Asher locked on to him, studying his every move. When Paige appeared at the top of the steps laden down with shopping bags, Asher sat up, every sense on high alert.
The stranger seemed to come to attention, too. He turned his back to the parking lot to watch Paige’s descent, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets.
With his fingertips buzzing, Asher clicked open the car door. His first step on the cold asphalt with his bare foot sent a shock through his system, but it only served to jolt him into action.
He left the car unlocked and then weaved through the parked vehicles, ducking and crouching in case the man decided to peel his eyes from Paige.
As she hit the last step, her vision and movement hampered by the bags swinging from her arms and clutched to her chest, the stranger made his move.
He reached his arm out to Paige as if in assistance...but Asher knew better. He shot forward, shouting and waving his arms.
“I’m here. I’m here. I’m the one you want.”
Chapter Five
Paige had been moving away from the man and now she turned her face toward Asher barreling down on both of them. Her mouth dropped open and she stumbled to the side, away from the stranger and his outstretched hand, the rest of his body twisted in Asher’s direction.
His right hand still out of his pocket, the man swiveled around to face Asher. He swayed to his left and in a split second Asher took advantage of his imbalance.
He charged the man, his hospital gown flapping around him, and shouted. “Run, Paige!”
With a few feet between him and the stranger, Asher made a flying tackle at him that would’ve made his friend Cam the football player proud. Before the man could reach into his pocket for whatever weapon he had, Asher drove his shoulder into the guy’s chest, knocking him backward onto the steps.
The two women several feet away screamed.
The man’s hand clawed at his pocket, but Asher pinned the hand with his knee, driving it into the cold cement. He grunted, and Asher gave him more to grunt about as he smashed his fist against the man’s nose. Blood spouted and Asher followed up with a punch to the gut.
A woman was screeching behind him. “We’re calling the police.”
Asher landed another punch to the side of the man’s head. As he drew back his fist for another onslaught, a car horn blared behind him.
He twisted his head over his shoulder, and Paige’s rental car squealed to a halt at the shuttle stop. His hand jerked to a stop in midair, and he plunged it into the man’s pocket. His fingers curled around a syringe.
He pulled it out as Paige honked again. The man groaned beneath him and Asher jabbed him in the side of the neck with the needle.
A few more people had gathered at the top of the steps and Asher knew the cops wouldn’t be far behind. He pulled the needle from the man’s neck, staggered to his feet and jumped into Paige’s car, which she’d already put into motion.
She floored it out of the parking lot, and the car bounced like it was in a movie chase scene when she rolled off the curb into the street.
“Oh my God. You’re bleeding.”
“I think that’s his blood.”
“No.” She reached over and rubbed his burning knuckles. “Your hand is bleeding.”
“That’s from hitting him. I took him by surprise and he didn’t get many shots in.” He held up the needle. “He was counting on using this.”
Paige gasped. “Throw it out the window.”
“So somebody else, maybe a kid, could pick it up?” He dropped it on the floor of the back seat. “I’ll wrap it up and dispose of it later.”
“I screwed up. We shouldn’t have come here.” She slammed the heel of her hand against the steering wheel. “Of course this would be the first place they’d look.”
“We had to come here. We didn’t have a choice.”
She pressed her fingers against her cheek. “And your poor feet, running around out there in the cold, fighting in a hospital gown.”
“Don’t worry about me. I should’ve never sent you out there on your own. I should’ve realized someone would be staking out the ski resort.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “You couldn’t exactly go shopping in that getup.”
“I need to get out of this.” He plucked at the hospital gown. “I need to start feeling human...and then there’s going to be hell to pay.”
* * *
PAIGE GLANCED AT him as she smoothed her hands over the steering wheel. They’d finally stopped shaking, but Asher’s words sent a new jolt of adrenaline through her system.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to figure out who’s doing this to me and why, and I’m not going to stop until I have all the answers...and all my memories.”
“Where can we go now?” She adjusted the rearview mirror and released a small breath.
“There’s no real snow yet, right? There must be hundreds of cabins in this area, vacant for at least a few more weeks until the holidays.”
She swallowed. “You’re suggesting we break into someone’s empty cabin and make ourselves at home?”
“Just until we can get our bearings, and I can put some clothes on.” He jerked his finger over his shoulder. “Whoever that guy was back there, he’s out. His associates are going to figure we’ve fled the area.”
“We should flee the area.”
“Let’s do the unexpected.” He tapped on the window. “Make the next turn.”
For the next twenty minutes, Asher guided her through mountain roads and turnouts like he knew the place. After surveying and abandoning several prospective cabins, he had her follow a road into a heavily wooded area where a single cabin nestled against the side of a mountain.
“This one.”
“How do you know someone’s not living here?”
“Do you see any vehicles? Any pets? Any life at all?”
Her eyes darted around the property. “No, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be.”
“We’ll play it by ear.”
