by Lora Leigh
So why hadn’t she let her mother know she was alive? God, what had happened to her?
“I know that, Mother.” She had to fight back the need to confide, to tell her of the pieces of memories she had, to plead for her help in figuring them out.
Yet she couldn’t. She couldn’t allow herself to do it.
“Promise, if you need to talk, you will come to me, baby,” her mother begged, another tear slipping down her pale cheek. “Please don’t hide from me any longer. You’re breaking my heart.”
“I promise, Mother,” she lied.
Lilly knew she couldn’t go to her mother with whatever her past entailed. But until she knew what it entailed herself, then she wasn’t even certain how dangerous she was to her.
And there was simply no one left to run to.
But Black Jack.
She almost froze in her mother’s embrace.
Pulling back, she breathed in heavily. “I need to rest for a while, Mother. Perhaps a nap would help this headache that’s brewing at the moment.”
She rubbed her temples as though there were truly a headache coming on.
“Of course.” Her mother kissed her cheek gently. “Rest, darling. I’ll have the maid call you for dinner.”
Lilly watched as she left the room, her heart thundering, her mind churning. Black Jack. She could trust Black Jack, she thought desperately. The urge to do just that was building in her mind, beating at it.
Who was Black Jack?
Travis.
She could see him in her mind’s eye, as he stood with Santos Bahre and Rhiannon McConnelly hours before in his home, a frown on his dark face. Green-flecked brown and gold eyes had been filled with concern, and a warning.
That was it.
She rubbed at the back of her neck, frowning now as she let those moments roll through her memories again. In Travis’s eyes there had been a warning. But why? What had he been warning her of?
Santos Bahre and Rhiannon McConnelly. They were partners, according to the file she had, in a very profitable business. That business included providing women to a very select clientele. According to the investigator, the rates for the female companionship rose in relation to the level of danger the companion would face.
Had she been a whore or a very good mercenary? What the fuck was going on?
A part of her was screaming that she should run to Travis, that she should talk to him, confide in him.
Black Jack. It was a code name.
She fought to still the rapid beating of her heart, the fear that raced through her like a locomotive tearing out of control. She felt her breathing constrict, felt the warning flashing in her mind that she couldn’t trust Travis any more than she could trust Santos Bahre, Rhiannon McConnelly, or Jordan Malone.
And yet another part of her was demanding that she do just that. That she trust him, possibly with her life.
I’ll be here for you, Lilly. His voice whispered through her mind, seductive, alluring. But what she sensed about that voice was anything but seductive and alluring.
As she fought to pull those memories free, a sharp ache sliced through her temples as though in retaliation.
Dropping her head, Lilly pressed her fingers to the sides of her head and fought to breathe through the pain.
The headaches had been common the first month after she had been shot. The memories she had lost had seemed to be closer at that time as well.
Turning, she stared into the mirror and gazed into the same unfamiliar face—which was at the same time familiar.
Reaching up she touched the arch of her brow, the slender line of her nose, the curve of her lips.
She was becoming more accustomed to this new face, as though a part of her was finally accepting the changes.
Wild, her father had always called her. A woman poised on the edge of danger. And she had always laughed at him.
Going to the closet, she opened the door, stepped inside, and moved to the back. There, she had hidden a smaller suitcase inside a larger suitcase. She had found the small suitcase in the storage shed where she’d kept the motorcycle.
There was cash, bank records and checks, an alternate ID and credit cards, as well as a lethal Glock and a dozen clips of ammo. She had been prepared for trouble. A call girl wouldn’t have done something like that; only an agent or a criminal covered their ass in such a way.
She tucked all but the weapon and the cash in a compartment of her suitcase. The weapon, clips, and cash she kept in the small leather bag and moved back to her bedroom to pull one of the outfits she had found in the storage shed from the back of the bureau.
She would keep herself busy during the day today. Lunch with her mother and her mother’s friends. A meeting later to discuss the charity ball her mother co-hosted each summer.
But night was coming. Lilly could feel the restlessness surging inside her as well as a need to learn more about herself.
Hagerstown was familiar to her, as well as the surrounding area. There were pieces of herself here, she could feel it. She had planted parts of herself here, close to the area her family called home for several months out of the year.
Lilly needed to find those parts of herself. She had to find them, before the confusion and the need drove her insane.
It was midnight, Lilly’s time of night. Travis waited on the street down from the gated property Lilly and her family were staying at, one leg folded over the breast of the bike, his elbow resting on his knee.
She was the restless type. The information she had received the night before as well as the confrontation with Santos and Rhiannon would push the buttons inside her that would send her searching.
Rhiannon predicted Lilly would hide for a while, that as a former agent she would sense that she shouldn’t venture out quite yet. Travis knew better. He had trained Lilly. He had forced her to have patience during the months she had undergone the psychiatric evaluations. He’d taught her how to deceive her commanders, how to hide her true self. He was an agent, he knew the dangers inherent in the type of work they were doing.
