Delta Force Daddy

by Carol Ericson

  “You’re susceptible to hypnosis. I can do it.”

  He ripped off a piece of jerky with his teeth and chewed for several seconds. “Can I tell you what I want to remember first, or is it just a free-for-all of memories?”

  Shaking open the bag of trail mix, she scoped out all the cashews and took her time answering. “I can pinpoint memories through suggestion. What do you want to remember first?”

  He dropped the jerky and wiped his fingers together. “I want to know what happened on that ridge in Afghanistan.”

  His answer pierced a little hole in her heart. He didn’t even know about Ivy.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “N-no. I understand. That was the moment you lost your memory. Why not start there?”

  “I think understanding what happened at that moment is imperative right now. Knowing what occurred will keep us safe. Maybe it holds the clue as to why I was locked up at Hidden Hills.”

  “Of course.” She plucked out a few more cashews and glanced up. “What?”

  “When do we get started?”

  “You didn’t finish your—” she waved her hand in his direction “—dinner.”

  “I’d rather start working on regaining my memories... All of them eventually.”

  Her heart fluttered. She should just tell him about Ivy. She didn’t have to wait until he remembered his own daughter. Of course, if she told him they had a four-year-old together, he’d wonder why they hadn’t gotten married yet.

  Then she’d have to tell him all that other stuff.

  He clasped his hands and pinned them between his knees. “The sooner the better.”

  She knew Asher had a stronger desire right now to find out what happened on that mission with Major Denver than to learn about his life with her, and as much as she wanted to tell him all about their romance and their beautiful daughter, she wasn’t in any hurry to divulge the rocky road their relationship had taken. Now she had an excuse to keep it hidden a bit longer.

  “That’s not going to happen with you sitting all hunched over like that.” She licked some salt from her fingertips. “I’m going to wash my hands and find an object of concentration to use. You sit back in that chair and relax.”

  She rose from where she’d parked herself on the arm of the sofa across from Asher and peered out the front window.

  Asher shifted in the chair, twisting his head over his shoulder. “See anything?”

  “No, and no snow yet, either.” She twitched the curtain back into place. “I think we’re still safe.”

  “Even if they think we stayed in the area, they have a lot of cabins to search. Doesn’t mean they won’t find this one though.”

  She turned from the window and flicked the back of his head with her finger, avoiding his neat scar. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, not thinking about the next attack.”

  “Attack—that’s what’s going on, isn’t it? Hidden Hills wants me back.”

  “And maybe we can find out why.” She jerked open a drawer and the stainless-steel utensils inside rattled. “This should do it.”

  Asher’s eyes widened when she walked toward him with a knife. “Is that supposed to help me relax?”

  “Exactly. You need something to watch, something to focus on.”

  “You mean like a swinging pendant, Shrinky-dinky?”

  She pointed the blade of the knife at him. “You can wipe the smirk off your face. That’s how it works.”

  Stretching his arms in front of him, he rolled his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

  “Okay. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to clear your mind, so breathe deeply and think of something pleasant.” She pulled her chair forward and sank into the soft cushion, her knees almost bumping Asher’s.

  Too bad that something pleasant wouldn’t be her.

  “Breaking out of Hidden Hills was about as pleasant as it gets.” He blinked. “Should I close my eyes or leave them open?”

  “Open.” She held up the knife. “Watch the shiny object for a while first, listen to my voice, keep breathing. If you begin to feel like you want to close your eyes, do so.”

  He leaned back, the muscles in his face relaxing, and she realized how taut he’d been holding himself. He must be in a world of hurt and confusion right now. She couldn’t even imagine being in the limbo he must be experiencing.

  “Watch this.” She held up the knife, and it caught the flickering light of the fire, which made the knife look like a wand glinting with magic. She hoped it could work some magic tonight.

  “I’m watching.”

  “Listen to my voice, and pay attention to your breathing—in and out. Make sure your breathing is consistent.”

  For several minutes, Paige led him into a deep state of subconsciousness and then snapped her fingers.

  His head lifted, his eyes still closed.

  “You can open your eyes, if you like. I’m going to take you back to that mission in Afghanistan with Major Denver. Who else was with you?”

  Asher’s mouth opened and then closed.

  “It’s okay. You can talk, answer my questions.”

  “Army ranger. We were with an army ranger named Dylan Curran.”

  “What was the mission? What were you doing there?”

  “It was secret.”

  “You can tell me.” She touched his knee.

  “Major Denver was meeting with an insurgent, someone playing both sides. He had information for Denver, important information.”

  “Did you ever meet this insurgent?”

  “We were waiting for him.”

  “While you were waiting for him, Major Denver shot the ranger?”

  “No.” Asher’s chin dropped to his chest.

  “Don’t fall asleep. If Major Denver didn’t shoot the ranger, what happened to Dylan?”

  “He was shot.”

  A frisson of fear whispered across the back of her neck. “Who shot him? D-did you shoot Dylan?”

