by Rose Nickol
She had two, maybe three days to decide what to do and then she would be out. She was going to kill her father.
He was the reason she was in this mess. Tammy’s dad was a gambler, a heavy gambler. He had borrowed money from the wrong people and hadn’t been able to pay it back. Her mother had drunk herself to death when Tammy was young, and it was just her and her dad.
His gambling was so heavy that they had lost the house when she was still in grade school. Living with relatives until they wore out their welcome, they had moved from home to home, sometimes staying a week, sometimes several months, depending on whether her father could find work and how bad his gambling was.
He borrowed money from everybody and bet on anything. Somehow he had gotten involved with some loan sharks in Atlantic City and was in big trouble. Being the kind, loving father he was, he gave Tammy to them to pay off his debt.
One day he had come home to the cheap motel they were staying in that week and had two sleazy men with him.
“This is Rob and Frank, and you’re going with them,” he had told her and, grabbing her arm, shoved her at the men. As the men each grabbed an arm and dragged her kicking and screaming out, her father yelled, “Now we’re even and I don’t owe your boss anything more.”
Tammy screamed and yelled, fighting with all her might, but she couldn’t get away. The men shoved her in the back seat of a limo and someone inside grabbed her. They held a cloth over her face until she blacked out.
The next thing she remembered she was hanging naked in a warehouse and someone was hitting her across the back and yelling at her. She must have blacked out again, because when she woke up she was laying on the floor in the same room and alone.
Crawling to the door, she couldn’t believe her luck to find it was open. She managed to get to her feet and ran, barefoot and naked, to the road where she collapsed and Tyler found her. She was lucky she hadn’t been raped—that had probably been next.
She couldn’t go back to her father. He would just gamble her away again and since he had burned the bridges with all the relatives, she had no one.
While she had been remembering everything and trying to decide what she should do, Tyler had been watching the emotions and expressions crossing her face. There was something there, but he couldn’t tell what it was. She knew more than she was telling.
He decided to have Dillon run a check and see if any women matching her description had been reported missing to start. Then he had to figure out what to do with her. From what the doctor had said, she had to be moved in two or three days. He needed to get her fingerprints and see if he could find a match. That would give them a name at least. He hoped she would soon feel that she could trust him and tell him her story.
Smiling down at her, he squeezed her hand and told her, “Honey, I have to go for now, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
Tammy really wanted some clothes, but didn’t feel right asking him. He was a stranger to her after all. Smiling, she said, “No, thank you, I’ll figure it out.” Telling him goodbye, she closed her eyes.
What was she going to do?
Chapter Three
Tyler left the hospital and once he got to his truck, dialed Dillon. Giving him the info he had, he drove to the office. He was going to do some snooping on his own and check out the area he had found her in. He could see what was there and where she might have come from.
Several hours later, he was no further along, and Dillon had no useful information to give him. He had Dillon check the hospital records and found that the police had taken her fingerprints, finally something productive.
Dillon tapped into the police file and found her name was Tammy Masterson and she was from New Jersey, not far from Atlantic City. More information gave the name of her father, Phil Masterson. Promising to call later that evening with more info on the father, Dillon ended the call to dig more. At least Tyler had more to work with now.
The search on Tammy produced nothing, her record was clean. The father was another story— gambling, drinking, petty theft, he had it all. From the school records they were able to obtain, it looked like she had moved around a lot but had done well in school in spite of the hardship. She had work records trailing back several years and it looked like she had supported her father since she was in her teens.
She was twenty-three years old, eleven years younger than his thirty-four. According to the records they found she was five feet six inches and from what he could see she was very slim. Perfect in his eyes.
Needing to get out of the house, he decided to go shopping. Tammy— he liked knowing her name— would need some things, so why not get them for her? Now that he knew more about her, he had decided that he would bring her back to his place when she was released from the hospital. He had two bedrooms and she would be safe there until they figured out what had happened to her.
Before he had left the hospital, one of the nurses had stopped him and told him confidentially that she had been beaten. Something he had already known from looking at her back. Somebody had hurt this girl intentionally and until he found out who had done it and why, she was in danger. Keeping her at his house, he would keep her safe.
Going to one of his favorite stores, he gave the clerk there a description of Tammy and the woman helped him figure out sizes and directed him to the things she would need. He bought her several outfits, casual pants and shirts, a couple nicer things,, bras, and panties. Why women needed bras and panties he had no idea, but he loved tearing them off, so he bought lots, enough for several days, and would replace them when needed.
Taking his packages, he headed to the hospital, not wanting to wait another day to see her again.
