by Sable Hunter
“Well, let’s take a look at that brain of yours.” After a few minutes, he had a some shots. The doctor looked at everything carefully. “Yes, there is swelling, too much.” He pointed to two areas on the x-ray. “Here and here. But this is not unheard of for someone who has suffered as you have.” Laying them down, he leaned back in his chair. “Tell me about your memories. Sometimes it helps to talk about them.”
Austin balked. Was this a trick? A fishing expedition? Probably. He wasn’t stupid, he’d be vague. “Well, I’m picturing people in my head. No one in particular.” He thought of the young woman in the wedding gown. A feeling of elation nearly took his breath away. She was his wife. The name Liberty Belle kept coming to him, but that didn’t sound like a girl’s name. “Both men and women.” He could see other men who looked similar to him, but one was blond. One was young. Were these his family? “And a place. A ranch. Could be anywhere.” Tebow. Yea, the more he said it or thought it, the more familiar it sounded.
“Is that all?” Martina’s personal physician knew the chemist, Emily Gadwah, was set to erase these memories. Frankly, he didn’t know how much time the Diosa had before her captive lover would remember everything. Something told Juan Carlos that this man might not be as easy to control as Martina had figured. “Today, I’m just going to give you a shot for the nausea. Tomorrow, I’m sending you to a specialist. From the look of these x-rays, you still have swelling on the brain and we need to give you something to counter that.”
“I never have liked shots.” But he could tolerate them a lot better than Nathan could. He used to scream blood murder every time they took him to the doctor. “Damn!” It was all coming back like a tidal wave. Jacob. Joseph. Isaac. Noah. Nathan. Tebow. And, God, his darling Libby. He groaned at the picture he had of her in his head. A storm of love almost overpowered him. He was Aron McCoy. “Raw honey,” he groaned, remembering that T-shirt she had on the first time he laid eyes on her. And the stock tank, he remembered it clearly now, watching her touch herself and call his name. All the times they’d made love, the picnics, holding her close as they danced. Kissing her on the back of the neck as she stood over the stove, cupping her breasts as he pressed into her perfect bottom. He remembered the sharing, the laughter. God, she was pregnant. With twins! His babies. And then it hit him, the cancer. Fear barreled through his body. He jumped up from the chair.
“What’s wrong? This should make you feel better soon.”
Aron pulled the wires from his body. “I need a drink.”
“Let’s get the shot first.”
Aron forced himself to remain still while Juan Carlos gave him an injection. “You need to relax. Tomorrow the specialist will help you, Mr. Wade.”
“Don’t call me that,” he growled, walking out of the room. Martina was waiting for him in the hall. He remembered her now, too. The trips he’d made down here to buy cattle and the spectacle she’d made of herself to get his attention.
“How are you, darling?”
“Never better,” he spat. “Give me your keys.” He held out his hand.
“No, you’re not cleared to drive yet. Tomorrow, after you see the specialist—”
“I’m not seeing a damn specialist. Give me the keys.” At her look of concern, he played her, smiling softly. She wasn’t the only one who could act. “Look, darling.” He touched her cheek. “I’m not leaving the ranch, I just need to drive and clear my head.” The times she’d tried to make love to him turned his stomach. Once you’ve known heaven in the right woman’s arms, nothing less would do.
The look in his eyes caused her to obey. “All right.” She went to the counter and gave him a set of keys. “To the Land Rover.”
“Fine, I’ll be back. Don’t wait up.” With that, she watched him walk out.
As soon as he was out the door, she ran back to Juan Carlos. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “I can’t be sure, but I’d say his memories are coming back quickly. He’s overwhelmed with it all.” He touched her arm, braving the familiarity. “You’d better be careful. I’m not sure what he’ll do if he realizes the game you’ve played.”
“It’s not a game for me, Señor.” She smiled sadly. “I’ve played God and now I have to deal with the devil.” What she had to do next, filled her with regret. But it was the only way. She picked up her cell phone and placed a call. “He’s in the Land Rover. Follow him, discreetly. When he stops, take him. Use the tranquilizer. I don’t want him to wake up until I have him at the lab tomorrow.”
