by Karen Anders
She swallowed hard. It was one thing to have the vague notion of what had happened to Sam, but it was another to hear the details of what he had suffered.
His words whirled around and around in Olivia’s mind, every picture uglier than the one before it, every possibility too terrible to be absorbed. But Sam had survived. This amazing man had been through excruciating hell and had survived. She seized on that notion with a rush of relief and resolve. She wouldn’t fall apart. They would solve the mystery.
She tried to keep her reaction under wraps, but something in her face must have been revealed to Sam, who was probably very good at observation and reading people, because he leaned forward slightly.
“This is going to be tough, not just for me, Olivia, but for you. Your brother was a trained professional, and it even horrified him. What happened to me is part of going to war. I know it’s difficult for you not to personalize it, because any compassionate person is going to feel something about what I went through. But we need to analyze what I can remember to get the answers we need, regardless of how it makes us feel. Okay, so you don’t have to hide your reaction from me. It is awful. I know. I have lost it in my sessions before when I remembered something especially terrible. So I can’t say that won’t happen, either.”
She took a deep breath and covered his hand, the tension his words created lodged in her chest. “All right, but I might feel the need to hug you.”
He chuckled. “Okay, well, I won’t have a problem with that.” His gaze roved over her face, and her stomach got that fluttery feeling all over again.
“Another thing. I have nightmares. Really bad ones. Some I remember, some I don’t. I’ve often woken up in the middle of the night just standing and yelling at the top of my lungs and I don’t know why. So I’m sorry if that happens, but at least you’ll be forewarned.”
Fingers of tension curled around her stomach and squeezed.
It didn’t help that Sam knew the consequences, that what he did was part of his job. He belonged to the army 24/7, an elite soldier.
“What can you tell me about your treatment?”
“Dr. Owens used something called recovered memory treatment. Some hypnosis. I don’t know what he got out of those sessions because he didn’t want me influenced by anything I said. He asked me tons of questions about my childhood, my mother, father and brothers.”
Olivia watched his face, glued to his expression, saw the way his jaw hardened against some unpleasant memory, saw the frustration in his blue eyes and the vulnerability that lay beneath it, and her heart ached for him.
“I don’t really know what those were all about and what my family and my experiences growing up have to do with what happened to me. But he looked like he was onto something. But again, he didn’t want to reveal anything until he was ready, because he worried it might skew my answers.”
“Oh, Sam. I’m scared for you.”
He sat there looking handsome and sad, his eyes locked on her as if he were gazing at her for the very first time, memorizing her every feature.
“I know who I am, Liv. I hold on to that with both hands,” he whispered, that low, deep voice touching her.
“That’s something good, Sam. Something they didn’t take away from you.”
“They tried to break me down. That’s the fundamental concept of torture,” he said unevenly. “Take a person down to the basics. Deprive him of food, water, the necessities, and that’s when it’s easy to lose it. Lose your humanity.” He rubbed at his forehead and took a deep breath.
The depth of Sam’s psychological damage was most definitely out of her expertise. She was just glad that she’d stuck with him this far. It was so unfortunate that those bastards had erased Sam’s tapes. She and Sam could at least have figured something out from those. It was clear John had known what he was doing, and she missed her brother’s presence more than ever. She also felt helpless in this situation. How could she help Sam?
“I think we could find some answers if we could get our hands on one of the guys who tried to kidnap you.”
“How do we do that?”
“We go on the offensive. I got the license plate number off that van. I thought we could go over to the Raleigh Police Department and talk to my brother.”
“It’s a blessing you can trust him, and Lucy is very nice. When are they getting married?”
“In December, a Christmas wedding. My confirmed-bachelor brother is tying the knot. Trey, my older brother, got married to his fiancée, Debra, only recently. There was a second attempt on my mother’s life at the reception. That’s where Mike was killed.”
“We’ll have to be careful, even with your brother.”
“My brother will be discreet. He heads up the CSI unit, so he can run an inquiry for us without too much fuss.”
“Okay, then what?”
“We’ll figure that out once we find out who that van belongs to.”
“We?”
“Don’t press your luck, Olivia.”
She smiled at him. “I won’t if you won’t.”
This time he smiled. Even with the intensity of what Sam was facing, he still had a sense of humor. “You good to go, or do you need a nap?”
“Only if I get some milk and cookies and my blankie first.”
Now he laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
* * *
“You could have hit Winston! If he’d been killed, then where would we be?” These guys only knew him as “the Suit.” His identity was secret and had to remain so. None of these guys would give him up. They were much too loyal to their organization. Lenny Jeffers faced him, along with the driver of the van, Sasha Burroughs and Hemp—Jimmy Hempstill—who was the one who shot at Owens and Winston. Jeffers was supposed to grab the woman. They were all dangerous, all highly trained and they couldn’t kidnap one slip of a woman! He was livid, his face almost purple from that emotion. In a sudden movement, he backhanded Lenny across the face. The operative took it as though he knew he deserved it.
They all shifted nervously. They understood the rules and the consequences of failure. This was how guys got dead.