He trusted Jordan. His own commander had proven himself. He couldn’t say the same for Santos and Rhiannon. They had created a cover for their agents that had never sat well with Travis or his sense of decency. Their girls were delicate, beautiful, better hidden than displayed. But they had placed them in the eye of danger in order to shield the agents they were often paired with.
They were a commodity to their commanders, nothing more.
Rubbing at the short growth of beard at his chin, Travis considered the best course of action in the coming game.
Travis knew Lilly knew more than she was letting on.
He also knew that she would realize that he wouldn’t betray her, despite the appearance that he had done so with Santos and Rhiannon.
She had been shocked, furious, but he had also seen fear in her eyes. The fear that the investigator’s report was true. A fear that somehow she had been the person described in that report.
It wouldn’t take her long to piece the information together now, and Santos and Rhiannon knew that. And that made Travis wonder what the fuck they were up to.
The sound of gates easing open had his head turning. There, emerging between the slowly opening gates, was the gleaming black front fender of Lilly’s powerful Ninja.
He pulled the helmet from the back of his own machine, eased it on, and strapped it beneath his chin before activating the Bluetooth communication set within it.
It was connected to Lilly’s, a precaution they had begun using several years ago to ensure security when they met. He watched as she parked the bike, eased the gates closed, then ran back to the machine to straddle it.
She pulled the wicked black helmet over her head, tucked her hair inside, and secured it.
Travis chose that moment to strike.
“Are you ready to ride, Lilly?”
She froze. Across the distance Travis could sense her searching, finding, staring back at him.
>
“What do you want?” Wariness filled her voice.
“You,” he answered her. “Are you following me or do I follow you?”
She didn’t answer. The powerful engine kicked in. Travis followed suit and started his own bike with a flick of his wrist.
He was ready when she moved. She shot ahead of him like a rocket, a black shadow burning down the road, her lithe body lying over the breast of the bike, shifting and flexing with innate grace.
“It looks as though I’m following you then,” he commented through the link.
“If you can.” There was a chill to her voice that had a hint of concern brewing inside him.
“Easy, Lilly.” He kept his voice casual, soothing. “I’m not a threat to you.”
How many years had he worked to gain her trust? Definitely the entire time Elite One had been training her team. A full year. And during that time he had laid the foundation that he’d only built upon in the years after that.
“No, you’re not a threat to me,” she agreed. “And I won’t let you become one.”
She sped up as she took the exit to I-81. Traffic was moving quickly, but Lilly was moving faster. Travis stayed close behind her, his attention on their speed, their location, and the display in his helmet that would tag any law enforcement vehicles that could catch sight of them.
“Lilly, we’re coming up on radar,” Travis warned her as his display indicated the speed check ahead.
She eased back as they passed the first state police cruiser on the other side. Once he was clear, she shot back into high speed and continued to try to shake Travis.
“It’s been nice riding with you, Lilly,” he told her five minutes later as she hit 71 and began to head toward the state line. “I’d hoped we could talk.”
There was silence for long minutes.
“I have a cabin.” Her voice was low now, confused, breaking his heart with just a hint of tears. “I have a cabin, Travis,” she repeated.
She didn’t sound broken, she didn’t sound scared. She sounded lost, and that was harder to hear than the former.
“Slow down, Lilly, if you want me to follow you.”
Instinct was all well and good, but she didn’t have knowledge, not yet. Without knowledge of the powerful machine she was riding, instinct might not be enough to keep her alive.
Ahead, she slowed until he caught up with her. Pulling in beside her, he glanced over to see nothing but the black shadowed visor pulled over her face.
He heard her breathing hitch, though, and he sensed her tears.
Lilly wasn’t a crier, he’d learned that. She would lift that stubborn little chin and hold back the tears if it meant death. She had a backbone of steel and a sheer iron-strong core of determination that had had him clenching his teeth in frustration more than once.
Following her along the highway, he crossed the state line out of Maryland into Pennsylvania with her, staying silent as they made their way toward the West Virginia line.
Their absence would be noted, but he’d been ordered to figure out what she was hiding. That was his mission and that was where he would lay the blame for his disappearance. He just hoped she’d been smart enough to cover her ass with her family.
No doubt she had. No one had ever accused Lilly of being stupid.
Her voice was hollow in the link. “I know where I am. I know where to turn. What to watch for. I know I’ve been here before, but I don’t remember why or when.”
“Who am I, Travis?” she asked him then.
“A partner,” he said softly, his gaze trained on the road as they took an empty exit and hit a narrow two-lane road.
The paved road soon turned into an unfinished lane, then gravel. They had to reduce their speed drastically, until they were creeping beneath the heavy branches of the sheltering trees that surrounded the lane.
Travis almost missed the turnoff to the cabin. He may well have missed it if he wasn’t following Lilly.
They parked the bikes beneath a small garage at the side. Swinging from the seat, he watched curiously as Lilly headed toward the entrance of the parking bay, reached up and pulled down the garage door before securing it to the ground.
