Not that every woman wanted a new life. That thought twisted inside him, but he’d seen it before. Battered women were often mentally abused as well, and too many of them went back to their abuser because he had such a tight control over their emotional state.
Jared prayed that wasn’t the case with her, but he wouldn’t know it until he got more out of her.
She kept staring into the fire. Her lip quivered and a tear spilled down her cheek. He didn’t want her to cry, but he refrained from gathering her in his arms and comforting her. If she was going to tell him anything, he couldn’t interfere before she found the strength.
Liquid brown eyes met his. “I-I don’t know my name. I can’t remember.”
Chapter Two
Her head throbbed where he’d cleaned her cut and her body felt like she’d run headlong into every tree in the forest. In other words, she ached.
None of that compared to searching her brain for answers and finding none. How could she know the day of the week and the president, but not her name? Her heart hammered in her chest as she huddled beneath the blanket, shivering.
It didn’t make any sense.
The man—Jared—frowned down at her. He was a little blurry from a distance, but he was really, really pretty up close. Blue eyes, dark hair, and a scruff of a beard that would probably feel sinfully sensual scraping along a woman’s thighs.
Not her thighs because she was too sore, too cold, and too confused to care. Maybe she didn’t even like men.
She thought about that. No, she definitely did. She was much too interested in how handsome this guy was not to like men. He was pleasing to the eye, but he was also calm and in control. She liked that. She knew she needed to be careful, but at the same time she felt like a man who’d done everything he’d just done to help her wasn’t intent on hurting her.
“Can you check your pockets for ID?” he asked.
She liked his voice. It was gravelly and smooth at the same time. Not too deep, but not forgettable either. She’d started to worry when he’d been gone for so long, but looking for her car made sense. Except he hadn’t seen a car. How had she gotten here?
Beneath the blanket, she slid her hands down to her pants. They were stretchy and soft and had no pockets. The jacket she wore was thin, but it did have pockets. There was a key inside one. She pulled it out and held it up.
“This is all I have.” There were no markings, nothing to indicate what the key went to. A house or an apartment, maybe. But where?
She breathed in and tried not to cry. She felt like she wasn’t the sort of person who cried a lot but right now she couldn’t quite help the urge.
The feel of something metal tickled her collarbone as her chest expanded. It took her a second to realize it was the chain of a necklace. She fished it out from under her shirt. There was a small gold rectangle attached to either side of the chain.
Jared leaned closer and she caught the scent of wood smoke and outdoors. “Libby,” he said.
“What?”
His brows twitched down for a second. “That’s the name on the bar. It says Libby.”
She turned it around in her brain. It sounded right when he said it. In fact, she wasn’t certain if she’d been answering his use of the name or asking him what he’d said. “My name is Libby. I guess.”
“It’s better than hey you,” he said with a smile she knew was meant to reassure her.
Her belly flipped. Why did he have to be so darn pretty?
Was she pretty? She didn’t have the faintest idea, but she felt as if a man who looked like this one was probably out of her league. He was tall, with broad shoulders and the kind of form that said he worked out regularly. Strikingly handsome and fit. She wasn’t fit. She could tell by the way her belly folded over the top of her pants as she sat beneath the blanket.
“I guess so,” she said. “Libby. Seems rather old-fashioned, doesn’t it?”
“Could be short for something.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but we can look it up. See if anything resonates with you.”
She bit the inside of her lip. “What if I never remember?”
“I think you will. Trauma can have weird consequences, but it’s not necessarily permanent. It’ll probably come back to you soon enough.”
She hoped he was right.
“Are you hungry?”
She thought about it. Her stomach took the opportunity to growl. “I think so.”
He went over and stoked the fire, adding a log to the top. The flames leapt and sparked and the warmth reached out to where she sat and made the chill in the air a little less noticeable. It didn’t hurt that Jared was bending over to tend the fire, giving her a nice view of his butt in faded jeans.
He straightened and turned, and Libby dropped her gaze to the blanket, hoping he hadn’t caught her staring. Really, what did she think she was up to anyway? She didn’t know who she was or where she was from or how she got here. Not to mention she hurt all over.
And what if she was married? What if her husband was looking for her? She felt around her ring finger with her thumb. No ring.
Okay, so what if she had a fiancé instead of a husband? He probably wouldn’t appreciate knowing she’d been ogling a stranger’s backside.
Libby hugged herself beneath the blanket and tried not to wince as she shifted her hip to ease the pressure on one side. She was a mess in more ways than one.
Jared took something out of the small medical kit he’d been using. “Here. Take these.”
She looked at his palm. “What is it?”
“Tylenol.”
She took the pills from him, her fingertips burning where they touched his skin. “What if I’m allergic?”
“I’ve got an EpiPen.”
She tilted her head. There was a dull ache in her temples and an even sharper one beneath the bandage. “Are you a doctor?”
“No. A medic.”
“A medic. Like an EMT?”
“Like that, yeah.”
