"You have a big mouth. You should learn how to curb it. It seems to get you in trouble and create a situation into a huge fiasco," Kat said with irritation as she slammed his cup back onto the counter. "It might be late, but I need something to do. I'm worried about Doni…Aubrey, sorry. It might take me a bit to get used to her real name."
"How did you come up with calling her Doni anyway?" Danny asked. He folded his fingers together to curb his nervous energy.
He should be the one consoling Aubrey, not the sheriff, who stepped back inside the house just as she ran from the room as Deke tried to explain everything. Danny, like an imbecile, just stood there frozen in his spot, watching as the terror spread across her face. Not happiness, not relief, but pure unbridled terror. Deke managed to get out what her name was, where she lived, and that Danny was her brother. She had given him a brief look that he hadn't been able to decipher, besides the fear in her eyes, and ran out of the room. Logan entered the house just as she fled, Kat giving him a one-liner explanation and off he went after her. Twenty minutes later, no sound, no sight of either of them. It made Danny nervous.
Kat leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "Well, her favorite saying when I met her was 'I don't know'. Figured we needed to call her something, and I came up with some names using the letters from 'I don't know'. She liked Doni the best. Now I see why."
"I don't understand." Danny looked at her confused, although the hurt and pain overshadowed most any other emotion that fluttered into his features.
"You know, for such spiffy hot shot FBI guys, you two are really dense." Kat rolled her eyes as Deke gave her a charming smile while Danny burrowed his brows. "Your name is Danny. You’re her brother. She can't remember who you are yet, but when given the choice of names, picks Doni. Pretty darn close to Danny if you ask me. She wants to remember. Don't forget that."
Kat turned around to the coffeepot hearing the drip slow down, indicating the coffee was near completion. Not to mention she almost couldn't stand to see his pitiful face. He looked so sad, so dejected that his sister had no memory of him whatsoever.
She grabbed the pot at the same time the front door opened. She glimpsed that way, giving Seth a wary eye. "Are you here to cause problems, or did you get that stick out of your ass?"
"Stick removed," Seth said, joining them in the kitchen, grabbing a chair across from Danny and directly next to Deke. Kat nodded, grabbing another mug from the cupboard.
"Where have you been?" Kat asked briskly.
"Talking to Evan," Seth mumbled.
Kat whipped around, her eyes digging into his soul and ripping it into shreds with one simple glance. "And?"
"Wouldn't say anything to me. And damn if it doesn’t hurt. My best friend is holding something back and I want to hate him for it, but…"
"But…" Kat prompted him to continue as the other two men waited for his answer as well. They had talked quite a bit with the sheriff before heading to see Aubrey.
"I think it has to do with his brother. I don't think he's protecting him out of love, more like fear. Wayne was a scary ass dude back when he was 18. Can you imagine how he is now?" Seth said with a shudder just thinking about it. "I wanted to beat it out of him, but I just couldn't. He would never hurt Doni. I just can't believe it. I can believe him withholding information about his brother, though."
"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but if he withheld information in an investigation, we will lock him up," Deke said matter-of-factly, speaking for Logan's attempt at gaining information from Evan. "And we already started the search back in Tampa for Wayne, his last known address. If he can be found, we'll find him. He's sounding like a wonderful suspect to us, that's for sure."
"Well, just know, he's dangerous and a piece of work whenever you come across him. Just be careful," Kat said, turning back to her coffee task.
"Gosh, that sounded like you care," Danny said sarcastically.
Without turning around, Kat retorted, "Don't kid yourself, I don’t care about you. I care about Don…Aubrey. Once she remembers, she'd hate it if you got hurt."
Danny felt thankful that her back was turned at the moment. Her words affected him more than he cared to admit and he hated her seeing that. He couldn’t figure out why, so he trained his thoughts back to Aubrey and how she was doing. He could kick Deke in the face for his stupidity and blowing the whistle like he did.
"Where's Logan and Doni…ah, shit, I meant Aubrey?" Seth asked, glancing around the kitchen and the living room that sat bare.