He found her sleeping and quietly sat to watch her. While he was waiting for her to wake, a nurse noticed him and called him into the hall to talk where they wouldn’t disturb the sleeping woman.
The nurse informed him that they had her name and told him what it was, then added that she had been told and still did not appear to remember anything. Tyler kept quiet about what he knew, not knowing what the police had told the hospital and not wanting to give away the fact that he had already found out more than they knew.
Walking back into the room she was awake and sitting up.
“Hi,” he said as he strolled up to the bedside.
“Hi, Tyler. They found out my name, it’s Tammy,” she said excitedly. She really wasn’t excited, now that her name was on the hospital records, if the men her father had given her to called, they could find her. She really needed to get out of here, now.
“Great news, Honey. Now I suppose I’ll have to call you Tammy instead of ‘Honey.’”
Tammy blushed and didn’t know how to answer him, so she just smiled. “They also told me I could leave tomorrow. A social worker is supposed to come with some clothes in the morning and help me find a place to stay for a few days.” She sighed. She needed to leave the hospital and the sooner the better, but didn’t look forward to going to a strange place.
Taking her hand, Tyler looked into her eyes and said, “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I have a condo and would really like you to come and stay with me until you get your memory back. I promise I will be the perfect gentleman and nothing will happen that you don’t want to. If you’re worried about money or anything, when your back heals and you get your memory back, we will figure out how you can pay me, and I don’t mean anything by that.” Tyler didn’t want it to sound like he expected her to sleep with him to pay him back.
Tammy tried to hide the excitement in her eyes. This was the answer she was looking for, a place to hide where no one would know to look for her. If she could stay with him for a while, it would give her a chance to figure things out and maybe get a job. Perfect.
Trying to sound shy and relieved, Tammy answered him, “That would be very nice of you. Your wife wouldn’t mind having a stranger in her home?” She was putting out a feeler there, but wanted to mak
e sure he didn’t have a wife hidden at home.
“No, honey, there’s just me. Are you okay with that?” He hoped she wouldn’t say no.
“That would be okay. There are two bedrooms, right?” Not that it would be a hardship to have to share with him. He was yummy and when he held her hand, it did things to her woman parts like no one had ever done before.
Tammy was sure the medical staff knew, because they had examined her to make sure she hadn’t been raped, but no one else did. She was a virgin, and she was sure that was not the kind of information they had shared with Tyler. Maybe he would be the one to help her fix the problem.
Tammy had spent her school years moving around and never been in one place long enough to make friends, let alone date, and when they did stay longer in a place, she had been working to help support herself and her dad. All the money her dad ever got was gambled and the only way Tammy had anything was to work for it. Some of the families they stayed with took pity on her and bought her things, or if they had other children, would share things with her, but since her mother had passed, she had been dependent on herself, not being able to count on her dad.
Tyler was talking to her now, and she should listen.
“I’m not sure of sizes, so I want you to try some of these on and if they don’t fit I will take and exchange them so you have something to wear home tomorrow.”
What, she thought, what was he talking about, but he had walked over to the chair and come back with a huge shopping bag, which he handed to her.
When she looked in it, it was full of clothes, all kinds of clothes. Tammy felt like a kid at Christmas.
“You got all these for me?” she asked, her voice full of awe.
“I knew you would need some things, it’s not that much really.”
And to Tyler it wasn’t, he had spent more on his motorcycle boots than he did on all the clothes he bought her. The only thing he hadn’t gotten her was shoes, not knowing what size. Which he quickly explained to her, asking if she knew her size, hoping she could answer him.
“Six,” she answered without thinking.
“Great, honey, you remembered, maybe more will come back now,” he congratulated her, smiling.
Shit, shit, shit, she thought, I have got to be more careful, can’t slip up like that again.
Tyler was grinning from ear to ear, like the cat that had stolen the cream, and very proud of himself. Maybe her memory was coming back, but what if she remembered where she lived and went there? Maybe he didn’t want her to remember as quickly as he thought he did. If he wanted her to stay with him, it would be better if she didn’t remember.
What a selfish bastard you are Tyler Thomas, he thought, trying to trap the poor girl. He knew from the background Dillon had found that her situation was not good and here he was wishing things were worse for her. Selfish, selfish, selfish.
Watching her with the clothes, she carefully took everything out of the bag and closely looked it over, looking for prices, which he had already removed.
“None of these have prices, how are you going to take them back if they don’t fit?” she asked.
“I have the tags if we need them. Why don’t I step into the hall while you try on a couple things? There should be a few loose shirts that won’t hurt your back in there. Do you need me to get a nurse to help you dress?” He didn’t want her hurting her back twisting to dress.