She jabbed his thigh with her finger. “I think you forgot how cautious you used to be.”
“I was Delta Force. I couldn’t have been that cautious.”
“You are Delta Force, and I guess cautious is the wrong word. Maybe I mean organized. You like to plan.”
“This is a plan. It’s the only viable one right now except to go on the run.”
“In a hospital gown.”
“Right. Park in the back.”
She swung the car to the right on the dirt road that curved around the house and continued through the trees in the back. Luckily the snow had held off so far this season, or it would’ve piled up in front of them. Now they just rolled over cold, frozen ground.
Ducking her head, she peered through the windshield. “Do you think they have security cameras?”
“If they do, I’ll have to disable them.”
As Paige stepped out of the car, her shoe crunched the gravel and the sound seemed to echo in the woods. She tipped her head back and scanned the edges of the roof for security equipment.
Asher appeared next to her. “I don’t see anything, do you?”
“No.” She pointed to his feet. “You could’ve at least put on the boots I bought for you.”
He curled his toes into the gravel. “I’m getting kind of used to being barefoot.”
“I’ll get them.” She buried her head in the back seat of the car, where she’d tossed the bags in her mad rush to get back to Asher fighting with the stranger. She backed out of the car with the bags hanging from her arms and turned to face the cabin, leaving her own suitcase and laptop on the seat.
Asher waved from the cement slab behind the cabin. “I think I found a way in.”
She strode toward him, the bags banging against her thighs. “I feel l
ike a thief.”
“We’re not going to steal anything...except some soap and water.” He rubbed his hands together. “And maybe some firewood.”
A few minutes later, Asher had jimmied the lock on the back door. He rested his hand on the doorknob. “Are you ready?”
“For flashing lights and guard dogs?”
“Something like that.” He eased open the door.
Paige held her breath, but nothing came at them. A hushed silence even emanated from the woods behind the cabin. Would they finally get a moment’s peace? She had so much to tell Asher.
He widened the door, and they faced a mudroom, four pairs of ski boots lined up against one wall.
Paige nudged the toe of one of the boots. “Doesn’t look like they’ve been worn recently.”
Asher snapped the door closed behind them and locked the top dead bolt. “I think we’re safe...for now.”
“That’ll be a first since you arrived in Vermont.”
“I think that’ll be a first since I left on that assignment with Major Denver.”
Asher led the way into the kitchen, clear of clutter and dishes, waiting for its inhabitants to bring it to life.
Paige grabbed the handle of the fridge and yanked open the door. Empty shelves greeted her.
“They clean out at the end of the season.” She plucked a bottle of ketchup from inside the refrigerator door. “Unless you feel like some ketchup.”
“I’m guessing they turn off the gas.” Asher cranked a knob on the stove. “Yeah, that’s going to be one cold shower.”
“There is a potbellied stove with a little wood stacked up next to it.”
“Are you planning to heat up buckets of water and pour them in the tub for me like a pioneer woman?” He dropped the bags at his feet.
“No, but you can warm up once you get out of your cold shower and get dressed.”
“I think I’ll skip the full shower and just wash up in the sink.”
“Just get out of that hospital gown.” She felt the heat wash into her cheeks. “And get into those clothes.”
He tilted his head. “I know it’s an awkward situation between us, but you don’t have to blush like a schoolgirl and clarify every double entendre.”
“You’re right. It’s awkward and I’m awkward, so I’m going to cover by looking for some first-aid supplies. You could use some antiseptic on those feet.”
“Let me get that fire started first.”
“Go.” She flattened her hands against his broad back and gave him a small shove. “Clean up and get dressed. I’ll worry about the fire. I was a Girl Scout, remember?”
He lifted one eyebrow. “If you say so.”
She smacked her hand against her forehead. “I am so sorry. It’s just...”
“Don’t worry about it.” He encircled her wrists with his fingers. “You don’t have to watch what you say around me. Treat me like a normal person, and I might just start feeling like one.”
Even this light touch from him felt like coming home, and her body ached to fall against him and have him take care of everything like he always did. She shook her head. They were way beyond that.
It was her turn to take care of him now, get him back on track. She could do it.
He released her wrists as quickly as he’d claimed them. “I’m going to leave the fire in your capable hands, Girl Scout.”
“There must be a full bathroom upstairs in the loft.” She jerked open a door below the stairs. “This one’s just a half bath.”
“Maybe that’s all I need.” He hunched his shoulders in the thin material of the hospital gown. “I’m not going to soak in a cold tub.”
“No, but you need to dip those feet into some water—cold or not.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted and took the stairs two at a time while clutching the robe behind him with one hand and holding the shopping bags in the other.
Paige crouched before the potbellied stove and wadded up some newspaper from the stack next to the woodpile. She glanced at the date before crumpling the next one in her fist and mumbled, “Last year. Place has probably been empty for that long.”