"Einstein next to you blabbed everything to her. She didn't take it well. Logan's been with her since. Not sure how she is right now," Kat replied, bringing the cups over to the table and took the open seat next to Danny.
Seth slowly turned his head to Deke, who suddenly looked embarrassed. "It was an accident. It just slipped out. Logan was getting upset and mentioned a boyfriend named Brent. He was wrong. I corrected it by saying his name is Richard."
Seth burned his tongue gulping too much coffee at that statement. He spewed a bit of the coffee back in the cup as he coughed a little. "So she had a wrong memory? She has a boyfriend?"
"Why does that make you sound so shocked…and disappointed?" Danny asked quietly, the same menacing glare he had in Logan's office back on his face.
Seth held his stare for a while when Deke responded. "Her memory wasn't wrong. Just old. She dated a punk-ass kid named Brent when she was a senior in high school. Little twerp almost got his balls shot off."
Kat was shocked to hear the venom pour out with his words, the first time tonight he showed another emotion besides amusement. "And how did that almost happen?"
"He was a little too touchy feely to Aubrey's liking. She mentioned it to us and we had a little chat with him. Happens a lot actually, us having a chat with the men she dates," Deke said, glancing at Seth as he said it, lifting his coffee up for a sip.
"Meaning a lot get too touchy feely with her?" Kat asked with a smirk.
"No. Meaning we don't like any man she dates, including the current asshat she's seeing," Danny answered, eyeing Seth just as Deke had. Seth refrained from squirming in his seat like he wanted to. He knew they were warning him, or more so, warning him to warn his brother. He hadn't done anything with Aubrey to garner such a violent response. But if he knew Logan, he probably had.
"How come you keep saying we? You both act like her father instead of a brother and…and whatever you consider yourself to her," Kat said, throwing a hand in Deke's direction.
Deke made eye contact with Danny, who shrugged with indifference. "I met Danny in the academy. We were both newbie's looking for the excitement, the rush of starting with the FBI. Not too far into our training, Danny got a call. His parents died in a car accident. Aubrey was only fifteen at the time. He suddenly had sole custody of his sister. I mean, she was fifteen, it's not like she was a child. But she still needed structure and guidance. I sort of stepped in and helped him. I have three sisters and a brother. I'm no expert at raising kids, but I knew enough about rebelling and such. It took a while to settle Aubrey down. She took the death of their parents hard."
"My sister is all I have. Maybe I can get a little overprotective, especially with the men she dates. Hell, none of them are good enough for her. I'll probably never think any man is good enough for her. She did go through a rough patch when our parents died, but she's better now. Or she was before…" Danny took a sip of coffee to gather his thoughts. "Deke is like a brother to her, while I feel like a parent sometimes. I'll do anything for my sister."
"So this asshat she's dating, Richard, you said. Why don't you like him?" Kat asked, looking at Danny, trying to figure out how she could smooth a path for Logan. Maybe Logan thought he'd have to contend with a boyfriend taking Aubrey away, but it looked more like he would have a battle with her brother. A very brutal one.
"I told you. I don't like anyone she dates. Nothing in particular he did. He's arrogant and a jerk to boot. He never lets his superiority g
et in the way when he storms in my office demanding to know where we're at in her case. I don't know why he bothers either because I never see an ounce of worry. More like superb acting," Danny said through clenched teeth as he sipped some more coffee.
"I already told you I thought something was off the day she disappeared. She had something to tell me. She mentioned Richard, and not in a friendly way," Deke said, holding up his hand as Kat's mouth started to open. "And please don't ask if we checked him out as a suspect, because yes, we did. With a fine-tooth comb. He's clean. He had nothing to do with it. He had a solid alibi when she disappeared."
"Does he know she's here? Because I can guarantee you, he will not be welcome in this house. Because, you know, he sounds so arrogant. He'll probably set her back even further," Seth said, knowing he wasn't fooling either of them why he wouldn't be welcome in the house.
"No. We didn't stop to tell anyone but our boss before we boarded our flight. I don't plan on calling him either," Danny replied.
"That's harsh," Kat said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Don't care," Danny said with a firm tone.
