Say You Remember: book 4 in The Witness Series

by Heather D'Agostino

  Say You Remember

  Book 4 in The Witness Series

  By H. D’Agostino

  Say You Remember

  H. D’Agostino

  Copyright © October 2016 by Heather D’Agostino

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The following story contains mature themes, profanity, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.

  Cover design by Leigha Taylor

  Photography: Kelsey Keeton of K Keeton Designs

  Model: James Freeman

  Editing by Kellie Montgomery

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Say You Remember Playlist

  Other Works by H. D’Agostino

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Danielle

  “Great,” I grumbled as I glanced down at my attire. I had been in meetings all day, and was hoping to actually be able to relax tonight, but it seems that another client has been added to my list for the evening. “You can do this, Dani,” I looked up into my rearview mirror as I brushed back a few strands of loose hair.

  My boss, Charlie, had finally given me the raise I’d been deserving for more than a year, and I was not going to give him a reason to regret it. When I’d told him I was moving to Chicago to be closer to my family, he’d all but jumped for joy. Instead of taking my letter of resignation that I’d had clutched in my hand, he gave me a promotion. “You can work from there,” he’d clapped and grinned. “This is great. We can capture that market too.” He’d been so giddy that I actually believed that I could do this, work remotely. “What the hell were you thinking, Dani?” I muttered as I shifted my car into park. I’d called the owner of this place a few hours ago letting them know that I’d be here, but I’d be late. I felt terrible showing up late for the first meeting, but I couldn’t avoid it. I was currently staying with my parents who lived a little over an hour outside of the city, and traffic was a bear to say the least.

  I pushed open my door and ran my hands over my suit. I grabbed the folder I’d filled with all the documents I’d need, checked my reflection one last time, and began walking toward the front door. When I got closer to the entrance, I could see the line to get in was wrapped around the corner. “What do they need my help with?” I murmured. “Seems like business is booming.”

  “ID?” the hulk of a man at the door smiled as he glanced at me. I was surprised. I wasn’t a knockout, but when he looked at me it was as if I were just another person. Women around me flirted and tried to get his attention, but he ignored every one of them.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I scoffed. “Do I look underage to you?” I lifted my arms out to the side.

  “No ID, no entrance,” he voice was gruff as he crossed his bulging arms over his chest.

  “Fine,” I sighed as I shifted to dig through my purse. When I finally grabbed my wallet, I fumbled to get my driver’s license out. “Here,” I shoved it in his direction.

  He smirked as he took it, obviously enjoying the fact that I was annoyed. “Seattle, huh?” he handed it back as he pushed open the door.

  “Yeah, just moved here. Welcome to Chicago, right?” I rolled my eyes as I pushed past him and was over taken by the noise of the bar. The Rusty Nail didn’t seem to need my help, but I was here now.

  As I pushed my way through the crowd to get to the bar, I tried to look around and take everything in. I needed to figure out what angle I could run here so I’d have answers when I met with the owner. When the crowd parted, I lucked out that a stool became empty almost right in front of me. I sucked in a deep breath before stepping up the last few feet, and climbing up on it.

  “Vodka cran,” I called as I made myself comfortable. The bartender, a woman, smiled as she spun, grabbed a glass, and began filling it with ice.

  “Long day?” she grinned as she lifted the vodka bottle. The clear liquid splashed against the ice, and I sighed in relief knowing what was coming my way.

  “You could say that. I hate the traffic here,” I grumbled.

  “How long have you lived in the area?” she seemed to be trying to make small talk.

  I laughed as I looked at my watch, “About seventeen hours.”

  “And you chose here for your first night out?” she teased.

  “I’m working,” I slumped against the bar.

  “Must be nice to be able to drink on the job,” she mused as she handed me the drink.

  “Don’t tell my boss,” I chuckled. “I’m waiting to meet with the owner. I told her I’d hang out until she had a minute,” I shrugged as I lifted the glass and took a dainty sip. “I’m Danielle, by the way,” I smiled as I glanced around again.

  “So you’re the one Sam was waiting on,” she nodded in understanding.

  “Yeah, she contacted the firm I work for, and they sent me since I was moving here. I can be onsite a lot more, and really give her my attention,” I mused as I sipped my drink again.

  “Well, let me know if you need anything. My name’s Tiff,” she waved as she walked away to help the next customer. I sat there for a while sipping my drink, but right as I got to the bottom of the glass, a woman came up beside me to introduce herself.

  “I’m Sam, you must be Danielle,” she smiled as she brushed a few strands of her chestnut hair out of the way.

  “You can call me Dani,” I smiled as I turned to face her more fully. The bar had emptied considerably at this point and gave me the opportunity to really take everything in. A make shift dance floor was off to one side, and a back area looked to house several pool tables. Across from the bar area were several high tops and booths. I hadn’t seen anyone order food, so I wondered if they even served anything other than drinks.