After she’d finished, she closed the phone. There was no going back now. Either she would be successful or she’d lose the only man she had ever loved. Permanently.
***
“I remember,” he whispered. “I’m Aron McCoy.” The first time behind the wheel and he was shaking with fury and fear. What the hell was he going to do? Libby must be worried sick. They had been married on the sixteenth of October, leaving soon after for a honeymoon in the Caymans. God, he remembered—he remembered it all. The love. The hope. The plans for the future. How he’d made love to her. How they’d played and the fateful day he’d went into the water with her, never to return. How she must be suffering. “God darlin’, I’m so sorry.” He didn’t even have a cell phone, or he would call her. Would she want to hear his voice? A horrid thought struck him. Did she think he was dead? “Fuck!” His whole family thought he was dead, they had to.
Turning down one of the dirt lanes, he careened into a ditch, just righting the vehicle before it flipped. The thought of being gone from home this long, Libby missing him, crying for him. God, he wanted to scream! “All right, McCoy. Get it together.” He admonished himself. Plans began to race through his head. He’d go back to the house and copy those files on that drive he’d confiscated earlier. Then he was getting the hell out of Dodge, or Mexico, or wherever the hell he was. As soon as he could find a phone, he’d call Libby and his brothers. The enormity of what Martina had done to him began to dawn to Aron and he clenched his fists at the absolute audacity of the bitch. Oh, he remembered her and Tomas, now. Back then, he’d had no idea they were involved in the drug trade or he’d never done business with them. Shit, what had he got himself into?
Slowly, he came to a stop. His head was literally killing him. Brain damn surgery. What a hell of a mess. He shut off the engine and just rested his face in his hands. He couldn’t help it, he laughed. He was gonna be a daddy! “Oh, Libby-mine, I miss you so. I remember you. I remember you.”
One second he was reminiscing and the next the door of the Rover was jerked open. He turned to look up and there was a pinch on the back of his neck. Aron struck out, landing a good blow to the man’s face. He recognized him as one of Martina’s bodyguards. But things went from clear to blurry. He’d been drugged. He blinked, trying to look at his assailant, but everything was swimming in front of his face. “Libby…”
***
Tebow Ranch
“How was your trip?” Nathan ran out to meet Noah, closely followed by his black Lab. “Was that Zane?”
Noah hugged his younger brother. There were still plenty of unanswered questions, but since spending time with Skye, he had some answers about himself. One of them was the fact he could face his uncertain parentage and still rest in the assurance that the McCoys were his family. Him learning of his adoption, or whatever the truth would reveal, wouldn’t change the fact he loved his brothers and they loved him. “Yea, he came to pick up something I found that I thought might help your cousin Philip win his court case.” They hadn’t told Nathan all the details, but he knew enough to understand what Noah was saying.
Apparently his answer was enough to pacify Nathan, because he went on to another topic. “Were you with Skye?”
Noah smiled. “Yes, nosy, I was.” He ruffled Nathan’s hair.
“Good. I like her. She’s nice. Are you going to marry her?”
Laughing, Noah, answered, “Not today. Give me time, but I am in love with her.”
&n
bsp; Going to the back seat, Nathan pulled out some of Noah’s luggage. “Will you take me to Galveston to see Tina?”
“How is she?” Before he had left Tebow, word had come that Nathan’s friend had been in a car accident.
“She’s improving, but I’d love to see her.”
“We’ll go. I promise. Where is everybody?”
“Jacob’s still at the hospital, they’re supposed to hear from the doctor today. Isaac’s at the bar, I guess. But, Joseph’s inside.” They walked to the porch. “You go on in, I promised Lady a walk.”
He made his way in the house. Before he could get more than a few feet past the door, Avery waylaid him to help her with a problem she was having on her computer. Just the general chaos of family coming and going was a comfort. As soon as possible, he wanted to talk to the family about the diary, but Isaac came barreling in with a frown on his face. “I need to see everyone in the den.”