"Neither do I." Kat smiled behind her mug as she took a drink.
Small crinkles formed around Danny's eyes, half amusement, half reflecting. Before he could respond, he heard Logan step into the room behind him.
"Is she okay?" Deke asked immediately, standing up from his chair.
"Yes, but no thanks to you. What happened to easing her into it?" Logan demanded.
"It was an accident," Deke muttered as he eased back down into his chair, the guilt evident in his posture.
"I don't care what it was. She…" Logan let his body fall against the counter as he brushed a hand over his face. "She really is okay. She cried a little, but nothing too…nothing like last night."
Seth breathed a sigh of relief at that, leaning back in his chair as he had been sitting practically on the edge of his seat. He didn't want to experience anything like they did last night.
"What is she doing? Can I talk to her?" Danny asked, standing up like Deke had. But unlike Deke, he had no intention of sitting down. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Then it occurred to him. Why did he even ask?
"She fell asleep, so no, you can't talk to her." Logan's eyes held a challenge, daring Danny to argue, to walk past him and wake her up.
"Fine, I can wait. We were just talking about her boyfriend, Richard," Danny said with a slicing tone, changing his mind about not sitting down.
Logan barely reacted except for a slight twitching of his jaw. "What about him?"
"Nothing. Agent O'Rourke was just explaining how much he despises the man," Kat replied before Danny could, receiving an annoyed look from him.
He never let anyone get the best of him. "Kind of like any man my sister dates. I also said that." Instead of eyeing Logan with the warning, he kept his glare on Kat, unsure of the reason.
"Well, besides what we went over in my office earlier, did something else pop up about him that makes him a suspect? Or was it just talk?" Logan asked.
"Just talk. Are you sure she's okay?" Seth asked, getting up with his mug and walked it to the sink.
Logan gave him a weak smile as Seth clasped a hand on his shoulder, waiting. "She'll be okay."
Seth nodded and headed for the fridge. "Who wants pizza? You have some cardboard pizzas we can just toss in the oven?"
"Doni's…" Kat rolled her eyes. "I mean Aubrey's cake is cooking in the oven. I should check that, actually. Why don't you order some instead, Seth?" He nodded again, walking to the sliding door and stepped outside on the porch. He didn't even think to ask everyone what they wanted, the food more a formality than a necessity. He wasn't that hungry. He imagined no one else was either.
Kat grabbed the potholders near the sink to check on the cake. Logan moved away from the counter and approached the table with trepidation. He refused to back down. He never expected to find out who Doni was this way. And he certainly never expected to butt heads with her brother.
"You two are welcome to stay here. My house isn't huge by any means, only a three-bedroom house, but I do have two spare rooms," Logan said.
"And just how do you have two spare bedrooms available? Where in the hell does my sister sleep?" Danny asked, standing up again.
"That's a simple answer. With me. And she will until she says otherwise. Not you, but her."
"What kind of sheriff takes advantage of a victim like that?" Danny asked, his fists clenching, just waiting for the opportunity to hit him.
"Hey, buddy, she's not a victim. She escaped on her own. She's a survivor and her own hero, so watch what you say. And my brother would never take advantage of anyone. Just wait until the sun goes down. Just wait until he says he needs to leave for some official business and watch her react to it. You just wait and see. My brother has done nothing but support and help her. So if you are planning on using those fists, you better expect to punch a woman as well because I'll be jumping into the fray," Kat said, her hands on her hips, a pot holder dangling from one hand.
"I'm done talking for the night about everything. We can go toe-to-toe tomorrow. I only came out here to let everyone know she's okay. But I need to go back in the bedroom in case she wakes up. Like my sister said, when it gets dark out and I'm not there, she doesn't take it too well. We even sleep with the door open. She feels confined otherwise. I'm really surprised she sleeps in the bedroom instead of the living room like I offered, the openness, the space, the feeling that she can breathe without fear."
Logan took a short breath and stepped closer to Danny. "You don't have to like me. You don't have to cooperate with me about the case. But please believe my words about your sister. She ran out of the room tonight, not because she couldn't handle what was said, but because she's scared of you."
