Lethal Memory (A Counterstrike Novel Book 2) Read online

  “I can attest to that.” She eyed him steadily for a moment. “What do you do when you aren’t working?”

  “I enjoy fishing and sailing. Growing up, I spent a lot of time on the Maine coast. My grandparents lived there.”

  “Other family?”

  “My parents left New York and retired to Florida years ago. My sister is a dance instructor, currently living in Paris.” He clenched his hands into fists on his thighs. “My brother still lives in Brooklyn.”

  “All that family sounds nice.” When he didn’t respond, she continued, “Have you ever been married?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve had a couple of serious relationships. One ended before I left for Africa. Another disintegrated last spring when it became clear work and not play was my top priority. Since then, I haven’t dated much.”

  “Based on the info Luna compiled, my social life is nonexistent. Unless she missed something, all I do is work. Apparently, we have that in common.”

  “You have one friend you see now and then. Charles mentioned her when we interviewed him after you went missing. Scarlet contacted her, an old college buddy of yours. She said you hadn’t mentioned anything to her about a threat. You might want to let her know you’re okay since she was worried.”

  Riley scrunched her forehead. “Who is this woman?”

  “Her name is in your file. Becca something.”

  She turned to stare at him. “Odd. I had a sudden flash of memory. Not a person, though. A place. It looked like a coffeehouse.”

  “I imagine there’s some sort of connection. I’ll get her number for you.”

  “That would be great. But here we are, talking about me again.”

  “I’m interested in you. And not just from a medical perspective.” When her pupils dilated slightly, and her lips parted, Noah scooted closer to her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek. Leaning in, his lips brushed hers in a gentle caress—

  A clang reverberated from the rear of the house. Noah jerked away and leaped to his feet before the metal stopped ringing.

  “What was—”

  “Lock yourself in the downstairs bathroom and don’t come out until I tell you to.” Without waiting to see if she followed orders, he ran into the kitchen, only pausing long enough to grab a heavy butcher knife from the rack on the counter.

  Idiot! He’d left his sidearm locked in his truck in his rush to get Riley into the house.

  Noah flipped the lock on the sliding door, opened it, and slipped outside. A rustling noise came from the shed in the backyard, followed by a second resounding crash.

  Not someone intent on grabbing Riley, unless he was a complete incompetent. Lowering the knife to his side, he pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight app. The shed door stood open, and the trashcan lay on its side. Pawing at the bags was a dog, some sort of collie mix from the look of the animal’s matted, multi-colored coat. Pulling its head out of the can, the dog cringed, flattening against the floor. Terrified blue eyes stared up at him. Not a collie. An Australian shepherd.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Noah spoke softly.

  The stray shivered, apparently not at all convinced. No collar, and its ribs showed beneath wet and bedraggled fur.

  “I don’t want to leave you out here in weather like this.” But Riley was alone in the house, probably terrified. Stepping out of the shed, Noah shut the door and made sure it latched, then hustled back to the house. He entered the kitchen and set the knife down on the counter. “Everything’s okay. Come on out.”

  The door to the bathroom off the entry opened. Riley thumped toward him on her crutches. Her eyes were wide with fear, reminding him of their unexpected guest.

  “I heard a second crash.”

  “A stray dog tipped over your garbage can in the shed. It’s wet and probably hungry, but not dangerous.”

  “The poor thing! I hope you didn’t chase it away.”

  “I shut him, her, it, whatever in the shed. The animal is frightened, so I’ll need something to use as a leash if I’m going to get ahold of it. Hopefully, I won’t get bitten while I’m being a good Samaritan.”

  “How about my bathrobe belt?” She untied the length of fleece and pulled it from around her waist. “You can make a loop on one end, and the material is soft, so it shouldn’t hurt to tighten around his neck.”

  At the sight of her creamy, toned thighs, he gripped the counter. Beneath the robe, she wore an oversized T-shirt with a Trimountaine logo on the front. He swallowed and took the belt, somehow managing to look her in the eyes.

  “Maybe you can find a couple of old towels to dry him with when we get back. I imagine the little scavenger would love the leftover steak you didn’t finish earlier.” He turned and headed for the door. “Wish me luck.”

  “Thanks for doing this, Noah. I hate the thought of that poor dog out there, freezing and hungry.”

  “No problem.” At least he hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. When he opened the shed door, the dog scurried away from the trashcan and cowered in the corner. Noah approached slowly. “I’m here to help you. Good boy . . . or girl. What are you, huh?” He spoke in a quiet voice. After tying the belt in a slip knot, he looped it over the dog’s head. “Come on.” He gave a gentle tug. “Let’s go.”

  The frightened animal followed him out of the shed, staying low to the ground but not fighting him. Noah didn’t want to think about what sort of abuse the poor thing had endured to make it so afraid. The dog seemed resigned to whatever fate awaited it and entered the house with only a little urging.

  “Oh, no! He’s skin and bones and soaking wet.” After carefully lowering herself to the kitchen floor, Riley held out a faded beach towel.

  The dog’s stumpy tail quivered as it cautiously approached. Other than the shivers shaking its body, the dog held still while Riley wrapped the bedraggled animal in a towel.