  “Let’s go in my office where it’s a little quieter,” Sam motioned as she stepped back. I followed her across the room, leaving my glass on the bar as I tucked my folder under my arm. “This will give us a chance to actually hear ourselves,” she laughed as she closed the door behind me.

  “Sure,” I shrugged. “I’m a little lost as to why you think you need me though,” I wrinkled my forehead. “I mean, business seems to be great. I’m usually brought in to help places that are about to close down.”

  “Business is great, but I’m looking to expand,” she began pacing. “I’m really nervous about messing with a good thing, but I think this place needs a facelift,” she grimaced when she looked over at me. “I want to put in a real dance floor. I want to make the stage permanent so I can book live music more often. I’d like to serve food more than on weekends. I think if
we get this done before the colleges start back, it will really be good for business. This place seems to fluctuate a lot with the school crowds.”

  “Ok, slow down,” I was furiously writing as she began to move faster. Her hands were flailing around as she talked, and it was all I could do to keep up. “One thing at a time. I noticed the space next to you is for sale.”

  “I’m going to buy it,” she blurted out. “I’ve already made an offer.”

  “Ooookay,” I drug the word out as I checked that off my list.

  “I’m sorry,” she paused to look at me. “I’m not like this, I promise, but I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m learning this business as I go.”

  “Relax,” I soothed. “You hired me to be on your team.”

  “Right,” Sam gave a quick nod. “So what’s first?”

  “First thing you need to do is get the spot next to you taken care of. Once that goes through and the renovations get underway, we can talk about how we’re going to promote it. This is gonna take time. I promise it’ll be a success though. This place has good bones. Get the space secured, and then I’ll work my magic,” I smiled at her as I crossed my legs and held the folder in my lap. “Here,” I lifted the folder, “this is just a basic question and answer thing. It’ll help me get the best idea of what we’re doing.”

  “Ok,” she reached for it before swaying a little on her feet.

  “Whoa, you alright?” I stood quickly and held my hands out as if to catch her.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “Just tired. I’ll look at these tomorrow when I actually have time,” she placed the folder on the desk behind her before smiling and stepping toward the door. “Why don’t you enjoy another drink at the bar, on me,” she grinned. “I’m sure you’re tired with meeting me this late.”

  “That’d be great,” I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I haven’t really been in town long enough to settle in. The time difference is kicking my ass too.”

  “There’s no rush here,” Sam waved her arms around. “We’ll talk,” she smiled before disappearing into the crowd.

  Before heading back towards the bar, I stepped into the ladies room to freshen up. I was sure that I needed it. It was rather warm in the bar itself, and now that the meeting was finished I could relax a little. I removed my suit jacket and patted my face with a damp paper towel before leaving to return to my seat.

  When I pushed through the door to enter back into the bar, that’s when I saw him. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. It’d been years, nine to be exact, but other than having more defined muscles he looked exactly the same. I stood there staring for a minute, wondering if he ever thought about me. He didn’t give any indication after it happened that he did. I was just a warm body, someone for him to toss to the side. He’d made that perfectly clear the next day.

  My feet held me rooted in the dark corner of the bar just watching him. He was laughing with some other guys, and when his head turned slightly I could see the grin he was sporting. My heart raced, and I cursed it for reacting. Why after all this time did he still make me feel this way? What had I done in a past life to make karma dump on me like this? Mason’s head tipped back as a laugh rumbled out of him, and that sound brought back all the anger that I’d buried from all those years ago. It was fun. No big deal, right? You knew that you were the last piece, literally, right? Those words haunted me to this day, and I let them play over and over in my mind as I lifted my chin and began walking toward the stool I’d vacated a half hour ago. Mason Stone was an ass. He was hot, but still an ass. I needed to keep reminding myself of that so I wouldn’t fall for his crap again. I would not be that girl.

  ooooooooo

  Mason

  Tonight was crazy busy to put it mildly. Business had picked up, but several people had called in sick, and Sam had all of us pitching in to help pick up the slack. I spent most of the night carrying boxes from the delivery trucks that were coming in to the storage closet. Dev helped for a while, but then Sam had pulled him away. Normally I would be manning the door on a night this busy, but since Jase still couldn’t lift heavy shit, he was doing my job. His no nonsense demeanor seemed to keep the customers in line, and the regulars knew he’d arrest them if they stepped out. I couldn’t help but laugh the few times I walked by and heard him teasing some of the younger crowd. He’d question the guy’s IDs, asking if they were fake. The girls would laugh and offer to let him keep theirs so he’d have their addresses for later. I was glad Tiff wasn’t around to hear that. She’d been kinda moody lately, and I wasn’t really wanting to deal with that tonight.