She didn’t speak, just turned and pushed open the heavy entrance door before stepping inside.
Lilly stared around the single-room cabin. A small gas stove, which explained the gas tank in the rough garage outside. A woodstove, a table pushed against the wall and two chairs, a large bed on the other wall, and a bathroom beyond.
It was a safe house, nothing more. It wasn’t a home. It was a place to retreat and hide.
She turned to Travis, staring at him silently as he removed his helmet and set it on the small table by the door.
“Nice.” He looked around before his gaze came back to her. “Have you ever stayed in the winter?”
Had she?
She lifted her shoulders in a heavy shrug. “I don’t remember.”
She was staring around her, knowing where everything was hidden. Cash, ammo, weapons, and clothes. IDs, phone numbers, a laptop, and disconnected satellite and cell phones.
There were canned goods in a tiny, narrow cupboard by the stove. There was a fresh underground spring that fed water into a well. There was hot water, clean towels, fresh water, and a measure of safety because no one had known about it but her. And now Travis.
She pulled the helmet from her head and stared around curiously. Who was the woman who had needed this refuge?
She turned to Travis. “A high-priced call girl wouldn’t have a safe house, would she?”
She watched, her heart heavy, as he turned away and stared around once again.
“You’re not going to tell me anything, are you? Can you tell me this? Why are you here? What hound do you have in this hunt, Travis?”
She watched his lips quirk. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that phrase.”
Her father had often used it.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” she told him.
He shook his head before staring back at her, his golden eyes dark now, concerned. “I can’t answer your question.”
“Who can, then?” she asked. “Somehow, I don’t think my former employers can.”
He snorted at that. “I wouldn’t ask them.”
She nodded slowly. “I’m in danger then.”
“Someone tried to blow your head off, Lilly, what do you think?” he asked quietly. “You’re in danger, there’s no doubt about that. What sort of danger you’re in is the question.”
“And you can provide no answers?” she guessed.
“No,” he finally said, sighing.
“It’s a bloody messy situation,” she bit out with a hint of the anger building inside her now. “Everyone’s watching me, yet no one is willing to help me. What sort of threat do I represent, at least?” she demanded.
“The threat isn’t the problem, at least not yet.” He scratched at his jaw thoughtfully as he watched her.
“The assassin and the reason why he attempted to kill me is the problem then, correct?”
Travis nodded slowly. “If you remember, Lilly, if you remember anything, for both our sakes don’t allow anyone but me to know it.”
“Why you?” Lilly moved across the small room to the cabinets over the stove and pulled free a bottle of her favorite whisky.
Turning, she lifted the bottle to him in invitation. At his nod Lilly took two glasses from the cabinet, rinsed them, then poured the drinks.
“You didn’t answer me,” she reminded him as she handed him a glass. “Why should I trust only you?”
Travis stared back at her, seeing Lilly rather than Lady Victoria as she stared at him, her green eyes flat and hard.
“Because if you think about it, if you remember or suspect anything about the past six years, then you know there wasn’t a chance in hell that I was the one to betray you.”
She sipped at the whisky, her gaze never leaving his for long moments as she consider
ed his answer.
“You suspect whoever killed Father and attempted to kill me six years ago managed to find me?”
“It makes sense to me.” Travis shrugged his jacket off and tossed it to a nearby chair. “The day before you were shot, the doctor who supposedly did your plastic surgery was killed in a fire that destroyed his office and all his records. Somehow, someone has learned too much information about you, Lilly.”
Picking up his drink, Travis watched as Lilly leaned against the counter, sipped her drink, and stared at him thoughtfully for long moments.
“Supposedly,” she finally murmured. “Does that mean he didn’t actually do the surgery?”
He inclined his head in agreement. “Certain steps were taken to ensure your identity was well hidden.”
“That’s a lot of trouble to go to for a high-priced escort,” she drawled sarcastically.
Travis merely quirked his lips in amusement. She knew as well as he did that she had never sold her body.
She had shared her body with him, though. She had given him her innocence and formed a bond between them that he still didn’t completely understand.
Finally, when he said nothing more, Lilly shook her head before finishing her drink with a small grimace.
“Then I need to find my father’s killer to find my own,” she stated. “I imagine that killer is also the person behind the embezzling Father was investigating six years ago?”
Travis nodded. “That’s what I think. I suspect the killer has been tracking you for the past six years.”
Lilly’s quick little exhalation, a mocking sound, had Travis almost grinning. That sound normally indicated a flare of irritation.
“Father drove himself crazy searching for the person responsible for the embezzling.” She pushed away from the counter and paced across the room, a thoughtful frown marring her brow. “And I have no doubt MI5 has continued the search.”
“No doubt.” Travis’s gaze focused on her ass beneath the snug leather pants as she paced. The sight of it was enough to steal a man’s breath.
“If Mother suspects I’m investigating what happened six years ago, then she’ll have me hospitalized for sure.” She shook her head, the silken strands of dark hair rippling against her shoulders, tempting his fingers.