Jacob called to give them an update on the baby, who’d been approved for surgery. They asked him to come home, if at all possible. As soon as he arrived, Isaac dropped a bomb. “They’ve pulled something from the water.” He showed them the photos, one of them was a part of a wet suit which had been partially shredded by fish and the other was a snorkeling mask with a sliver of bone stuck in the purge valve.
“What does this mean?” Joseph asked.
“It means…” Noah started.
“We don’t know what it means, but we’ve got to find out.” He called Vance and ordered the tests which would tell them if the blood and bone belonged to Aron.
All of them stood around, numb. Soon they might have irrefutable proof that Aron had been killed. A huge weight seemed to press them into the ground and Noah was about to add to it. “I found out I’m not a McCoy.”
“What the hell?” Joseph asked.
As Noah scanned the faces of his brothers, it was Jacob’s solemn face which caused his heart to sink. He knew something, but his words were confusing. “You are a McCoy. You are our brother.”
“What made you say that?” Isaac demanded.
“Because what I found in Sue’s diary.” Noah called the woman who’d raised him Sue, because he needed to know the truth.
“Sue? Why did you call Mom, Sue?” Joseph looked as upset as Noah.
“You’ve got to understand, Noah. This never mattered. They never let it matter. Not where you were concerned.”
“What are you saying, just spit it out.” Noah needed to know.
“You’re Daddy’s son. By another woman.”
“Holy shit.” Isaac breathed.
Noah talked to his brothers for another hour, Jacob telling them about Sebastian bringing Noah home and how his mother had reacted. It was a shock to Joseph and Isaac that their dad had ran around on their mother. As Jacob was leaving, Isaac ran out to him. “Who was Noah’s mother?”
Jacob stopped in his tracks. “I don’t know her name, but I do know one thing.” He stopped and looked down.
“What?” Isaac prompted, clearly upset.
“I shouldn’t tell you this before I tell him, but I think he’s had enough thrown at him lately.” Jacob headed to his truck. “The week before our parents died, she came to see them asking about Noah.”
“Did you see her?” Isaac stood at the door to the pickup, holding it open in case Jacob would leave without answering.
“No, but I know where she lives.”
***
Emily Gadwah’s Lab
A knock on the door alerted Emily that the Diosa and her entourage had arrived. She had worked tirelessly to come up with a formula which would fool her into believing Aron McCoy’s memories had been permanently erased. The bad part was, Emily wasn’t a hundred percent certain herself what this concoction would do to McCoy. She had analyzed Zip and cut it down to the smallest dose she thought would work, combining some of its characteristics with that of propofol and scolpamine. Hopefully this would dull the memories of his wife and family enough that it would satisfy Martina Delgado and not do him permanent damage. “Hell, if I can pull this off I’ll deserve an Oscar.”
Martina, her two bodyguards, Juan Carlos and a handcuffed and gagged Aron McCoy stood on the other side of the door. “Come in.” She stepped back, noticing the trouble the two men were having controlling their prisoner. He struggled against his captors, only the gun to his neck kept him from attempting to break free. Looking into his eyes, she could see a mixture of anger and fear. If Emily could have reassured him, she would have, but that would have done neither of them any good. “Put him on the table. I affixed some straps. He’ll have to be kept still for this procedure.”
Fuck. What was happening to him? Were they going to kill him? Fury made Aron stiff. How in the hell was he supposed to endure this? Libby! His heart cried out for her. Just as soon as his memory returned, these idiots were about to do something to him. He stared at the unusual woman with the pink hair and the mismatched sandals. She looked too kind to be dangerous, unlike the velociraptor who held him prisoner.
Martina held her breath. This was not going as expected. She could see the hate in his eyes. “I’d like to speak to you, privately please.” Walking toward an adjacent door, she expected the chemist to follow.
Emily held up one finger. “Just put him in the chair next to the steel table,” she instructed the muscle. Dreading the conversation, she followed Ms. Delgado out the door.
“All right. Tell me what you’re going to do to him and what I can expect.”
If Emily wasn’t mistaken, there was actual concern in Martina’s voice. She cared for Aron, but she didn’t have the capacity or the luxury for a ‘normal’ relationship. Almost, she felt sorry for her—almost, until she thought about the countless folks who died from drug overdoses, those killed by people under the influence and the many, many casualties of the cartel drug wars—both innocent and guilty. No, she didn’t feel sorry for the near billionaires who played with people’s lives like one played Battleship.