  Since things went south with the two of us, we’ve tried to give each other space. I don’t really know what would have happened if Jase hadn’t come back into the picture. I knew those two were meant for each other, but I have to admit that I did always wonder what it would feel like to press myself against her naked. Her body was smoking, and the way she moved against me on the dance floor that night had my dick throbbing from remembrance.

  I haven’t really found anyone to pursue in a while. There have been women, don’t get me wrong, but none I want to really get to know. They’re good for a fun night, but we haven’t really connected on a level that I’m looking for. They see the muscles bulging from my shirt, and think I’m nothing but a nice body. They don’t know that I’ve actually got a brain, and they don’t seem to want to find out. After Brit broke things off, I haven’t really tried to find a good one, I guess. Besides, the good ones don’t seem to have the confidence to be with me.

  I need a woman that wants me for me, not what I look like. One that can trust me enough to know that I’ll always come home to her. In my line of work, I get hit on more than I care to admit. Women want the attention, and I’m the first one they encounter when they come through the door here. Jase saw it first-hand tonight. A need a woman that won’t let that come between us. I don’t want to be a bouncer for the rest of my life, but its good money and helps pay for school.

  Cat calls from across the bar cause me to lift my head and leave my pity party for one as I look to see what the hell is going on. Jase has Tiff wrapped in his arms as he devours her mouth. “Guess he’s getting laid tonight,” I muttered to myself before shifting away from my perch at the door. We’re almost ready to close, and Sam gave me the go ahead a while ago to leave my spot.

  As I shuffle toward the bar, I can hear them talking about babies and I shake my head. “Can you keep it down?” I teased as I smirked at Tiff. She rolled her eyes before pulling away from Jase and returning to her spot behind the bar.

  “Sorry,” she grinned. “I’m happy.”

  “Can I get a beer?” I placed both elbows on the bar, accidently bumping into the person on the stool beside me. “Sorry,” I murmured before tipping my head in their direction. I figured the least I could do was look at them when I apologized. When I lifted my eyes I blinked a few times. Startled blues ones belonging to a woman, a hot one I might add, stared back at me.

  “It’s ok,” she swallowed as she shifted uncomfortably on her stool. She twirled her glass between her hands as she looked down at it and away from me. Tiff slid a beer in front of me before walking off.

  “I haven’t seen you around here before,” I turned my body so I faced her slightly. She was tall and thin dressed in a navy business suit. She didn’t look like the normal crowd we attracted. Her hands played nervously with the straw in her glass as she chewed on her lower lip. Her golden hair was tied back, exposing her neck that was begging for me to kiss it. I don’t know why I was reacting like this, but she seemed so out of place that I was dying to know more.

  “Just moved here,” she whispered without looking at me.

  “My name’s Mason,” I grinned at her hoping to get her to look at me. She nodded as she sipped her drink, and when her lips sealed around the straw I couldn’t help but imagine that it was me between her lips. What was it about this woman that she made my mind go there? “And you are
?” I prodded.

  “Not interested,” she snapped as her head tipped up and her eyes narrowed on me.

  I lifted my hands in surrender. “Sorry. Just thought you might like a friend. I’m good at being friends,” I tried again but her glare told me I’d pissed her off.

  “That’s not what I remember,” she muttered as she rolled her eyes before sipping her drink again.

  “Remember?” I mumbled in confusion as I let the words tumble around in my head. Did I know this chick? Had I fucked her before? Did I meet her somewhere and just not remember it? No, she said she just moved here. I’ve been here for the past eight years. “Should I know you?” I asked as I swung my gaze back to her. Her glare was in full force as I rubbed my jaw.

  “Yes Mase, you should,” she bit out as she finished her drink, slammed the glass on the bar, stood, and stormed out in a huff.

  “What the fuck just happened here?” I swallowed as I watched her hips sway. When she got to the door, she yanked it open and disappeared onto the sidewalk, leaving me sitting there in total confusion. Who was this chick, and why did I feel like I had just made a complete ass of myself?

  “What’d you say to her?” Jase slung his arm around my shoulder as he grinned at me. He had that smug smile going on like he knew I just got shut down.

  “I asked her her name,” I muttered as I continued to stare at the door. She wasn’t coming back, but I couldn’t look away. The way she’d stared right at me like we were old friends was killing me. I kept wracking my brain, but it just wasn’t giving me an answer.

  “Has she seen your dick?” Dev smirked as he came up beside us. “Maybe she wasn’t happy when she saw how small it was.”

  “Fuck you,” I growled as I shoved Jase’s arm off me and grabbed my beer off the bar. “Why don’t you go home and make more babies or something.”

  “Didn’t you hear? I already did that,” his smirk grew as Sam walked by and smacked him.

  “Be nice,” she waved her finger at her husband before rounding the bar to grab the register drawer.