“That bitch is a damn wildcat! I underestimated her,” Jeffers said.
The Suit paced and the tension in the room ratcheted up another notch. “It was our error to underestimate Owens and his private investigator sister! Where are they now?”
“He took her to a residential house where his cop brother and a Lucy Sinclair live,” Jeffers said.
“She’s a nurse. Took care of Kate Winston after Harris botched it. Looks like our Sam is a bit paranoid of the cops. Could be an aftereffect of the drugs we pumped into him. He has no idea how high this goes, which is also perfect. That damn doctor could have ruined everything! At least you did that part right, Jeffers. We don’t need Winston enlightened at all about what happened to him or the good doctor’s diagnosis.”
“We can breach Winston’s residence and grab her.”
“No! If Winston is in the dark, that suits us fine. But we don’t want the pressure of added tension pushing him over the edge. I want you three to lie low for now. Follow them and keep tabs on them. If you get another opportunity, bring me the woman, but don’t engage Winston again unless you have a clear path to the girl!” The Suit got right into Jeffers’s face. “He’s a dangerous son of a bitch and he’s unpredictable right now. There’s no telling what he will do. I want that girl alive. I have questions! I can’t question a dead woman!” He shoved Jeffers, the tension in him winding up to off-the-chart intense. Everything was riding on Winston.
The Suit knew Winston’s profile. Hell, there was a rumor in D.C. that he would be the next Medal of Honor recipient. But after what he’d been programmed to do, his illustrious career—and probably his life—was over.
The Suit knew everything that was
possible to know about Captain Samuel Winston. He was a freaking American hero, literally. They also didn’t make them tougher than Sam. From what the Suit had read about the Ranger, it hadn’t been an easy task to break him down and get him primed for what they needed from him. Harris had been a walk in the park compared to Winston. But men like Sam had a way of surprising even the most confident enemy. Getting the drop on him out in the desert had been a delicate and monumental task. And he had almost slipped the noose.
The bottom line with Army Ranger Winston was he was a lethal, volatile and crazy warrior. He wouldn’t hesitate to protect Olivia Owens, especially if he became attached to her. The Suit didn’t want that. Isolating Sam from others by virtue of taking over his mind was the goal. And women—they were also an unknown equation in the mix. Olivia could undo everything that they’d done to Winston. That would be unacceptable.
She would need to be questioned. Then she would need to disappear. Poof. Drop off the face of the earth. It was all about survival...his and the family he dearly loved.
But for now, they had to bide their time.
“We wiped everything and took her camera. That’ll keep them in the dark until Winston can be used.”
He’d have to contain the situation so that they were on schedule with their timeline. Their leader didn’t have to know anything about this screwup. The Suit was a key player in this action, so he was relatively safe and so was his family. For now. The leader wouldn’t be forgiving. “You wouldn’t have had to do that if you’d been aware she was shadowing Winston in the first place!”
“She’s good, sir.”
“You all need to up your game and be better. Or there won’t be any game at all!”
“Yes, sir,” they all said in unison.
* * *
Thad was at his desk in that maze of cubicles when Sam and Olivia got to the Raleigh Police Department. “Hey, Sam. How are you doing?” He cut a quick glance to Olivia, then back to him.
“I’m muddling along,” Sam said. He had been tight-lipped with his brothers and his mother. They were worried, but he really didn’t have anything to say. What happened to him wasn’t something either Trey or his mother would understand, but Thad? Maybe. He’d seen plenty in his job. Yet Sam was reluctant to confide even in Thad. He’d gone it alone for a long time serving his country. Now he questioned whether going back was even something he should entertain. Being a soldier was all he really knew. Even though he was burned out, it was still a comfortable fit. “This is Olivia Owens.” He slipped his hand around the small of her back and brought her forward in introduction.
Thad’s sharp hazel eyes flashed with the name. “Owens? You related to Dr. Owens?”
Sadness dragging at the corners of her mouth as she said, “I’m his sister.”
Remorse washed over Thad’s face, compassion in his voice. Sam hadn’t seen Thad in action before. They had lived very separate lives. But after seeing the confidence Thad had shown during and after Mike’s shooting, he’d gotten a healthier measure of respect for his little brother. “I’m sorry about your brother’s death, Olivia. We’ll do everything we can to find his killer. I’m not personally working the case because of my connection to Sam, but I’m keeping an eye on it.” Then he turned to Sam. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“I need your help.”
Thad sat up straighter. Sam was well aware that everyone was on edge in his family since his mother had almost been gunned down. Thad carried guilt from his inability to see it before it had happened. But how could they have suspected that Sam’s friend, his teammate would be the one responsible? The fact that Thad had been the one to pull the trigger on Mike to save Lucy must have been very difficult.
“You in trouble?”
Sam met his brother’s gaze directly. The memory of that dream from Yellowstone made the back of his neck prickle. He’d have to find time to ask Thad about it. For some reason that Sam couldn’t pinpoint, he knew it was extremely important. “I think so, but I don’t have any answers for you, Thad, and at this point, Olivia and I are kind of running blind.”