  “Hey, I think he likes you.”

  “She. This sweet thing is a girl.” Riley rubbed the towel vigorously over the dog’s coat. “As soon as she’s warmer, I’ll feed her. I can feel all her ribs.”

  Noah opened the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover steak. “Maybe I should scramble some eggs to go with it. In the morning, we’ll drop her off at the humane society.”

  Riley stopped rubbing the dog, who huddled against her. “Yes, on the eggs. We’ll see about dropping her off.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She trusts me.” Riley cuddled their furry guest closer. “As I said, we’ll see.”

  “You’re going to smell like a wet dog.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Noah did, but since the earlier mood was broken, he wasn’t likely to get close enough to her to notice. Probably for the best. With a sigh, he took eggs from the refrigerator and broke them into a frying pan.

  When Riley struggled to rise from the floor, he bent to give her a hand up and slid his arm around her waist. The tropical scented lotion masked the faint odor of dog, and he was in no rush to move away.

  “Noah, the eggs.”

  “Huh? Oh.” Releasing her, he returned to his scrambling duties. Turning off the burner, he lifted a bowl down from the cupboard and dumped the steak and eggs into it.

  “Maybe if you give her the food, she’ll be less skittish around you,” Riley suggested.

  “Sure.” He set the bowl on the tile floor. “Here you go . . . dog. I’ll get you some water.”

  “I wonder what her name is. She doesn’t have a collar or tags.”

  “My guess is she got dumped, not lost. She’s probably been on her own for a while since she’s so thin.” After placing a water bowl beside the food, he studied the animal as she wolfed down her meal. “I’d say she’s nearly full-grown, probably close to a year old.”

  “People are jerks. How could anyone . . .” Riley let out a long breath. “I should probably take her to the vet to get checked out. When the dog finished eating and looked up wit
h a hopeful expression in her blue eyes, Riley smiled. “I think I’ll call her Stormy. You know, since we found her on a dark and stormy night.”

  “If you name her, she’s yours for good. You know that, right?”

  The blue of Riley’s eyes deepened. “With my memory gone, I feel disconnected. I have an overwhelming need to form new bonds. Establishing a relationship with someone, even if that someone is a stray dog, seems like a step in the right direction.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the counter. “I’m here for you, whenever you need me.” The idea of her needing him warmed him from the inside out and filled an emptiness he hadn’t even known existed.

  “I appreciate that, but I don’t want to cling. And Stormy needs me back.”

  Noah glanced down at the dog sitting at her feet. “Congratulations, Stormy. It looks like you’ve just been adopted.”

  Chapter Seven

  Riley sat across the table from Becca Swain, a tall woman with streaky blond hair who sipped black coffee and regarded Riley’s blueberry scone with longing.

  “Want half?”

  “I’d love to eat the whole damn thing, but I’ll probably gain five pounds just smelling it, and I had breakfast earlier. I guess with everything else that’s happened to you, you don’t remember my constant battle to lose weight.”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  They’d met at The Graduate, a coffeehouse Becca referred to as their place. Near the Trimountaine campus, Riley had apparently escaped from her lab to lunch with her friend on a fairly regular basis. After she shared the circumstances of her memory loss, Becca had spent the next hour filling her in on their college life in Chicago. The fact that they’d both wound up working in Boston had kept the ties between them strong.

  Riley’s hope for a burst of recognition going into the meeting had faded when the other woman approached to give her a hug. Nothing about Becca Swain seemed familiar, nor was this café the one from her fragment of memory.

  “This is the place we usually meet?” Riley’s tone made it a question. She broke off a piece of the scone and popped it into her mouth.

  “Ninety percent of the time. It’s convenient and always reminded us of the shop where we worked together our sophomore year of college.”

  Again, a memory of wrought iron tables painted white with high stools flashed through her mind. She could almost hear the clatter of cups and laughter coming from the kitchen. “Were the tables painted white?”

  Becca nodded, and her eyes widened. “You remember Mo’s?”

  “I guess so. More like a picture in my mind. I’ve been getting snapshots of memories, but there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to them. Noah says my brain needs time to heal.”

  “Who’s Noah? Your face softened when you said his name. Are you finally seeing someone? The last relationship you were in ended so abruptly I never even met the guy.”

  “Sounds like it’s no big loss that I don’t remember him.” Riley picked up the scone. “Noah and I are . . . friends.” Not that she’d seen him in the last few days—or even heard from him. Suddenly, the pastry no longer looked appetizing. She set it down and pushed her plate away. “He’s the doctor who treated my injuries after I was rescued. I owe him and his colleagues my life.”

  “I can’t believe what you went through. After that woman, Scarlet, phoned me, I was terrified for you.”

  Riley ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup. “Yet, you didn’t seem surprised to hear from me when I called.”

  “That’s because I contacted Charles to see if he knew anything. He told me you’d been rescued the day before and were safe and recovering.”

  “He didn’t mention speaking to you.” She took a quick peek at her bodyguard two tables over. Dex was in his early forties and looked like he’d played football in his younger days. Currently, he was eating a huge cinnamon roll and doing something on his phone, yet Riley had no doubt he was intensely aware of their surroundings. Refocusing on Becca, she smiled. “I’m glad you weren’t worried for long.”

