we’ll talk about money.”

There was a long pause. “He doesn’t want her to know who you are, what he did with her child. And you shouldn’t want that, either. Then there’ll be one more person who knows the truth and might let it out.”

“He’ll have to make up a story, then. Tell her he submitted her name to some charity where celebrities and sports figures help deserving people, and I’m coming out to meet her. Something like that.”

After another pause, Jones said, “Okay.”

Hudson could feel Ellie watching him as he disconnected. “What do you think?” she asked.