Liam stepped up beside her as they approached the counter, calling out. “Marie? You here?”
An African-American woman came out from the back, holding a cup of coffee. Streaks of gray wandered through her short hair, fighting with the black for supremacy. She was no more than five feet high, the police uniform fitted perfectly to her slender form. Crow’s feet around her eyes added a spot of wisdom to her wide grin.
“Got my first cup of coffee and prepping to dive into a pile of paperwork. Don’t let anyone tell you the law enforcement life isn’t glamorous.” She smiled. “Hi, Jack. Who’s your friend?”
He chuckled as he leaned on the counter, balancing on his elbows. “Now there’s the mystery.”
“Oh, so it’s going to be like that. Good thing I made this batch strong enough to peel paint.” The police chief waved them both in through the swinging door. “Want a cup?”
“No, we’re good.” Liam cleared his throat. “Here we go.”
Marie listened intently, arms crossed, as he ran through the night’s events. He left out Kara knowing his name, as well as their previous connection.
Forehead furrowed, Marie turned her full attention on Kara. “You don’t recall how you ended up at his apartment?” She leaned back in the wooden chair, the metallic squeak grating on Kara’s ears.
“No idea.” Kara didn’t have to lie. “I just remember stumbling through the rain and sleet. I’m lucky he was home and awake.”
The chief’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Great luck.”
She glanced at Liam. He shrugged.
Kara held back a smile. Liam might have underestimated how far he could push the savvy policewoman when it came to withholding information.
“Right. Let’s start with your fingerprints, if you don’t mind, and I’ll run them through the system.” Marie stood up from the desk. “I’m sure someone’s looking for you. Come on back here, and we’ll start.”
Kara followed her into one of the other rooms, leaving Liam behind.
“Here we go.” The police chief tapped a series of buttons on a large machine. “Must be awful, not knowing anything but your name.” Marie reached for Kara’s hand. “I need you to relax.” Her smile was warm and welcoming. “Just let me handle your fingers. Works a lot better this way.”
Kara nodded and let her direct each digit.
The older woman pressed each of Kara’s fingers to the scanner. “This here will take your fingerprints and send them to the various agencies. If you’ve ever been arrested or applied for a job that required you to obtain a security clearance, it’ll be in there. As well as if you’ve been listed as missing and we were able to put some prints on file.”
Kara listened to the hum and whir of the machine as Marie reached out and tapped the nearby keyboard.
The police chief glanced over at Liam, just out of earshot. She cleared her throat. “You said you took a shower last night. I sort of wish he had taken you to the clinic first. Annie would have opened up for you; she’s always available in a pinch. Be good to have her look you over.”
“That’s what Jack said. He checked me over for a concussion and asked me if I thought I’d been assaulted. I told him no—I checked my clothing for rips, tears, signs I’d been hurt. There was nothing. Otherwise, I’m sure he would have called Annie and taken me to the clinic, whether I wanted to go or not.”
“Good.” Marie eyed Kara, a softness in her gaze. “I’m glad to hear that. Don’t like to think anyone in my town would be that horrible.”
Kara twisted to see out the open door. “Jack’s a nice man.” It took a concentrated effort to use his alias.
“That he is.” Marie smirked. “If I were twenty years younger I’d be making a move on that. But I’m no cougar, so I flirt with him, he plays along, and my ego appreciates it.”
“What do you know about him?” Kara asked.
Marie shrugged. “Came into town over a year ago. Been a solid law-abiding citizen, never been any trouble, not even a ticket for jaywalking. Works full-time at the water bottling warehouse, does a lot of volunteer and part-time work, money under the table.” She winked at Kara. “Not much that goes on in this town that I don’t know. He keeps to himself, although he’s always there to lend a hand if you ask.”
She gave the keyboard a final drum of her fingers. “There. Should have something for us in a few minutes.” The older woman fixed her gaze on Kara. “If an outstanding warrant comes up, please behave yourself. I don’t want to have to take you down in front of Jack.”
“Promise,” Kara said.
Marie hummed for a second, releasing Kara’s hand. “Thanks. Got a feeling you’d give me a run for my money. Looks to me like you work out a lot.”
“I do?” Kara flexed her fingers.
“You do. Think on that—might help jog the memory circuits.” Marie led her back out into the main room.
Liam spun around on the chair, facing the two women. “Anything yet?”
Marie laughed as she motioned for Kara to the empty chair beside him. “You’ve got one hell of a lot of faith in technology. Give it a chance.” She eyed Liam. “Heard the Carallos decided to take a long vacation.”
He nodded. “Going to Nevada from now until the spring—visiting a new grandchild. I’m going over this afternoon to help board up the house, seal it up.”
The machine in the other room made a loud beep, cutting the conversation off.
Chapter Three
Marie frowned as she scanned the screen. “Well, that’s odd.” She glanced at Kara. “According to this you don’t have any outstanding warrants.”
Liam stood up. “Why is that odd? It’s good, right?”
“No. There’s no warrants because she doesn’t exist in the system.” Marie shook her head. “There’s no record anywhere.” She tapped the keyboard. “Guess you’ve had a pretty quiet life up to this point. Luddite, maybe—staying off the grid. It happens.”