  “No.”

  She released a small breath between puckered lips. “So, Major Denver shot Dylan and then he pushed you off the cliff?”

  “No. No. Stop.” Asher’s body stiffened, and his face contorted. “Shots fired. Stop. Take cover. Stop.”

  “It’s okay, Asher. You’re not on the cliff anymore. I’m bringing you out now.” She snapped her fingers.

  His shoulders dropped, and his chest rose and fell rapidly.

  The hypnotic state should’ve relaxed him, but he’d become agitated as she took him back to that place. It was best to bring him out, even if he didn’t get as far as they’d wanted.

  She squeezed his thigh. “Are you okay?”

  His eyelids flew open and he pinned her with a burning gaze. “I remember. I remember what happened.”

  “You do? That’s great. A great first step.” Now maybe she could get him to remember her and their daughter.

  “Great? I don’t think so.”

  “Why?” That fear crept back across her flesh.

  “They lied to me, Paige. Major Denver never shot that army ranger. Never pushed me off the cliff. It was all a setup...and they used me and my amnesia to perpetrate it.”

  Chapter Six

  Asher shook his head, trying to escape the fog from the hypnosis.

  Paige snapped her fingers again, and the crack penetrated his brain like a bolt of lightning.

  “You’re awake now.” She spoke the words as a command, not a question, and it dragged him all the way back to consciousness.

  She handed him his glass of water. “Why would those doctors at Hidden Hills implant false memories in your brain? Memories that would implicate Major Denver?”

  “I have no idea, but that’s exactly what they did. Right? They must’ve put those scenes in my head.” He dug his fingers into the indentation
s of both temples. “They’re obviously after me, after us now, because they don’t want me to remember the truth.”

  “When you were under, you stopped answering my questions and I brought you out of your hypnotic state because you were getting agitated. You must’ve been going through the scene on your own. If it wasn’t Denver, do you remember who did shoot the ranger and attack you? Was it the insurgent you were supposed to meet?”

  “I don’t know. We never saw Denver’s contact. He never showed up.”

  “Did you see who shot Dylan?”

  “No. I heard the shot and Dylan dropped. Denver and I looked at each other, and the shooter took a shot at me and missed. Denver did push me, but he was pushing me behind a boulder. Nobody pushed me off that cliff. I slipped when I was trying to avoid the bullets raining down on us.”

  “Could it have been the guy you were supposed to be meeting, shooting at you from a distance? Maybe he and Denver arranged for him to kill you and Dylan. Maybe that’s what the army doctors were driving at.”

  “He saved my life, Paige. Major Denver saved my life, and there’s no way he’d kill a ranger.” He drove his fist into his thigh. “How could I ever have believed that?”

  “When you woke up, you didn’t know Major Denver from Colonel Sanders. You wouldn’t have remembered his character or anything else about him.”

  Clasping his hands behind his neck, Asher asked, “What the hell is going on? Why would anyone try to set up Denver? And if I hadn’t rolled off the side of that cliff and injured my head, would I be dead right now?”

  Paige lifted her shoulders, about the only answer he could expect to his rhetorical question.

  “I need to find out who was behind setting up Denver, setting me up. Did they really think they could get away with implanting those false memories in my head?”

  “In a way I’m glad they did.”

  “Why?” He sat up in the chair and studied her face, a face too beautiful to ever forget.

  “Think about it. Whoever shot that army ranger and shot at you didn’t plan on leaving any witnesses. The people behind this setup must’ve panicked when they realized you survived that fall—until they found out you had no memory of the events.” She leveled a finger at him. “Your amnesia saved your life.”

  Paige was happy he had amnesia, even though he couldn’t remember her, remember their life together?

  “Saved my life and strengthened their narrative. Who better to implicate Major Rex Denver in a traitorous plot than one of his own loyal Delta Force men?”

  “And now they’ve lost you.” She twisted her fingers together. “They’re never going to allow you to tell the real story. They’ll do everything in their power to discredit you.”

  “You and I both know they’re going to do more than discredit me.” Asher pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “They want me back.”

  “They, they, they. Who is they?”

  “If I knew that, I’d be halfway to recovery. When people in the government, the army, people you’re supposed to be able to trust, turn on you, anyone can be the enemy.”

  “Anyone but me.” She dropped to her knees in front of his chair and took his hands in hers. “I hope you know that, even if you don’t remember me.”

  “I know that. You’ve proved yourself over and over today.” He squeezed her fingers. “Should we get going on those memories now?”

  “You mean through hypnosis?” She shook her head from side to side. “Not tonight. You’ve had enough.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me, then? Tell me a story about how a fearless psychologist wound up with a messed-up Delta Force soldier.”

  “Fearless? Messed up? I think you have us confused.” She tipped her head back and laughed at the ceiling. “You were far from messed up, Asher.”