Lucky her. If she had to have an accident and get lost in a forest, this was the guy she wanted to meet. Score one for Team Libby.
“Should we call the police?” she asked. She didn’t know where she was, no matter what he told her, or who she was. It was possible the police could figure that out in no time at all. Someone had to know the answer.
“I can,” he said. “But we’re quite a distance from town and the snow’s coming down harder now. It’s a small town and a small force. They might have their hands full with the weather right now. If they can get here tonight, it’ll probably take a couple of hours at minimum.”
She didn’t like the sound of that.
“I know it’s a lot to ask you to trust me,” he continued. “But I have the medical training to take care of you for the night. Physically, you’ve been banged up a little, but you’re not critically injured. Once it’s daylight, it should be safe to get down the mountain and take you to the police station. In the meantime, I’ll have a buddy of mine check the police scanner for any accidents in the area. In case you weren’t alone.”
Everything he said made sense. She turned her gaze to the huge picture windows on either side of the fireplace. It was awfully dark out there and she couldn’t see anything through the windows except blackness—and a white blanket on the ground close to the windows. Daylight would come soon enough, and he’d been nothing but helpful since the moment he’d walked up to her in the snow. In fact, he’d saved her. That much she knew. If she’d stayed outside much longer, she’d have frozen to death.
“I guess it’s better to wait here, then. And thank you for checking the police scanner.”
“If anyone was with you, we’ll find that out. I’ll get a bottle of water so you can take the pills, then I’ll fix something to eat.”
He went over to the kitchen and she heard him rustling with the grocery bags he’d carried in. A few moments later, he returned with the water.
> She took the bottle and downed the Tylenol, then sat staring at the flames as they leapt and danced. Her body throbbed with aches and pains. It was like she’d fallen off a horse or something. A horse? Did she even know how to ride one?
She thought about climbing into the saddle, picking up the reins, clucking to get the horse to move. She couldn’t see herself in her mind’s eye since she didn’t know what she looked like, but she could see the view from the horse’s back—so maybe she did know how to ride. Not that she planned to find out anytime soon.
Stop the fantasyland, Libby.
Fantasyland? Where had that come from? It sounded like something she’d heard before, but she didn’t know where. She could hear an exasperated female voice saying those words to her.
Jared was back in a few minutes with a paper plate that contained a sandwich. “Turkey and cheese,” he said.
“Thank you.”
She didn’t hesitate to take the sandwich. Why should she? If he intended to poison her, he’d have done it when he’d given her the pills. Or maybe he had a syringe in that bag of his and he’d have already injected her with something when he was tending to her injuries.
No, he wasn’t trying to poison her. She took a bite and nearly moaned. Maybe she was a turkey sandwich aficionado and this was a damned fine one. Or maybe she was just really hungry.
Jared returned with his own sandwich. He sat on the couch opposite and picked up the remote to turn on the television. “Maybe there’ll be something on the news about an accident. Or a missing person. We might solve this mystery in a matter of minutes, and then I’ll call the police and let them know you’re here. I texted a friend to check the scanner in the meantime.”
She hoped there was something, but she also worried that she hadn’t been alone and whoever had been with her was hurt or dead. It was a terrifying thought and not one she wanted confirmed through an announcement on the television. But what choice did she have when she didn’t remember anything?
The television flickered to life. Jared went through the channels until he found a local news program. They ate in silence as the anchors talked about various happenings in the area. Nothing was familiar to her. She kept hoping something would spark a memory and she would suddenly remember everything about herself, but it didn’t happen.
Her stomach twisted at the thought of remembering, as if it was too terrible to know how she’d gotten here. She felt vaguely uneasy as she tried to force her mind in that direction. Why? Was someone out there, waiting for her to return? Had she abandoned someone who was counting on her?
When she stopped trying to remember, when she glanced at Jared and took in how calm and capable he was, she breathed a bit easier. She had to stop imagining the worst. He hadn’t seen an accident, hadn’t found a car or anyone else stumbling through the snow. She could just as easily have been alone out there.
But why?
Jared got up and fetched a bag of potato chips—the wavy ones—that he opened and held out to her. She took a small handful and put them on the paper plate. “Thank you.”
She was surprisingly hungry and her stomach was tolerating the food quite well. Her unease didn’t translate to queasiness, thankfully.
He sat down again. “You feeling any warmer?”
She thought about it. Though she still huddled beneath the blanket, with only one free arm to eat, there was a growing warmth emanating from her core. Her feet were still cold, but she wasn’t shivering anymore. “Yes.”
“Any new aches or pains to tell me about? Worsening headache?”
“I don’t think so. It feels like I fell from a height, like maybe off a horse, though I doubt I was horseback riding in this outfit.”
He studied her. An odd heat bloomed in her belly. It wasn’t pain, though.
“No, not too likely.” He popped a chip in his mouth, clearly unaffected by whatever was affecting her. “Nothing on the news, which isn’t a bad thing.” His phone dinged and he picked it up, studying the screen for a moment. “And no accidents in the local area on the scanner.”
