And other things she didn’t even want to explore.
Leigh took a deep breath. Just who was this man that she’d once promised to love forever? She was almost afraid to find out.
Pulling herself away from that naked gaze, and from his partly naked body, Leigh opened the truck door and stepped out, careful not to put direct pressure on her wounded ankle. She made a sweeping glance around the thick cypress woods. The sun was just rising over a misty-topped bayou, and with the exception of a snow-white egret, they were alone.
Completely alone.
“Are you all right?” Gabe asked.
No, she wasn’t. Reality was even harsher in the early-morning light than it had been in the darkness. She was in the middle of a bayou with a man she didn’t know. She had no memory. And someone wanted her dead. Not the best way to start the day. Oh, and she was scared. Add to that a wicked headache and what felt like an overwhelming need for a cup of coffee, and it didn’t seem she had a lot to look forward to.
Leigh leaned against the truck and tried to catch her breath. “So, what happens now?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
With catlike grace, Gabe slid off the seat and stood beside her. He brought his shoulder holster and gun with him, draping it over his arm. “We try to find out who’s behind this and then get you to a safer place.”
At least he seemed to think that was possible. She wasn’t so sure anymore. Maybe there were no safe places to go.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Still shirtless, the sunlight danced over his deeply tanned chest. And the jeans. God, the jeans. They gloved parts of him that she wished weren’t so gloved.
Those were things she definitely shouldn’t notice.
Still, it was hard not to notice and respond to him since he was an attractive man. Even if they hadn’t shared a past she couldn’t remember, that attraction probably would have still been there.
The attraction.
The emotions.
The uncertainty of their past.
Those things frightened Leigh almost as much as coming face-to-face with the person who’d tried to kill her. Eventually, she would have to remember what had torn Gabe and her apart. Leigh wasn’t exactly looking forward to reliving any of that.
Gabe lifted the lid on the storage bin in the bed of the truck. Muscles flexed as he fished around inside and came up with two bottles of water. “I don’t guess your memory returned overnight, huh?” He passed one of the bottles her way.
Leigh shook her head. No memory. Just a headache and an unwanted physical attraction to the man who leaned against the truck beside her.
She didn’t plan to ask him to put on his shirt. No sense letting him in on the fact there was a whirl of emotions she didn’t understand, or want to feel. Emotions that included a good old-fashioned case of lust. She might not remember Gabe, but her hormones sure did.
He took a long drink of water. “So, nothing about this place seems familiar?”
Leigh looked around again, hoping she’d missed something that would jar her memory. She hadn’t. “No, should it?”
Gabe shrugged. “We spent our honeymoon not too far from here.”
“We had our honeymoon in the middle of a bayou?” she asked, sure that she’d heard him wrong. It didn’t seem the best of locations for that. Or maybe it did. If two people wanted complete privacy, it would be ideal.
Leigh quickly shoved that thought aside.
“We were in a cabin just a couple of miles away,” Gabe added. “We didn’t go there last night because it’s a little too close to the main road.” He stared out at the scenery, and Leigh could almost see the memories going through his head. Memories no doubt of all the things that couples did on a honeymoon.
Oh. Mercy.
It didn’t seem a subject she should press, but it was also one she couldn’t resist. After all, she’d spent two years with this man. “We were in love?”
She saw the muscles stiffen in Gabe’s arms and shoulders. He put the bottle to his mouth, finished off the water and tossed the plastic container in the back of the truck. “Yeah. Once.”
His answer wasn’t just brusque. It was downright chilly. And that chill made Leigh want to know more. However, she didn’t get a chance to delve any deeper into the feelings they’d once had for each other. The slight sound she heard caused her throat to snap shut.
Gabe obviously heard something too because without warning he caught onto her arm and shoved her to the ground. Suddenly, her face, and the rest of her, was in the moist dirt. He followed on top on her, sprawling himself over her back.
Pebbles and other assorted debris dug into her stomach and chest. Other than an involuntary groan caused by the weight of Gabe’s body on hers, Leigh didn’t even have time to react. She heard the gunmetal whisper against the stiff leather holster as Gabe drew his weapon.
All her fears returned in full force. Her heart started to pound. Her stomach twisted into a hard knot. God, she didn’t want to die, and there might be nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn’t even reach for her gun since it was inside the truck.
Leigh tried to look around, to see if there was any real danger. Maybe it was nothing at all—a sound made by some bayou animal or the morning breeze rustling through the trees. But she was almost positive an animal hadn’t made that sound.
“I’d appreciate it a whole lot if you didn’t shoot me,” the man called out. “This shirt is new, and I don’t want blood all over it.”
With that calmly delivered, satirical remark, she felt Gabe relax. “It’s all right,” he assured her. “It’s just Jinx.”
Jinx. That didn’t make her breathe any easier. Gabe seemed to trust the man, but Leigh wasn’t about to dismiss that prickle that crawled up the back of her neck. After all, that breach in security at the clinic had happened on Jinx’s watch.
Gabe lifted himself off her. Not easily. And not before his hand grazed the side of her right breast. Leigh pretended not to notice, but pretending didn’t do a thing to stop her breath from shuddering. If Gabe noticed, he didn’t say anything. Which was just as well. Instead, he caught onto her hand and helped her to her feet.