“No, I should be good, it looks like I can slip something over my head.”
Tyler left the room and walked down the hall to a snack bar where he could get coffee. Not sure whether Tammy drank coffee or not, he didn’t get her a cup. If she wanted one, he would come back for it.
Trying to make sure he gave her enough time to dress he paced the hall for several minutes, not wanting to leave her too long. Now that she had agreed to stay with him, he couldn’t wait to get her into his home. He hoped he would find a way to make it permanent. Even though he hadn’t known her long and didn’t know much about her, he was drawn to her in a way he had never been to any other woman. It felt natural to be with her and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to.
Checking his phone to kill more time, he saw there were several messages from Dillon and one from his friend Derek. He called Derek first. He had totally forgotten he had promised to help move the baby shower gifts from the club to Derek’s home. Derek was probably ready to hand him his ass.
He quickly explained the situation and apologized, totally feeling like a jerk. Derek understood and offered his help with the girl if he could. Tyler was grateful he had such good and supportive friends.
He decided he had given Tammy enough time, and would call Dillon later. When he walked into the room, Tammy was sitting on the side of the bed wearing a loose shirt and sweatpants. They looked a little big on her, but not too bad.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“It was very thoughtful of you and they will do fine.” She smiled. She was going to owe this man so much, but she refused to think of that now. Years of practice at accepting charity hadn’t made it easier, but she was better at it.
She would figure out a way to pay him and all the people who had helped her and her father back. She just needed a job and a cheap place to live. Maybe Tyler would let her rent the room at his place once she found a job.
That would be a great idea, then she would have some security, and a big, beautiful man to protect her. That was definitely a plan. Maybe things were looking up for once.
Not wanting him to go yet, she asked, “Can you stay a while and talk or do you need to leave?’
“I can stay. What do you want to talk about?” he responded, moving the pile of clothes and sitting on the bed beside her.
Tammy’s pussy throbbed having him this close and she carefully laid her hand on his thigh, wanting to touch him.
He covered her hand with his and held it there, feeling the heat of her hand through his jeans. He was going to have to be careful with this one, she did things to him no one else did and it would be easy to lose control and go too fast with her. He didn’t need to scare her off before he got her to his home. He had time, he hoped.
“Tell me about yourself. Do you work, do you have family? Talk to me,” she said as she slightly squeezed his thigh.
He felt her hand move and it was all he could do to keep from squeezing back. “You know my name. I work for the President, I’m Secret Service. I have no family here, they are all in California, and I have several good friends here. What else do you want to know?”
“Tell me how you got your job in the Secret Service. That sounds exciting.”
“It’s not as exciting as you think. Most of the time it’s pretty boring. I am not assigned to the President often and spend most of my time on assignment with foreign dignitaries. Usually it involves standing outside a hotel suite for hours waiting for something to happen. It’s exciting when it does, but luckily it isn’t often.” One day he would tell her about Dottie and Derek and their experience with the General, but now was not the time.
“My former CEO and best friend, Derek Moore, recruited me for the service. He and I were in the armed forces together and his stint was over before mine. When I got out, he had already submitted my name and had me signed up for the training course. We’ve worked together ever since.” He fondly remembered the call from Derek and agreeing to accept the position.
“I’m thirty-four years old and have never been married. I don’t have a girlfriend and live alone. It will be good to have some company, the house can be lonely sometimes.” He gently squeezed her hand.
Looking in her face, he could see how tired she was, so he moved the hand resting on his thigh to her own and stood, taking the pile of clothes with him. Putting them back in the bag he turned to help her lay down.
Pulling back the covers so she could swing her legs up, he pulled them over her and, unable to resist, brushed her lips with his.
She smiled and said, “Would you please stay an
d talk until I fall asleep?”
How could he say no? Promising to be there the next day to take her home, he pulled the chair close to the bed and took her hand. He told her stories about his childhood and family life until he saw her eyes drift shut.
Waiting until she was soundly sleeping, he brushed her forehead with his lips and pulled the covers closer around her. Making sure the nurses had his number and informing them that she would be going home with him, he hurried home to make sure the spare room was ready for her and called Dillon.
The news from Dillon wasn’t good. He could find no record of where her father might be right now, but was continuing to dig.
Tyler was glad that he didn’t have an assignment for a few days, it would give him some time with Tammy.
Chapter Four
The next day Tyler woke early and quickly cleaned his spare room. He had been using it for storage, and most of the things could be moved to the garage. When he had the room clean, it was late enough that he could run to the store to get Tammy some shoes and then head to the hospital. He didn’t know when she would be released and did not want her to have to wait on him. He could sit with her until she was ready to go.