She shoved pieces of wood into the stove on top of her kindling and lit the corner of a paper with a long match. She touched the match around the edges of her pile and sat back on her haunches as the flames lapped toward the wood.
With the fire crackling in the stove and the water running intermittently upstairs, Paige searched a closet under the stairs. She pulled out a blanket and tucked it under her arm. Standing on her tiptoes, she felt the top shelf for a first-aid kit but came up empty.
Hugging the blanket to her chest, she raised her gaze to the loft. Maybe there were some medical supplies in the bathroom upstairs.
She was engaged to Asher, had lived with him and would’ve thought nothing of barging into the bathroom with him in it. And if he were in the shower, nine times out of ten he would’ve pulled her in with him.
Her nose tingled, and she swiped her hand across it. She’d have to take it slowly. Asher didn’t know her from one of the crazy nurses at Hidden Hills. She’d have to gain his trust and had already come a long way in that direction after the events of today. She’d also have to use her professional skills on him to help him recover his memories. It wasn’t just their love that depended on it now—it was Asher’s life.
She shook out the blanket and placed it on a rug in front of the stove, now cranking out heat like a little ball of burning lava.
“Feels warmer already.”
She tipped her head back to see Asher leaning over the wood railing that bordered the loft, dressed in jeans and a green flannel shirt that matched his eyes. She’d recognized the color immediately in the store.
“Could you look for some bandages and ointments in the bathroom?”
He held up a square red bag and dangled it in the space above her. “Already found it.”
“Come on down, then. It’s getting cozy.” Did that sound like a come-on? “I mean it’s warm down here. B-by the stove.”
She’d just shut up now.
“On my way.”
He jogged down the stairs with more energy than he had a right to have. He hit the bottom step and tossed the red bag to her. “That water was cold, but it felt good.”
“Seems like it energized you. Maybe you should roll around in the snow.” She waved her hand at the window.
“It’s snowing?” His stride ate up the distance between the stairs and the front window and he flicked back the drapes with one finger.
“I mean if it were. Looks like it’s coming soon.”
“Whew.” He stepped back. “We don’t need snow right now bringing people back to this cabin.”
She unzipped the first-aid kit. “How are your feet? Let me take a look.”
“Not bad, considering what I put them through.”
She sank to the floor in front of the stove and patted the seat of the chair she’d drawn up to the heat. “Sit.”
He folded his large frame into the chair and stretched out his legs. “The clothes are a good fit. Waist is a little big on the jeans, but nothing a belt won’t fix.”
“I didn’t get you a belt.” She took his right foot and propped it on her knee. “You probably lost a little weight while in...captivity.”
He whistled. “That’s exactly what it was.”
“You have a few slivers on the soles of your feet.” She reached behind her for her purse, dragged out her makeup bag and poked around for her tweezers. “Aha.”
Pinching them together, she held them up. “These should do the trick.”
She traced the bottom of his foot, the skin soft from the soap and water, and located the three slivers lodged into the epidermis. She swiped an antiseptic wipe across the tips of the tweezers and aimed for the first sliver. When she’
d pulled out the third one, she tapped his other foot. “Let me get this one while I have the tools ready.”
He switched feet. “Don’t tickle me again. I’m very ticklish.”
She whispered, “I know.”
She plucked out just one sliver from his other foot. She then dabbed all the raw spots on his feet with another antiseptic wipe. “I don’t think anything needs bandaging.”
“I hope not. I wouldn’t be able to walk much less run with my feet bandaged.”
“You planning to do a lot of running?” She peered at him over his toes.
“Oh, yeah. Until I can figure out what the hell is going on with my life.”
“I can help with that, too.” She tapped the side of her head. “I’m going to start by hypnotizing you, Asher.”
“Let’s do it.” He pulled his legs back beneath him, and hunched forward, arms crossed on his knees.
“I don’t work on an empty stomach. I don’t know about you, but I need to eat something first. It’s past dinnertime.”
“Did you see anything besides ketchup in that kitchen?”
“I didn’t look in the cupboards, but I picked up some trail mix, nuts and beef jerky in the store when I was shopping for your clothes.”
He snorted. “Do I look like a squirrel?”
“Would you be happier with cold beans from a can, or whatever they might have in the cupboards?”
“Actually, beef jerky sounds pretty good right now.”
She hopped to her feet, her proximity to Asher making it hard to concentrate on food or anything else. She grabbed one of the plastic bags and dug through it. “It’s actually turkey jerky. Is that okay?”
“Bring it on.”
She tossed him the bag of jerky on her way to the kitchen. “I’m going to wash my hands. Do you need anything?”
“Water.” The plastic crackled as he ripped into the jerky bag. “Do you think you can do it?”
“What? Get you water?” She cranked on the faucet and opened a cupboard to look for a cup.
“Hypnotize me.”
She let his words hang in the air as she filled a glass with tap water. She approached him with the water in one hand and a bag of trail mix in the other. She dangled the trail mix in front of him, but he shook his head.
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