“Maybe you should take the time to explain it to me.” He indicated the chair next to his desk. Getting up, he snagged one from an empty cubicle. Sam sidestepped so Olivia could sit down; then he occupied the chair Thad brought over.
Sam leaned forward and kept it short and sweet. By the time he was finished, Thad looked unsettled.
“Lucy patched her up?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to drag her into this. But I couldn’t have the police involved. Do you understand? I—” he glanced at Olivia and she slipped her hand over his forearm “—we can’t really trust anyone, except you.”
Thad sighed. “I don’t like it.” He looked between the two of them.
“I don’t know, but they tried to kidnap Olivia and they only attacked me to slow me down so I couldn’t intervene.”
“What do you know?”
“Just what I told you. I think Dr. Owens may have made a breakthrough in my therapy, and I’m afraid he was murdered for it.”
“You think someone... Like who? The CIA?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. Professionals.”
“Damn. After what I went through with Mom’s assassination attempt, I know how cagey those bastards can be.”
“The answers are locked up in my head. I feel that anyone around me is in danger.” He looked at Olivia, and her lips tightened.
“Sam, I’m not leaving you.”
Thad looked from him to Olivia, his eyes speculative.
At Sam’s hard stare, Olivia huffed. “Where’s the restroom?”
After Thad directed her and she was out of earshot, he gave his brother an atta-boy shove.
“What?”
“She’s a beautiful woman.”
“She is. What’s your point?” Sam wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t recognize that, but Olivia was more than the sum of her parts. If he was being honest, he was thankful for her support. Letting her into this whole mess seemed to make slogging through it all that much better. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t get her out of it in a heartbeat. But she wasn’t going to listen to him. And he’d prefer her close to him rather than out there investigating her brother’s murder and then end up disappearing herself. That wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t losing another innocent life to whatever it was that was going on with him.
“Just making an observation.”
“Sure you are.”
Thad shrugged. “Hey, I was in the same boat you are in only a little while ago. Now I’m totally in love with Lucy and can’t live without her. I was sure I’d never settle down, but now that’s all I want to do. With her. Don’t let that pass you by, Sam. You’ve served your country long enough. We want you home and back living in Raleigh. Time passes way too fast, and it looks to me like Olivia has a thing for you, too. Don’t squander that, man. Open up to it.”
Olivia did have a thing for him, and he was resisting... Okay, he was mostly resisting. “Yeah, Lucy did a number on you.” He’d rather be back in Afghanistan than give in to the wants and needs trapped inside him. If he gave himself fully to Olivia, that would give her power over him, and he wasn’t interested in giving up control. Didn’t mean he didn’t want to be with her. His thoughts strayed to how incredible it would feel to slip inside her, pump uncontrollably against all that softness. He got hard just thinking about it.
Thad chuckled. “Just think about it.”
Sam was thinking about it. Way too much.
“Now back to this mess. We both know that Mom’s assassination attempt goes up higher than we can imagine. But the chief killed himself before we could get the information we needed. And all that stuff I found in Mike’s apartment feels to me like a setup. Sure, the sniper rifle was there and we both know that Mike pulled the trigger. We also
know that something had to have happened to Mike to coerce him to do that. But with the red tape the feds are wrapping around his death, it’s hard to get any straight answers.”
“I know. It’s all very suspicious and that political organization, whoever it is, must have strong juice to put up all these roadblocks and corrupt civil servants.”
“Agreed. What’s the license number of the van that was used this morning to snatch Olivia?”
Sam handed him the slip of paper that he’d written the number on. “There’s something else. Could you run this guy through facial recognition? He’s one of the guys that tried to kidnap her.”
Thad nodded. “I’ll run it, but if he’s CIA, he’s not going to show up. Those guys are ghosts.”
“That’s still information. If he’s not in the database that tells us something.”
Thad nodded. “I’ll help any way I can, so don’t be shy about asking for help.”
“I won’t. Keeping Olivia safe is at the top of my list.”
“Yeah, I bet it is,” Thad said with a nod.
Chapter 8
They took the time to stop at the market on the way from the police station, and Olivia could tell that Sam was on edge, hypervigilant.
He looked as though he was in his element.
And she was sure that anything he did, any damn thing, looked sexy on him.
Protector. Yep, he was rocking that.
Scary. Yep, that, too. She’d had him in her face, so she had experienced that firsthand.
Dangerous.
Oh, God, yes. On many, many levels.
To the unknown bad guys—a given.
To her equilibrium—she didn’t think she’d been on solid ground since she’d met him.
To her heart—most assuredly.
She was feeling the effects of adrenaline, too, and to think that Sam lived, worked and breathed this kind of lifestyle every day. She loved being a P.I., but a lot of the work was tedious.
“You’re thinking really hard over there.” Her arm was throbbing, and along with all the food they’d gotten, she’d thrown in extra strength pain killer. The regular wasn’t cutting it. Now they were packed to the gills with bags and headed back to Sam’s house. The eggs she’d had before going to the police department hadn’t been enough, but it was almost dinnertime anyway.