“That’s good,” she said. “Right?”
“It is. Means no one else is hurt or lost. So we’ll stick to the plan and take you to town in the morning.”
Libby’s throat tightened at the thought of leaving this place. Why? “Okay,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry to be a bother.”
“You aren’t a bother.”
His voice was a little gruff and she wasn’t sure she believed him. “Are you expecting company?”
She said it in a bright voice and then immediately regretted it. Sounded a lot like prying, Libby.
His blue eyes lasered in on her. “No.”
“Oh, good. I would hate to ruin your plans if you were expecting a girlfriend or something.”
Libby groaned mentally. What the hell? She didn’t know who she was yet, but one thing was becoming clear about her—she didn’t know when to shut up.
“I came up here for a few days alone. No one’s coming to visit.” He said it with finality, but she was no longer surprised that her mouth didn’t want to accept he was done talking.
“Do you do that often? Come to the mountains to be alone?”
“Not often enough.”
“What do you do here by yourself?”
His eyes glittered. Might be amusement. Might be irritation. Probably irritation, she decided. Yet she had a need to talk. Like talking kept fear and uncertainty at bay.
“I sit in silence and read books. I don’t talk to anyone for days. It’s perfect.”
“I like to read.” She blinked as those words popped out. “I think I do anyway. It feels like I do.”
“I’ll loan you a book.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
He studied her. “You’re very polite. And very chatty.”
Her skin flushed a little at those words. “You can’t learn anything about people if you don’t talk to them.”
“True. But there aren’t many people I care to know anything about.”
“But if you don’t talk to them, how do you know?”
“I don’t. But I also don’t care.”
Libby could only stare at him. What a grump. But a gorgeous grump, no doubt about it.
He got to his feet and motioned at her plate. “You done?”
“Um, yeah.”
He took it and went into the kitchen. She heard him moving around but she didn’t know what he was doing. Thankfully, she was finally warming up and her belly wasn’t turning itself inside out anymore. Her eyelids drooped a little, but she forced them open again. She was worried about not knowing who she was, but deep down she was certain it would come to her very soon. Maybe after a nap. Or in the morning.
“Hey.”
She dragged her eyes open and met his gaze. She wasn’t alarmed by his presence. He didn’t make her uneasy. She wasn’t sure why not, but she was glad of it. He might be a grump, but he didn’t make her feel unsafe. He stood a few feet away, not looming over her, not hovering. Just waiting to speak when he was sure she was listening. She wriggled her way into a straighter position and fixed her gaze on him. “Yes?”
“You can stay on the couch if you want, but this is a two-bedroom cabin. Both have their own bathrooms.” He held out a book. “Take this with you if you like. Guaranteed to put you to sleep in no time.”
She accepted the book. The title was a little blurry but she could still read it. She noted that things were blurry far away and slightly blurry up close. Maybe she needed glasses. “A biography of Lyndon Johnson?”
He shrugged. “I like variety.”
Libby pushed herself to her feet, wincing as she did so. “Oh shit,” she breathed as everything ached.
The corners of his mouth turned down, his expression growing hard. “Maybe you should take a hot bath. I’ll give you a muscle relaxer to help you sleep.”
“I think I’m going to need it.” Maybe she shouldn’t so readily accept drugs from a man she didn
’t know, but she didn’t have much choice if she wanted any relief. Not to mention he clearly had medical training, and nothing he’d done thus far had set off any alarm bells.
“Here, let me help.”
He held out his hand and she took it. He tugged her upright with a gentleness that was surprising considering his size. She tried not to moan. When she was standing, wobbling in place, he wrapped an arm around her and steadied her against his solid form. She didn’t even care that she melted into his side.
“This okay?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her heart hammering at his proximity.
Nothing demonstrated so forcefully to her that she was at his mercy like leaning against him because she couldn’t stand unassisted. A current of fear slipped through her as she considered the facts. She was utterly alone in a cabin with a stranger, she didn’t know her name beyond the unhelpful and old-fashioned Libby, and she had no way to protect herself or call for help if he turned on her.
He could have killed you a dozen times by now if that’s what he wanted. Stop being an idiot.
“We’ll go slowly,” he said, clearly unaware of her chaotic thoughts. He supported her as they walked toward the bedroom, and though he had an arm firmly anchored around her waist, his hand didn’t stray. That was something, wasn’t it? Would a murderer be so careful with her? Would he feed her, care for her, give her a book, and help her to bed?
He threw open a door and flipped on a light. The room was small but cozy and the bed was piled high with a fluffy comforter and pillows. A huge window fronted the room. She wondered what the view would be when it was light.
Jared walked her over to the bed and she sank down on it. Her heart beat surprisingly hard for that short trip, but she wasn’t sure whether it was the physical exertion or his nearness.
Black Knight (A Black's Bandits Novel): HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries Page 2