“What’s he doing out here?” she asked none too pleasantly.
“He owns this place. And the cabin where we stayed on our honeymoon.”
Leigh didn’t have time to react to that, but she intended to give it some thought later.
“Gabe. Leigh,” Jinx greeted, making his way through the ferns and jewelweed toward them. He stopped only inches away and pointed to the path that Leigh had already noticed. “I parked up there. No one followed me, but I covered my tracks just in case. By the way, glad you two made it out of that clinic.”
“It took some doing.” Gabe reholstered his gun. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“No problem.” Jinx’s gaze raked over her. “So, did you get your memory back?”
“No.”
Jinx didn’t respond to that. He simply handed Gabe a plain black gym bag and a small cooler. “That means she can’t help us with that little problem we discussed.”
“What little problem?” Leigh asked.
“We were hoping you’d be able to tell us who tried to kill you,” Gabe insisted.
As critical as that sounded, she was sure there was still a heck of a lot more to it than that. She doubted it was a coincidence that Jinx’s comment had been vague.
Gabe set the cooler in the truck and handed the gym bag to her. “There should be some clothes in here so you can change. Those hospital scrubs are too noticeable.”
He was right, of course, especially since the top had spatters of blood on it. Still, she didn’t think it was a change of attire that Gabe had on his mind. It seemed he was rather anxious for her to leave so he could talk privately with his friend.
Leigh accommodated him. Well, in a way. She stepped behind a large bell-bottom tree about fifteen feet away, but she kept her ear turned toward the men. Unfortunately, the b
reeze didn’t cooperate, and she could only catch snatches of what they said. She heard something about Agent Teresa Walters wanting them to “come in immediately.”
Without taking her attention away from the conversation, she went through the bag and found a phone, ammunition and a first-aid kit. There was also an envelope stuffed with cash. The only clothes were a pair of very short shorts and a cotton top. No shoes, which meant she’d have to wear the flip-flops a while longer.
Leigh snatched up the phone and turned it on. She’d hoped she would dial something automatically—a number so rote, so ingrained, that it would come to her in spite of the amnesia. That didn’t happen.
Nothing happened.
Apparently, there was no critical phone number lurking in her memory. It was another dead end. That meant she’d have to try to get something out of Gabe and Jinx.
Not good.
She hadn’t had a lot of success in that particular area. So far, all she knew was two years earlier she’d uncovered something dirty about a man named Joe Dayton. Now someone wanted her dead because of that.
Well, maybe.
And maybe it had nothing to do with Joe Dayton at all. Maybe something else had triggered these attacks. Of course, Leigh had no way of knowing because everything was still trapped inside her head.
Frustrated, she tossed the phone back into the bag and peeled off the scrubs so she could change into the other clothes.
“Philip,” she heard Gabe say, making the name sound like profanity.
“You think Leigh will know where he is?” Jinx added another question to that, but Leigh couldn’t catch what he said.
“Maybe. She mentioned Houston in the message she left on my machine.”
Leigh heard that part. Clearly. And again she felt that tug of familiarity. She didn’t know anything about that message she’d left Gabe, but getting to Houston was important. Critical even. Too bad she didn’t know why. Maybe it had something to do with this man named Philip.
So, who was this guy—a boyfriend? But that didn’t feel right.
She bent down to pick up the shorts. And then she saw it. Or rather saw them. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
Three thin, vertical scars were on her stomach, just above the top of her panties. The whitish lines were so faint, so threadlike, that she figured that’s why she hadn’t noticed them when she was in the bathroom at the clinic.
They looked like stretch marks.
That possibility caused her to reach for the tree for support. Stretch marks. God, had she been pregnant? Maybe. Leigh carried that out to its next logical conclusion—had she had a child?
Certainly Gabe would have mentioned something as monumental as that. Wouldn’t he? Leigh gave it more thought. Yes, he would have. There would have been no reason to keep something like that from her.
Well, unless he didn’t know.
But that didn’t make sense either. Like the scar on her arm, these didn’t look fresh. Besides, a woman could get stretch marks for a variety of reasons—weight gain or just plain genetics. Those explanations were far easier to accept than the possibility that she had a child out there somewhere.
Far easier.
“Everything all right?” Gabe called out to her.
No, it wasn’t, but Leigh didn’t say that to him. “I’m almost done.”
And the first chance she got, she intended to ask Gabe a few questions.
She pulled on the shorts, frowning at the fact that they fit like skin. There wasn’t much of the waist-length top either, but since she didn’t have a choice, she slipped it on anyway.
The men were still speaking in whispers when she came out from behind the tree. “I’m ready,” she let Gabe know.
He was in midsentence, still speaking to Jinx, but the words seemed to freeze in his throat. Surprise rifled through his eyes. Then something else. Something smoldering, no doubt caused by the skimpy clothes. Gabe slid that smoldering gaze from her head to her toes, and that gaze did more than concern Leigh. It heated every drop of blood in her body.