  “I was still concerned, obviously, but at least I knew you were alive.”

  Riley grimaced. “I feel badly that I can’t remember anything about you. I wish . . .” She let out a sigh. “Wishing isn’t going to help, I’m afraid.”

  “I don’t blame you, for heaven’s sake.” Becca held her hand over her cup when one of the waitresses paused beside their table with a full pot. “No, thanks. I have to leave soon.”

  “I’m sorry. Am I keeping you?” Riley checked the time on her phone and discovered it was nearly noon.

  “Of course not, but I have a job interview early this afternoon. I need to go home first to dress for success. Fingers crossed.”

  “I’ll definitely think positive thoughts for you.” Riley wondered what line of work her friend was in but felt strange asking when she should already know the answer.

  “I’ve been looking for a new position going on two months now. Something had better give soon or I won’t be able to keep paying rent.” When the waitress returned with their bill and left it on the table before hurrying away, Becca picked her purse up off the floor.

  “No, I’ve got this.” Riley scooped up the tab. “It’s the least I can do after grilling you about my past. I really appreciate all the info. You filled in some of the blanks in my history.” Taking a ten and a couple of ones from her wallet, she left the bills on the tray.

  Becca’s eyes clouded as they both stood. “I just hope your memory returns soon. I can’t imagine how frustrated you’re feeling.”

  “It sucks. I’m not going to lie.” Riley followed the other woman toward the door with only a quick look at Dex. Her bodyguard shoved the last of his pastry in his mouth and pulled out his wallet.

  “Careful.” Becca tugged her out of the way as a pair of teenage girls entered the shop.

  “Oops, sorry.” She smiled at them and stepped back.

  Out on the sidewalk, a sharply dressed man wearing a topcoat over a gray suit and carrying a briefcase paused. His green eyes widened before he gave her an abrupt nod and strode away.

  “Do you know him?” Becca asked.

  “I’ve no clue. He probably stared because I look like a train wreck with all these bruises.” Riley laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “Slay that interview.”

  “Actually, I’m pretty hopeful about this one. After a preliminary meeting, the company CEO asked for a follow-up. Give me a call soon, okay? Let me know how you’re doing.”

  “Of course. Bye, Becca.” Shivering in the cold wind, Riley waited until her friend disappeared around the corner before heading toward her car. She’d just reached the Subaru when Dex walked up behind her, clicked the remote, and held the passenger door open.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I hung out in the shop for a few minutes, but no one seemed interested in your departure.” Once she was settled, he hurried around to the driver’s side and climbed in. “Where to next?”

  “Home, I guess. This job must be pretty boring for you.”

  “Hey, I prefer boring to getting shot at.” He started the engine and pulled out onto the street. “You didn’t mention me to your friend?”

  Riley grimaced. “No offense, but explaining the presence of a bodyguard is awkward. Bad enough admitting I can’t remember a person I’ve known for the last dozen years. Trying to force a familiarity I don’t feel is . . .” She broke off and shrugged. “Uncomfortable is the best word to describe it, I suppose. I want to hide out in my house until my memories return so I don’t have to face people I should know. My greatest fear is that I won’t ever recover my past.”

  “Don’t borrow trouble.” He flipped on the blinker and turned into her neighborhood.

  “I’m trying to stay positive, but some days are worse than others.” The fact that Noah hadn’t been in touch at all the past few days weighed on her heart. She resented her emotional dependence on him but couldn’t control the fee
lings he stirred inside her. After rescuing Stormy, he’d seemed to take a giant step back from the attraction that had been simmering between them earlier in the evening. She needed to remember that.

  Which was why the sight of his old Chevy pickup parked in front of her home shouldn’t have made her heart beat faster. It did, though, thumping in an accelerated rhythm as he stepped out onto the street. Exhaustion seemed to hang on him like a shroud with each step he took, but he gave her a quick smile as he reached her car and opened the passenger door.

  “How’re you doing?” He checked the back seat, and his brows shot up. “No more crutches, I see.”

  “I ditched them yesterday after visiting my doctor and going to physical therapy. I’m still limping a little, but my knee feels much better.” She studied the lines on his face beneath several days’ growth of beard. Shadows under his eyes resembled bruises. “You look tired.”

  “I haven’t slept in the last forty-eight hours.” He helped her out of her seat. “I could use some rest, but I wanted to check in with you first.” He faced Dex across the roof of the car when the other man got out. “You can take a break for a few hours. I cleared it with your boss.”

  The bodyguard pulled out his phone, typed, and nodded. “He confirmed it.” Rounding the front bumper, he handed the keys to Riley and smiled. “Text me when you want me back on duty.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Dex. Enjoy your afternoon.”

  “You, too.” He headed toward his car parked on the other side of the street and drove away a few moments later.

  “It’s chilly out, even if the sun is shining. We’ll talk inside.” Noah took her arm and headed up the walkway.

  After unlocking the door, Riley glanced over at him. “Brace yourself.”

  His brows shot up. “For what?”