  “I do know my father is in prison for bank robbery. My mother is dead. Doesn’t exactly sound like a prescription for sound mental health.”

  “You fought through it.”

  His brows shot up. “Were you my therapist?”

  “No. That would’ve been unethical.” She released his hands and crossed her legs beneath her. “We met at a party. You came with a buddy who was friends with my friend’s cousin.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m going to need hypnosis again just to straighten that out.”

  “It was a birthday party at one of the hotels on the Strip. It got kinda crazy and you saved me.”

  “I did?” He hunched forward, burying his chin in his palm as if listening to a story about two strangers...which he was. “Tell me more.”

  “The party was out by the pool and...some drunken idiot got the bright idea to take the party into the pool. People started jumping in, with and without their clothes, and someone pushed me in, fully clothed, holding a drink. My arm hit the side of the pool and my glass broke, cutting my hand. You jumped in and rescued me.”

  “I was watching you from across the deck.”

  “You remember?” Her cheeks flushed and her blue eyes brightened.

  He didn’t want to disappoint her, but he didn’t want to lie, either. “No. I’m just embellishing the story. I saw a pretty blonde across the pool deck, kept my eye on her, and when I saw her flailing in the water, I did my Delta Force thing and jumped in. I must’ve thought it was a stroke of good luck that she needed my help.”

  She tilted her head to one side. “I don’t believe you’re that conniving.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Maybe I am.”

  “You just like saving people.” She hit his kneecap with her fist.

  “You do, too.”

  “Me?”

  “You’re a therapist. You help people every day.” He tapped the side of his head. “You just helped me. Why do you work with people who have PTSD?”

  She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “My dad was a cop. He suffered from PTSD and wound up...dead.”

  Sympathy flared in his chest, and he put his hand over his heart. “I’m sorry. Seems crazy the daughter of a cop would want to go out with the son of a criminal.”

  “You’re not your father.” She wrinkled her nose. “And I’m not mine.”

  “Why wouldn’t you want to be like him? Cops are heroes, straight up, every day.”

  Paige sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “My dad committed suicide.”

  His stomach dropped. How much pain could this woman endure? And he was just adding to it.

  He slid off the chair and crouched in front of her on the floor. “I’m sorry, and here I am making you go through all this again.”

  She met his gaze with her blue eyes that held all the keys to his life.

  “You know what? You responded to this news with all the same sincerity and compassion you’re showing now. That’s when I knew I wanted you forever, and nothing’s changed...for me.”

  He drew one finger along her smooth cheek and touched her trembling bottom lip. “Nothing’s going to change for me, either, Paige. What you’ve done for me already, getting me out of Hidden Hills, is enough to show me what you’re made of, what we had together. And we’ll have it again.”

  Her lashes fluttered, and her lips parted in invitation.

  He wanted to kiss her, but it felt false. Did he have a right to kiss her? Leaning in, he closed his eyes and stopped analyzing.

  Brushing her lips with his sent an electric current charging through his body. That had to mean something. He rested his forehead against hers to steady himself, and her warm breath bathed his cheek.

  She turned her head and whispered against his ear. “I do have something to tell you about us, something you need to know.”

  His muscles tensed as he prepared for another betrayal. Had this all been some kind of setup?

  He jerked away from her and held up
one hand.

  “Y-you don’t want to hear it yet?”

  “I want to hear everything you have to say, Paige, but I think there’s someone outside the cabin.”

  She scrambled to her feet, bumping his chin with her head. “It’s either the owners or someone tracked us down. What did you hear?”

  He pushed up from the floor. “The engine of a car—too close for a vehicle passing on the mountain road.”

  Hunching forward, he crept to the front window, lifted one corner of the curtains and peered into the black night. “I don’t see anything, no lights, although they wouldn’t come driving to the front door.”

  “They would if they were the owners of the cabin.” Paige had come up behind him and stuck her fingers into his pocket.

  “Around the back, then. There’s another road to this cabin through the woods.” He shifted away from the window and headed to the mudroom that led to the back door of the cabin. He pressed his ear against the door, his hand on the doorknob.

  “Anything?” Paige hovered at his shoulder.

  “You stay here. Scream if someone tries to come through the back. I’m going around to try to surprise him.”

  “I’ll do more than scream.” She picked up a ski pole and thrust it in front of her. “Anyone coming through that door is going to get the sharp end of this.”

  “Be careful.” He squeezed her arm on his way out of the mudroom.

  He grabbed his new jacket, went to the front door and eased it open. He scanned the empty gravel drive in front of the cabin before stepping out onto the porch.

  He sniffed the air like a wolf on the hunt and then slipped around the side of the house. When he rounded the corner, he stumbled to a stop and braced his hand against the side of the cabin.

  A figure dressed all in black hunched over the driver’s side of Paige’s rental car, and another car was parked behind it—it must have come from the woods.

  An energy force slammed against his chest and he launched himself at the stranger. The man squeaked as Asher crushed him against the car.