“What’s the plan?” she asked no one in particular. Best to move on from smoldering looks to business.
Gabe cleared his throat and motioned toward the truck. “We put some distance between us and New Orleans. I need to get you to a safe place so we can start making a few inquiries.”
That certainly sounded like a good idea. And while they were putting that distance between them and New Orleans, she would see what she could learn from Gabe. “Are we going to Houston?”
Gabe glanced at Jinx first. “Maybe. Eventually.”
“What’s in Houston, Leigh?” Jinx questioned. But it was more than a question. It was a challenge.
She shrugged. “You tell me. According to you, I’m just a bookstore employee.”
The corner of Gabe’s mouth lifted, but he quickly covered it with his hand.
There seemed to be some amusement on Jinx’s face as well, but it didn’t make it to his voice. “I don’t think it’s my imagination that you don’t trust me.” He didn’t wait for her to confirm that. “Would it help if you knew I was Gabe’s best man at your wedding?”
Leigh glanced at Gabe, and he verified that information with a nod. However, it didn’t do a thing to change her opinion of Jinx. There was something about him, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something that caused that prickle to return to her neck. Still, it was best not to antagonize him.
“You and I want the same thing,” she finally said. “I want to find out who’s after me, and I want to try to figure out who I am. I’m hoping Gabe can fill me in on some more of the details.”
It was subtle, but because Leigh kept her focus on Jinx, she saw him slip Gabe a warning glance. So, there were other things that Jinx didn’t want her to know. Maybe those things involved the stretch marks that she just couldn’t get off her mind, or maybe it involved the man named Philip. Perhaps Philip was the key to finding out what was going on.
Gabe opened the truck door and motioned for her to get in. “It’s time to go.”
Leigh was more than ready to leave, especially since she was sure Jinx wouldn’t be going with them. She climbed onto the seat, and Gabe shut the door. He whispered something to Jinx before he joined her.
“Be careful,” Jinx said to them as Gabe started the engine. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t trust anybody until we have some answers.”
Jinx obviously didn’t include himself in that blanket warning, but Leigh silently added him to it. It was excellent advice, and she intended to take it. She didn’t intend to trust anyone.
Chapter Six
“I have a question,” Leigh announced. She drank some water and settled against the seat as if this would be a long-drawn-out ordeal.
Gabe figured it likely would be in just about every way possible.
“Just one question?” he asked.
“Well, actually, I have several, but I guess this is as good a place to start as any. Do we have a child?”
Gabe felt as if a bolt of lightning had hit him. He was almost afraid to find out what had prompted that question. “No,” he quickly assured her.
“You’re sure?”
He didn’t even have to think about his answer. “Positive. Why’d you ask?”
She shrugged. “No reason. I just figured since we, uh, were married, there was a possibility we had a child.”
“No. We’d decided not to have children.”
He braced himself for yet more on the subject, but Leigh stayed quiet for several moments. Hell. What was going on in her head? Did she remember something, and if so, why had she remembered that particular piece of their past? That one issue had been the source of too many arguments to count.
“So, no baby,” she mumbled under her breath. “Did I used to weigh more than I do now?”
Gabe glanced at her. “A little. What the heck is this all about, Leigh?” With everything else going on, he couldn’t imagine that she’d be concerned about her weight.
She shrugged again. “I just got the feeling that I’m thinner than I usually am. I guess maybe a ton of stress is the ultimate diet, huh?”
Gabe thought maybe that was a smoke screen, but he didn’t care. He was more than happy to let the subject drop. It wasn’t a good idea for them to discuss anything about her body. It would only remind him that she had a body. A body that he was familiar with in every intimate kind of way.
“Okay. Here’s something else I’d like to know,” she continued a moment later. “Who’s Philip?”
Gabe blew out a frustrated breath. Even though he’d known more questions would be coming, he didn’t need this any more than a possible baby/weight-loss discussion. The traffic on the highway was light, but he wanted to keep his attention focused on their surroundings. That wouldn’t be easy to do if he had to answer a lot of questions. Her clothes already gave him more distractions than he needed. Jinx was obviously trying to torture him.
The first problem was her shorts. They were snug in all the wrong places and showed practically every inch of her long, slender legs. The top wasn’t much better, especially since she obviously wasn’t wearing a bra. Gabe saw the outline of her nipples. Hard to concentrate on anything else when his mind kept going back to those.
However, Gabe forced his attention back on the immediate problem—Leigh’s question. A question that he knew would just lead to others. “Let me guess. You eavesdropped on my conversation with Jinx?”
“I overheard,” she corrected. “So who is this Philip? Is he the person who tried to kill me?”
Hell, he hoped not, but Gabe was almost positive Philip had no part in this. That didn’t mean the man didn’t have information, and with some luck, Jinx might soon know where they could find him so they could get that information. “No, he’s your brother.”
That improved her posture. Leigh barely got down the mouthful of water she’d just drunk. She obviously hadn’t considered the possibility that she had family.
“I have a brother,” she mumbled under her breath. “What about him and my parents? Certainly they’re worried about me. I hadn’t considered that someone might be concerned as to my whereabouts.”
A Man Worth Remembering Page 5