Liam’s stomach twisted into knots. There were other reasons someone would vanish from the databases—not necessarily by choice.
“Did you check with the FBI? U.S. Marshals?” he asked. “Perhaps focus on Las Vegas?”
Marie tapped the computer monitor. “We’re hooked into the basic database—nothing too deep. I can send a request to the Bureau, but it’ll take some time. This isn’t a criminal case, and if no one’s filed a missing person report…” The police chief shrugged. “I’ll put it in the queue. A bit of time and we’ll get something back, if there’s anything there to find.”
“I’d appreciate that,” he said.
“I’m sure you would.” She hooked her thumbs into her gun belt and eyed him. “Fess up, Jack. You’re wanting me to treat her like an international criminal, and I’m curious as to why. Especially that bit about Las Vegas. Can’t expect me to go through all this trouble without giving me some idea what’s going on here.”
He felt the intense gaze of both women on him.
“We, ah…” Liam hesitated, suddenly at a loss for words.
“Jack left out a bit of information,” Kara volunteered, “we met over a year ago. I don’t remember it, of course. Didn’t think it was pertinent to mention it.”
“Of course,” Marie echoed. She crossed her arms, one edge of her mouth twisting up. “May I ask in what context you ‘met’ Kara?” The inflection on the single word said it all.
“He said it was a hotel bar,” Kara offered.
“Ah. And he only got your first name? Which one of you ran off the next morning?” The verbal reprimand itched against his skin.
“It wasn’t a one-night stand,” he snapped, his internal censor turning off thanks to the double assault. “We were together for a week.”
It was hard not to bite his tongue off as punishment, seeing the shocked expressions on both women.
They spoke at once.
“A week?’
Liam gritted his teeth, feeling the molars ache with the effort.
Time to put it all on the table and deal with
the consequences.
“We left the bar and went upstairs—you had a suite. One day turned into another and so on until I woke up one morning and you were gone.” He pointed at Kara. “Didn’t even leave me a note. I checked out right after that, figured it was over.”
Now it was her turn to look chagrined, her mouth dropping open as her cheeks reddened.
He continued. “All you told me was your first name. All I told you was mine. Sort of mutually agreed that was enough.”
Marie held up her hands. “Enough.” Her grin morphed into a frown. “And she found her way here to you a year later?” She turned to Kara. “Are you sure you don’t remember? Or are you putting on some sort of show here?” Marie’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve got better things to do than deal with some jilted lover’s game.”
Kara let out something akin to a growl. “I’m no liar. I really don’t remember.” She stared at him. “You know I’m not lying.”
The words ripped at Liam’s heart.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think she’s telling the truth. Nothing to gain in screwing around with me—not like I’m loaded.”
Marie let out a huff. “True.” She eyed Kara. “All right. I’ll put feelers out to Las Vegas and go through the channels. Jack, give me the name of the hotel you stayed in. I’ll make some calls, send out some emails.”
“It’s been over a year,” Kara said.
“Maybe you made an impression. Maybe he did.” She smirked. “Maybe some of the other ladies caught an eyeful.”
Kara laughed as Liam’s face burned.
“If you don’t mind, let me take a picture of you. I can attach it to the file—it might jog some memories.” The chief pulled a digital camera out of a drawer. “Nothing too fancy, just stand there against the wall. Not quite a mug shot, but it’ll do. Really helpful with missing person reports—an image works a lot better than a basic description.”
Marie downloaded it to the computer minutes later.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what do you want to do?” Marie asked. She nudged a thumb at the back wall. “Kara can stay here, but…” She dragged out the last word. “I’m not really set up for visitors. She’d have to sleep in one of the cells.”
Kara’s eyes widened.
“No, no.” He reached over and touched her arm. “We came here together, we’ll go out together. She might see something, jog her memory. Or someone might recognize her, give us a clue to how she got here.” Liam turned to Marie. “Call me if something comes through. You’ve got my number.”
“You got it.” She waved the pair off and reached for her cold coffee. “Get out of here and let me do some real work. Got only a few more weeks before winter makes us her bitch. Again.”
“Right. Talk to you later.” Liam led Kara out of the station.
A few moments later, she spoke. “Why didn’t you say how we’d met, the details…” Kara shook her head. “Didn’t want to start trouble.”
“That’s on me, that entire conversation. A little bit of not wanting to embarrass you. And me. Didn’t think it would be pertinent to finding out who you are. Guess I was wrong.” He laughed. “Marie’s got a whole new line of gossip to share. Made her day. She’ll be happy to make the rounds.”
“I thought…” She cleared her throat. “I thought we’d just been together for a night.”
“That’s sort of what I figured it’d be.” Liam nodded. “Then morning turned into afternoon into night again and…” He cocked his head to one side, unable to avoid giving her a sly smile. “Neither of us was eager to leave.”
“I just wish I could remember.” She rubbed her temples. “I don’t like this feeling of not being in control.”
“Don’t stress yourself out over it—when it’s the right time, you’ll remember.” He shrugged. “We were both trying to cover each other’s ass in front of Marie. Better now it’s out in the open—for her and for us.”