That made Danny waver in his stance, his fists falling and his feet backing up. "She's scared of me? But I—"
"Not in the sense you're thinking. She can't remember you. She looked at you as Agent Sumnter said you were her brother and nothing. No recognition. She feels horrible inside and is scared what you'll think of her. That you'll hate her. I guess I was wrong to hold the information back from her because she took it fairly well. The only thing she is really struggling with is the fact she can't remember you, and you stood right in front of her. Keep that in mind when you have the urge to hit me. I'm the one that stands between you two right now." With those parting words, Logan turned and walked away.
Chapter 15
The melodious clicking of the door shifted Aubrey's eyes from the serene landscape to her right as Danny walked over to her and gestured at the empty chair next to her. "May I?"
"Of course. I'd like that."
"Sure is quiet out here, nothing like Tampa," Danny said, sitting back while stretching his legs.
"I like the quiet. Or, at least, I like the quiet when I'm looking at something beautiful like this." She bent forward pointing towards the edge of the woods. "Look, it's Brownie. He's back."
Danny squinted his eyes, not that it was too far to see, but a habit he formed whenever he looked at something with interest. "The rabbit? They name the wildlife around here."
She sniffed her nose lightly, sitting back as she shot a glance at him. "I named him."
He hadn't toned down his attitude, and for the first time, ashamed of that fact. "I didn't mean it in a rude way."
"Well, then you shouldn't say it in such a way." She crossed her arms, shifting in her seat as she slanted to the left a bit. "Why don't you like Logan?"
"The sheriff's fine."
"Is this normal? You lying to me?" she asked, watching as Brownie bounced around the yard as he enjoyed doing since she first saw him.
He twisted his head to meet her eyes with the truth, just to see her refusing to look at him. "I've never lied to you, Aubs, never…until now, I guess. I can't really say why I don't like him. Let's just say I've never liked any man that you had an affection for. Including Richard."
>
"I don't want to talk about Richard." She wrapped her arms tighter around her chest and focused harder on Brownie. "He's a good man. I wouldn't be where I am without him."
"Who, the sheriff? You escaped on your own," Danny said with animation.
"Maybe I did. But I've wanted to escape within myself and he just won't let me. He pushes me, yet is so gentle. I know you don't like me sleeping with him, but…" She finally looked at him. "The first night…I fell asleep on the couch in his cabin. I think he was worried, or who knows what his thoughts were, but he laid a pillow and blanket on the floor near me and fell asleep too. I woke up screaming, fighting, and fell off the couch. And he was right there to make the nightmares disappear. I asked him to sleep near me after that. Then, it was me who asked him to sleep right in his arms, and then it was me who…do you get the picture? Logan's been nothing but a gentleman. If I ask, he normally gives. I wish you'd be a little nicer to him, that's all."
His eyes clouded over with sadness, but he managed to surprise her once again. "I can try. For you, Aubs."
"Thank you. It's not much to ask."
They sat in silence, Aubrey watched Brownie as she tried hard not to dwell on the fact that three days had gone by with no memory, no flashbacks of the man sitting next to her. He would share stories here and there, call her by her nickname "Aubs", and any other little thing that he would hope to prompt any sort of recognition that he was her brother.
But nothing. She felt doomed to live in a shortened memory life until she died. She thought at times she was meant to wash all those old memories away and start a new life with new ones.
His partner, Deke, tried his best as well. But unlike Danny, who had a permanent morose look most of the time, Deke was smiles, friendliness, and good-natured humor. She saw him nudge Danny a few times, probably telling him to knock it off. She understood her brother's disposition. He was disappointed, discouraged, and she had no one to blame but herself.
Logan, through everything, stood by her with strength and understanding. When she needed an ear, he was her sounding board. When she needed to cry, he offered a shoulder. When she wanted to vent her frustrations with the lack of memories still, he gave her encouragement that it would all come together in time. Not once did he give his impression about her brother. Not once did he display a rude attitude towards her brother, at least in her presence. Not once did he try to sway her one way or the other concerning her brother. She appreciated it, but it upset her as well. What did he really think of Danny?
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