“I will be giving him a shot which should eradicate long term memories.” She sought her words carefully. “The chemical is called ZIP and it’s a PKM enzyme blocker.” Keeping the conversation technical would hopefully confuse her enough she wouldn’t question too much. “When we finish, he won’t recall his past.” Or at least that was the goal. An exterior of calm was what she was projecting. On the inside Emily was trembling like a leaf. If she fucked this up, she might find herself stuffed in an oil drum and dropped into the Sea of Cortez.
“Will the effects be immediate?” Tenseness was leeching off of the woman in sheets.
“Yes, I think so.” Emily pulled a piece of paper out of her wallet. “But I have to tell you that this procedure is the very earliest testing phase.”
“Will the results be permanent?”
Now, this part was sticky. Guess she’d see how good a liar she could be. “ZIP should permanently erase memories if they are recalled during the administration of the drug. But, I make no guarantees.” Simply put, she was covering her ass.
“I don’t understand.”
“Simple. I have to make him talk about the things he wants to forget.”
“But, you make no guarantees?”
“The drug is too new. To be able to say that for certain would take years of testing, but this is your best bet.” She was spouting shit, but she had to give herself an out.
“I don’t like this…”
Gulping, she took her life into her own hands. “I have nothing else to offer you.”
A scuffle inside the room and a cry halted their conversation. “Diosa!”
They opened the door to find that Aron had broken loose from the guards and was fighting them both. He was still groggy from the drugs, but had managed to knock one down while the other one had pulled a gun and had the barrel pointed right at the Texans’ heart. “Aron, stop!”
Aron wheeled on Martina. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Sit him back down,” she instructed,
coolly, watching the two slightly smaller men wrestle the big cowboy down.
The whole thing made Emily uncomfortable. To see a man subjected to the will of another was demoralizing. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Get what over with? Are you going to kill me, you liar?” He stared at Martina. “You know exactly who I am, don’t you?”
Emily was shocked to see Martina Delgado shake.
“No one will harm you, Aron McCoy.” The queenpin spoke a bit haughtily. Clearly she did not appreciate being dressed down.
“You can understand if I don’t believe you? What did you do, kidnap me, drug me?” Aron was yelling. The guns of the bodyguards were still trained on him.
Emily was afraid Martina would give the order to shoot. She did not want to see Mr. McCoy die today. “I will give you something. You’ll feel better, I promise.”
He didn’t respond to her. Instead, he glared at the woman who he considered to be his greatest enemy. “You won’t get away with this. My brothers will find you.”
All of this was getting to Martina, because she sneered at Aron. “They haven’t found you, yet. And you’ve been missing for over a month. Perhaps you are dead to them.”
“I’d rather be dead than have anything to do with you,” Aron spat out the words. He’d pulled so hard at the ropes binding his wrist that blood was running down his fingers.
“Are you in pain?” Emily asked, touching his shoulder.
“What does it matter?” He didn’t take his eyes off Martina. “There’s no telling what she’s done to me already.”
“I think it would be better if you left us.” Emily told Martina, giving her a meaningful look. “He has to be calm for this pain medication to be effective.” When no one moved, she tried again. “You can guard both exits. There is no other way out of the lab.”
“All right.” Martina motioned for the guards to go before her.
Emily stood up, following them to the door, then she turned to see the big man hunched in the chair, his head bowed. She debated on how to play this. There was no doubt she had to give him the drugs, her life depended on it. But she could be merciful. She decided to play both ends against the middle. Having her cake and eating it too was something she had always wanted to do. Lord, she could have looked at this man forever. He was truly a handsome specimen. But it wasn’t because of his looks she wanted to help him. Oh, that might have played a small role, but she liked to think it didn’t. No dog deserved to be treated this way. “I’m going to give you something to take those headaches away.” That much was true. One of the injections would be a dose of steroids laced with mannitol to reduce the swelling in his brain. But the other would be the cocktail to harness his memories. For a season at least.