“I suppose.” She matched him, step for step. “Does she have a lot of staff? The police station doesn’t seem that large.”
“Only her and Dwayne, the deputy. He’s a nice guy.” Liam jerked a thumb at the road. “He’s probably out making sure the rental cabins are locked down tight for the season.”
“Cabins?”
“Everett’s Ridge is a tourist town. Gets all of their business in the spring and summer, renting cabins to visitors and guides taking hunters up into the mountains. During the fall, things wind down, and in the winter, everyone hibernates, like the bears.”
“Why hasn’t anyone built a ski resort? Seems like the town would be perfect for that sort of thing.” She sidestepped a slush-filled puddle, moving closer to him. “You’ve got the mountains on all sides.” An arm swept out to encompass the tall peaks on the horizon.
“Big investment. Small town.” He mimicked the action, taking in the buildings around them. “Total population during the winter months is only a few hundred. One road in and out—when the snowstorms hit, we’re isolated until the plows come in from Denver.”
Kara glanced around, taking in the empty streets. “I hope you weren’t too upset with me last night. Or this morning. Now that I know more about how long we were together…”
“Upset with you? For what?” Liam frowned. “For not jumping into bed with me? You barely remembered who I was, never mind our relationship. I wasn’t going to press you on anything. I know you don’t recall much, but I’m not that type of guy.”
“No, I mean…” She shook her head. “I’m messing this all up, aren’t I?”
“Don’t worry.” He drew a gloved finger down her cheek before offering his hand. “I understand. This is a whole new thing for me as well. We need to try and jog that memory of yours.” He pointed at the nearby intersection. “Let’s try the library. Picture books, travel magazines—that might give you something.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She grasped his hand. They walked down the street, Kara shaking her head. “I wish I had something, a snippet to grab on to other than just your name and a handful of emotions. You don’t know how it feels to be so lost, afraid of what I might remember when and if it all comes back to me.”
“Sometimes forgetting might be a good thing,” he said. “If you can.”
“Is that what happened to you?” She nodded at the mountain peaks surrounding them. “Why you’re hiding out here in a small town on the edge of civilization?”
“Something like that.”
“Did it have something to do with me? With us,” she autocorrected. “Did I say or do something to you? Get you into a situation forcing you out of Vegas?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s got nothing to do with you.” He squeezed her hand. “I can promise you that much is true. Put that out of your mind, and let’s focus on finding out who you are and where you came from.”
He battered back the memories of a year ago, brought up by her innocent question. He hadn’t lied—their past meeting wasn’t the reason he’d gone to ground, the reason he ended up in the Ridge. But having her show up here…
That could be something to worry about. But the only way to verify that was to give Kara her memory back. All they needed was a spark, something to blow up the wall keeping her thoughts hostage.
No matter what the fallout might be.
He jabbed a thumb at the distant building as it came into sight, the white Greek columns setting it apart from the others. “There we go.”
Kara slid her tongue over her lips, an innocent move that shot straight to his groin. It was hard not to flash back to seeing her naked this morning in his bed then go back further, to their week in Vegas. For the first time since arriving in the Ridge, he felt alive.
She might be trouble, but sometimes trouble was just what you needed.
Geraldine Hamilton, the town librarian, knew Liam well—he’d been in and out at least once a week to help shelve books and move heavy boxes the elderly woman couldn’t handle. She peered over her glasses at the p
air as they approached.
“This is Kara,” he said before she launched herself into a gentle interrogation. “Just visiting. We’re going to look over the travel books.”
Before she replied, Liam had taken Kara’s arm and maneuvered her over to the geography section of the library, where a giant globe sat atop the shelves.
“She’s a sweet lady, but she loves to talk. We’ll never get anything done if she corners us. Don’t worry—Marie will fill her in on our backstory soon enough. If someone mentions seeing you, she’ll let us know.” He patted the back of a wooden chair. “Have a seat and relax. I’ll grab some travel picture books and you can page through them, see if anything triggers.”
There was no one else in the library, making it easy for him to go from aisle to aisle and select a collection of books dealing with North America. It was a start.
He grabbed a thin book about Las Vegas, adding it to the stack. If he could figure out where she came from, it’d make it easier to see where she fit into his life.
And then what?
The question echoed through his mind as he strode back to the table.
The empty table.
Liam laid the stack down, resisting the urge to run through the library looking for her. The chair sat upright, pushed back.
He headed for the front desk, ready for a quick interrogation with Geraldine to see if she’d seen where Kara had gone and if she’d been with anyone.
The front desk was empty.
Fear crept along his spine, the icy tentacles wrapping around his heart. His right hand slipped around to the pistol at the small of his back.
If someone had taken them both…
A high-pitched twitter had him spinning around, relief tamping down the anxiety. Geraldine’s laugh was a distinctive sound, not likely given in a hostage situation.
But still…
He crept along the edges of the bookshelves until he had a clear view of the children’s area.
The two women sat at a small table. The white-haired librarian flipped through a book before turning it around to show Kara. A quick sweep of the room showed it to be empty except for the pair, easing the last of his worries. He turned his attention to the women.
Warrior Nights Page 3
